20 Years Later…How Much Has Changed? Let’s Find Out!!

[@golfnut6129]

Great comparison and more relatable to a wider audience having Tom hitting 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@epgolfstudios]

Thanks mate 👍👌

[@JamesBille-hu4cq]

I gamed the Fly Z+ at 10* D with the weight out back… Matrix VLTC st Stiff- low spin rocket.. and fairly forgiving!

[@Sodar360]

You’re crushing these comparisons. Getting fitted for driver today and definitely looking at previous generation equipment.

[@epgolfstudios]

Thanks bud, best of luck with the fit

[@warriorrob1]

What a great video, you’ll get a lot of subs not to long . Vids that average am golfers want to see, we are being bummed by the big brands every year. You are respectful when talking and make it about data . Keep these videos like this goi g

[@epgolfstudios]

Thanks and we hope so. Although people have been saying that for a long time 👀😂😂 we are growing slowly, just gotta keep putting in the work. Thanks for the comment 👍

[@TMar1961]

I'm a bit surprised you didn't do this with the F-9 in the test considering that's the driver that put Cobra back in the mix for top drivers. Great testing, as usual, and surprising results.

[@joedavey84]

Always appreciate this channel for true golf equipment honesty.

[@epgolfstudios]

Thanks Joe we always do our best 👍

[@mikeprytherch8875]

Your videos are absolute class, thank you

[@epgolfstudios]

Thanks Mike glad you like them 🙌👍

[@simonvillalon2277]

Those old Cobras with the aerodynamic dimples on the crown were the wildest thing when they first came out. 😂 My caddy thought that someone had gone to town on the head.

[@ricd4950]

You're kill it, Ross. These reviews are the best on YT. A different class 👏

[@epgolfstudios]

Thanks Ric appreciate that bud 🙏 wish the views showed that 👀😂😂

[@nealfreeman01]

Great stuff! New format is really a good watch! Keep up the great job!

[@bobsacamano3617]

I'm always interested in these types of comparisons. Surprised by the performance of the F-Speed!

[@russellkasprzyk4934]

Get yourself a 5 and 7 wood for like $40 each, hands down the best addition to my bag in years…I have new pxg irons, ping g430 3w, but those f speeds blow them out of the water with how consistently they swing.

[@micksumo]

Great video and really interesting. I've thought the same for years my 10 year old M2 with an Oban shaft goes as far as my recent PXG and TSR3. Shaft makes a lot more difference to me than any head. It's the forgiveness i have noticed in the newer heads but out of the middle with the right delivery characteristics i don't think there's very much in it.

[@milllworks]

So funny. Years ago, like twenty years ago, I lived in LA and played Sony Pictures corporate tournaments to a 9.5 hcp (was 55 yrs old at the time). I went to Carlsbad for an outdoor driver fitting, trying to get more distance, and the driving range landing area there was on an uphillside slope facing you, with incremental yardage markers going upmthe hill, so there was no lying to yourself about how far you were hitting it. Anyway, it was like an hour session, and the fitter literally put me into prob 15 -20 different heads, shafts, lofts, weights, you name it. The upshot was my real carry yardage was about 225, give or take a few yards, regardless of which driver set up I tried. My takeaway was might as well keep my gamer (Titleist 905T) since it was right in the middle of the pack and I liked hitting it.

[@spodbw1]

Class this. Good thinking with the ear defenders 😂

[@epgolfstudios]

Man that thing so SOOO loud, you need them 😂😂

[@TenPester]

Noticed this with Titleist. Owned a 910 D3, TS3 and a TSR3 and I was getting the same ball speed with them all. Aesthetically, the TSR is miles ahead but performed the same as the others with the exact same shaft for me. Funnily enough, the 910 sounded and felt the same as the TSR, but the TS3 was so much louder.

[@donth826]

Yea I have a tsi 3 and a 913 d3 the tsi sounds great the 913 is a little louder. I have a 915 d4 that thing sounds like the old cobra here, it is loud.

[@robert896r1]

Almost 2 club lengths with a similar miss range is pretty advantageous for the dark speed. At faster swing speeds like yours, the delta would grow as the older drivers would spin even more.

[@epgolfstudios]

Yeah for sure, there were bigger misses with both the FLY Z and DS though. We would have deleted a few. Which would have been down to bad swings. Always the hardest thing in any testing, what is the club and what it the human, vast majority is obviously the human 😂 but again we only show you a small amount of the shots. That F Speed was so easy to hit straight! It was ridiculous. So if you are generally very straight then yeah absolutely the extra yardage will help. For me if I lost 15 yards but I lose 5% less balls, I’ll take it 😂

[@Lacesout2529]

I have the cobra f speed in my garage I think I’m gonna have to take it to the range and give it a swing again😅

[@jumpf8118]

Would love to see a similar comparison with the Titliest TS series vs new GTs! Excellent content as always.

[@RooftopKorean796]

This was a fun comparison. Big fan of your videos and how you go over the numbers. Keeps them coming.

[@epgolfstudios]

Thanks for the comment, glad you like the videos 🙌👍

[@rc51bigdaddy]

Loved the video. I have been back in the game for a bit over a year and have lots of new great drivers. Funny thing is that I hit them all similar. The reality is that it's not the clubs, it's me:)

[@jamesdaw131]

Dedication to this content from a fairly small channel is awesome (ie costs to you).

[@andyfrizzell4352]

The F Speed sound gave me flashbacks.

[@martynelliott3288]

Fantastic video guys. Incredibly informative to see the comparison of similar strikes/ delivery, to neutralise the human variables. Very relevant to me as I own an F7+ from 2017 which I love from a feel & look perspective (similar matt black to DS) but am curious what I could be giving up on certain mishits. To me the obvious takeaway was the DSAdapt worked better for Tom because of its significantly lower spin profile (nicely fitted to him but could be reversed with someone generating less spin). What surprised me was the real technology gain was more in the aerodynamics permitting 2mph more SS with the same shaft, rather than in terms of off centre efficiency. I would have expected the latter, and it may be that’s where the modern driver marketing is fooling us a bit, whereas in reality those gains are more marginal. However hats off to Cobra for engineering that extra 2mph because we know the only way to gain more distance on a centred strike with the same delivery characteristics and spin is to swing the club faster, which Tom consistently did. Really enjoying all your content, reminds me of the old TXG. Thanks for consistently entertaining us golf geeks. Appreciate it must take you many hours to compile when you’re trying to run a business at the same time. I wish you every success with it 👍🏻

[@stephendibari5010]

Fun video, would like to see this with Ping. I recently bought a G20 driver (2012) to have in my 2nd bag to leave at my sons place in South Carolina. Would like to see G20 (about 10 yrs ago) vs. G440 and whatever Ping had 20 years ago.

[@jackfullerton6472]

Great vid as always! Could you do a similar vid with the R9 430 and the new variants. Be super interesting

[@richdarlowgolf]

Played the cobra 2007 Speed pro D until 5 years ago, what a weapon that was, 2200 spin and the odd 300 yard drive! Then the F9 and now the Aerojet, the F9 hit the longest drives I’ve ever hit but had a hook tendency for me, the Aerojet is much more fade biased which suits me perfectly 😀

[@dannydawes6976]

I have an f-speed. My son uses it now he’s been playing a year and didn’t believe me when I told him the other day it was older than him by at least 5 yrs 😂

[@drvngrange]

very fun btw, ty for the video. Would love to see how they stack up with a little higher speed.

[@Pltjr33]

Love it!!! More episodes likes this. Everyone on about the new and best of 2024/2025 bla bla bla. Just get some old irons and bash them - they’re great!!

[@rangerjack110]

Great comparison. For me the gains do not justify the price increase in drivers. Every comparison I have watched with older drivers against modern ones come to the same conclusion, slight improvements hyped up with clever marketing. Love watching your content, keep it up. 🙂👍

[@nevilleadams6312]

This was such a great test! Sponsored by the results! Especially the 10K comment. Lol

[@iclypso]

Thanks. I'd like to see each head fitted for the golfer. Obviously the older heads would benefit from being paired with a lower-spin shaft.

[@epgolfstudios]

Shafts don’t change spin, and we just don’t have anywhere close to enough time for that unfortunately

[@jeffnahass8373]

You should have used the F9. Crazy long. It’s all marketing. 2 club lengths, maybe for a really good golfer. I know good golfers still using drivers from the 2000s. You should do this with Ping also. Start at the G10. Then G30 and whatever new fangled wallet drainer they put out.

[@russellkasprzyk4934]

I have an F speed 5 wood, and 7 wood. Hands down my favorite clubs in the bag…they are both laser beams.

[@chrismccarthy1535]

I had the 3 wood of the old model. It was great off the tee with its deep face.

[@andyfrizzell4352]

I still regret getting rid of mine for that exact reason, deep face

[@cikarang5]

The Cobra SS370 unlimited which was illegal when the cor regs changed, was the longest driver I have ever owned.No driver since then has come close to the feel and distance I used to have with that. Funny thing is it had a True Temper Dynamic Gold S300 steel shaft, which I was never tempted to change

[@donth826]

I have an old biocell driver that is still pretty good. It actually looks great at address, the shape is like a tsi3 but with a cool kinda ghost paint design on the back. Ive seen in a nother old test it spins less than the flyz and other old cobra drivers around that time.

[@chase_hanna]

Very interesting. Proves some of what I've seen in my own testing with old vs new equipment. Kinda like the old TaylorMade Rockeballz driver compared to Stealth 2 and even Ping G425 max. The old RBZ driver, even at its age, can hang toe to toe with anything modern, as far as performance. There are other drivers made 10-20 years ago that are just as good also.

[@canyonaro]

The one sneaky issue here is that drivers get hotter the more they get hit. I'd definitely like CT measurements on those two. Regardless, max spring effect on perfect contact has been limited since 2005 so the results aren't surprising excellent for the fact that the really old Cobra was quite forgiving! I change every four years or so & the big thing I've noticed is spin varying less when hit off center, which has brought in my front-back dispersion. Left-right is mostly up to the player.

[@golfnut6129]

Good fun video. Nice one. All that money spent on R&D for 10/15 yards. That said, I think a properly fitted driver boosts yards and confidence whilst tightening up that dispersion 👍🏻

[@epgolfstudios]

Yeah but in fairness they have always had limitations to work within, not just the restrictions from USGA etc but just what is actually physically possible and achievable. There’s only ever so much they can do. And yeah 100%, the biggest gain you will ever get is just getting correctly fitted 🙌

[@Chet362]

Awesome. More please

[@holmer9413]

I still game a 20 year old Cobra driver. I own the M-Speed and the much newer Speedzone drivers and while the Speedzone is longer, the M-Speed is a fairway finder and only misses the distance I can get from the Speedzone by a few yards. I'm a ten handicap and shoot under 80 more often when playing the M-Speed.

[@andyfrizzell4352]

I've had the F Speed,still use the Fly Z. Will be intriqued to see the results. F Speed was pretty decent with NV green shaft as I recall. Fly Z has been ok, but an era I haven't played as much as I could. Hit well with the stock shaft it flies. Balloons into wind, I guess flight to high. My preview

[@jamesparsons5633]

Still have an F9, it is a weird club but it was in the bag for years. Take it out once or twice a season still. S9, L4V, had those too.

[@sheilamorrison1954]

Sound is 100% for me.

[@epgolfstudios]

Yeah mostly our end seems ok. Very odd

[@andyfrizzell4352]

Sounds not a biggie to me. Having played the F Speed and then Nike SQ Machspeed, a 20 year military career, and about the same clearing landmines I'm kinda immune to that little tinky noise

[@longy277]

Id be interested to see this conducted on course

[@greasby1golf871]

Depends on strike obvs, but at that swing speed i reckon minimal differences in distance and ball speed I used a cobra speed LD last year in a hire set on holiday, it was amazing how good it was

[@MSG19772]

Love these videos man!

[@epgolfstudios]

Thanks bud 👍

[@drvngrange]

440SZ WAS FAV DRIVER EVER

[@relaxnchill9335]

Love these video's

[@epgolfstudios]

Thanks bud 👍

[@ANTPS32CREWCHIEF]

Bought a 2009 TourStage head 10.5 and new Aldila Tour S75 new. $75 best driver ever.

[@glenburr6755]

Had the Fly Z. Great feeling driver. My guess, the newer ones will be a little better on off center hits.

[@170YardsCarry]

Ross, F Speed MOI is only the horizontal MOI,, I think the legal horizontal limit is 5900, so not as far from the new tech as you’d think. The marketing dept combined horizontal and vertical MOI to create a number that’s more impressive. The older driver’s probably have more static loft than the new driver, it was common to ego loft older drivers, so a 9.5 degree head would actually be an 11 degree head. This might explain some of the higher spin and higher dynamic loft.

[@billburbank4314]

Fascinating test. But if I increase by 20 yards, then that be def worthy investment. Sound and look improvement wld prob help confidence for me as well. Yup, time to move off my G20. Nice job men.

[@allanknudsen8681]

I always thought about my old persimmon driver. It seems like a low, low spin knuckler that ran forever. Just the head seems so small down at the end of that steel shaft. Comparison video?

[@FlyingCrane88]

Great idea! More videos in this format please. Can you do Taylormade? Starting with the R7 Superquad. Cheers

[@epgolfstudios]

Thanks mate. Yeah we will be keeping this style format for pretty much most of the head to head testing now moving forward I think. To be fair I did do something with the R7 awhile ago on this channel. Might have been a couple of years ago now though so the video is probably shite quality 😂 but yeah I think I still have it so we could be R7 vs SLDR. Vs Qi35 👀👀

[@FlyingCrane88]

@epgolfstudios cool, can't wait 👍😍

[@johnjohn1cooer]

I would like to see a comparison between TaylorMade M2,,M4 and M6 if possible.

[@GoFast865]

As the test shows, older drivers created much more spin. As did older balls. Modern tech allows plenty of spin around the greens while also promoting low spin for distance.

[@AGClassicCarTuning]

At the time there was also an M-speed and X-Speed. The X-Speed was promoted as being the club for the higher swing speed player and the M-Speed for the lower swing speed with a slight amount of offset also. F-Speed being somewhere in the middle. The M-Speed HS9 would actually be a good test against today's claimed forgiving drivers on the market. £40 versus over £400 right now....

[@larryg8968]

I guessed that you would see 1 yard drop off per year . I e 10 and 20 yards. My other thought is that they are both too cavalier about giving up 16 yards on each tee shot. That would be mildly disastrous to both score and morale.

[@epgolfstudios]

It depends, certainly wouldn’t be disastrous, we obviously only show you a very small portion of what we actually hit during the testing, he didn’t miss once with the F Speed, it was a bit mental, whereas DS and FlyZ would have been a fair few in the poo. So of course it depends on the player and the swings they put on it, but if you lose 15 yards but lose less balls that long term would equate to a lower score regardless of hitting longer clubs into greens.

[@vroomgc]

What I didn't hear mentioned was how much you can configure the clubs, for people to improve it even more. Im guessing it went from zero (20 yr old club) to lots (current day club).

[@epgolfstudios]

Yeah absolutely a big sleeve update this year, before that it was basically the same for a long time. I would say that’s fine tuning though more than a big performance change, and this was just mean as a bit of a performance overview at similar lofts.

[@adrianrice354]

should of tried the fly z at 8.5 degrees to see how launch angle was , and what the back spin could of been .

[@clayscott777]

Do you say span as the past tense of spin in the UK? Instead of spun? If yes; I have so many more questions.

[@PauloG100]

Yes, in Uk the correct past tense of spin is span.

[@jhcreighton1]

Without watching I predict the flyz is still dope

[@golfnut6129]

Sound seems fine🤷🏼‍♂️

[@epgolfstudios]

Good stuff thanks for the feedback bud

[@ybach64]

I would guess little difference in distance but an improvement in dispersion.

[@epgolfstudios]

Thanks for commenting! Enjoy the watch and come back after to let me know what you thought of the results 👍

[@ybach64]

Well I’m dumbstruck. I play an old Titleist D915 and have always wondered if it’s holding me back. I’m an accurate but not very long driver of the ball. Hit it about 230 and play off 14, and I’m only getting slower with age; just into my 60s. The shaft is 60 reg and maybe robbing me of speed.

[@ybach64]

I’m really enjoying the content it’s superb. Unbiased and honest.

[@evaneger1]

I have the FlyZ so I hope there isn't much difference or else I may be going shopping

[@epgolfstudios]

😂😂

[@lancesedevie548]

Moi 4200 was horizontal. Some new drivers are same horizontally. The 10k has vertical moi included

[@mikeblack9090]

If you think that F Speed is loud, you should hear my Nike Sasquatch.

[@jamesdaw131]

Can it be argued that the increased spin makes in more forgiving on a left / right basis? For the 2nd driver? I am debating accepting 2700rpm average spin to avoid anything ever being below 2000 - which is what kills me on the course. And then accept the loss of 5 yards or so for that.

[@ES-xe7ju]

Seems that the flyz was spinning way too much. I you would set it to 8,5 or even 8 degrees. It would be a nice addition to the test.

[@richardmanion6132]

I take an older driver with me every round and warm up with both. If my Paradym Triple Diamond is being too wild that day, I bag my 2018 Cleveland. Going all in on one setup just isn't practical

[@stevie-jayjohnson2101]

Interesting test Ross. Little question for you 154 ball speed spinning 2700 Vs 154 ball speed spinning 2200 Launching around 13.5 What would you say the difference carry or total would be? Not got the answer I'm just curious what you think, as I value your knowledge For reference I'm generally 2700 150-157 ballspeed. Working on delivery to decrease spin.

[@epgolfstudios]

Thanks Stevie, id guess somewhere around 8-12 yards. Somewhere in that range. So not dramatic but noticeable for sure.

[@michaelrooney2216]

I play the cobra ld 2o05 model it’s 20 yards longer then my arrow jet

[@donth826]

Would have liked to see the fly z loft come down you could have probably got better numbers than the ds adapt.

[@epgolfstudios]

Na that thing is wayyy too spinny. Loft adjustment sleeves are fine tuning they don’t make a huge difference.

[@RichLeahy]

20+yds off the tee... add that to stronger lofts in irons giving more distance and higher ball flights makes me wonder why my handicap hasn't got any lower. Hmm maybe it's me ? 😂

[@epgolfstudios]

Potentially 20 yards further into the bushes?? 🤔😂😂 and stronger lofts very rarely go higher regardless of head design. We’ve done quite a bit of testing on that 👍

[@shannonsmith8857]

Really shows for the average golfer which is 95% of us , the tech over the last 20 years has really not improved the game that dramatically when it comes to drivers.

[@epgolfstudios]

It’s certainly an interesting subject. We all know if you make a good swing it will be a good result, or at least it will be in the fairway, and if you make a bad swing (or I should really say deliver the into impact poorly, so the face is either massively open or massively closed) then no driver is ever saving you. So it’s kinda the middle shots really which the variables as to whether or not it’s more the driver or the human is very hard to say, which is why we try and and compare similar strikes and deliveries to take the human element out of it. And you’re right when you do that the difference in the bad ones isn’t dramatic. Obviously weight saving and research has allowed them to reduce/fine tune spin which certainly has increased distance. That’s probably one of the main tangible things.

[@JohnClark-yg3yh]

Really needs a trial like this to be done using an 18 ish handicapper and see if technology could help 50% of todays golfers.

[@ryanwalters694]

I believe the cobra 400 sz comp is illegal too

[@rumpointrunner]

Sound problem cutting out every few seconds

[@epgolfstudios]

This is interesting. Anyone got any ideas what could be causing this? In the edit it was fine, after rendering I watched it on my laptop and it was find and when i watched the Premiere on my laptop again the sound was fine. Very odd

[@SuperBigBanny]

Is the sound playing up for anyone else??

[@dannydawes6976]

F-speed blew your speaker

[@SuperBigBanny]

@@dannydawes6976😂

[@michaelrooney2216]

2005 cobra ld best head ever it way longer then dark speed and it’s 20 years old

[@ryanu3708]

The current generation of super hot golf balls have made a lot of old clubs relevant, especially for good ball strikers. Something has got to be done about these ridiculously long golf balls. I'm 65 and I hit the ball just as far as when I was 30, even with my older clubs. Add in exotic shaft technology and the ball is just going entirely too far. I play the ProV1X or left dash and it literally feels like cheating, especially on center of the face strikes. I have a Cobra ZL driver from 2010 that can easily keep up with my latest Ping models and with less dispersion too.

[@gimbalair]

16yds is one club difference into a green on a good day.

[@epgolfstudios]

Yup absolutely

[@superfly1187]

Runs out to buy an F-Speed*

[@alexmills1329]

I’m willing to bet less than 10 yards difference in carry between all of them

[@dropkickdrones4569]

Normally takes 9 hours!! 😂 😂

[@epgolfstudios]

It’s a lot harder on camera than people think 😂

[@simonlegg8940]

Not much but the 2005 one will be longest

[@epgolfstudios]

👀👀👀

[@2sqnbandit379]

I don’t think that cobra from 06 was conforming, trampoline face it was a rocket that thing.

[@jameslovering9158]

Data has long been known 20 years avg driver distance for PGA = 12 yards (4%) thats over 20 years....... If the best of us achieve only 4% ??? nuff said I think. If we start looking into forgiveness spin rates launch angles bla bla bla its all nonsense as its so insignificant for most of us Amateurs. Get out enjoy your golf don't get sold on the "hope" each year......

[@RealDougFields]

There are soo many of these tests. Why is everyone avoiding the TaylorMade (Japan Only) Gloire Drivers from the mid teens? I have a 2014 and it is noticeably hotter than any club I have tried- even my new Krank. I think all of you guys are afraid to show a 10+ year old drive out pacing the latest and greatest.....

[@epgolfstudios]

I think you answered your own question in the question 🤦🤦😂

[@RealDougFields]

@@epgolfstudios Yeah- At least tell me it is because they aren't an "approved" club or something...lol.

[@TimO-fx5hf]

Hm, so youre saying i need to work on my swing cus drivers dont make THAT much of a difference?? Doesnt sound right...

[@babatundeososanya5769]

He was consistently over the top 🥺

[@ryanhorner1675]

So control the spin better and you basically have 3 of the same drivers, interesting. Golf "tech" is mostly just marketing, eh?

[@btoz6237]

Nice fun comparison video, but 30 mins is too long to keep the viewer engaged that long. We got short attention spans , try for the 15-20mins max

[@zittyrrrs7082]

I'm guessing 10 - 15 yards extra from good hits and double that on misshits....🫣

[@jamesdaw131]

Can it be argued that the increased spin makes in more forgiving on a left / right basis? For the 2nd driver? I am debating accepting 2700rpm average spin to avoid anything ever being below 2000 - which is what kills me on the course. And then accept the loss of 5 yards or so for that.

[@epgolfstudios]

Yeah absolutely more backspin makes it harder to curve the ball excessively so more spin is generally a bit short but a bit safer.