Our Review of the Cobra AMP CELL Driver - Great Golf Deals.com Blog

2013 is tuning out to be the year of the adjustable driver and Cobra does not disappoint with its latest offerings.  Cobra's latest driver line is named the AMP Cell which includes MyFly technology in the hosel combined with the SmartPad technology in the sole.  While these new terms may sound perplexing, it is really straightforward.  There are 6 different loft settings in the MyFly adjustable hosel. Each loft setting works without needing to do anything else to the club as a result of "SmartPad" sole technology.  This keeps the club square at address regardless of what loft setting you select.  What Cobra offers this year that no one else does is a choice of 4 fresh colors: orange, blue, red or silver to customize your driver.   (Women have a couple of other options, plus an offset model in yet another color that matches the baffler set). I experimented with all 6 settings to discover that #MyFly loft is 8.5 degrees – neutral.

MyFly Loft Adjustability

Once you adjust the settings to your swing,  just leave it alone or if your swing changes or if you need something different for that day on the course you can adjust it on the fly very easily with just a twist of the wrench.  Not surprising, but just a note, the new hosel system will not work with the previous Cobra adjustable shafts.  The old shafts only had 3 settings, while the Cobra AMP Cells have 6 settings.

My initial experience with this driver was indoors.  I began hitting shots on a True Golf Simulator and the ball flight looked very good.  It was mainly straight with a small draw.  It appeared to be typical to my normal ball flight, but was a little higher, both spin and launch angle.  Therefore I adjusted the hosel around and wound up selecting the 8.5* loft which kept my launch angle lower, but my spin was still a little high. This wasn't a huge shock to me; this is a reoccurring issue I have with many drivers.  I tend to spin the ball too much with my drivers.  The Cobra Amp Cell driver comes stock with a 60gram Fujikura Fuel shaft.  It is a “designed for” version, however it is a very good version.  I can't complain too much, the feel is excellent, the control is awesome, but the spin was just too high for me even in a stiffer flex. 

Four Different Color Options

 Indoor testing is great, especially during the winter if you live in a northern climate.  You also get immediate feedback in terms of swing and contact stats that you can use to dial in your custom adjustments for this driver.  But the real test of any piece of golf equipment is on the golf course playing under normal conditions.  Luckily, I was able to take this driver with me on a recent business trip to Tucson Arizona.   The first thing I realized when I got paired up with a couple golfers at the course was that the driver draws a lot of attention.  Both players, immediately after introducing themselves, commented on the look of the driver and wanted to take a closer look at it.   I chose the blue color driver simply because blue is my favorite color and to me, it looks the coolest.  Since I was striping it on the driving range I was pretty confident when stepping up to the first tee which was a 430 yard par four that played slightly into the wind.   Again, I kept my setting at 8.5 degrees with the stock Fujikura Fuel Stiff shaft. 

Similar to what was happening on the simulator, the ball flight of this driver was higher than what I was used to.  That was great when I was hitting down wind but on drives into the wind I definitely noticed a ballooning effect to my drives.   Even at the lowest loft option of 8.5 degrees I was not able produce a penetrating ball flight on drives into the wind and even on dry hard fairways in Arizona I was not getting the roll that I would normally get. 

Cobra AMP CELL Driver

The club head size of 460 cc and Cobra’s e9 face technology made this one of the most forgiving drivers I’ve hit this year.  I was hitting a lot of fairways but just was not getting the distance that I was used to.  Another thing I noticed was the sound this driver made.  I play golf a lot with a friend who has an older Cobra S2 driver which would make the loudest sound on impact that it was almost hilarious.  The AMP Cell Driver makes a solid sound but nothing too loud where it would be distracting. 

Cobra is offering the AMP CELL driver in several models this year, so choose wisely.  First, there is the Standard Cobra AMP Cell Driver available in 4 colors.  There is also the Cobra AMP Cell PRO Driver available in 2 colors also with 6 hosel settings.  The Cobra AMP Cell PRO Driver has a 440cc, lower spin head, as well as a lower spinning stock shaft.  I feel the AMP CELL PRO model would be a better match for my swing characteristics and I will post a review of that driver shortly so stay tuned.

Cobra AMP CELL Pro Driver

Overall, the standard Cobra AMP CELL Driver performs as good as it looks.  It’s one of the most forgiving drivers available this year and at the same time provides a nice high launching ball flight that most mid-handicap golfers will benefit from. 

While there maybe a number of choices in the AMP CELL line, it really isn't too hard to dial in this driver.  The MyFly technology is very easy to use and straight forward and the SmartPad keeps the driver square at address regardless of the loft setting.  For the price, this is one of the best performing and most versatile drivers available this year.