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The Low Spin Driver Everyone Can Use | Golf Monthly
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Apr 13, 2025
Joel Tadman tests the new Cobra Radspeed drivers to discover if more golfers can now benefit from using a low-spinning driver. The Radspeed has some extreme front and back weighting claiming to offer low spin with forgiveness, but what are the sacrifices in performance if any? He also tests the Radspeed XB driver up against two older models to see how the performance has evolved.
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Hello everybody, Joel Tavern here from Golf Monthly and welcome to a wintry Burleigh Park
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Golf Club here in Stamford where I'm going to be answering the question as to whether you can now
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get away with playing a low spin driver. Historically, low spin drivers only really
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been for very fast swingers or low handicap golfers that use very little of the clubface
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they're using the centre of the face more often than not, but is there a case now that more golfers
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can benefit from low spin performance without sacrificing accuracy out on the golf course
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That's the question I really want to answer with the launch of this new Cobra Rad Speed
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driver, new for 2021, comes out at the end of January. I've been giving this a thorough
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test in its various different weight positions, various different models, up against the prior
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generation drivers as well to see how the performance has evolved with this driver
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are their distance going to be had without sacrificing accuracy from the design of this
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new driver? Let's find out. Right, so Cobra Rad Speed Driver all about pushing weight to the extremities in terms
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of that front and back area, getting it further away from the centre of gravity, giving you
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forgiveness, but with low spin to maximise performance for different player types
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So you'll notice with this driver you've got two new weights here right at the front
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the head. Two eight-gram weights that are designed to give you more ball speed and lower
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the spin. Then you come back to the rear of the head, you've got this rad speed weight
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right at the back, similar to the speed back design we saw prior from Cobra, dragging the
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mash low and back, increasing launch, MOI spin as well to give you forgiveness. So you
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combine those two together, you think it's the ideal blend of performance. You've also
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got two adjustable weights here in this standard model. You've got a 12 and a two-gram weight
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which you can interchange if you want to, to adjust those launch and spin characteristics
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This is one of three models now from Cobra in the new range. You've also got the XB model, which stands for extreme back
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so no adjustable weighting, more weight is back in that head to give you more forgiveness and a bit more stability
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So that's really designed for players that utilise more of the face and really want more forgiveness from their driver
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Then you've also got a new XD model, which stands for extreme draw, so if you're struggling with a slice
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So you should be able to get more distance by opting for the XD model
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So it's really getting about distance in different ways from this RAD Speed Rain
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You know, the big question I want to answer, of course, is can you get away with playing a low spin driver like this
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Or how low spinning is this driver compared to the rest of the market
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So I gave these drivers a really thorough test down at Foresight Sports HQ on the GC Quad Launch Monitor using Titleist Pro 1X golf balls And I flash the data up on your screen now because I think it is really really interesting
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and there's no question, you know, this driver, especially compared to the prior generation
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drivers from Cobra, so the King F9 Speedback, the King Speed Zone drivers, this driver is
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unquestionably lower spinning than those drivers. And you'll notice, from that lower spin, this driver was delivering me more distance, on
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average, than those other drivers. So this is all with the same shaft testing
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So I've got the new Fujikura Motore X-Diff staff, so I was able to retrofit this shaft
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into those other drivers. Same loft, so nine degrees of loft. My first impression was, well, okay, it's great to get low spin, but getting a spin
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number under that 2000 RPM mark is a little bit of a concern for me
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So obviously there are ways you can just raise the spin a little bit
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Certainly I thought I needed to try and do that to get it closer to optimum. So I started by moving the 12-round weight into the rear of the head
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And you'll notice from the numbers how the spin really, really popped up there. So I was expecting it to go up by 100 or 200 RPM
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but actually went up by more like 400 to 500 RPM, running about a 2,400 mark average
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And for me, that's a little bit too high, actually. You notice the distance really came down
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The spin numbers were higher, but they were more consistent. and the flight was a lot more consistent as well
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So while I wasn't getting as much distance in that setting, I was loving how straight the ball was going
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Then I tested the Cobra Rad Speed XB driver and typically, you know, I've found that they're extreme drivers
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So the King Speed Zone extreme driver from last year, you know, that was really, really too high spinning for me
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I lost about 10, 15 yards by switching into that driver because it was too high spinning
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But actually, the XB driver gave me a surprisingly good middle ground
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In a bit of a dilemma into which model I want to choose, I'm torn between this one and the XB
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They both perform very similar, but I think the differences and the decision will come
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down to the looks of these drivers, because they do have two very different looks, so
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I prefer the shorter look of this Rad Speed driver and also the matte finish on the crown
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I definitely prefer that, versus the stretched out look of the XB driver
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This is a really, really cool looking driver. It's got loads going on at the bottom
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got carbon fiber panels, you've got loads of wake ports, that turbo yellow colour really
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pops through, really, really cutting edge. I love the look of the driver. Feel and sound
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as well, definitely improved with this driver, I think, where the King F9 was quite a low-pitched
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thud sound and the King Speedzone driver was quite a loud high-pitched sound. This is somewhere
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in the middle and I think Stripe's a really nice middle ground in terms of that feel and
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sound Feels really really solid out of the middle You obviously got that infinity face here which I think also helps a little bit with alignment as well that kind of contrast between the crown and that infinity face the way it wraps over the top section of the crown just gives you a little bit more alignment assistance on offer
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So, yeah, definitely food for thought there. Wasn't confident as to which model would be best for me
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Yes, that low-spin driver, in its low-spin setting, gave me the best average carry
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but I really wanted to find out if that was playable out on the golf course. Okay, so I've hit some shots here on the range with this Cobra King Radsby driver in its
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low spin setting. I've got to say, I was surprised at how stable and consistent the ball flight was in its
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low spin setting. I'm a five handicap golfer, so I'm peppering around the area on the circle on the face
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where this Infiniti logo is. I say the ball flight was very, very straight, very consistent
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On those off-centre hits, especially in the tow, outside that area where you do see spin
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dropping off quite a lot. is a case to say yes you are getting a bit more kind of curvature to the left it's not quite as
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stable in that setting on those slight off centre hits this driver does have more fade buyers built
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into it than the other models which i think definitely helps me as a draw the golf ball
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achieve a more stable neutral ball flight but you know switching the weights around having that that
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heavy weight in the back definitely gave me more consistency um but i would say in its low spin
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setting there was more forgiveness on offer than I was expecting. I think whether you
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opt for that setting will depend on a lot of different factors. Obviously, it depends
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on your own swing. Would low spin generally be helpful to you? Maybe you're quite a high
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spin player already and therefore knocking some RPMs off wouldn't be a bad thing. Is
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your attack angle down? Obviously, that will contribute to more spin and therefore something
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like this would really help you out. As a golfer that hits quite a lot up on the ball
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I don't necessarily want lower spin to get me more distance, but that said, the numbers
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would show that this driver did unlock more performance for me, or the most performance
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in its low spin setting. But for me, whether you opt for a low spin driver like this, I think it's actually quite
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course dependent. If your course is quite open and you can get away with those mishits and those offline
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drives more, then maybe a low spin driver could work for you
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So same with the longer shaft debate. If the course is quite open, you can get away with wider shots, but if your course is quite
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tight, for me, Pearly Park Golf Club here in Stanford, it's quite a tight course, tree-lined
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It's quite short as well, so I need more control than I do distance, so therefore a low spin
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setting isn't really overly beneficial. I think dragging that weight back and having a bit more spin, maybe sacrificing a few yards
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but finding a few more fairways would definitely help me out more than hitting the ball a little bit further That said if I swinging the driver really well I think there definitely a case for swapping those weights around having the heavyweight in the front and benefitting
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from that extra distance if you're hitting the centre of the face more often. If you're swinging it well, that's a really good option to have. That's why I think this Cobra Rad
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Speed Driver is quite versatile because you can set the driver up differently depending
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on the course and how you're playing and give you two quite different types of performance
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We've seen from the numbers how the difference in the RPM was significant in those two weight
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settings and therefore you've always got two drivers in one. You've got a low-spin bomb driver
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If you want to hit high bombs like Phil Mickelson, you can do that with this Radspeed driver
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in its low-spin setting. But then if you want a bit more control, you can switch those weights around and you're
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getting something that's a bit more stable while still looking nice and compact down
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behind the ball. So I think it's a really thoughtful offering from Cobra, really, really versatile as I
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And when you consider the price tag, £369, significantly cheaper than a lot of the mainstream brands on the market
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And this performance from this driver, I would say, is pretty comparable with those. I've not even been custom fitted for this driver
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Definitely, if you go through a custom fitting process, I think you'll unlock potentially even more performance from this driver than I did
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When you factor all those things in, as well as the Cobra Connect shot tracking system that comes included with this driver
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I think this is a mightily enticing package for the club golfer, especially when you consider
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in addition, those two other models to choose from. So the XB driver, if you want even more
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forgiveness, you can go for that one. If you want more slice correction, you've got that XD model
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as well. So really, really comprehensive package from Cobra. Looks fantastic, feels great
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Nice variety in the setups that are available to you, depending on what you are looking for
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from your driver. But for me, if I had to choose the driver and the setting that I'd go for
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It probably would be this Rad Speed Driver. I'd probably opt for the weight at the back
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just to give me a bit more stability initially, and then as I kind of got used to it, might think about having that heavy weight forward
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to give me a bit more distance. But in answer to the question, to start this video
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can you now get away with playing a low-spin driver? I'd say that definitely the potential has increased
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with the launch of this Rad Speed Driver, but do do it with caution
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because it won't be for everyone. Guys, I hope you enjoyed this video, and it's given you a good idea
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as to what the performance of this Rad Speed Driver is all about, how it compares with what came before
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and what drive a model might be best for you from the new range. I've really, really enjoyed my time testing
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this Radspeed driver. Do click the like button down below if you like what you're watching and comment on the video, tell me
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are you interested in hitting high bombs with low spin, or do you want a bit more control and accuracy
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on your drives? But that's all for me from Burley Park Golf Club here in Stamford
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I'll see you next time
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