Cobra RAD Speed Metals Review

by Joe Dier, Club Fitter

In the past few years, Cobra has dramatically improved their metalwood line up. Starting with the F8 driver, where they inserted a CNC Milled face to add ball speed across more of the club face, the results have been fantastic. That technology has proven wildly successful, so much so that they continued that trend into the F9, Speed Zone and the new RAD Speed line. RAD Speed stands for “Radial weighting”, which is the main focus of this new technology.

RAD Speed will offer three different heads, each built to address a specific ball flight. The new line-up features RAD Speed, RAD XB and RAD XD. The fundamental difference between the three is the weighting. RAD Speed utilizes forward-biased radial weighting. It positions 28g of weight in the front of the head to make the driver as low spinning as possible while allowing for maximum ball speed. There is also 10g of weight in the back for more balance front to back.

RAD XB offers back-biased radial weighting, positioning a 20g of weight in the back of the head to make the club more stable and forgiving than the RAD Speed model. It also features an 8g fixed weight in the front of the head to help maintain higher ball speeds.

RAD XD is a draw biased club which features heel-biased radial weighting. It has a 10g weight in the heel to help get the face closed quickly for straighter ball flight. There is also 14g of weight in the back to make it more forgiving with 8g of weight up front for higher ball speed.

The other technologies offered in these clubs are the Thin-Ply Carbon Wrap Crown, T-Bar Chassis, and the CNC Milled Infinity Face.

Thin-Ply Carbon Wrap Crown: A new carbon fiber material that is 30% thinner, which allows 6g of weight to be repositioned in the head.

T-Bar Chassis: The T-Bar chassis moves weight lower and back in the head to allow for more forgiveness.

CNC Milled Infinity Face: The infinity face expands the milled area by 95%, increasing the zone of maximum ball speed.

Results

 (Note: RAD XD was not available at time of testing)

The RAD Speed line-up, in my opinion, will be one of the best drivers of 2021. In comparison to the Speed Zone from 2019, RAD Speed spun much less and didn’t balloon nearly at all. With the combination of speed and forgiveness this club will rival any of the other top brands in 2021.

Cobra RAD Fairways

The new RAD Speed fairways follow the mold of the driver, which is a marked improvement from the previous model. The new fairways offer the same technology found in the drivers with the inclusion of hollow split rails on the bottom of the club. These rails are positioned in the front of the club and create 70% more flex from heel to toe to allow for higher ball flight and more speed. Cobra has been using this technology successfully for years in its metalwoods 

Four different models are offered in the RAD Speed line of fairway metals: RAD Speed, RAD Speed Big Tour, RAD Speed Tour, and the RAD Speed Draw. Like the drivers, the biggest difference between these is the weight positions in the head and the size of the head.

The standard head has a more traditional look to it with weight in the front to be lower spinning but also launch higher, so it is easier for the ball to stop on the green. The standard head is also offered in 3, 5 and 7 fairway metals.

The Big Tour 3 wood has a bigger head with front and external radial weighting for lower center of gravity (CG), this also will lower spin and raise ball speed. This is only offered in the 3-fairway metal.

The RAD Speed Tour is the smallest head of the bunch with front radial weighting for lower spin and a launch that is more workable. The tour is only offered in a 5-fairway metal.

Finally, there is the RAD Speed Draw. It provides heel-biased and back weighting to allow for more spin, higher launch and “slice-fighting” capability. The draw is offered in the 3, 5, and 7 metals.

Overall, after testing the RAD Speed metalwood, I believe people will find this to be one of the better fairways of 2021. It checks off every box you’d want in a fairway metal including aesthetics, feel and most importantly, performance.