Cobra S3 Max Iron Set Product Review
- July 10, 2012, 12:12 am
- admin
- In Cobra Golf Clubs, Golf Clubs
Cobra S3 Max Iron Set Product Review
Average golfers these days have heard practically every gimmick in the book when it comes to new iron sets. Gain 20 more yards of distance today! Hit the straightest shots of your life when you buy this iron set! The list goes on and on, with the same thing occurring over and over again for everything from golf gloves to gadgets. While technology has allowed golfers to hit the ball farther and more accurate today than in the past, what really matters more than anything else is confidence. If you feel confident swinging the golf club in your hand and it feels comfortable, you will play better golf, period. One iron set that really stands out to me when it comes to being a “confidence booster” is the Cobra S3 Max iron set.
What exactly does it mean for a golf club to be a confidence booster? Two things, the golf club needs to provide a fair amount of accuracy/forgiveness, and also needs to provide good distance as well in any lie. The Cobra S3 Max iron set fits both of these areas very well, which is somewhat surprising given that Cobra is more known for their drivers than their iron sets. Even more strange is the fact that the iron set is comprised of both hybrids and irons, all being stainless steel in nature. While Adams Golf may be known on the market today as having some of the best hybrid clubs around, Cobra certainly gives them a run for their money with this iron set.
The first thing that will strike you when looking at the golf clubs the first time is their design. The iron set as a whole has a sleek, low profile design to it that makes it easier to simply focus on hitting the golf ball as opposed to making sure the clubhead lines are aligned correctly with the ball, and so on. It is a no-frills iron set that really puts Cobra in a leading direction moving forward. However, as we all know, one simply cannot judge a book by its cover, and the same applies to iron sets as well. A sleek design is a good start, but how do the golf clubs actually perform out on the golf course?
Quite well I would say. What truly gives this iron set the label of “confidence booster” is the amount of forgiveness that the clubs provide in practically any kind of situation out on the golf course. Whether it is the hybrids or the irons, all of them allow for one to mishit the ball to a fairly large degree while providing a good amount of accuracy and distance to boot. What I was most impressed with when it came to the Cobra S3 Max iron set was how the clubs performed out of the rough. We have all had those situations out on the course where we hit a good drive that somehow ends up in the rough, and then we mishit the next shot out of the rough, leading to a terrible hole and day overall. With this iron set, one can easily turn it around into a great hole an day instead, as even though one may not get the contact that they want out of the rough every time, this iron set has enough forgiveness to keep the ball going in the right direction and with distance as well.
Accuracy is one thing, but distance is another, and the Cobra S3 Max iron set performs well in this category as well, both out of the rough and in the fairway as well. What I liked most about the set was that every club seemed to provide a high launch, which is great for average golfers who may be struggling to get the ball in the air or who hate hitting high irons. The distance is very comparable to what one would find in iron sets that are nearly double the price, and then some. Cobra has done a lot to give their drivers a great amount of distance, and they have seemingly put that into their irons so that every shot just jumps off of the clubface.
If you simply want to enjoy the game of golf more and stop worrying about playing so badly, be sure to give the Cobra S3 Max iron set a try. Who knows, you may actually find yourself wanting to play golf even more once you have played a round or two with these.
Take a look at some great deals on new and used Cobra S3 Max Iron Sets.
Maxfli U/4 Golf Ball Reviews
- May 18, 2012, 1:01 pm
- admin
- In Golf Balls
Let’s face it, when it comes to tour-performance golf balls, one of the last places we would think about getting them from is Maxfli. No offense to them but their golf balls have mostly been geared to those who are mid-handicappers. However, that may have changed with the new golf balls that Maxfli has rolled out recently. They are called the U Series golf balls, and start from U/2 all the way up to U/4, with the latter one being the best that they have to offer. Here is a description of the new U/4 golf ball:
“The right golf ball for you is the one that will help lower your score. The new U/4 and U/4x are engineered with 4 layers to lower scores through providing the perfect combination of distance, spin and feel. The U/4 provides increased short game spin, a softer feel and excellent distance. The U/4x spins less, has a slightly firmer feel and launches lower for longer overall distance. With the Maxfli U/4 and U/4x, we’ve got U covered for lower scores.”
Golf companies always seem to over-hype their products, so are these new golf balls worth getting or should one just stick to the Titleist/Taylormade/Callaway/Bridgestone balls that are known for giving great performance? What follows is my overall review after having played a few rounds with them.
Positive
One of the things about the ball that first caught my attention came at the first hole that I played them on. It was a short par 4 and after a good tee shot I had a wedge shot in. I usually put a lot of spin on the ball with my wedges and get a decent amount of spin out of a Pro V1, but I was pleasantly surprised with the spin I got out of the Maxfli U/4 golf ball. I watched the golf ball go past the hole and then spin back about 10 inches, and that’s when I knew that this ball was the real deal. It wasn’t just wedge shots either. I was able to get a good amount of spin with my irons as well, and even fairway wood shots landed softly on the green and didn’t roll out as much as I thought they would have.
When it came to the short game, I found the Maxfli U/4 to be very comparable with the Pro V1 when it came to chipping and putting. The ball has a great feel to it when putting on the green and the ball itself features a helpful line on it to help line putts up. The ball checked up when I wanted it to when chipping as well, which is surprising given that I usually was never able to get a Maxfli golf ball to do so in the past.
Negative
It is not really a huge negative or anything, but I found that I got less distance with both the driver and the irons with these golf balls as opposed to ones in a similar price range such as the Pro V1 and Hex Tour. Generally it was between 5-10 yards with the driver and just under five yards approximately with the irons.
Overall
Overall I was very surprised with how well the Maxfli U/4 golf ball played. Both the spin and feel are great, with only a minor issue in regards to distance. It is a golf ball that definitely puts the company back on the map as far as I’m concerned, and if you are one of those golfers who is looking for something new I would certainly recommend giving this ball a try.
Taylormade R11S Driver Review
- April 9, 2012, 12:12 pm
- admin
- In Golf Clubs, TaylorMade Golf Clubs
Is the Taylormade R11S worth all of the hype that it has been getting recently?
Practically every PGA Tour event that is shown on television features either this or the Rocketballz fairway wood, so Taylormade must be doing something right in order to have so much commercial time, right? In those commercials for the R11S driver there are numerous PGA Tour professionals that supposedly have gained ten yards or more by switching to the club, and supposedly amateur golfers can get just as much if not more distance by using it as well. I tried out the club for a few rounds a couple of weeks ago, and what follows is my overall review of it.
The Taylormade R11S driver has a large 460cc clubhead that is white on top to make it look bigger, thus giving increased confidence for golfers. What makes the club stand out from the rest though is the three different adjustments one can make to it; these include a loft adjustment up to 1.5 degrees, movable weights that can be put on the heel or toe to make the ball go left or right, and a face angle adjustment up to 3 degrees.
Positive
To be honest, I didn’t think there would be much of a difference when changing some things around, but boy was I surprised when hitting it out on the range for the first time. I estimated about a 30 yard difference of going from one end to the other with all three adjustments, so if anyone has a hook or a slice and is looking to minimize it as much as possible this is certainly the club to do it. The white clubhead certainly inspires confidence when getting ready to tee off, and I would say a fair bit more than a regular black clubhead would.
Aside from all of the adjustments and appearance, this is a really good driver that provides a great amount of distance off the tee. I play a Taylormade Burner with a draw bias to it, and with the R11S I was averaging about 15 yards by it so there was a significant difference between the two.
Negative
There are only two minor negatives associated with the Taylormade R11S driver. The first is that it will take a while to figure out what combination of adjustments to use to get maximum distance off the tee, and it can be a bit frustrating trying to do it on your own. More likely than not you will have to go to a golf retail store in order to do all of the adjustments. Another negative comes in regards to the price, at about $400. I know that is what new drivers normally go for nowadays, but for someone who does not have an open wallet to buy golf clubs it can be a bit much.
Overall
Overall the Taylormade R11S is a great golf driver that certainly lives up to expectations. Not only does it inspire confidence on the tee box, but can also fix practically any consistent mishit, whether to the right or to the left. I would recommend waiting a bit for the price of it to go down, or even getting one slightly used as it is pretty expensive right now. Make sure to get all of the adjustments done when you buy it at the golf store so that you won’t have to constantly go back to make adjustments.
Take a look at some great deals on new and used Tayolor Made R11S golf drivers.
Taylormade Rocketballz Golf Balls Review
- March 15, 2012, 11:11 am
- admin
- In Golf Balls
Taylormade Rocketballz Golf Ball Review
I am sure most of us have seen the commercial with PGA Tour players wondering what Rocketballz were and then hitting the fairway wood a gazillion yards in order to impress us enough to buy them. However, there haven’t been any commercials as far as I’ve seen about the actual balls themselves, and this article will provide a review of them.
Taylormade gives the following description of the golf balls: “A soft and fast REACT™ core formulation and new SPEEDMANTLE™ produces insane velocity and added irons spin for all swings. The RocketBallz golf ball has a thin and soft Lothane cover for great feel and added spin around the greens.” Does it add up to all that has been said about it? Yes and no.
Positive
One thing that it does have going for it is distance. For less than $30 a dozen at most major retail outlets this ball gets a lot of distance both off the tee and in the fairway. It is not as long as the more expensive Titleist Pro V1 or Bridgestone B330 are, but for its price you really beat what it has to offer. I would say that it is very similar to the Callaway Warbird and Titleist NXT golf balls, in that they offer good distance for the price.
Another positive I found in regards to this golf ball is the feel that they have around and on the green, especially when it came to faster greens. There are quite a few course where I live that have greens that are around 11 or 12 on the stimp meter, and it is important to get the right speed on each putt to avoid three putting all day. What I liked about the Taylormade Rocketballz was that I could get a better feel for the greens and was a lot closer with my putts than I normally was with using say a Titleist NXT or something. When it came to bump and run chips as well the ball was pretty much spot on every time, landing exactly where I wanted it to and rolling right up near the pin every time.
Negative
The first negative comes in regards to the spin that the Taylormade Rocketballz golf ball advertises for irons. While I did get some spin with the wedges out on the course there was little to no spin at all when it came to the mid or high irons or even fairway woods into greens. Maybe it is because I don’t have the most up-to-date clubs, I don’t know, but they did not have very much spin on them at all when I played a few rounds with these golf balls. Also, I expected to have at least a decent amount of spin when it came to the 50 yard knockdown shots but I was disappointed when they didn’t really spin back all that much.
Overall
Overall the Taylormade Rocketballz golf ball offers good distance and average spin for its price. If you like playing with the Callaway Warbird, Titleist NXT, or Bridgestone E6 I would recommend trying this golf ball for a round or two to see if it can improve your game. Unless you have brand new golf clubs I wouldn’t expect to get too much spin on the greens, especially with the mid irons going up. I believe the greatest benefit of this golf ball has to do with putting, as it provides a great feel and will certainly help with distance control. Most of us could use all the help we can get with the putter, and the Taylormade Rocketballz golf ball offers a good solution.
Take a look at some more great deals on new and used Rocketballz Golf Balls.
Ping G20 Hybrid Golf Club Reviews
- February 23, 2012, 1:01 pm
- admin
- In Golf Clubs, Hybrids, Ping Golf Clubs
One brand that has really been climbing the ranks in my book over the past few years is Ping, especially with their hybrids. They don’t have the same airtime as Callaway and Taylormade do, but don’t let that take away from the fact that they have some really solid golf clubs. One of the clubs that I played a few rounds with was the Ping G20 Hybrid, and what follows is my honest review of it.
Positive
The Ping G20 Hybrid is one of the best hybrids out on the market today, period. I don’t usually say that about many golf clubs, but this hybrid is the real deal when it comes to performance and feel. If you have ever tried out the G15 hybrid, the updated G20 has some subtle differences to it that really enhances the club. The most important difference in my view is that more bounce was added to the club to make it more consistent in any lie.
The main negative I had about the G15 model was that it wasn’t very good out of the rough as opposed to similar clubs on the market, but Ping has seemingly fixed this with the G20. It doesn’t matter whether I am hitting it out of the rough, fairway bunker, hardpan, or whatever, I get the same great contact every time. The golf ball just shoots off of the club.
Another difference is that the G20 has a higher launch angle, which is really great for those who need to hit a shot at a 3 iron distance but want it to land like a 9 iron. Not only does it have a high launch angle, but low spin as well to help stop the ball on the green faster. I usually play from the blue tees at local golf courses, and many of the par 3’s in the area require a shot of about 200 yards or so to reach the green. With the Ping G20, instead of having to pull out a 3 iron and try to run it up as close to the flagstick as I can, I can instead go right at it knowing that the ball will land softly. The increased confidence that it gives on longer par 3’s is fantastic to say the least.
Lastly, another great positive I found in regards to the Ping G20 was around the greens. For those of you who like to be more creative when playing rounds of golf, the G20 provides a great option for a ball that is up against the second and third cuts of rough, and also where there is a lot of green to work with. There was a par 5 where I hit a good second shot that landed about 15 yards in front of the green, and with the pin all the way it the back it is usually difficult for me to get it all the way back there with a wedge. Instead, I used a chipping motion with the Ping G20 and it rolled smoothly across the green about six feet from the cup. The G20 not only offers great performance from the fairway, but also around the green if you are willing to give it a try.
Negative
The only real negative that I found when it came to the Ping G20 hybrid was that it had a tendency to draw from a normal lie. I normally play a fade so it was beneficial to my game, but for those who already draw the golf ball it may turn into a hook using this club.
Conclusion
Overall I would give the Ping G20 Hybrid 4 ½ stars out of five. The performance is great out of practically any lie you could imagine, and the high launch angle allows one to land the ball softly on the green and not have to worry about it rolling off. I would especially recommend it to those who may be struggling a bit with the long irons and are looking to change it up a bit.
Take a look at some great deals on new and used Ping G20 Hybrid Golf Clubs.
Taylor Made’s new R11S Driver
- January 12, 2012, 2:02 pm
- admin
- In Drivers, TaylorMade Golf Clubs
Taylor Made Golf has release details on their new driver, the R11S. The new R11S is larger, quicker, more adjustable and longer than the original R11 driver. The 460cc white finished head is powered by a new 5-sided ASP plate, new 1.5º FCT sleeve and movable weights. With 3D Tuning, you can independently tune loft, face angle and flight path your swing.
R11S Features:
• Tune loft up or down by 1.5° with Flight Control Technology (FCT)
• Tune the face to one of five angles (±3°) with Adjustable Sole Plate (ASP) Technology
• Tune the center of gravity toward the heel or toe with Movable Weight Technology (MWT)
• 460cc titanium head with Thick-Thin Crown design for lower CG
• Inverted Cone Technology (ICT) promotes more ball speed on off-center hits
• White non-glare crown and black clubface for easy alignment
Take a look at some great deals on new and used Tayolor Made R11S golf drivers.
Top Flite Gamer V2 Golf Balls
- January 3, 2012, 3:03 pm
- admin
- In Golf Balls
Product Review: Top Flite Gamer V2 Golf Balls
Having tried the first version of the Top Flite Gamer golf balls and really liking them, I was excited to learn that Callaway (which owns Top Flite) had decided to come out with a new version of the golf ball. The Gamer V2 still features dimple in dimple aerodynamics and is a three piece golf ball. The changes that were made to the ball include a new DuPont mantle layer to increase distance and add greater feel. Changes were also made to the core and outer layer to increase feel and durability, which were severely lacking in their first version of the Top Flite Gamer golf balls. Here is my review of the new Top Flite Gamer V2 golf balls.
Positive
Similar to the first version, the second version of these golf balls have fantastic distance. The distance is actually comparable to golf balls that are more than twice the price of these, and that is really something remarkable. I couldn’t believe the distance I was getting out of the golf balls, especially off the tee. For the woods and irons as well from the fairway, the distance was still very close to that of a Pro V1 Tour iS golf balls.
Another positive came in regards to the short game. Much emphasis was made upon improving the feel of the golf ball to make it softer for the second version, and one can truly notice the difference when trying out the two versions side by side. When it came to chipping the ball would check up nicely on practically every shot. One almost never sees an inexpensive golf ball checking up like it is supposed to on the green, and it is truly refreshing to find one that does. Whether it was a lob, flop, bump and run, you name it, the golf ball would come to a rest quickly every time. I also noticed that the golf ball had a very soft feel coming off the putter, and it really inspired confidence when it came to the shorter putts.
Negative
One of the main negatives I found when reviewing the first version of the Top Flite Gamer golf ball was that it did not have sufficient spin for mid or long iron shots. Unfortunately the same can be said of the second version as well. When it came to shots with a 4 iron one should expect that the golf ball should stop fairly quickly and not keep rolling on the green. There were quite a few shots on the golf course where I would hit the high iron and when the ball hit the green it just kept rolling and rolling. It was truly frustrating watching the ball roll of the green many times after hitting a shot that landed near the flag. When it came to the short irons the golf ball would simply stop wherever it hit, which can be a good or bad thing depending on one’s particular golf game. My golf game revolves around getting a good amount of spin for these types of shots, so the golf ball performed below average in this area as well.
Overall
Overall the Top Flite Gamer V2 golf ball is one of the best low price golf ball alternatives out there on the market today. They have made many positive improvements with the golf ball since version one, especially ramping up the soft feel of the ball when it comes to the short game. The golf ball still performed below average when it came to spin for short and long iron shots, but that is what one should expect from low priced golf balls. The Top Flite Gamer V2 golf ball is certainly one of the best bang for your buck options out there when it comes to golf balls.
Take a look at some more great deals on new and used Top Flite Gamer V2 Golf Balls.








