Cobra OPTM X Driver Review: The cream of Cobra's new crop

New driver silly season is well underway, and following on from last week's acclaimed TaylorMade Qi4D drop, Cobra are next up at the the plate.

2026 looks set to be a potentially pivotal year for Cobra, a brand that has somewhat struggled to really capture headlines in recent times. While Max Homa was a big signing for the brand, his steady slide down the OWGR rankings this year (he now sits 132nd, in case you're wondering) has removed a bit of the shine from what was supposed to be Cobra's new marquee moment.

The brand remains one of the most innovative around from an equipment standpoint all the same. Last week's release of the 3DP iron range, the first 3D Printed retail iron range from any major manufacturer, indicates that there are a lot of new innovations to come from Cobra's engineers.

Even so, it's not unfair to say Cobra needs the OPTM range to make a splash if it has any hopes of making meaningful inroads against the likes of Titleist, Callaway and TaylorMade. And here it is.

The OPTM X is effectively the new range's core model driver, however in comparison to the ultra-forgiving Qi4D model, Cobra's X drivers have been creeping increasingly further into the realm of drivers designed for slightly better players, in many cases taking the back seat to the high MOI Max variants. 

The sales reflect this. While it was positioned as Cobra's versatile Cobra driver head last year, DS-ADAPT X sales accounted for just over 20% of DS-ADAPT sales last year, with the more forgiving MAX range taking up more than 60%.

Who, then, is the new OPTM X for, and does it give it provide a compelling alternative to the higher MOI model for most golfers?We took the new DS-ADAPT X on the course at Quinta do Lago to find out.

Check out our video review below and scroll on to read our detailed thoughts. Let us know what you think of the new range in the comments below, and be sure to check out our review of the new Cobra OPTM MAX driver and OPTM LS driver here.

Looks and features

Cobra's mandate with the entire OPTM range was the pursuit of one very particular tenet of driver performance. Their drivers have been known for some time as among the longest and most forgiving around, so for this model, the main focus was accuracy. Note that accuracy doesn't mean forgiveness, it's more a case of reducing dispersion to get your bad shots on a straighter path and make your good shots even more consistent.

To deliver this, Cobra focused on improving a metric known as Product of Inertia, or POI, which is effectively taken to multiple new dimensions. This meant reducing the amount the driver moves diagonally across all axises at impact, delivering more stability and consistency on off centre strikes while optimising speed and spin on true hits.

A high MOI score is good, but according to Cobra, a low POI is even better, and means more accuracy through reducing the effect of wild hooks and pulls that sometimes arise even when a driver has a high MOI figure.

To lower the OPTM X's POI, Cobra used AI to reshape the driver head and redistribute its adjustable weights to reduce multi-axis twisting at impact. The result is a the biggest decrease in POI across the entire new OPTM range – the X coming in with a final score of up to minus -500 compared to the DS-ADAPT X's 600.

Much of the same tech from the DS-ADAPT range also returns, including the H.O.T face insert that has 15 hot spots across the face to maximise ball speed, and Cobra's much-loved FUTUREFIT33 hosel system, which allows players which offers 33 unique loft and lie combinations allowing players to specifically tune their club to produce their desired flight characteristics.

Beyond this, the OPTM X shares the same features, and indeed sort of the same aesthetic profile, as its predecessor. It has a handsome high carbon content crown and sole, with the X's distinctive blue accents returning (the OPTM MAX-K and MAX-D come in white/red respectively and the OPTM LS in all black).

Once again, Cobra have made a good looking driver here, following very much in the vein of Carbon-heavy designs we've seen hit the market so far this year. The X has the most conventional of the OPTM's driver shapes, with a pretty classic teardrop shape that's been honed ever so slightly to emphasise those aforementioned POI qualities, so those who like a traditional-looking driver won't find much to complain about here.

The high-gloss carbon crown isn't our favourite due to its reflective qualities, but the simple alignment aid and clearly marked face lines make it easy to get a square and true alignment at address every time.

Performance

The core OPTM X model is designed to be something of an all-rounder for the company, and delivers a really strong, healthy mix of forgiveness, speed and adjustability. The X is fast, producing some of the highest speed and carry numbers we've seen from a driver in the last few years, while the option to adjust the forward and rear weights to gear either for forgiveness or high-speed accuracy really helps you dial in those characteristics even further.

The feel of the OPTM X is typically aggressive off the face, with none of the distinct clickiness or metallic ping you get from other brands. It's loud and booming, and really like your driver to feel like it's crushing the ball into dust at impact without losing too much in the way of direct feedback, this is the one for you.

We were very seriously impressed by the numbers we were able to achieve with the X, which left us wondering slightly why everyday golfers aren't being fit into it more regularly. The FUTUREFIT hosel system allows the DS-ADAPT X to cater for a wide array of different ball flights, and while the MOI numbers aren't spectacular, the OPTM X still boasts plenty of forgiveness on off-centre strikes thanks to its super hot face.

Set with its weights in maximum forgiveness mode, we found it performed close to the MAX-K in terms of performance on weaker shots – with the added bonus of a more penetrating fight and more adjustment options as you grow increasingly comfortable with it. Switching this weight forward does reduce forgiveness a touch and naturally produce less consistent spin rates, but the speed and distance gains we saw as a result more than made up for it.

Should you buy the Cobra OPTM X Driver?

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Cobra OPTM X Golf Driverfrom £479.00 at Scottsdale Golf

Cobra's OPTM X is, for our money, by far the most impressive model in the brand's new driver line-up this year. While it doesn't boast the inflated MOI numbers of increasingly popular max forgiveness models, we found that the X delivers on Cobra's aim of producing a truly versatile club that balances forgiveness with seriously impressive distance and versatility. 

The adjustment options are excellent, providing a balance of forgiveness and distance in its forgiveness mode while offering a seriously impressive boost of speed and tighter dispersion for better players in its accuracy mode. As such, we feel that the X gives even developing players far more room to grow into this club as they progress throughout the game, making it a perfect catch-all option for mid and even high-handicappers who are serious about lowering their scores.