Coming off an impressive performance at the Presidents Cup, Phil Mickelson is among the golfers competing in the opening event of the 2017-18 season.
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It’s not unusual for the PGA Tour postseason, particularly who wins the FedEx Cup, to go a long way toward who gets voted player of the year. The leading candidates for the Jack Nicklaus Award are the top five in the FedEx Cup standings going into East Lake: Dustin Johnson, Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas, Webb Simpson and Collin Morikawa. Morikawa won the only major at the PGA Championship.
Given the speed that Bryson DeChambeau hits a golf ball, it’s difficult to find the perfect driver for him. His average of 190.7 mph was the second-highest ball speed on TOUR last season, which means any slightly off-center strike can result in bigger trouble for him than it does for the average TOUR player, who averages 20 mph less (170.4 mph) than DeChambeau. That’s why DeChambeau has been working closely with Cobra over the last year to help create a driver that will provide more forgiveness and accuracy. The new, multi-material Cobra King LTDx drivers are the result of those efforts (click here for more on Cobra’s LTDx drivers here). “A lot of (the design improvements) were from last year’s input,” DeChambeau told GolfWRX on Monday at the Farmers Insurance Open. “There were obviously some moments that were tough, and some great moments, as well. I would say we’ve worked really hard on making a driver that works very well for me and for consumers that have some speed. And also, because we understand the upper end of speed, the lower end is going to be helped out quite a bit because we understand the parameters. Once you understand both sides of the coin, you can fit really well in between.” To DeChambeau’s point, the Cobra LTDx lineup has three different options to suit a wide range of golfers. There’s a low-spin Cobra King LTDx LS model, a standard Cobra King LTDx version, and a Cobra King LTDx Max that’s made for draw spin. While DeChambeau debuted a LTDx LS prototype at the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Maui, he showed up at Torrey Pines with the more-forgiving LTDx standard version with just 5 degrees of loft. From a design perspective, each model in the King Cobra LTDx driver family is made with PWR-COR technology that consists of internal and external weighting that moves center of gravity (CG) to positions that enhance performance. They also have new face designs that feature 15 pockets of different thicknesses to help increase ball speeds on off-center hits. Additionally, the crown and sole feature lightweight carbon composite material, which work in conjunction with a titanium body that helps lower CG and increase forgiveness. “(I’m swinging) a lot freer,” DeChambeau said. “The ball’s not going to go in places that I’m not expecting. That’s just what happens with speed, in general, with any product out there. This is where (Cobra is) the first ones to really take the dive and go, ‘OK, let’s try and understand this and make it playable for guys with speed like this.’” In a recent Cobra media event alongside World Long Drive champion Kyle Berkshire, DeChambeau used an LTDx prototype to hit his all-time high of 221 mph of ball speed. Of course, that type of speed can’t be expected week-to-week on the PGA TOUR, but DeChambeau is hopeful the new driver will help him produce more speed consistently. “(Hitting 221 mph) was pretty awesome,” he said. “Obviously, on the course it’s a totally different state of being, but eventually, over time, it’s just allowing me to be over 190 mph consistently and I’m excited to continue to keep trying to hit it farther and farther. I’m not afraid of it, and I love trying to push barriers like always. “I think that’s the point of this whole process is that we’re not done. We still have better iterations to make. They know that, we know that. But this a huge improvement and step forward in a direction that’s allowing me to perform at speed for the first time ever, for anybody I think. It’s going to be a continuous process. It’s not absolutely perfect, but we’re definitely working in a manner that makes sense and is helping me out quite a bit.” As the ultimate tinkerer, DeChambeau told GolfWRX on Monday that he’s using lead tape to add weight to the toe of his driver. He may add some more weight internally to the upper portion of the crown before the tournament begins, as well. At speeds of 190-plus mph, every single gram matters, especially if you want to keep it in the fairway.
Iowa State golfer Celia Barquin Arozamena was 22 when she was murdered last September.
