A week after adding to the Tour-inspired 3D-printed iron range, Cobra is launching the new line of OPTM drivers and metalwoods, with a main focus on product of inertia (POI). It’s a new venture for Cobra, but the company has also continued with the already successful H.O.T. Face Technology insert and highly customizable FutureFit33 hosel system found in previous driver models.

So here’s everything you need to know about Cobra’s OPTM lineup and more on the POI focus:

What’s POI, how is it used for OPTM?

If you’ve been into driver launches from the past, moment of inertia (MOI) has been a highly discussed and explored topic, with golf equipment manufacturers looking to increase it in driver heads to help with forgiveness. While MOI (moment of inertia), which is a measure of how resistant a clubhead is to twisting on off-center hits on the vertical and horizontal axes, Cobra has looked to POI, which measures how a clubhead rotates diagonally across all axes at once. By lowering the POI, Cobra believes that this causes a tighter dispersion, and more accurate shots can occur without as much gear effect (the clubface twisting at impact).

“MOI is still important, but POI is the next frontier in terms of overall accuracy,” said Jose Miraflor, VP of product architecture and consumer connections at Cobra Puma Golf. “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.”

So, where is POI involved? Each driver head in the new OPTM family features specific shaping that has been optimized by AI to enhance the center of gravity (CG) placement. The driver head itself is more rounded to place the CG more central, and by running AI models, Cobra found spots where weights would be best placed in new locations to produce the lowest POI possible.

Weighing the options

The LS driver, which features a Tour profile and tends to work best for faster swingers, features weight ports in the high toe, mid heel and back, with 11-, 7- and 3-gram moveable weights, while the X model features a Tour-preferred profile and weight ports in the mid-high toe and back with 11- and 3-gram moveable weights. The Max-K, the most forgiving of the four models with the highest MOI, features an oversize profile for maximum forgiveness and a fixed 11-gram rear weight. The Max-D, designed to help players straighten a slice swing, features a lightweight design, built-in draw bias and oversized profile with a fixed 11-gram weight in the heel area of the clubhead.

Continuing customizability and face tech

The new OPTM metalwood family also features Cobra’s FutureFit33 hosel system and H.O.T. face insert from the DS-Adapt range. 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. Each driver, fairway wood and hybrid also features Cobra’s H.O.T face, which utilizes machine learning to create 15 hot spots across the face to maximize ball speed across and help with off-center contact.

Fairways and hybrids

Complementing the OPTM driver lineup is a full range of fairway woods featuring the same POI focus, H.O.T. face insert and highly customizable FutureFit33 hosel system. There are three fairway wood models: LS, X and MAX, with the LS providing the deepest face and lowest spin rates of the three OPTM models, thanks to its low and forward CG location and 3-, 11- and 14-gram moveable weights in the rear, heel and toe areas

The X model features a middle CG location and medium face height with 3- and 17-gram moveable weights in the rear and toe areas of the clubhead, while the MAX is designed to provide the most forgiveness with draw bias, with a back and heel biased CG, and the shallowest face of the three models. The MAX also has weight ports in the rear and heel positions, housing 14- and 3-gram moveable weights.

OPTM hybrids fill out Cobra’s new metalwood collection and feature updated shaping that includes a slightly larger address profile and shallower face height for easier launch and optimized trajectory.

Cobra’s OPTM line is available for fitting and pre-sale on Jan. 13 and available at retailers and online on Jan. 20.