One of the easiest ways to enhance your golfing prowess is to upgrade your current driver. Every successful round of golf begins with a strong tee shot. And to make your shots count you must equip yourself with the right driver. Developing an efficient and reliable swing is imperative, but so is getting a golf driver that guarantees unrivaled performance on your best swing, which equally helps to cover for your shortcomings on mishits.
The latest drivers boast plenty of innovation geared toward straightening draws and slices, getting the most out of strikes, and enabling you to hone your long game. And while there are numerous brands and models of golf drivers, TaylorMade and Cobra are arguably some of the most popular brands.
These two giants have released their newest models into the market; TaylorMade Stealth and Cobra LTDX and as experts in the industry, we want to compare these two devices to help you know both their strengths and weaknesses. So, peruse the article and get to know which one edges the other in our honest and unbiased TaylorMade Stealth vs Cobra LTDx comparison.
The TaylorMade Stealth is a highly versatile and performance-oriented gadget that guarantees distance, forgiveness, stopping power, consistency, and easy launch. Simply put, it includes nearly everything you would want in its compact design.
The Cobra LTDx is equally a top-notch driver that builds on the success of the Radspeed and has numerous improvements in both its design and performance.
TaylorMade Stealth Driver Review
While the TaylorMade is equipped with lots of impressive features, the Toe Wrap is arguably one of its biggest selling points. It eliminates weight from the toe area, putting it in the sole enhanced distance and a higher launch. What’s more, it provides much-needed stability as well as increased flex to the clubface.
Its patented inverted cone technology expands the sweet spot along the blade whereas the thru slot speed pocket allows for ample ball speed for low-on-the-face strikes. The TaylorMade promises a 44% weight reduction by replacing the titanium face with carbon wood. The carbon wood boasts a totally distinct appearance that will turn some off and others on. It’s covered in Nanotexture to help optimize both the launch angle and spin rates off the tree.
The stealth is available in three distinct models including the standard which is highly versatile and suitable for most players, the Plus which boasts a fairly lower spin, and a sliding 10g weight for somewhat consistent strikes, the HD which is an excellent driver that doesn’t compromise forgiveness.
If you are an early adapter, then Stealth should be your ultimate option. It is a high MOI, big distance, lower spin, aerodynamic iron that is worth checking out if you are looking to upgrade and want nothing but the best driver.
The cap back is a cavern, multi-material badge that sits behind the face and enhances the sound as well as the feel of the drivers. It encapsulates an echo-dampening system which is fairly larger than in Sim two and this helps dampen unwanted vibrations from the club on off-center hits.
TaylorMade Stealth Key Features:
- Unmatched versatility: The TaylorMade is equipped with the latest technology and is arguably one of the most versatile drivers and comes in three distinct versions to suit the needs of everyone.
- Carbon wood material: The Carbon Wood stands out with its red hue and while it might not appeal to everyone in terms of color, TaylorMade has certainly made a breakthrough with the material and has vowed to never return to titanium after achieving a 44% weight reduction. It is also worth noting that TaylorMade has made a relatively stronger version of CarbonWood than the previous versions, compacting 60 thin sheets into the face of the club for enhanced energy transfer upon impact and faster ball speeds.
- Thru Slot Speed Pocket: A prominent feature among the latest TaylorMade drivers, Thru Slot Speed Pocket, helps generate more ball velocity and a higher launch for shots that are struck low on the face of the club.
- Geometric Design: Geometric Design The driver boasts inertia generating design that adds more clubhead speed at the most crucial moment at the strike.
- NanoTexture finish: The entire driver is enclosed in a NanoTexture finish that maximizes both spin and launch for every single strike.
- 450 Stainless steel face: The stainless steel face of the stealth has been upgraded to the high-strength 450 variant. And thanks to the inverted cone technology in the face, the sweet spot has been further stretched along the long blade whereas the face has been intelligently crafted and subsequently placed on the exact spot where players usually make contact.
- The Toe Wrap Construction: The TaylorMade stealths also feature a Toe Wrap construction that eliminates weight from the high toe end of the iron, placing this extra weight in the head to boost distance as well as a higher ball flight. What’s more, this significantly enhances the overall flex of the clubs.
Of course, there will be pros and cons, so I wanted to outline some that may be of interest to you.
TaylorMade Stealth Pros:
- Features Toe wrap design that intelligently minimizes weight and mass.
- Extra weighting in the sole guarantees more distance.
- Inverted Cone technology, as well as Thru Slot speed pocket, boosts the sweet spot.
- Features higher-quality 450 stainless steel for enhanced performance and durability.
- Toe wrap adds a bit of flex to the driver’s head.
- Top-notch headcover.
- The Echo Dampening technology dulls any vibrations.
TaylorMade Stealth Cons:
- Perhaps a lack of feedback and feel off the face.
- The Max model delivers higher spin rates.
- Just slightly better than the Radspeed model.
COBRA LTDX Drivers
Whereas TaylorMade has been somewhat more revolutionary in their approach, their counterpart COBRA has been conservative, making slight but commendable improvements to the widely accepted RadsPeed.
In terms of design, Cobra has used 30% more carbon fiber in the LTDX even though the face still features titanium. The HOT face boasts fifteen distinct striking zones and each one is uniquely crafted to produce optimal strikes even for off-center strikes.
The Speed Cor results in the world’s zero COG iron by remaining low in front of the globe to boost ball speed. And the mass saved by the carbon fiber is added low in the rear for enhanced club distance and speed.
The LTDX driver has a compact design thanks to its titanium frame that also offers stability. The titanium frame is also fairly long and has lower spinning compared to the Radspeed.
Just like its TaylorMade stealth counterpart, COBRA LTDX is available in three distinct flavors including the regular version, the LS model that is ideal for better strikers looking for enhanced workability, the Max model which guarantees a higher flight and more spin but inspires more confidence and adds forgiveness.
Cobra LTDX Key Features:
- Pwr-COR: While the power core is arguably the major selling point with LTDX drivers, it also plays a significant role in the performance of the drivers by bringing the COG forward and low to produce higher ball speeds. According to COBRA, the LTDX is a zero COG driver that boasts an incredible MOI with reduced spin.
- Increased carbon fiber: The multi-material design also features 30% more carbon compared to the previous version; Radspeed. What’s more, it also boasts an incredible titanium frame that is not only lighter, but also more stable than the Radspeed.
- Arccos technology: The Cobra LTDX drivers come equipped with the Arcoss sensor intended to automatically track your driver performance over time.
- My Fly Hosel: This is another performance-based feature that allows you to almost effortlessly adjust the loft 1.5 degrees higher or lower from the loft you chose when purchasing the driver.
- CNC milled face: The driver’s CNC milled face is also a notable improvement that not only looks gorgeous, but also delivers some of the top ball speeds in the game.
- Unique New Hot Face: The Hot New Face design has a variable thickness and is the spot where the driver face is split into fifteen distinct zones with every zone being optimized to deliver a decent ball flight as you hit it on the face.
- Perimeter weighting: The tungsten weighting in the heel coupled with the visible screw eight in the toe help stretch the sweet spot, providing more forgiveness.
- Lattice style medallion: This fills the hole just above the PWR-Cor, improving both the sound, feel, and overall stability of the drivers.
- The Pwr-shell: It is worth noting that the Pwr shell face is preserved in the LTDx drivers from the previous versions but it currently features a 23% larger and fairly thin sweet spot that makes the latest drivers more forgiving. Also, this makes it possible to produce better shots on off-center hits and equally wraps into the sole for strikes hit fairly low on the face.
Cobra LTDx Pros:
- Ideal for early adaptors.
- Amazing sound as well as feel.
- Incredible forgiveness.
- Has a highly distinctive appearance.
- Delivers on-ball speed.
Cobra LTDx Cons:
- The CarbonWood doesn’t appeal to everyone.
- The NanoTexture feels a bit weird!
- The driver gets scuffed far too easily.
The Bottom Line
There is no doubt that these two drivers are fantastic devices specially designed to take your golfing prowess to a whole new level. But which one should you go for?
The Cobra LTDX is highly suitable for nearly all levels of golfing but is somewhat more targeted at the mid to high handicap range where most golf enthusiasts reside! The driver is not only excellent in terms of design, but also sounds great and delivers performance-wise as well providing better speeds than its Radspeed counterpart but with lower spin rates.
On the other hand, the standard TaylorMade stealth is equally a fantastic piece of equipment that will certainly boost your golfing prowess. It is a beautiful driver that has a sleek design and also ticks all the right boxes based on sound, distance as well as consistency off the tee. You can never go wrong with either of these tech-oriented golfing devices at your disposal.
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