Equipment

Cobra Golf

Turn over the wooden Baffler and two raised rails run along its sole, the underside of the clubhead. Cobra introduced the model in 1975 with 23° of loft. Its construction was laminated wood, and the unusual sole was central to the design.¹

Cobra Golf Mark unavailable

Archive-held Cobra Golf mark. Date of introduction unverified. Logo source

The underside of a wooden Cobra Baffler, with two raised metal rails along its sole. — Baffler illustrating Cobra’s 1975 history entry. Two raised rails are visible on the sole. Photograph: Cobra Golf. Image source

Tom Crow, an Australian amateur golfer, had started Cobra in Kearney Mesa, California, in 1973. The Baffler followed two years later. Cobra’s company history credits catamarans skimming across the Pacific with inspiring its sole plate.¹

The rails were intended to help the head travel through turf. That purpose is easier to understand from the underside than from the view a player has behind the ball. The surviving design also shows why the word “wood” needs care: this Baffler used laminated wood, while other wooden heads were carved from solid persimmon.¹²

At a glance

Company founded: 1973, by Tom Crow¹
Original Baffler: Introduced in 1975¹
Construction and loft: Laminated wood, 23°¹

Sources

Cobra GolfCobra Golf History: 1973 and 1975
Louisville GolfHow We Make Our Clubs

At a glance

Sources

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