Cobra King SpeedZone Driver Review

After setting the bar high in 2019 with the wildly popular F9 Speedback driver, we knew Cobra King would have to deliver another outstanding driver in 2020 to maintain their top-tier status.  Cobra King answered the call with the King SpeedZone driver.  The SpeedZone driver picks up where the F9 Speedback driver left off by continuing Cobra King’s theme of producing maximum club head speed through the swing and ball speed off the tee.  The club’s design was evidently inspired by a speedy race car, as it includes features like a titanium chasis, it’s heavily focused on aerodynamics, and even appears to have dual tailpipes exiting the back of the club head.  We put the Cobra King SpeedZone to the test at the range and during nearly a dozen rounds.  Let’s find out how it did!

Key Features:

• CNC Milled Infinity Face with carbon wrapped crown
• MyFly hosel loft adjustment settings with standard and draw flight options
• Changeable front and back under-weighting
• Cobra Connect powered by Arccos

Testing Specs:

• 9.0 – 12 degree loft setting (preset at 10.5 degrees)
• 460cc club head size
• Mitsubishi Tensei Blue 65 Stiff Flex shaft (weight: 67 grams)
• Weights: 14g forward, 2g back

Cobra King SpeedZone Driver Breakdown

Design:

The SpeedZone club head offers two color design options in a preset 9 or 10.5 degree loft:

1. We reviewed the black with yellow color accents, and a glossy polished finish
2. Black with white color accents, and a matte finish

We tested the 10.5 preset loft club.  With the easy to use MyFly hosel adjustment, the club has 8 launch options: 10.5 standard, 10.5 draw, 11.5 standard, 11.5 draw, 12.0 standard, 9.0 standard, 9.5 standard, and 9.5 draw.  I tested out various settings, but found the standard 10.5 setting to be the preferred setting.  It’s a nice feature to be able to quickly adjust the setting in seconds on the course.

Similar to previous Cobra King drivers, the SpeedZone comes with two moveable weights to allow the golfer to tailor their launch angle.  The club is preset with a 14g weight in the forward setting and a 2g weight in the back setting, but they can be easily swapped.  I found a noticeable difference in the increased launch angle by moving the 14g weight to the back setting, but preferred the preset weighting for the lower launch angle and additional distance.  I would have liked to see the club offer additional weights that could be swapped on to the club.  Also, the weights from the 2019 Cobra King Speedback driver do not fit the moldings for the new 2020 SpeedZone driver.  So any additional weights need to be purchase from Cobra King’s website at $25 each.

From a technical standpoint, their are numerous design features that are meant to provide additional club head speed through the ball.  The most notable (and my favorite) feature is the milled infinity club face that wraps around the entire face of the club.  This is meant to increase the milled area of the face by 95% and provide a larger sweet spot zone. If nothing else, it provides added protection to the club for the miss-hits that are too far under or above the ball.

Finally, the club provides various stock shaft options, ranging from Extra Stiff to Lite from four different manufacturers.  This provides golfers with many options to find their preferred shaft flex and weight.

Feel:

The great Arnold Palmer summed up golf perfectly in his quote “Golf is a game of inches.  The most important are the 6 inches between your ears.”  So, if you can find a club that gives you the mental confidence to swing hard down the fairway, that should be a critical factor in evaluating any golf club.  The weight, look, and feel of the Cobra King SpeedZone exude confidence.  I love the overall feel of this club and the small King Cobra logo above the sweet spot of the face helps provide the added confidence as I approach the ball and set the club behind the tee.

At contact, the club feels very solid through the ball.  The sound is a very satisfying thump as the ball launches off the tee.  Overall, it’s a highly enjoyable club to strike.

Distance:

When I evaluate the distance of the driver, it’s important to keep it in context of my expectations.  A great drive for me is down the fairway between 250 – 270 yards, excluding wind and terrain factors.  I have been playing with the 2019 Cobra King F9 Speedback driver for the past year.  My expectation for the 2020 Cobra King SpeedZone was the distance to be at least as far as the 2019 F9 Speedback.  And that’s precisely what it delivered.  While I did not notice a considerable distance increase with the SpeedZone, the forgiveness (see below) of the SpeedZone driver was noticeably better than the F9 Speedback.  Additionally, on drives with my best sweet spot contact the SpeedZone did add a modest level of distance (10 to 20 yards).

Forgiveness:

I’ve mentioned that the infinity milled club face design is my favorite feature of the Cobra King SpeedZone driver and the most notable improvement from Cobra King’s 2019 Speedback driver.  By increasing the milled portion of the club face by 95% and providing a bigger sweet spot, I found the club to be more forgiving.  Also, the adjustable weights and loft angles of the club helped me to fine-tune my preferred settings in order to reduce my ball spin rate and greatly reduce the frequency of a slice.   Once I had the club adjustments dialed in, it produced a more consistent subtle fade from left to right.  Due to the excellent forgiveness of this club, I plan to keep it in the bag for a while as my go-to driver!

Cobra Connect:

The BustedWallet team reviewed the Cobra Connect powered by Arccos a few years back during the review of the Cobra King F7 driver.  Cobra Connect helps golfers track the results of each drive through an app on their phone.  While the functionality and the phone app appear to have been updated and marginally improved, our previous thoughts were affirmed: it’s a fun tool to play with and monitor your personal results.  However, the biggest knock on the feature is that your cell phone must remain in your pocket during play.  As phones have gotten bigger and heavier in recent years, this has become more of an issue for some golfers.  Personally, I could not get comfortable with a phone in my pocket and therefore used this feature only minimally.

 Value:

At a stock price of $449.99, the Cobra King SpeedZone delivers the expected value for the cost. Cobra’s continues to be at the forefront of driver technology and the SpeedZone driver is expected to be a heavily sought after driver in 2020.  Golf Digest concurred with our assessment, adding the SpeedZone to their 2020 Hot List with a Gold rating.  At its price point, it is competing with many of the top drivers on the market and the club’s results are very satisfying.

If you’re looking for a driver in the lower-end of price spectrum, see if you can pick up the 2019 Cobra King F9 Speedback driver at a significant discount.  You might just find yourself an incredible value if you aren’t attached to some of the 2020 improvements made with the 2020 Cobra King SpeedZone.

Buy Now: $449 or to learn more, go to cobragolf.com