TPE face insert produces a lovely soft feeling at impact, large head provides plenty of forgiveness, Descending Loft Technology maintains a consistent roll
Cons
Not our favourite looking putter at address
Cobra King Cuda Putter Key Features:
MIM (metal injection moulding) 304 stainless steel construction featuring adjustable sole weighting: flexibility to customise head weight and feel with five different weights
LA GOLF Descending Loft Technology: provides players with four planes of loft, descending from the top to the bottom of the face to ensure an optimal launch on every stroke
Soft PEBAX TPE insert: delivers a soft feel at impact
Launched in tandem with Cobra's range of 3D-printed putters, the Vintage range features the Cuda and six other models.
The Vintage range is offered at a slightly cheaper price point than the 3D-printed putters, with another key point of difference being a PEBAX TPE insert in the face, which is claimed to deliver a softer feel.
The Cuda also features interchangeable weights in the sole, as well as LA Golf's Descending Loft Technology, which is designed to ensure an even roll on your ball even if your hands get ahead or behind the face at impact.
To see how this new putter performed, we took it to a putting studio to test it out on a Zenn putting green.
Let's get into it.
Player Level
Delivering exceptional performance and a healthy level of forgiveness, this putter could be utilised well by almost any gofer. However, it's best suited to players who need help from their putter to produce as solid a roll as possible from off-centre strikes or poor contact.
Cobra King Vintage Cuda Putter
Cobra King Cuda Putter Looks and Feel
It's fair to say the design of the Cuda is safe without being sensational. The fairly large mallet design is perhaps not the sleekest profile on the market, but as we will come on to later in this review, it certainly serves a purpose.
The head features a gunmetal grey finish that is complimented by accents of white and orange.
The colour palette works nicely together, and the array of fonts on the sole gives the putter a good amount of shelf appeal.
Sat behind the ball, the crown of the putter features three alignment lines and a chevron step that helps centre the ball.
Personally, we would have just gone for one alignment aid to give the head a cleaner overall finish, but the visual aid might be a handy tool for those who struggle to line up their putts accurately.
In terms of feel, the PEBAX TPE insert provides a lovely soft sensation at impact, which is partnered with a muted sound that is equally as pleasing.
From across the face, there was also a suitable amount of feedback, allowing you to pinpoint where across the striking surface you are making contact with the ball.
The vintage range is designed to provide a soft feel at impact when compared to Cobra's 3D putters, but in all honesty, the difference is hard to notice.
Overall, this putter delivers solid looks and a very nice premium feel, but as we will come on to shortly, its performance is what really impressed us.
Cobra King Vintage Cuda
Cobra King Cuda Putter Performance and Forgiveness
The most impressive part of this putter is undoubtedly its performance.
During our testing session, we were also trialling a few other models from various brands, and the Cuda came out firmly on top in terms of putts holed.
Thanks to the level of forgiveness on offer, combined with the Descending Loft Technology (DLT), we found with almost every stroke, our ball was either going in or only very narrowly missing the hole.
We were admittedly putting quite well on the day; however, even from some of our worst strikes, the ball could not be convinced to deviate from its line.
Perhaps the most intriguing innovation in this putter is the DLT. First developed by Sik Golf before it was bought by LA Golf, the face, which features four planes of loft at 1-degree increments, does a really impressive job of ensuring your ball doesn't skid or hop from poor hand positions.
It's very easy to add or remove loft without noticing when you putt, and we are admittedly guilty of often doing the former.
However, thanks to DLT, we found the roll on all of our putts was very smooth, even when we intentionally pushed our hands forward or dropped them back.
All in all, we literally can't fault a single aspect of this putter's performance, and it might just be our favourite putter of 2024 so far.
Cobra King Vintage Cuda
Should you buy the Cobra King Cuda Putter?
If you're a fan of a mallet design and want to upgrade your putter without breaking the bank, then the Cobra King Vintage Cuda should be high on your list to try in 2024.
The design is perhaps not the most striking or aesthetically pleasing, but the performance and forgiveness it can offer are potentially second to none.
Cobra is not best known for its putters, but it's certainly making huge strides towards being one of the best brands in the category.
