Equipment launch season is well and truly upon us and I have gotten my hands on the new Darkspeed X driver from Cobra. I had been interested to see the new Darkspeed range since my colleague Dan Parker returned from a Cobra press trip where he got a sneak preview and was very impressed. So let's take a look and see if the Darkspeed X can rival the best golf drivers of 2024.
Out of the box, first impressions were excellent with the all matte black profile giving a seriously sophisticated appearance. The headcover is a thing of beauty too, continuing the all black visual and adding a touch of class with some high quality embossed logos.
Down behind the ball, the Darkspeed X looks very neat and tidy. The head is exceptionally clean with only a subtle Cobra logo and carbon highlights to compliment the pure simplicity and minimalism of the crown. In terms of the visual Cobra has created here, less is very much more and I'm fully on board.
The lack of accent colors and graphics makes the Darkspeed X look a little more compact than it actually is, which may deter some but really suited my eye. The aesthetic really makes you feel you have a really premium driver in your hands.
From a tech point of view it would be a lie to say that the Darkspeed X is a significant leap forward from the Aerojet driver, but in terms of performance, the Darkspeed X ticked a lot of my boxes.
I tested both on the course at the beautiful Saunton Golf Club and indoors with the help of a Trackman 4 launch monitor and Titleist Pro V1x golf balls, and the data was excellent.
Launch and spin sat perfectly in the mid-windows that I look for at around 11 degrees and the 2300rpm mark, and the ball speed was just as impressive as its predecessor the Aerojet, coming in at approximately 173mph.
The results were a really neutral ball flight with no noticeable curvature bias and the perfect blend of enough spin to make it feel safe, but not too much to negate the impressive ball speed.
If you are looking for a really low spinner, then you might want to check out the Darkspeed LS driver from the same family, but for me the X hit the perfect notes of power with playability.
The sound and feel are very similar to the Aerojet, which is no bad thing given the popularity and success of that range. Not too loud, but enough feedback and decibels to let you know you’ve given something a good whack!
With all that in mind, and with the masses of loft and face angle adjustability that Cobra gives you with the hosel, this driver will be accessible to a broad range of players.
Cobra had a really tough task following the Aerojet, and whilst this is more evolution than revolution, I think it has got it spot on. It has taken an already excellent framework and, in my opinion at least, just refined the look into a more sophisticated package.
