Cobra Golf changed the focus during OPTM driver development.

Shifting gears from not just the current industry focal points of speed and forgiveness, where designs are formed around moment of inertia (MOI), Cobra has gone more in-depth and redesigned a driver lineup to center around a new concept – product of inertia (POI) – the perfect balance between speed and forgiveness with a new emphasis on the need for accuracy as well.

It’s a new venture for Cobra, with OPTM being its most stable driver on the market, while also continuing with the already successful H.O.T. Face Technology insert, and highly customizable FutureFit33 hosel system, in four distinct models (LS, X, MAX-K and MAX-D) to help all categories of golfer.

“Over the last three years, our engineers have been working on a term called product of inertia,” Jose Miraflor, Cobra Golf's vice president of product architecture and consumer connections, told PGATOUR.COM. “Unlike moment of inertia, it is not just about stability. It is about stability in multiple directions at one time.”

While MOI, which is a measure of how resistant a clubhead is to be twisted on off-center hits on the horizontal (X) and vertical (Y) axes, Cobra has looked to POI, which measures how a clubhead rotates diagonally (Z axis) with toe hang or heel hang on impact.

Studying all three axes and lowering the POI, Cobra creates tighter dispersions with the OPTM lineup, and more accurate shots can occur without as much gear effect and the clubface twisting at impact.

“MOI is still important, but POI is the next frontier in terms of overall accuracy,” Miraflor said. “In design, we want to increase MOI (stability) while also reducing POI (3D twisting). POI finetunes forgiveness into directional consistency as it allows the clubhead to rotate more naturally with your swing. If you’re playing a 10k driver but wonder why hits on the high toe, for example, are still producing noticeably wild results, it’s probable your driver has a high POI design, which is a common fault of many current high MOI models.”

With each of the four driver heads created in the new OPTM family, they all feature specific shaping – optimized by AI – to enhance the center of gravity (CG) placement. By rounding the shape of each driver head, Cobra pushed the CG more central and found areas in the clubhead where weight could be added to produce the lowest POI possible.

OPTM LS

The LS driver, which features a Tour profile and tends to work best for faster swingers, is designed with weight ports in the high toe, mid heel and back. Coming with 11-, 7- and 3-gram weights each is movable to create added customizability

“This is our forward CG model made for low spin to help those really fast golfers manage trajectory, but also the most accurate of all and the lowest POI of 292,” Miraflor added.

The LS model has also increased to 460 cc, with the face redesigned to be deeper than previous models.

OPTM X

The X model also features a Tour-inspired profile, similar to previous versions of Cobra drivers, with weight ports in the mid-high toe and back that can fit 11- and 3-gram moveable weights.

“The big model this year that I think a lot of golfers are going to get behind is the standard model of the X,” Miraflor said. “It features a new weighting system that's forward in the toe, and one in the back, 11 grams in the toe is super forgiving and super accurate at the same time.

“It's a great blend of both forgiveness, speed and accuracy.”

OPTM MAX-K

The Max-K is the most forgiving of the four models, featuring an oversized clubhead profile.

“This is a rear CG driver with the highest MOI,” said Miraflor, “but we made it just a little bit more accurate than it was last year.”

Cobra found the added accuracy with a more elongated profile and a fixed 11-gram rear weight to pull back the CG on the driver head.

OPTM MAX-D

The Max-D is designed to help players straighten a slice swing. It features a lightweight design, built-in draw bias and oversized profile with a fixed 11-gram weight in the heel area of the clubhead.

“We took all the discretionary weight that we have and pulled it into the heel, and we put it all the way in the back heel to make this driver easier to square,” said Miraflor. “Whether you know it or not, we're helping you square up the driver. The lie-angle on this driver is the most upright. It's tilting that spin axis to the left if you're righty and helping you to reduce that slice.”

With increased stability across all axes, it has also helped Cobra unlock more distance. Former U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland, who has always been one of the biggest hitters on TOUR but never has led the standings, has managed to add extra distance to his game by switching into the new OPTM driver and sits at the top of the PGA TOUR’s Driving Distance, averaging over 330 yards off the tee. The 41-year-old also leads the TOUR in ball speed at 188.31 mph on average.

The new OPTM family also features Cobra’s FutureFit33 hosel system and H.O.T. face insert from the previous ranges. The FutureFit33 hosel features 33 different loft and lie settings that can be adjusted independently. Cobra implemented its Smartpad Technology to ensure the clubface remains square at address, regardless of the loft or lie setting, and continues to use the same sole-geometry design, allowing the club to lie naturally.

Cobra’s H.O.T face utilizes machine learning to create 15 hot spots across the face to maximize ball speed across and help with off-center contact.

Cobra’s new OPTM drivers are available worldwide in stores and on cobragolf.com.