Cobra F7 or Ping G400

[Davie81]

Looking at a new driver and 5 wood and love both of the above. Has anyone played both or able to give some insight on what to go for? The cobra is around £100 cheaper.

[WUTiger]

I got good numbers when testing Cobra drivers and FWs.

Just be aware that the stock shafts on Cobra long clubs weigh a little more than those of most other manufacturers. Hopefully you will get to hit them before you buy them.

[djake]

I have the Cobra F7+ with the Aldila NV 44 Magnum shaft.  For me it is a stunning set up.  I went thru a full fitting session and tested a lot of different Drivers at the time.  The Ping G400 was not out yet but I have since hit it because I really like testing clubs and shafts.  I find it fascinating.

Both the F7+ and G400 are smaller heads with the G400 coming in at 445 cc and the F7+ around 450 cc.  It may not seam like much but the F7+ looks smaller when set next to the TM M2.  I like smaller heads on clubs and as my fitter stated to me that I actually find the center more consistently with the smaller heads on Drivers and Irons.

Please note the Cobra F7 is at 460cc.  The F7+ is a lower spinning head!

If you like the smaller heads one other Driver you should also test is the Honma TW737 450.  That is a very nice Driver that retails at $499.00

I tested TW 737 450 and G400 side by side last week along with the Epic and TW M2.  I hit the TW737 clearly better then the other 3 drivers with a tighter dispersion and more distance.  The G400 was a distant second and really did nothing to move me to want to have it. 

I did not have my F7+ with during the test I did last week as I was traveling for business and did not bring my clubs with.  It would be fun to do a head to head between those two Drivers though.

I really really like my Cobra F7+ and Aldila NV44 shaft combo.  I have picked up significant swing speed at 111mph from a former average of 106mph with my former Driver 

The TW737 450 was running 109mph when I was swinging it for comparison.

The Ping G400 was staying around 106mph.

All Drivers were tested at 10 degree lofts

The Cobra F7+ is the first Driver I have been able to work with confidence, extremely forgiving with little loss of distance on off center hits, missing toward the toe.

The Honma TW 737 is as forgiving as the Cobra with misses towards the toe.

The Cobra F7+ gives you a lot of freedom to change lofts, move the weights around and change out the shaft.  I keep my set at neutral with the 12 gram weight to the back as was found during my fitting to be the best set up. 

The Honma TW 737 does not have the ability to be changed around but they do offer a lot of different driver set ups in the TW737 line to help match you up with the best set up.  Honma makes their own shafts and they are known as having very nice shafts, no skimping. 

Interesting note I believe Ping stated this.  50+% of all Drivers Ping sells thru Professional Fitters are draw biased set ups while off the rack purchases rarely account for draw biased set ups.  Yet the vast majority of amateurs hit slices.

Why I mention this. Take the time and go thru a Professional Fitter, if I had not I would not have ended up with my current set up in any of the clubs in my bag.  It is worth the time to get what works best for you, my observations and findings may not work at all for you.  A Pro Fitter is the one to rely on

Hope this helps