Cobra King F8 Hybrid

Cobra King F8 Hybrid Review - Gear editor Joel Tadman reviews both the new Cobra King F8 and Cobra King F8 One Length hybrids

Cobra King F8 Hybrid Review

Cobra has made the same improvements to its Baffler rails on the hybrid as it has the fairway, moving them closer together to make them more effective, but also centering the CG a little more to improve clubhead stability, feel and distance.

The variable length hybrid is distinguished by its grey colouring, both on the sole and crown, which matches the other clubs in the King F8 range, while the One Length hybrid has a more traditional black colour scheme.

Both look inviting to hit and are pleasing in shape and size without looking chunky. The polymer trips of the 360Aero on the front of the crown do catch your eye initially, but lets not dwell on that too much.

The normal hybrid performed really well in dry ball GC2 testing off the range mat but it really comes into its own from bad lies in the rough. The rails genuinely assist in getting the club down and through the grass quickly to excavate the ball and get it airborne with the minimum of fuss.

GC2 data suggested the 19˚model we tested wasn’t especially high launching, with a launch angle of 14.9 peaking at 35 yards, but the average carry of 226 yards was more than enough and they were consistently around that number, which was pleasing to see. They missed left a little more than I would have liked, but many hybrids on today's market have this tendency.

Sadly, the same cannot be said of the One Length hybrid. It must be said – I am not a One Length iron set user, so the feeling of using a hybrid that was 7-iron in length was always going to be strange to me – it was a lot like using a junior club. Sure enough, I couldn’t keep my shots on the golf course (see below) – they were ducking straight left with ease and nothing I tried would straighten out the flight.

If you’re a One Length iron user, the transition from long iron to hybrid should be a seamless one with the added benefits of a hybrid over a longer, like forgiveness and general ease of ball striking, should make them an improved choice. As a normal iron set user, we just couldn’t get on with them.