Junior
Tour Winner
So.....I was the lucky so and so who won one of the places in the GM and Cobra Puma competition " Smarter Ways 2018" . Radbourne2010 won it last year and had a superb experience, and, after yesterday down at Silvermere, i'm sure it will be the same for me. For those that missed MikeH's the post above, basically, Cobra is really pushing innovation this year and the project is to quite simply lower my handicap using the latest Cobra gear and Arccos technology. 　
I fought my way for 5 hours down the M6, and , after crashing at a mates house, was just the hour and a half early the following day for my time with the Cobra Puma team and Golf Monthly. I needn't have worried, though, Silvermere is a superb set up and coffee, breakfast and range balls passed the time fairly swiftly. 　
Quite a few of you have met and played with me and might know that I've been playing pretty steady for the past few years. However, i've always bounced between a 7 and 8 handicap. My equipment works for me, although having dipped in an out of using custom fit and not custom fit clubs, my clubs were perhaps not optimised. Long story short, after an hour I ended up with :　
- F8 Driver with a stiff Aldila blue shaft. The f8+ went well, but I just preferred the bigger head of the f8. - 250 yards
- F8 3w cranked to a 4w (16 degrees) stiff Aldila blue shaft - 230 yards　
- F8 19 degree hybrid stiff Aldila blue shaft. I love my ZU65 , but just couldn't get the Cobra driving iron going, so ended up with the hybrid which flew superbly. - 215 yards　
- Forged Tour irons (the blades were nice, and tempting) 5-GW with a lite stiff DG shaft, 　
- 55 and 60 degree PUR wedges. Irons and wedges were all an inch longer and standard lie.　
The one thing that stood out to me after chopping and changing clubs was that the distances with my current woods and long irons were very similar. Through the fitting, the focus was keen to get the gapping more precise, which we did. 　
Being a bit of a club nerd, I was sure that i'd get what suited me best, but the most impressive thing for me on the day was the evolution of the Arccos Technology. Quite simply, it's a phenomenal and simple way of keeping track of all the detail pertaining to the rounds of golf you play. The clubs come with the sensors built into the handle, and, after downloading the app and starting the round, the app automatically knows what club you have hit when, and registers your shots and distance. There is no tagging nor screwing in sensors (apart from the putter). After 5 rounds, the app then gives you your handicap based on each "strokes gained" category (like you see on the PGA tour). A golfer then knows where to focus and structure their practise. It also gives you your average distance for each club. So, as an example, I might be a 4 handicap driver, 6 handicap GIR, and a 9 handicap putting, these numbers obviously change the more rounds you play. The app can even be used as a GPS unit aswell (legal for competition use). I've never been one to keep statistics on my game, but this is really an impressive piece of kit. You can tell Cobra Puma have listened to their customers and are constantly developing this technology to make it more functional and easier to use. 　
It was great to meet Peter, the other winner, and I'm looking forward to seeing his handicap tumble this year.
For those still reading, other points of note on the day.............　
- the PWR shoes are really comfy straight out of the box, 　
- I'm terrible at interviews in front of a video camera　
- They wont photo shop moobs　
- If my handicap doesn't come down this season, i don't think it ever will. 　
- I hate the M6. 　
Thanks for reading , and also thanks to GM and Cobra Puma for the opportunity. I'm excited for the season . 　
I fought my way for 5 hours down the M6, and , after crashing at a mates house, was just the hour and a half early the following day for my time with the Cobra Puma team and Golf Monthly. I needn't have worried, though, Silvermere is a superb set up and coffee, breakfast and range balls passed the time fairly swiftly. 　
Quite a few of you have met and played with me and might know that I've been playing pretty steady for the past few years. However, i've always bounced between a 7 and 8 handicap. My equipment works for me, although having dipped in an out of using custom fit and not custom fit clubs, my clubs were perhaps not optimised. Long story short, after an hour I ended up with :　
- F8 Driver with a stiff Aldila blue shaft. The f8+ went well, but I just preferred the bigger head of the f8. - 250 yards
- F8 3w cranked to a 4w (16 degrees) stiff Aldila blue shaft - 230 yards　
- F8 19 degree hybrid stiff Aldila blue shaft. I love my ZU65 , but just couldn't get the Cobra driving iron going, so ended up with the hybrid which flew superbly. - 215 yards　
- Forged Tour irons (the blades were nice, and tempting) 5-GW with a lite stiff DG shaft, 　
- 55 and 60 degree PUR wedges. Irons and wedges were all an inch longer and standard lie.　
The one thing that stood out to me after chopping and changing clubs was that the distances with my current woods and long irons were very similar. Through the fitting, the focus was keen to get the gapping more precise, which we did. 　
Being a bit of a club nerd, I was sure that i'd get what suited me best, but the most impressive thing for me on the day was the evolution of the Arccos Technology. Quite simply, it's a phenomenal and simple way of keeping track of all the detail pertaining to the rounds of golf you play. The clubs come with the sensors built into the handle, and, after downloading the app and starting the round, the app automatically knows what club you have hit when, and registers your shots and distance. There is no tagging nor screwing in sensors (apart from the putter). After 5 rounds, the app then gives you your handicap based on each "strokes gained" category (like you see on the PGA tour). A golfer then knows where to focus and structure their practise. It also gives you your average distance for each club. So, as an example, I might be a 4 handicap driver, 6 handicap GIR, and a 9 handicap putting, these numbers obviously change the more rounds you play. The app can even be used as a GPS unit aswell (legal for competition use). I've never been one to keep statistics on my game, but this is really an impressive piece of kit. You can tell Cobra Puma have listened to their customers and are constantly developing this technology to make it more functional and easier to use. 　
It was great to meet Peter, the other winner, and I'm looking forward to seeing his handicap tumble this year.
For those still reading, other points of note on the day.............　
- the PWR shoes are really comfy straight out of the box, 　
- I'm terrible at interviews in front of a video camera　
- They wont photo shop moobs　
- If my handicap doesn't come down this season, i don't think it ever will. 　
- I hate the M6. 　
Thanks for reading , and also thanks to GM and Cobra Puma for the opportunity. I'm excited for the season . 　
Last edited:
