Expert Review: Cobra LTDx LS Driver


All photos courtesy of Ryan C.
About this Review: This review is my honest opinion of the driver which I purchased with my own money in June of 2022.
My take
The Cobra LTDx LS Driver is geared more for the advanced player that likes to move the ball or for someone that hits it well but is looking for a little more distance out of their drivers. Whether that’s because I’m spinning the ball too much or I’m looking for a little more ball speed, this driver can deliver on both issues.
About the club I own
- Model: 2022 Cobra LTDx LS Driver
- Loft setting: 9 degrees
- Shaft type: HZRDUS RDX Blue
- Shaft flex: Stiff
About me
- Average score: 78
- Handicap: 3.9
- Experience: 25 years
- Right/Left-Handed: Right-handed
- Typical ball flight: Fade
- Golf ball used: ProV1x/Srixon Z-star Diamond
- Club swing speed: 106-110 mph
Test conditions
- When I bought the club: June 2022
- Days tested: 7
- Where I’ve used it: Driving Range, West Shore Golf and Country Club and other various courses in Metro Detroit (playing rounds and practicing Tee shots)
- Weather and wind conditions: No wind days, and with 5-10mph winds. both into the wind and downwind.
How it performs
What I was looking for
I felt like my old driver (Ping G425) was creating two-way misses for me, and I wasn’t getting the ball speed I should have been. I was also having a hard time controlling the spin with it, so I wanted something that was going to keep the spin down, and allow me to control the clubface more.
Why I chose this club
I bought this club because of its low spin and higher ball speed characteristics. The shape of the head also inspires some additional confidence, as it’s not quite as large as the G425.
I did consider the Ping G425 LS, but the head weight of that driver did concern me. I sometimes felt like my G425 Max felt too heavy in the head, and I didn’t want to go that route again and end up in the same boat. I also looked into the Callaway Rogue ST Max LS and Triple Diamond LS, but only one of those provided weight adjustment, and it was only one weight in the center behind the clubface. The overall look of the LTDx LS, and the total adjustability, are why I ultimately chose this driver.
What I love about it
- Distance: On average I’m driving the ball 10-15 yards further than the G425 Max.
- Feel: The feel of the driver is great. It doesn’t have any harsh feedback, even on the toe, heel, or low mishits.
- Sound: The sound is much more muted than the Ping driver. Even on mishits, the driver doesn’t sound harsh or pingy.
- Workability: The workability of this driver is great. I can easily move the ball left-to-right or right-to-left, and because the clubhead is slightly smaller, it makes it easier to hit the shot shapes needed.
- Adjustability: There is a great deal of adjustability from loft settings, draw settings, and moveable weights. There are two moveable weights behind the clubface – one heavier and one lighter weight each – to create either a neutral- or fade-bias setup. The adjustable sleeve allows me to move the loft +/- 1.5 degrees, as well as set it for draw bias. I’m currently using it at 9 degrees (std), with the heavy weight on the heel side and the light weight on the toe side.
- Shaft Feel: This is one of the best things I like about this driver. The RDX Blue shaft is counterbalanced and provides a great swing weight for the driver. The club doesn’t feel too heavy, or too light. The shaft loads nicely, and even though the mid section of the shaft is considered medium (with the butt and tip being stiff), I never feel like the shaft is stuck behind me, or releases too early.
- Shaft Performance: The RDX Blue is one of two counterbalanced shafts in the RDX lineup (the other is the Green, which is x-stiff from top to tip). The Blue fits those golfers who like to feel the shaft a little more when they load it. For me, this shaft is excellent. I can feel where the club is throughout my swing, and because of the counterbalance, the head doesn’t ever feel like it’s too heavy anywhere in the swing. The other benefit of the counterbalanced shaft is that I can add weight to the clubhead to get the exact swing weight I need, without too much work.
- Aesthetic Appeal: The look at address is good. It has a nice matte finish on the crown that doesn’t collect a lot of glare, and the size of the clubhead inspires confidence behind the ball. The head doesn’t look too large or too small. I would say this would appeal most to the golfers who like a more compact head shape.
- Grip Feel: I have the Golf Pride Z Cord grips in all of my clubs, so for me, this is what I’m used to feeling.
- Spin: One of the main reasons that I wanted to test, and ultimately bought, this driver is because of the low spin characteristics. With my Ping I was spinning the ball around 2400-2500 RPMs and on mis-hits, that would jump up into the mid 3000s. This head keeps me around 1900-2100 RPMs on normal strikes and even on mis-hits, keeps me under 2800 RPMs. Most golfers' sweet spot is keeping the spin around 2200 RPMs (depending on attack angle), which helps keep the ball up in the air without ballooning to help create as much carry as possible. I have an average angle of attack of about 3-4 degrees up, so I can stay around the 2000 mark and still achieve optimal carry distances.
Issues I’ve encountered
- Forgiveness: The forgiveness off the face is good, but I have noticed that hits on the toe will tend to over-draw the ball. The reason the forgiveness is less is because the weights are pushed forward towards the clubface. This does create more ball speed but also brings down the forgiveness a touch because the MOI is moved closer to the face instead of further back. However, even off the toe, the distance the ball travels is only about 10 yards shorter. So even my bad shots are as far as many of my good shots were from the G425 Max.
- Launch Angle: The launch angle can be low if hit off the bottom of the face, or way out on the toe. This will impact carry distances by a good margin. However, when struck near, or in the center of the face, the launch angles are what I would expect for my swing. Typically, I’m seeing launch angles around 14-17 degrees, with good strikes and as low as 11 with the bad low or far toe strikes.
Best shot with this club
So far, the best shot I’ve hit with this driver has to be the opening tee shot at my home course, West Shore Golf, and Country Club. The first hole is a 440-yard par 4, with the tee shot playing uphill to the fairway, with trees left, and a forced carry of 130 yards. There’s another creek that runs through the fairway 95-105 out from the green, which slopes back-to-front and right-to-left. With my old driver, I would consistently have around 160-180 yards into the green. With my new driver, I’ve been consistently finding myself around 140-150 yards into the green, and my best shot has been a 321-yard drive that finished just at the end of the fairway. This drive left me with only 108 yards into the green. Being able to hit this tight fairway, and have a decent yardage-in, definitely sets the tone for the round, and I’m now very confident hitting that first tee shot of each round.
Value for the money vs. other options
This driver competes price-wise with everything in its class. The Rogue ST Max LS, Triple Diamond LS, and the TaylorMade Stealth+, all came with higher price tags, with the Stealth being the only other option with movable weights. From a purely cost-to-value perspective, one can’t go wrong with the LTDx LS.
Final verdict
Overall I’m very happy with the way this driver plays. I feel like I can hit both draws and fades when needed, and also play it low or high. I’ve been extremely happy with how the ball travels through a headwind, and I can really tell that it doesn’t spin up too much, even when hitting fades. For the price and availability of stock shaft options, it’s hard to find another low-spin driver that can beat the LTDx LS out of the bag.
These clubs are featured in the Best Cobra Drivers. Check it out for more recommendations and reviews.
Cobra LTDx LS Driver
- We price match
- Returnable