Cobra are the first brand to launch their new 2025 product range, with four new drivers building on the success of last year’s Darkspeed, which we thought was one of the best looking drivers of the past few years.
The new line is called DS-Adapt, which features a key new technology which is designed to help golfers dial in their ball flight more accurately than ever before.
Cobra have also become the latest brand to introduce a 10K Driver aimed at ultimate forgiveness with the DS-Adapt Max-K, and that is the driver I am looking at today.
Who Is It Aimed At?
10K drivers are aimed to be super forgiving as they offer the highest rates of MOI possible – which means that the weight is distributed evenly across the club head to add lots of stability.
However, Cobra are saying that you won’t have to compromise on losing speed and distance as they have built on the standard set by the original Darkspeed and increased the MOI of that original design.
The idea is that any golfer could use this driver though, thanks to the FutureFit33 system, provided that you’re not looking for super low spin or super high ball speeds.
The Tech
The Max-K is the latest addition to Cobra’s lineup and it the brand’s first model to feature 10k MOI, making it the most forgiving in the range.
It features a slightly oversized profile compared to the original Darkspeed model, whilst remaining at 460cc, and still benefits from the progressive aerodynamics that are included in the rest of the DS-Adapt range including a reduced heel area to provide more speed in the downswing.
The FutureFit33 system offers golfers a choice of 33 different settings to fine-tune ball flight, including a pure neutral setting which allows ball flight to be lowered or raised without changing left-to-right shape.
FutureFit33 uses an app to help golfers get the most from their fitting technology, which should make it easier for them to find the setting they need with less human error. The head even features a QR code which gives golfers more info on how they can use the new system.
In addition, Smartpad technology introduces a new sole design which helps to ensure that the clubface remains square at address, regardless of the loft and lie setting.
Existing Cobra technologies like the Pwr-Bridge weight and H.O.T Face technology have also been enhanced this time around, providing higher ball speeds, better launch and more forgiveness.
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Cobra DS-Adapt Max-K Driver Review
Looks and Feel
Personally, I loved the look of last year’s Darkspeed Driver at address with the blacked-out head and very simplistic yet cool and futuristic design overall. The DS-Adapt range is a bit busier, with a more robotic, mechanical finish to it. I personally think the original Dark-Speed was my preference, if I was being really picky on some of the very small detail changes.
In the DS-Adapt range, Cobra have chosen to design each of the drivers with a less triangular look at address, however, you don’t register this so much, as the 10k is a very different shape overall.
Obviously, with it being 10k MOI and a larger head shape, it looks different to the rest of the range. Being completely honest, I actually steered away from this model in the line up initially, as I just though it looked too big at address.
However, the performance made up for this, and eventually I got used to it. But as always with 10k MOI drivers, if you’ve not been used to seeing one at address, it might be a bit odd to start…
For the new range they’ve brought in a new laser face, which essentially means you see more loft than you play. The idea behind this is that you might be playing a 9-degree driver, but it’ll look closer to a 10.5 at address.
This change has come from player feedback, as well as ensuring you can see better in the adapt range where the face starts and the crown ends. These are small visual differences from last year’s Darkspeed models, which might just take some getting used to if you’ve had DS in the bag.
The Max-K model has a bit more of a loud thud sound at impact, not super sharp like I would ideally want to hear. I didn’t really dislike it, but to me it lacked the sound that makes you think you’ve really struck it well.
Having said that, it does have a great feel off the face. It did slightly lacks in feedback – I could tell where I was hitting it from on the face by looking at the impact position after the shot, however you don’t notice this from the feel of the shot.
This very much comes down to what you’re looking for as a golfer. Personally, I want to know where I’m making impact even if the shots are ending up in the fairway, so I can look to fix that outside of the golf course, however, it was nice to be more blissfully unaware, just watching the ball head nicely down the fairway every time regardless of the strike.
The Data
Interestingly, the ball speed was slightly down with the 10k model compared to some of the other DS-adapt range, while the carry and total distances were higher.
With an average ball speed of 133, carry of 214 and total of 237, I was impressed with these numbers overall. This is roughly what I’d expect to see with my driver, so the Max-K was certainly giving me some good numbers.
The thing I felt was most impressive looking at the Trackman data, was the consistency of the numbers. Despite feeling as though I was striking it at different points on the face, even with my bad shots the numbers were all around the same ballpark.
This of course, is what we expect with a 10k driver, but it was fun to be able to really go for it a bit more with my swing, knowing I had that safety net of forgiveness in-case I wasn’t hitting the centre of the club.
On-Course Performance
As you’d expect with a 10k driver, the main allure came in from the distribution and consistency of the shot shape hit. As well as always seeming to go the same distance, the Max-K driver failed to find any trouble during the on-course testing.
This pretty much felt the same as the Ping 10K driver – although the finishing of the two drivers and sound at impact differs, the results were very similar.
I tested the driver on a pretty chilly day at Stockport GC in November and, whilst I wasn’t getting much roll-out or huge carry distances, the reliability of this club off the tee was really impressive. I would say that driving is really one of the strengths of my game but the Max-K just gives you so much confidence because it’s so solid.
Cobra DS-Adapt Max-K Driver Verdict
The consistency both on course and through the data make the FutureFit33 system a really exciting feature. I think with the Max-K driver, you can rely on it to consistently deliver the same shot each time, while using the fitting system, you can choose what that shot should be, even if you would struggle to naturally produce this.
I do think this could be pretty game changing for a lot of golfers.
As usual with Cobra they are able to come in with a price point which is slightly cheaper than some of the other big brands, with an RRP of £469 making it the cheapest 10K driver on the market which is therefore really good value for money.
Would I Use It?
Other than being a little large at address for my liking, I struggled to find faults in the DS-Adapt Max-K driver. For this reason, I’d happily put it in the bag based on performance.
Cobra DS-Adapt Max-K Driver Pros and Cons.
