Review: Cobra Bio Cell + 3-wood

Small and Compact + Power
In a world where bigger is better; Cobra designed a fairway wood that is just about the smallest on the market.  While others are making “3-woods” that are mini drivers, this fairway wood is closer to the size of a hybrid, yet it produces powerful results.  You can see the hand of tour players in the design of this club.  They don’t always have full 460cc drivers and their skill doesn’t need a big head or tall faced 3-wood either.  I couldn’t believe the results of this small and compact 3-wood + power.
The Bio Cell + line is aimed at the better players and this fairway wood is no different.  The 8 hosels setting will be the first clue that this will be better suited for lower handicap golfers with higher swing speeds.  The settings go from 12.0* of loft to 15* of loft which for many amateur golfers this isn’t going to be enough loft for them to get the ball in the air sufficiently.  In the neutral settings the club also has a fade bias which is also another benefit for the better player that prefers that ball flight.  The low spin adds to the power of this 3-wood.  For those of us that spin everything too much, this club can really help keep those numbers down.  Basically, if you have game, this thing is a canon, if the 3-wood isn’t your strength, look at the regular Bio Cell.

 

The Cobra Bio Cell + 3-wood comes stock set to 13.5*.  I typically play 14.5* or 15* in my 3-wood.  While I could have tuned it higher, I decided to try it lower (since I could) and found that the lower loft really does make it longer.  There was a trade off for the lower launch; I wasn’t going to be cutting the corner over trees with this 3-wood at this setting either.  Since our spring has been very windy I really liked the lower launch and lower spin of this 3-wood.  I was actually launching it lower than the driver.  Mainly because I can’t hit up on the ball when it isn’t on a tee. I hit down on it or at least try to come in a flat as possible with the 3-wood.  This trajectory control really helped keep me out of trouble in the wind this spring.  Rolling it down the middle or bouncing one into the green was really fun to play in high winds when others are watching their ball float, balloon or go the wrong direction sideways.

Because the head is small and compact, I could play it easily off the fairway, but even out of slightly thicker rough than I would normally hit I could still get clean, solid contact on the ball.  It was almost like a hybrid in that sense.  The smaller head is thin with a rounded sole so that you can easily get it down and through the thick stuff. 

True to Cobra form, the Bio Cell + line is offered in multiple colors.  The grey color I played is one of the toned down looks.  But don’t worry it still comes in the other bright colors as well, red, blue, orange, + they added black this year to round out the choices.  I’ve noticed a bunch of high school golfers getting Bio Cell clubs to match their schools colors.

The Matrix Red Tie fairway shaft in this club is really stable and helps keep the ball on a flat trajectory.  It is a mid-launch shaft that is so smooth that you really feel the kick into the ball.  The ball comes off hot and flat without going high.  The feel is very solid too.  Because the head is so compact it really has a slightly muted feel.  The crack at impact is great.  The trailing edge of the crown shows off some of the bio cell webbing that takes some rear crown weight and moves it lower and forward.
 
My only struggle with this club would be the forgiveness.  Since it is small and compact, there isn’t a lot of margin for error.  I found that if I didn’t catch it pure, it had a tendency to leak right on me.  That fade bias seemed more pronounced on poorer swings.  When I caught it square it was so long with maybe just a slight right tail at the end.  While it isn’t impossible to turn this 3-wood over from right to left, it certainly prefers to move in the other direction.  For golfer that wants to work a 3-wood, this might be one of the better choices, especially keeping the right to left under control.

The Cobra Bio Cell + 3-wood is really impressive.  The small and compact head has a great shape to it and the results are equally great.  There are 8 different setting to get this head set-up how you need it.  If you want a lower launching, lower spinning and long 3-wood this is the one for you.  It packs a big punch for such a little head.  It was designed with tour player input and will be an excellent fit for many better player.  It is small and compact + power.

For more information: www.cobragolf.com

Quick Hits
+Small and compact headshape
+Low CG for low spin
+8 hosel settings
+Long
+Excellent sound and feel

–Not too forgiving

I was testing multiple clubs so I used 3-hybrid for Bio Cell + 3-wood.