Cobra King F8 Plus Fairway Wood Review

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The Cobra King F8 Plus fairway wood has a compact head shape with dual Baffler rails on its sole to make it versatile from any lie.

Introduction

Last season, Cobra did away with having two fairway woods in their lineup.  The 2018 line reintroduced two options to give players similar functionality in two different head shapes and sizes.   With a smaller head, the King F8 Plus fairway wood is designed to have “tour level workability” with increased shot versatility from the updated Baffler Dual Rail system on the sole.

Looks

Like the drivers, the Cobra King F8 Plus fairway wood is offered in the Nardo grey (pictured) or black options.  The Nardo grey finish gives a modest contrast between the topline and carbon crown that looks really slick behind the ball.  As mentioned before, the King F8 Plus has a more compact head shape that better players like in a fairway wood.

Cobra developed a new concept in the F8 woods called “360º Aero Technology.”  This is Cobra’s effort to make the head more aerodynamic by adding “polymer crown trips” to the crown and titanium trips to the sole.  While this has a performance function to increase speeds, it also has a significant visual presence.  Cobra did a great job introducing these textures while still keeping the overall look smooth.

Sound & Feel

A smaller head shape and lighter carbon crown have a strong impact on the sound of the Cobra King F8 Plus fairway wood.  The sound is a muted tone somewhere between “tink” and “snap.”  The corresponding feel has a little pop to it and feels very solid.  Cobra once again utilized their E9 face technology to expand the sweet zone of the face.  This allows the face to maintain its sound and feel further from the sweet spot.

The Baffler Dual Rail design also has a significant impact on the feel of the King F8 Plus.  Through the use of the Baffler rails, Cobra made the club head glide track better through the turf so you get more speed.  What I found was that these rails act like a railroad through the turf.  It feels like the Baffler rails get set in a groove and track through the ball.  Keep in mind the rails are shorter on the 3 wood and taller on the 5 wood.  I think a lot of players will benefit from it to help keep their fairway woods from getting squirrely.

Performance

As mentioned above, I felt like the Cobra King F8 Plus fairway wood’s Baffler rails acted like a railroad.  As a result of the rails, my shot tended to be dead straight.  Typically I have a little curl to my fairway woods, but the King F8 Plus was straight as an arrow.  While I can already hear the shot makers saying they need curve, the straight shot is way easier to control.  I’ll take that flight any day in a fairway wood.  Does this mean you can’t slice or hook a ball?  Absolutely not, but my experience was that straight lines were easily achieved.

All of this talk so far about “railroads,” tracking, and straight lines brings me perfectly to my next point.  Cobra designed the Baffler rails to be spaced tighter around the CG.  Through this design, Cobra was able to make the King F8 Plus more consistent and stable by reducing twist at impact.  My experience was that Cobra achieved this goal successfully and the F8 Plus was extremely stable.  Reducing may even be an understatement.  I don’t have scientific data to support my claims, but it feels as if there’s zero twist at all.

One other performance note is about the King F8 Plus’s center of gravity (CG).  The King F8 Plus has a shallower face and a forward sole weight to keep the CG low and forward.  This design is supposed to give the F8 Plus a lower penetrating ball flight with less spin.  My testing showed that Cobra achieved this goal.  My spin numbers were lower than some drivers I’ve tested, and I have a piercing mid flight.

Cobra Connect – Powered by Arccos

Cobra‘s making a big push this season to integrate more technology into their clubs.  Working alongside Arccos, Cobra is the first major manufacturer to seamlessly integrate shot tracking into their grips.  This integration gives golfers the ability to automatically collect stats like longest drive, average  distance and number of fairways hit.  Cobra Connect even offers tips for optimizing your weight and loft settings based on your data.  This has been a fun feature, and I’m looking forward to seeing Arccos throughout the rest of the Cobra lineup.  Learn more about Cobra Connect here.

Conclusion

I’m glad Cobra reintroduced the “Plus” model to their fairway wood lineup.  The King F8 Plus’s compact head shape will be much more appealing to better players.  Unfortunately, we’re not all perfect ball strikers and could use a little help even if we love that compact head.  Thankfully the new Baffler Rails make the King F8 Plus consistent and reliable to help you score better with your fairway woods.

Buy the Cobra KING F8 Plus FW HERE

Cobra King F8 Plus Fairway Wood Price & Specs

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Bill Bush

Co-Founder
Bill is a true golf gear nerd by definition who loves making custom club creations in his garage with tools like sledge hammers, blow torches, and his bare hands. By day, Bill is a technology manager living in the Chicago suburbs with his wife and kids. Bill plays Scott Readman Concepts putters and accessories.

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7 Comments

  1. Rick Talley
    February 15, 2018 at 1:26 pm  ·  Reply

    The 3 wood is one of my favorite clubs to hit. I know; that’s not generally the case, and a lot of folks avoid it like the plague. Since I like hitting the 3 wood, and am a senior that still can and like to play from the championship tees, I’ve tried many a 3 wood. My current gamer is the Cobra F7. I, too, think the rails make a difference in making solid contact. My question: I like the smaller profile of the F8+ you just reviewed, but am wondering how much forgiveness will I be giving up moving from the F7? Thanks!

    • Bill Bush
      February 15, 2018 at 1:31 pm  ·  Reply

      I don’t know if it’s exactly measurable scientifically without doing a bunch of testing with LM data, but the simple answer is that you will indeed be giving up forgiveness and the ball will launch lower and spin less. I’m not saying it’s unhittable, it’s just going to be a different shot.

  2. James Dailey
    September 2, 2018 at 1:13 pm  ·  Reply

    Bill, it would seem that the f8+ in the 5 wood would be a really good option for a better player who wants a 5wood that doesn’t balloon?

    • Matt Saternus
      September 3, 2018 at 11:46 am  ·  Reply

      James,

      Bill is no longer writing for PIG, but, based on some of my own testing, I would say that the F8+ is certainly one of many good FWs this year.

      Best,

      Matt

  3. Rod Doubled
    September 11, 2018 at 4:28 pm  ·  Reply

    Do you know the head size of the f8+ fairways?

  4. Rod doubled
    September 14, 2018 at 7:42 am  ·  Reply

    I found out from cobra tge f8+ is 148cc and the regular f8 is 165cc.

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