Golf Monthly reader Lawrence Stocker enjoys a full driver-to-wedge custom-fitting as part of our ‘2017 Smarter Ways to Lower Scores’ project with Cobra Golf…
Cobra Golf Smarter Ways to Lower Scores 2017
Name: Lawrence Stocker
Handicap: 17.4
Home Club: The Oxfordshire GC, Oxfordshire
Lawrence’s Cobra Golf custom-fitting hopes and goals “I’m looking forward to the Cobra Smarter Ways to Lower Scores programme as, after 12 years of playing 'casual' golf, I have finally decided to dedicate myself to becoming the best golfer I can be. Starting last year with the Winter League, I have already managed to drop two shots off my handicap and am looking forward to putting in the work required to progress my game even further this year.
"I’m keen to learn about the latest Cobra equipment, to really understand my swing and to find the clubs that will best suit that swing. Probably the weakness in my game is 100 yards and in, so it will be good to see what the difference might be with custom-fit clubs.”
Monday 24th July 2017: progress report Video story: Check out Lawrence's most recent progress from our catch-up at a Europro Tour Pro-Am in late July at Luton Hoo...
Tuesday 6th June 2017: progress report
"It's been a busy period of golf for me over the past six to eight weeks since the clubs arrived. After the initial few weeks of getting used to the Cobra King F7 One-Length irons I'd been fitted for, I've seen a dramatic improvement in my consistency.
"I've enjoyed a T2nd finish in the two-day Spring Meeting competition; a 4&3 victory in my first club match for The Oxfordshire vs Woburn Men's team; and a T1st in the May Monthly Medal. I've also just got back from a golf trip to Abu Dhabi where I shot a personal best 82 (+10) around Yas Links, which I was really happy about. My handicap has been cut by 0.6 in this time and hopefully will continue to drop over the summer.
"I've really enjoyed the One-Length irons which have been both long and forgiving (exactly what I'm look for), with the 5- and 6-irons in particular a huge improvement on my previous irons. The Cobra King Ltd Driver which I was fitted has given me some pretty impressive results too with a low penetrating ball flight - very useful around The Oxfordshire where the wind is always blowing!
"I've struggled a little with the 3-hybrid, which I can't seem to keep low enough to get the distance required from a 3-iron replacement, and the One-Length gap wedge, which I find the most difficult to set up for in my One-Length clubs.
"But overall, I'm really happy with the improvement in my game and am looking forward to seeing further improvements over the summer."
Monday 13th March 2017
Driver-to-wedge custom-fitting session at Silvermere Golf & Leisure, Surrey
Fitted by Joe Folker, Cobra Golf Brand Experience Manager…
Driver - Cobra King Ltd MO 10.5˚, Aldila Rogue 60g stiff shaft “The 3-wood was going about 235 in total, so we had to make sure we had a driver that went at least that far through the air, so he had a good gap in his bag.”
3/4-wood – Cobra King F7 15.5˚, HZRDUS Yellow stiff shaft, back weight, black “With the 3-wood, at one point we had the issue that it was almost going too far! So we had to fine-tune the loft to make sure he was dialled in correctly.”
3/4-hybrid - Cobra King F7 19˚, HZRDUS Black 85 6.0 stiff shaft “We gapped him from how far his 5-iron was going, and then got a hybrid that went the perfect distance as his next club. So there was no need for a 4-iron as that would have been redundant.”
Irons 5-GW - Cobra King F7 One True Temper King F7 stiff shaft, standard length, standard lie “With his irons, the one thing he struggled with was dispersion – he was very inconsistent. So we tried the One-Length concept in our F7 iron as it’s designed around consistency and a better dispersion, which Lawrence enjoyed instantly.”
Wedges – Cobra King Versatile 54-10, 58-08 “His feedback was that his short game is the weakest part of his game, so we’ve simplified things for him so that he has a 54˚ and a 58˚ in the Versatile bounce option.”
Grips: Cobra Whiteout (except CONNECT grip on driver), +2 layers of tape under right hand
Lawrence’s feedback “My first custom-fitting was great. Joe talked me through what I should be expecting in terms of yardages right the way through from driver to wedge. I wanted to come into this without having a preconceived idea of what clubs I wanted to use, so kept my mind open to anything that would help my game, and it seemed One-Length did help.
"My aim is to get down to 13 or 12 this year, and my overall aim is to get down to single figures, though I appreciate it will take some time before I’m able to do that. But I’m excited to see where I do go now that I’ve got equipment tailor-made to my game.”
