I kicked off the summer of 2022 with a half-day session at Cobra’s Tour Fitting Van in Carlsbad, near the company's headquarters 30 miles up the coast from downtown San Diego.

I wasn't just fitted; I was optimized. I left for the Bay Area with an order for an LTDx LS driver, an LTDx LS fairway wood, a TEC X 4-iron (to play as a driving iron), and four new Tour Raw wedges. They arrived within a week, exactly as specified by my fitter.

Having put them in play over the last few months, the clubs have had a tremendous impact on my game. I can’t stress enough the importance of getting properly fitted before purchasing new clubs.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll review each of these clubs, beginning with the LTDx LS, a member of Cobra’s latest driver family.



ON COURSE TESTING: PRESIDIO GOLF CLUB

A typical windy and foggy summer day in San Francisco greeted my group on the par-4, 450 yard 12th hole at Presidio Golf Club. My friend teed up first. His driver was an old hand-me-down with a stock shaft, a suboptimal weapon for the challenging conditions.

Despite a buttery smooth tempo that belied his average score of 90, the wind knocked his ball down before it could even challenge the bunker 220 yards away.

Holding my new Cobra LTDx LS driver, I visualized a clear target line on the slight dogleg left. I attacked the right edge of the bunker my friend didn't reach with a low draw, clearing it easily.

This drive, and many more like it, is an example of the biggest difference I've seen in my game since being properly fit. Reducing my spin rate by over 33 percent allows for more consistent outcomes when driving into the wind.

Properly fitting into a correct spin rate is something that indoor simulators never quite captured the previous two times I was fit for drivers. The controlled environment of an in-person simulator doesn't usually include wind of more than a few miles-per-hour factored into the numbers provided, which isn't how a lot of golf is played.

OTHER OBSERVATIONS

* The ball flight I’m playing is slightly lower than I'm used to. But it still peaks at a very reasonable 100 feet in the air.

* The weight placed in front and lower on the clubhead, encourages a penetrating trajectory that allows for more consistent results in windy conditions.

* The second adjustment in the driver that I didn't previously utilize was placing more weight in the toe. Several times I've walked off the tee and felt I miss-hit the ball. Still, it rolled out to a respectable distance. * Even though Cobra advertises the LTDX LS as the driver with the least amount of forgiveness in its LTDx lineup, I have been impressed by how well it performs on less than perfect drives.

* I've really appreciated the aesthetics of the Cobra LTDx as well. I received a gloss navy driver with a touch of red, one of several colorways available on CobraGolf.com. While the least important in terms of overall performance, a good visual with a driver inspires confidence. The more I’ve played with the LTDx LS, the more my confidence has grown.

Cobra also offers the LTDx and LTDx Max. All three retail for $499 with several no-upcharge shaft options.

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