Paula Creamer kissing U.S. Women's Open Trophy-Gene J. Puskar/AP

At famed Oakmont Country Club last weekend, LPGA superstar Paula Creamer teamed with Bridgestone Golf to capture the 2010 U.S. Women’s Open, her first career major despite battling a sore thumb and a golf course that yielded only a single under-par scorecard. Paula’s victory was also the first major victory for Bridgestone’s B330-RX the only golf ball designed for Tour performance on and around the greens, yet optimized for moderate swing speeds off the tee for better distance and accuracy.

Creamer used a deft touch and laser-like iron approaches down the stretch on Sunday to secure the title in convincing fashion, besting her nearest competitor by four shots with a tournament total 281 (3-under par. As a result of a rain-delayed second round, Creamer put her injured thumb through a rigorous endurance test, playing 23 holes on Sunday and a total of 52 holes over the weekend. For the week, Creamer hit an impressive 75% of fairways-in-regulation, ranking near the top of the field in that category. Further demonstrating the improved accuracy of the B330-RX, Paula managed 72% greens-in-regulation at Oakmont, which also put her in the top 10 of that category.

“Earlier this year we put Paula through an extensive ball-fitting,” said Dan Murphy, Vice President of Marketing Bridgestone Golf, Inc. “During the fitting we found that Paula was producing excess driver spin with firmer golf balls that actually limited her distance off the tee. We also discovered her swing was ideal for the softer new B330-RX. She began testing it and absolutely fell in love with it. Paula was a little disappointed that we didn’t have her trademark Sunday pink B330-RX but considering the results this past Sunday she might have a new tradition! We are really excited for Paula because we know how much this championship means to her. Having the first major championship title for the B330-RX is incredible for our brand, as well. The ball has had a great reception at retail since we launched it in March and this win will help continue that momentum.”

Low Am Also Relies on B330-RX Golf Ball

In addition to Creamer, Bridgestone Golf had 11 players in the field trusting its golf balls. In fact, the low amateur finisher at the event also relied on the consistent performance of the B330-RX golf ball in her T41st finish at Oakmont.

2010 B330-RX family of balls feature a street price of $42.99 per dozen

www.bridgestonegolf.com

TaylorMade Penta TP

The TaylorMade Penta TP golf ball has been getting a lot of news lately with Justin Rose who has won twice this year playing this five piece golf ball. We wanted to find out if the five piece golf ball is better than its four piece counterparts and if the average golfer could benefit from the technology in this one of kind ball.

The 5-Layers of the Penta TP
When you look at the Penta TP, it looks just like your normal golf ball, but it’s what lies beneath the five-layer (feel, spin, control, launch, and distance) ball that makes it different. The first layer is comprised of the Urethane cover designed to give you better feel and spin with your wedges on shots from 100 yards and in.

The second layer is the outer mantle, which is designed to give you spin with your short irons to stop the ball quickly on the green without sacrificing distance. The third layer is the middle mantle, which helps with your mid-irons shots of 140-170 yards and prevents ballooning of the ball or pop-ups-leaving you short of the target.

The fourth layer is control, and features an inner mantle that delivers a softer feel by providing a higher-launch and low spin with your long irons. Layer five is for distance, with its low compression that provides faster ball speed, higher launch, and less spin off the driver, for longer drives.

Feel and Spin
The Penta TP’s first two layers (feel and spin) are in my opinion the most important layers when evaluating a golf ball, because this is where the average golfer can benefit from the technology in the Penta TP to lower their golf score.

The urethane cover on the Penta TP make the ball very responsive when your putting the ball or using your wedges. I found that the ball spun quite considerably with my wedges, with my pitches and chip shots around the green. In terms of spin control, the Penta TP did a great job of having the ball stop on a dime for those approach shots to the green. I also liked the way ball spun from the rough with my short-irons, providing great control and spin. Overall, I really liked the way the Penta TP performed in the scoring zone, providing the necessary feel and spin desired by today’s golfers, especially with the new grooves.

TaylorMade Penta TP Closeup

Control and Launch
Nothing is worse than thinking you’ve hit a solid approach shot from within 140-170 yard and only to see the ball land short of its intended target. The most common cause, besides improper club selection is the ball balloons to much and can easily get batted down by the wind. To correct the problem of ballooning, TaylorMade engineers, made the middle mantle softer. Making the mantle softer does seem to make a difference in ball flight, from hitting my approach shots with my 6 and 7 irons. The ball seemed to launch at a lower angle, than they typically do with those clubs, but without losing accuracy or distance control.

Long irons are being replaced by hybrid golf clubs in most golfers bags, because they are not as easy to hit. The longest iron in my bag is a 5 iron and I replaced my 4 iron with a hybrid equivalent, I was curious to see how the ball would perform in terms of launch with both of these clubs.

The first thing that you’ll notice when hitting with a long-iron or hybrid, like in my case was the high launch of the ball. The ball flight was much higher than it typically is with the loft on those clubs, and I must have miss hit the ball. To my surprise that wasn’t the case, I did hit them well because my ball traveled the distance I normally hit those clubs (170 & 200 yards). But, there was one other thing that I noticed with those shots, is how the ball would land softly and not run out like they normally do. This was a welcome benefit of the soft inner mantle, especially when hitting a approach to a small green or narrow landing area of the fairway. I think the only time I wouldn’t want such a high launch with my long irons, is in extremely windy conditions, where distance can be affected.

Any golfer would be able to take advantage of these characteristics of control and launch, and elevate their long and mid-iron game.

Distance
The fifth layer deal with distance and this is always hard to measure and subjective to a lot of factors, like playing conditions, impact position on the club face, swing speed, etc. The low compression core is designed to give you longer drives by creating more ball speed, less spin, and higher launch.

So to test this out, we hit 10 drives with Penta TP and averaged out the distance to see if we were able to hit the ball further, than we normally do with a Tour caliber golf ball. The results were surprising, because I saw a gain of 4 yards with my drives using the Penta TP. While a 4 yard improvement is great, especially for someone like me who has a < 100 MPH swing speed with my driver, I don’t think I was able to completely compress the core of the ball, to take advantage of the technology. This is one area where having a faster swing speed will make a huge difference in hitting longer and straighter drives.

Overall, the TaylorMade Penta TP is a Tour caliber golf ball that the average golfer could benefit from the exceptional feel, spin, control, and launch properties. The golfer who has a faster swing speed of more than 100 MPH, will be able to benefit from all the layers, especially distance. TMAG staffers like Justin Rose wouldn’t be playing this ball if it didn’t deliver what it promises.

Have you tried the TaylorMade Penta TP?

TaylorMade Penta TP $45.99 per dozen

Let’s face it, our egos usually get in the way when we select our golf equipment, and this is especially true when it comes to selecting golf balls. We all want to play the tour ball that our favorite pro is playing, but we lack the swing speed to really take advantage of the technology in the golf ball to see a major difference in our game.

After conducting over 50,000 ball fittings and analyzing the data, Bridgestone Golf discovered that amateur golfers wanted a golf ball that provided tour-level performance around the greens and distance of the tee, but for moderate swing speeds (under 105 MPH)-the Bridgestone Tour B330-RX was introduced with overwhelming success. In 2010 Bridgestone Golf has introduced an improved version of the popular Tour B330-RX and launched the new Tour B330-RXS, creating the first Tour performance Series of golf balls for amateur swing speeds.

How do you improve the Tour B330-RX?

The improved version of the B330-RX features a 7% softer core with a reformulated mantle that reduces excess spin, resulting in straighter, more precise shots. With its Very SOFT gradational compression core, the ball is even more easily compressed for longer distance and great feel.
The new core combined with B330-RX’s new Ionomer Inner Cover provides an increase in velocity and reduction in sidespin with the driver and long irons. As was the case with its award winning predecessor, the new B330-RX not only offers unparalleled distance performance, but the 330 Seamless Dimple-design urethane cover also ensures Tour caliber greenside spin and control, with a consistent trajectory players can count on.

Performance of the Tour B330-RX
The area where you’ll be able to notice a big difference in the 2010 version of the Tour B330-RX is in distance category and accuracy. The previous version of RX performed well in the distance category, but the new RX travels even farther than the old version. In my tests, I would hit five drives with the new and old version of the RX, measure the distance of each shot with a GPS and average out totals. Overall, the new RX resulted in a 3 yard gain in distance of my drives.

The other area where the Tour B330-RX excels in is reduction in sidespin with your driver and long irons. At the PGA Merchandise show two years ago, I was fitted for the e6+, because of the amount of sidespin I was imparting on the ball and the e6+ did a better job of reducing sidespin. When I got fitted again this year, I was fit into the new RX, because of the reduction in sidespin, a result of the new Ionomer Inner Cover. In playing conditions on the course, my drives and shots with the long irons, were more accurate and longer. If you suffer from excessive sidespin with your long irons or driver, the RX would be a ball worth getting fitted for.

Tour B330-RX Greenside Performance
For shots within 100 yards of the green, the new RX performed comparable to the previous version of the RX. You can’t spin the ball as much as Tour B330-S or Tour B330 golf balls, but you do get a fair amount of spin and control around the greens. Putting and chip shots are also great with new the B330-RX, thanks to the Very SOFT gradational compression core and 330 Seamless Dimple urethane cover. The previous version of the RX was slightly firmer, but with the new version I found that you get just the right amount of feel you need when hitting those delicate chip shots or putting from long and short distances.

Overall, the new 2010 Bridgestone Tour B330-RX is a nice improvement over the previous version, with reduced sidespin, improved feel, and distance.

Tour B330-RXS

The one limiting characteristic of the Tour B330-RX, is you can’t spin the ball as much, like you can with the softer Tour B330-S or Tour B330. How do you solve this problem? Bridgestone solved this by creating the new 3-piece, urethane Tour B330-RXS golf ball for moderate swing speed players (less than 105 MPH), who want a slightly softer feel and more spin control.

Performance of the Tour B330-RXS
The RXS provides all the same great benefits that the new RX does in terms of accuracy and distance with your driver and long irons, but the biggest difference is in greenside performance.

The B330-RXS has a SOFT urethane cover that promotes higher spin on the ball for enhanced feel around the greens for those stop on a dime knock down wedge shots, that you’d normally only be able to get from the softer Tour B330S and B330. I found the soft cover of the RXS, was a huge improvement in the feel and spin department over the B330-RX. Any golfer with moderate swing speed who wants tour-performance feel and spin in and around the greens will want to opt for B330-RXS.

The softer feel and more spin are also helpful if you play irons or wedges that conform to the new USGA grooves rule. In my tests, I used irons that had conforming grooves and found the RXS performed very well at spinning the ball around the greens where you want that extra spin.

The new Bridgestone Tour B330-RXS are an excellent 3-piece golf ball for amateurs with slower swings speeds who want tour-performance spin and feel.

Whether you prefer a golf ball with a firmer feel and longer distance or a ball with softer feel and more spin, the new Bridgestone Tour RX Series of golf balls has moderate swing speed amateur golfers covered.

Bridgestone Tour B330-RX and B330-RXS $42.99 per dozen

www.bridgestonegolf.com

Nike Golf's Justin Leonard with the new SQ MACHSPEED

The Nike Golf SQ MACHSPEED Driver hits retail shelves today and now you can find out what Nike Athletes like Trevor Immelman, Lucas Glover, Justin Leonard, and Paul Casey think about the latest driver from Nike Golf.

www.nikegolf.com

Today, Nike Golf is adding more speed to its new SQ MACHSPEED line with the addition of the Nike SQ MACHSPEED fairway woods. The new SQ MACHSPEED fairway woods will use the power of Total Swing Aerodynamics to help golfers hit the ball farther and straighter.

Nike SQ MACHSPEED Fairway Woods and Drivers

As with the recently announced Nike SQ MACHSPEED drivers, the SQ MACHSPEED fairway woods are loaded with ground-breaking technology, specifically the combination of square technology and Nike’s Total Swing Aerodynamic Design.

Nike’s Total Swing Aerodynamic engineering moves air faster across the sole, over the crown and around the skirt for incremental swing speed advances. Nike designed the SQ MACHSPEED fairway woods to optimize the aerodynamics throughout the entire swing and to deliver more speed and reduce drag.

TOTAL SWING AERODYNAMIC DESIGN
Nike’s Total Swing Aerodynamic design reduces drag throughout the entire swing, which results in a faster clubhead and increased ball speed.

Fast Start
At the beginning of the downswing, the tapered heel geometry and toe-side aerodynamic Nike PowerBow design promote smooth air flow around the head for quicker acceleration.

Acceleration
As speed increases, so does drag force. But the aerodynamic Nike PowerBow and sole diffuser designs keep the airflow smooth and close to the club surface, reducing drag and encouraging a faster acceleration.

Maximum Speed
Drag reduction through-out the downswing allows the club to reach its true maximum speed, delivering maximum energy to the ball.

I didn’t get a chance to hit the SQ MACHSPEED fairway woods at the 2010 PGA Merchandise Show Outdoor Demo Day, but if they are anything like the MACHSPEED driver, you’ll definitely see a higher ball flight with more distance. I’ll have to find out and when I test out the fairway woods.

Availability: February 25, 2010 at golf shops and golf specialty stores nationwide

SQ MACHSPEED Fairway Woods

Men’s: Loft Options: 3 (RH/LH); 4 (RH); 5 (RH/LH); 7 (RH); All available in: A,R,S,X
MSRP: $239.99

Women’s: Loft Options: 3 (RH); 5 (RH); 7 (RH); All available in W (women’s) shaft.
MSRP: $239.99

The Odyssey Black Series Tour Designs line of milled putters were crafted through extensive work between Odyssey design team and Tour players like Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els.

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With a new black look, the precision-crafted milled putters in Odyssey’s Black Series Tour Designs line feature updated shapes and more head options, all designed to offer elite performance at the highest levels of the game.

Craftsmanship and Design

The Black Tour Designs putters feature Advanced Roll Technology (A.R.T.) for a quicker and truer roll.  The multi-material construction of each Black Series Tour Designs Putter combines the 1025 carbon steel body with tungsten flange weighting, which creates a quicker, more favorable roll by moving the center of gravity back and lower in the putterhead.  A urethane dampening layer is subtly placed between the carbon steel putter head and the tungsten flange, which enhances feel at impact.

The TD Milled Face has a precise, deep milling pattern that generates consistent impact performance across the face, resulting in better feel, distance control and smooth roll.

Each putter is finished with a deep black PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) coating, which is a high tech process that produces a durable, non-glare finish that was added in response to feedback from Tour players.

My Thoughts on the Black Series Tour Designs

What I really liked about the Black Series Tour Designs line is black PVD coating, which gave these putters a stealthy look. But, the most surprising feature is the amount of feel and consistent roll produced by the milled face and urethane dampener. You can tell a lot of work went into building these putters based on the feedback from their Tour players, and now you can play the same putters. Hopefully with the same results!

Odyssey Black Series Tour Designs $269 (available in #2, #4, #6, and #9)

Today Nike Golf introduced the Nike SQ MACHSPEED irons, their fastest and longest irons the company has ever developed to date. At the 2010 PGA Merchandise Show Outdoor Demo Day, I was able to hit the latest game improvement irons from Nike Golf.

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The Nike SQ MACHSPEED irons have three key functions: speed, stability, and launch. Speed leads to distance. Stability leads to forgiveness. And launch leads to functionality. What does this mean for you the average golfer? It means you’ll get high launch and increase distance with the SQ MACHSPEED irons.

“With MACHSPEED, we’ve developed a very fast iron through new and dynamic construction that works,” said Tom Stites, Director of Club Creation for Nike Golf. “This iron is all about helping golfers increase their ball speed in order to generate distance. Our patented PowerBow technology allows golfers to launch the ball high and increase distance – a perfect combination to improving your game.”

Speed and Distance
To achieve speed and distance, the two-piece SQ MACHSPEED irons have a higher CT (Characteristic Time) in the wider areas on the face resulting in faster ball speeds and longer distance. The new game-improvement Nike irons feature a combination of AM 355 alloy and an off-the-face weld construction that creates a thinner, hotter face and a wider sweet zone. The new SQ MACHSPEED construction offers an extremely hot center area that expands lower on the face where the ball is more likely to be in contact to prevent a decrease in distance.

During my brief testing, I saw a noticeable increase in distance when hitting the pitching wedge and mid-irons from the SQ MACHSPEED irons. The ball seems to pop off the face of the club and go a lot further than with my normal irons. I’m curious to see how they will perform in real world playing conditions, using a non-range golf ball and comparing against my existing irons.

Stability and Forgiveness
The SQ MACHSPEED irons provide stability and forgiveness because of Nike’s PowerBow technology. Nike’s innovative PowerBow technology was first introduced in its earliest SQ product, the groundbreaking Nike SasQuatch driver in 2006. The Nike PowerBow creates an extremely deep center of gravity and provides a wider sweet spot.

PowerBow is great technology that I loved in the Nike SQ Sumo2 5900 driver and should provide a lot of stability and forgiveness in these irons.

Launch and Functionality
Completing the three key functions of the Nike SQ MACHSPEED irons is the launch capability. The SQ MACHSPEED features a deep undercut behind the face, which repositions 50 grams of weight out and back to the PowerBow for high launching shots that travel far and land softly.

The biggest thing I noticed when hitting the SQ MACHSPEED irons is how high the ball launched, similar to the SQ MACHSPEED driver. The ball has nice medium-high launch angle that soars in the air for increased distance. I know that some people might have problem with the looks of the PowerBow design behind the cavity, but I didn’t find it to be an issue when at address.

Overall, the Nike SQ MACHSPEED irons are promising set of game improvement irons, which I’m looking forward to testing more thoroughly.

Availability
Nike SQ MACHSPEED Irons, are available February 25, 2010 at golf shops and specialty stores nationwide

Men’s: 4-PW, AW; Steel: S,R,A; RH/LH; MSRP: $839.99
Men’s: 4-PW, AW; Graphite: S,R,A; RH/LH; MSRP: $959.99
Women’s: 5H, 6H, 7-PW, SW; Graphite: W (RH); MSRP: $959.99

At the 2010 PGA Merchandise Show Outdoor Demo Day, I had the opportunity to checkout the latest models from the Speedline metal woods: Speedline FAST 10 drivers and Speedline FAST 10 fairway woods. The drivers are designed to increase club head speed, resulting in up to 15 more yards in carry distance.  The fairway woods feature customizable precision milled sole plates for greater distance out of a variety of lies.

Watch the video to see Henry Lange from Adams Golf explain the features of the Speedline FAST 10 Driver and FAST 10 Fairway Woods.

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Speedline FAST 10 Drivers
As with the entire Speedline brand, the patent-pending aerodynamic shaping of the third-generation FAST 10 driver refines the technology to create 10 percent less drag and airflow turbulence than previous models, resulting in up to 15 yards more yards of carry distance.  Design improvements include a 100 percent increase in toe curvature and a 300 percent decrease in the heel curvature for even more efficient and stable airflow attachment around the club head.  The new features reduce drag throughout the swing for a faster club head speed that generates more distance than previous models, all with 10 percent higher MOI.

“The success of the Speedline series clearly shows that the benefits of a driver head with aerodynamic shaping which delivers increased distance has resonated with golfers of all playing abilities,” said Chip Brewer, President and CEO of Adams Golf.  “Now, with the launch of Speedline FAST 10 as the third-generation of this technology, we have furthered our lead in this exciting new category of drivers.”

Speedline drivers have collected eight tour wins since their introduction in January 2009.

Speedline FAST 10 Fairway Woods
The easy-to-hit Speedline FAST 10 fairway woods were developed with precision milled sole plates and premium aesthetics to appeal to players of all levels. The patent-pending design of the Speedline FAST 10 woods feature strategically placed weight pads to match the swing characteristics of different golfers: the standard model weight pad is positioned back for a higher launch; the draw model weight pad is positioned in the heel.  The Speedline FAST 10 fairway woods also have a 57 percent increase in the sole camber for more consistent ball striking and enhanced playability from all types of lies. The unparalleled technology of the Speedline FAST 10 woods has already made it into the bags of Adams Golf staff members Tom Watson and Aaron Baddeley.

“We’ve consistently seen tour pros switching to our fairway woods because of their increased playability,” says Tim Reed, Vice President of Research and Development for Adams Golf.  “There was no disputing the consistent ball striking and increased distance they saw when they put it into play.  With the launch of the Speedline FAST 10, everyday golfers will now be able to experience the longest and easiest-to-hit fairway wood we have ever designed.”

Models and Pricing
Both of the men’s versions of the driver and the fairway wood will debut with a choice of high-performance shafts: the mid-high launch Aldila Wasabi or the mid-low launch Matrix HD.  The women’s versions are standard with lightweight Graffaloy graphite shafts.

The suggested retail price for the Speedline FAST 10 drivers is $399.99.  The suggested retail price for the Speedline FAST 10 fairway woods is $299.99.

For more information visit www.adamsgolf.com/speedlinefast10.

Many of the great putters in the game, like Jack Nicklaus and more recently Phil Mickelson, have adopted a forward press putting style. The forward press can help by creating more stability and true roll in your putting stroke. At the 2010 PGA Merchandise Show, I checked out the new Odyssey Backstryke line of putters, which are engineered to deliver a better putting stroke.

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Backstryke Features
In designing the Backstryke, Odyssey engineers moved the shaft backward, placing the axis of the shaft point as close as possible to the putter head’s center of gravity. This in-line axis helps promote a fluid, stable stroke path, for better distance control, consistency, and accuracy.

The Backstryke features a Visible Face Alignment that allows golfers to clearly see if the face is square to the target line without the shaft impeding the line of sight. This a nice feature when setting up to putt from any distance, and very helpful if you have problems lining up your putter square to the target line.

The Forward Press Stabilization on the Backstryke allows you to use a hands-forward position without de-lofting the putter head, which is a common problem when using a forward press putting style. The result of the stabilization, is more of an upward stroke on the ball. The forward shaft lean of the Backstryke helps with emulating the style adopted by the game’s greatest putters. The shaft position also helps create a stable straight line with the leading arm to prevent the wrists from breaking down during the stroke.

The White Ice multi-layer insert on the Backstryke has been fine-tuned to enhance the responsiveness and consistency, by using an inner core that is 19.6% firmer to enhance feel, and 92% stiffer for better resiliency. The face surface has also been roughened to enhance the sound at impact with softer golf balls.

My Thoughts on the Backstryke
I tried out all three models (Blade, Marxman, and 2-Ball) and I was really amazed at how easy it was to roll the ball so quickly and accurately from 10 feet and out. I also liked how easy it was to line up my putts and square the face towards the target, that combined with the forward press made for some consistent putting.

I think the Backstryke is an interesting approach in designing an engineered putting stroke and could potentially be a big hit with people who struggle with consistency, accuracy, and distance control. I’m curious to see how the Backstryke performs under real playing conditions, and how much of a difference it can make.

Will you try the Odyssey Backstryke?

Odyssey Backstryke $199, available April 15, 2010

I first saw the Cobra ZL (Zero Limits) driver at the 2009 BMW Championship, before it was released to the general public, and at that time Ian Poulter was testing out the driver. Up to that point I wasn’t sure what all the fuss was about, it’s not like adjustable face drivers are a new concept. The Cobra ZL driver is designed to help all golfers with accuracy and distance, and I was really interested in finding out if the ZL could accomplish this.

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Look and Feel
The Cobra ZL driver is made from what their engineers refer to as Advanced Multi-Material Construction, which is a carbon fiber crown and sole insert that is blended together with the titanium 6-4 clubhead body and clubface. The titanium face on the ZL features Cobra Golf’s patented Milled Rhombus face insert, along with a thinner perimeter area for faster ball speed and consistency across the face of the club.

On the sole of the ZL you have a swingweight screw, which helps with shifting the Center of Gravity (CG) toward the heel, optimizing ball flight, and MOI. The Cobra ZL also features Adjustable Flight Technology, which is an adjustable hosel that golfers can set into one of three face angles (O-open, N-neutral, C-closed) for a quick and easy way to optimize your ball flight.

The Cobra ZL driver has a great classic pear shape and profile that sets up really nicely at address, and makes it one of the best looking drivers that I have tested from Cobra Golf. Gone are the crown dimples that were on previous Cobra driver models. Round this out with the 46″ 59g Aldila VooDoo shaft and Cobra/GolfPride grip, and you have a very lightweight and innovative driver.

Performance
Accuracy and distance are two qualities that any golfer would want when selecting a driver to put int their golf bag, and that’s what I set out to test. How does the Cobra ZL do in terms of accuracy? The ZL does a very good job of being one of the more forgiving Cobra drivers I’ve tested, thanks to the swingweight screw that moves the center of gravity toward the heel and gives the driver a high MOI. This makes the ZL very stable and easy to hit.

The Cobra ZL driver has their patented Milled Rhombus face insert and a thinner perimeter area of the titanium face maximizes the Coefficient of Reinstitution (COR) for faster ball speed and shot consistency across the face, for a wider hitting area. COR is the spring-like effect that happens to the driver face when it depresses as the ball is struck, then rebounds-providing a little more power to your drive. In the case of the Cobra ZL driver, this translates into longer drives and higher ball trajectory. During my tests I was able to gain 5 -7 yards more per drive, because of the increased ball speed.

The Adjustable Flight Technology is so simple to use, just loosen the screw in the sole of the club with the provided torque wrench and you can change the face by up to 3 degrees for either a draw, fade, or straight/neutral bias. Three positions may seem too simple, but I actually kind of liked having only three options. When you have more incremental options for face angle adjustments, you spend more time having to dial in the driver to find out which increment you like best.

The flight trajectory on my drives were very high for a driver of this caliber and one of the reasons you get a lot of distance off the tee with the ZL. My only concern with a high flight trajectory is playing the ZL in windy conditions, which would lead to less distance off the tee. If you live in a windy part of the country, like Chicago, you might want to consider a different shaft or alter your ball position.

Another hallmark of Cobra drivers is the high-pitched “ting” sound they made at impact, which a lot of people didn’t like. The Cobra ZL does an excellent job of frequency tuning and making a more quieter sound at impact, than previous models.

The Cobra ZL driver is probably the best driver that Cobra Golf has to offer and does a great job of achieving maximum distance and accuracy. If you’re looking for a driver that can easily be adjusted, provides maximum distance, accuracy, and forgiveness. No wonder it’s in the bag of J.B. Holmes and Ian Poulter.

Cobra ZL Driver $349.99