50 Words or Less
Simply put, the Cobra King LTD fairway wood gave me the best and most consistent results I have ever experienced in a fairway wood.
Introduction
While I’m no stranger to Cobra’s fairway woods from the last decade or so, hitting the Cobra King LTD was a very new and unexpected experience for me. Based on where my game has been this year, I fully anticipated the King LTD fairway wood to be a solid club that I’d hit anywhere from 255 to 265 yards on the monitor at best – my typical 3 wood distance. I expected a general feel similar to the two generation old BiO CELL fairway wood, based on similar head size and shape. My expectations could not have been more wrong and what I found was one of the best performing fairway woods I have ever hit in my life.
Looks
One of the pillars of the Cobra King LTD woods is definitely their stunning looks. As mentioned in the King LTD driver review, I had never seen anything like these clubs in my life. The Spaceport on the bottom of the club is the first thing to grab your attention, nevermind the bright orange paint on the black surface. The Spaceport definitely creates a curiosity around the club and creates strong opinions. When I was testing the King LTD, an onlooker asked me, “Have any Ninja Turtles come out of that port yet?” Yes.
All jokes aside, the headshape is a bit larger compared to the Fly-Z+ and BiO CELL+ fairway woods that were heralded for their compact size, but we aren’t approaching mini-driver size quite yet. I’d say my comparison to the BiO CELL fairway wood shape and size is fairly accurate. The crown has the same subtle checkberboard pattern as the driver that you only see with the perfect lighting, so it’s not distracting at address.
Sound & Feel
The Cobra King LTD fairway wood had a much different sound than I initially expected, especially after hitting the King LTD driver. The sound had a lot more of a metallic tone in it whereas I expected it to have more of a muted “woody” slap, similar to that of the driver. Of course, all this said, it still has that “pop/thwack” sound we’re all looking for and sounds like the ball is absolutely exploding off of the face.
The overall feel of the King LTD is extremely forgiving, maybe even to a fault, but explosive. If anything, I think this area is the most subjective and could be the most polarizing amongst players using the King LTD fairway wood. Personally, I like the feel because it feels like I hit every shot great and the 3 wood is somewhere I really need that confidence. Low handicappers may feel like they aren’t getting the response they’re looking for on their mishits. As I said, overall, I think the feel is very good and feels like the ball is easily flying off the face.
Performance
Far and away, the performance testing was what sealed the deal for me with the Cobra King LTD fairway. Candidly, I’ve flat out never had numbers like I had with the King LTD, and I’ve never seen my high-end, or best shots, look like this with a 3 wood. We’re talking driver-esque numbers for me in the standard 14.5º setting. Looking at my numbers though, I see an interesting data point in that I’m getting about 25 yards of roll. While this is great for shots from the tee, or trying to make up distance on long holes (or duffed tee shots barely past the tee boxes), I may experience issues holding greens I try to hit in two. To get dialed in to make the King LTD a fairway wood a multi-faceted weapon, I’ll have to do more testing to find a balance.
I alluded to a mini-driver comparison earlier with the King LTD fairway wood. If the King LTD is this easy to hit and players can produce these kinds of numbers, there’s no reason they couldn’t put this fairway wood in the bag rather than a driver. To that point, my “best” shot with the King LTD fairway wood carried almost 274 yards and finished at over 300 yards. I’d take this shot with a driver any day, let alone a 3 wood.
The added value is that unlike many “mini-drivers,” the King LTD still plays well off the deck and in the rough. There haven’t been many “game changers” for me in equipment over the past decade, but I genuinely think the King LTD could be a club that changes how I approach the longer portion of my game.
Conclusion
I feel like I am easily impressed by well-made, solid performing products, but it’s not often that new golf equipment fully stops me in my tracks. The Cobra King LTD has been unlike any other fairway wood I’ve hit before where I feel like I’m cheating because of how easy it is to hit and the kinds of distances I’ve seen. Cobra is going to have some tough shoes to fill with their future lines, but I look forward to seeing their efforts.
Ninja Turtles
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Cobra King LTD Fwy LM - BEST
Cobra King LTD Fwy LM
Bill Bush
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I was given the Cobra King LTD 3-Wood as a Christmas gift and took it to the golf driving range and could not hit it at all; is this a golf club that requires a swing speed beyond 75-80 mph? The one I hit had a regular flex shaft.
Your question is fairly difficult to answer. There are a variety of reasons clubs are difficult to hit, so I’m not sure what your exact issue was so I can’t advise toward that. In regards to shaft flex and swing speed, there’s no perfect combination, but again, without knowing what “couldn’t hit at all” means, I can’t really answer you.
You were also impressed in your recent review of the Callaway 815 BB alpha fairway wood. Cam you please compare the two? Also are both stock shafts made-for or real deal? I ask because Cobra also offers a Rogue shaft as an up-charge and, concerning the Callaway, I have only seen the Speeder 665 on this club. Fuji has a 661on the website as aftermarket product, but no 665. Thanks.
I can’t say whether or not that Rogue in the Cobra is real deal or not. If you ask any OEM, they’ll say it is, but the truth is, it’s tough to know without getting machines and science involved. The stock Rogue Black is solid though. I believe the Speeder 665 is a made for shaft.
As far as comparing the two, I think the reviews speak for themselves. Both are good, I had better results with the Cobra.
I completely agree with your review. This FW is a game changer, I have not hit anything that was as easy for me to launch off the deck with such consistent results. I think the FW is the star of the Cobra King lineup.
It’s hard to say I disagree. I’m very smitten with the whole lineup right now, and have seen a lot of people having great results as well.
I’m still considering just playing a 3 wood and no driver.
Is the cobra LTD fairway wood just for the better player or can a high handy cap golfer benefit from it. how for giving is it. Thanks
That’s actually a tough question to answer. In my personal opinion, I find the LTD fairway wood to be very forgiving and easy to hit. Of course, having the right shaft plays a major role. That said, someone else may have a totally different experience. I don’t feel this is a “low handicap” only fairway wood, but I strongly advise testing it for yourself before making the investment (which is true for any club).
This is bye far the best wood out there. End of story
Let me put it to you this way…I considered deleting all of our fairway wood reviews and saying “this is the only one you need.”
Kidding of course. Glad you dig the club.
I greatly enjoyed your review, in no small part because it confirmed my own reaction to this club. My 3 wood had died and gone to it’s final resting place. I needed a new 3 wood. Like most of us here I use my 3 wood for driving on tight holes and for second shots on par 5’s.
I hit a number (6) of woods from all the usual suspects. It came down to two clubs (Nike and Cobra King) and I went with the King. The other Cobra fairways seemed to tall for me to hit comfortably from turf. The King FW was longer, straighter for me off the tee and off the turf. It was very easy to hit and I was getting driver like distance . I went with the Regular flex shaft as it felt easier to hit and distance / dispersion was similar. Being adjustable also helps. Right now I have it at 14.5 and am very happy.
What shaft did you test with?
Stock.
Interesting. I was lead to this review by one you did for the F6 hybrid wher you compared it to the inaccurate hybrids you found in one of your Myth articles (which I love BTW). You also did one about how the forgiveness of drivers makes them a better option off the tee for most, but some points in the review seem to contradict this.
Any thoughts?
Regardin the myth series, I ‘d love to see one about whether it is the head or the shaft that contributes to launch angle.
There’s a handful of things I don’t think you’re really considering here. First, there’s always exceptions to the rules and I think we’re pretty consistent in communicating that. Second, you always have to keep in mind when reading a review, “different strokes for different folks.” Most people are going to be better off the tee with a driver but some may not. That said, I’m still better off the tee with my driver than I am with this 3 wood, but I play this 3 wood better than I’ve played a 3 wood in recent history.
In terms of head or shaft contributing to launch angle, there isn’t too much to test there. The real answer is that it’s a combination of both along with a golfer’s unique swing. One combo is going to launch different for you than it will for me. We will likely never see the same results.
Glad you dig the Myth articles.
Bill, this IS the best fairway wood I’ve ever hit….
I just had a fairway wood fitting and I paired this with an Tour Green X (no charge upgrade) and the numbers were just silly. I had it set at 16.5 and hit it off a tee 289 carry…. The tester and I didn’t believe it but then the next 2 shots were 282 and 285 carry so that pretty much ended my fitting session! At the higher loft I was carrying the ball a good 15 yards farther and limiting roll to 10 yards or less which is ideally how I hope to use this club, so in this case lofting up was a HUGE benefit….
I don’t even know if I will ever hit my driver again! lol
This outperformed the XR16 FW by a solid 20 yards, which is just unreal…
Everyone should put this at the top of their list to test
*correction* I had it at 16 degrees
I bought a bio cell 5 wood last year and liked it so I bought a bio cell 4 hybrid. Then I found that I hit both of them around 180 carry distance off the ground and maybe 10 more off a tee. My driver carry distance is around 225 and rolls out further. I don’t have a three wood and I would like to replace the 5 wood with something 10 to 15 yds longer that is easy to hit off the ground.
I think that the head size of the cobra king Ltd 5 metal is close to the bio cell 3 metal and the shaft is .5 inches shorter. The 5 metal appeals to me because of starting at 16 degrees at going higher.
That said, is there much difference in the distances of the two King Ltd clubs?
I’m not really clear what you’re asking. Are you asking if there’s much of a difference in distances between 3 and 5 LTD woods? If so, of course there is, but what that difference is going to be will differ from player to player and how the club is setup for you.
Sorry, I was long winded and didn’t explain myself well. Of course I realize there is a difference, but both clubs can be set to 16 degrees . I would prefer the smaller head but don’t want to give up over 10% of the 3-4 distance. Is this reasonable? Did you have a chance to hit the 4-5?
Thanks in advance.
My current setup is a 3 and 5 wood LTD. My “target” number is about 20 yards difference. If you set the 3 wood to 16 degrees, it is going to close the face considerably as opposed to being neutral with the 5 wood.
Don’t know if that helps you at all. I think the best answer is you need to hit both of them on a monitor and see how they perform for you.
I am interested in purchasing one but other reviews have said that is too low launching and recommend getting the f6 or f7 instead. Do you agree? And if so would I be better going with a 4-5 instead of a 3-4 because of this reason? Thanks.
Chuck,
Unfortunately, Bill, who wrote this review, does not write for Plugged In Golf anymore. My generic – but good – advice would be to work with a fitter before making a purchase so that you know the club will work for you.
Best,
Matt
Hey Bill,
A question on an old review, I have the King LTD FW and I was considering trading for the Callaway Rogue. But after reading the reviews on both I really wonder if I’m spending money wisely. If you had to choose between the two what would you do? Thanks!
Todd,
Unfortunately, Bill no longer writes for PluggedInGolf. I didn’t test the LTD FW, but I can tell you that the Rogue is very impressive. That said, the wisest use of money is to get a fitting so you know the club you purchase will work for you.
Best,
Matt
I actually got fit and bought the Rogue X irons and hybrids. Also went with the Rogue driver. All amazing. I will A and B them this week as far as the fairway goes. Thanks!