Cobra Darkspeed Fairway Wood Review – Is it Good & Forgiving for High Handicappers?

“The new Cobra Darkspeed fairway woods take what makes Cobra clubs great and doubles down on it.”

I’ve always known Cobra clubs to be among the lightest and fastest-feeling of the major golf club manufacturers.

That’s sort of Cobra’s signature. And it’s hard to imagine that they can take those lightweight aspects to another level.

But that’s exactly what they’re claiming with the new Cobra Darkspeed fairway woods.

I got my hands on the Cobra Darkspeed Max fairway wood and put it through its paces. Does it live up to the hype? Is it good for high handicappers? Read on to find out.

The Cobra Darkspeed Fairway Wood Family

We will be detailing the Cobra Darkspeed Max in this review so let’s shed a quick light on the other models in the series:

• Cobra Darkspeed LS – The LS fairway wood features interchangeable weights in the rear and the toe for neutral to fade bias.
• Cobra Darkspeed X – The Cobra Darkspeed X fairway wood has the smallest overall footprint and is geared towards better players who don’t need the forgiveness of a massive head.

Is it Good for High Handicappers?

“The Cobra Darkspeed Max fairway wood features an AI-Designed HOT face, interchangeable rear and heel weights and a lightweight carbon crown.”

Cobra also worked with aerospace engineers to get the overall weight down as much as possible and I must say that it shows.

I think the Cobra Darkspeed is even bigger than previous Cobra fairways yet it still feels light in the hands.

This is excellent news if you’re a high handicapper with a slow to moderate swing speed. The promise of speed is upheld with the Cobra Darkspeed which will be a boon for 20+ handicappers.

Is it Forgiving?

“There are two moveable weights: one weighs 15g and the other weighs 3g.”

If you need to fix a dire slice you can slap the 15g weight in the heel port.

If you want to increase the MOI and forgiveness, you can put the 15g weight in the rear port. The choice is yours but overall, the Cobra Darkspeed Max is very forgiving.

The sweet spot feels like it covers the entire face thanks to the AI-designed HOT construction which is essentially an advanced variable face thickness design.

Plus, the PWR-BRIDGE weight is suspended instead of bonded so allows for the face to flex more.

Difference Between the Cobra Darkspeed Max and Cobra Darkspeed LS

“Aside from the difference in adjustable weight bias, the Cobra Darkspeed LS has a slightly smaller head.”

The head size also makes it spin even less than the Cobra Darkspeed Max fairway wood.

All the tech and features are the same; but with the LS version you get optional neutral/fade bias as opposed to neutral/draw bias.

Overall, I would say that the Cobra Darkspeed LS is better for players with moderate to fast swing speeds.

Available Shafts

The Darkspeed Max fairway wood comes stock with a UST LIN-Q M40X Red 5 in stiff (58g) regular (57g) and amateur (57g) flex.

How Does it Look?

I really like the red lettering as it contrasts with the all black head of the Cobra Darkspeed fairway wood.

The carbon fiber crown has a matte finish so it’s not reflective. The Cobra Darkspeed also features a slightly squat face profile so it looks laterally forgiving behind the ball.

Is the Cobra Darkspeed Fairway Wood Worth it?

“If you’ve been a fan of fast Cobra fairways in the past, you’ll be doubly impressed with the Cobra Darkspeed Max fairway wood.”

Somehow, Cobra has done it. They truly have taken lightweight speed to the next level.

The Cobra Darkspeed fairway wood is absolutely worth it if you’re a high handicapper looking to increase your swing speed.