L4V X with Big Fish 8

A little review of what I have been hitting lately. The head is a Cobra L4V X 9*, shafted with Graman Big Fish 8.

This club has been laying around in the den for quite a while, I guess. When I visited the Den and it was quiet, I took the liberty of clubs after clubs on the Trackman to see if there is any combo that would beat my current gamer. Stumbled upon this L4V-Big Fish 8 combo and decided to give it a try. I heard so much good things about this head but I never hit it. Never really liked Cobra, hate the sound.

I am a naturally high-ball hitter and high-spin player. My search for a driver-shaft combo that would lower my launch and spin rate is never-ending lately. Tried every combo possible on the Trackman and the best I get is around 3200 spin rate and about 16* or 17* launch. Not good, carry less than 200 meters for a total distance of around 200 meters with a smash factor nearing 1.5 all the time with swing speed around 95!

Anyway, upon hitting the first shot with this Cobra on the Trackman I was surprised that it actually carried 200 meter for a total distance of around 220 meters. Wow, that was long. Check the whole numbers and it consistently gave me something like 200 meters of carry, 220 meters of total distance, launch around 14* or less and spin around 2400! All this with my usual swing speed of 95-97. Not bad at all, I thought.

I didn't give much thought on the specs and decided to wrap it up and took it home. The fact that I got that nod from DGman ensured me that I was making the right decision. Only days later that I discovered the specs of the shaft. 78 grams, 1.7* of torque. Not in my league, I thought. My usual driver shaft is around mid-50 to low-60 gram range with torque around 3* give or take .4*. But since the Trackman numbers were so great, I decided to give it a try anyway.

Got my first game with this driver and boy... was I in for a BIG surprise!

Admittedly, my driver has been sloppy lately. Giving me only around 230 meters of total distance. And I was hitting my Cobra 245-250 on average today! Some even got to a 270 meters mark and no down-wind, mind you! And best of all, I lost one ball in total on the first tee because my first shot ever hitting the Cobra went way left into the OB. There something about the feel of the shaft that gives me such a supreme confident to go at it. And no, I still didn't like the sound! But with a performance that great, I didn't care about the sound anymore and pretend to be deaf every time I hit my driver.

Now this combo has made it into my bag, knocking both my 282 out for the moment. I am keeping those Superquads though, for the rainy days...

are u able to achieve this with same shaft and different head?

weesern wrote:

are u able to achieve this with same shaft and different head?

I am not sure. One thing IS for sure: the feel of the shaft gives you confident to go at it hard as you could! And I do believe that shaft plays THE MOST important role in a set up more than anything else...

As for the heads, manufacturers now offers so many designs each with its own technology designated to a certain group of players. Honestly, the technology that goes into the driver head these days are on par from one to another manufacturer...

Again, the bottom line is: go and see a good club fitter. But when your game is not up to it yet, save the money for lessons with a good teaching pro...

I'll say this about the L4V -- it's a forgiving head, and that G8 shaft is a beast. damn stable. The sound at impact takes some getting used to, but the results speak for themselves.

I wasn't able to get my usual distances off this combo, but it is a low-spin combo, piercing trajectory, and rolls like hell.

No, the sound don't take sometime to get used to. I simply never get used to it and I simply will never like it. But as the result was so amazing, I'll play deaf every time I hit my driver...

i was also eyeing that head at the den but decided to go for the cobra s9 proD instead.... glad u like it

slinger wrote:

i was also eyeing that head at the den but decided to go for the cobra s9 proD instead.... glad u like it

Funny, cause I was considering the S9 ProD sometime last year and decided to go with the L4V X instead.

Wow yarra, now I am tempted to reshaft my driver !

golf_nut wrote:

Wow yarra, now I am tempted to reshaft my driver !

Maybe you should visit the Den and talk to DGman...

Will have another game tomorrow with this combo. See if it really lives up to its first impression...

Another round with this combo and it still amazes me. Consistent performer drive and drive, giving me consistent ball flight, consistent distance and lots of rolls on the ground. But most of all, I love the feel! I can feel where my club head is at all time during the swing and I love the fact that it doesn't feel lagging on me. It feels stout alright, but I guess that's the key that inspires confidence.

and you were looking for 45 g shaft not too long ago....what happened?

DGman wrote:

and you were looking for 45 g shaft not too long ago....what happened?

LOL! Trial and error, ma?

Now I got so much wiser and more experience thanks to you... But also, my expenses are rocketing sky-high!

wow, nice review and it bears gd resemblance to my situation too...

was actually having the prob of too high a launch - thereby killing distance for my drives. Then i tried a friend's Titty 909D2 with a matrix ozik shaft that just flew straight (most of the time) with lower launch (but occasionally high). was convinced that it would be the one for me, so i got a 909D2 (voodoo stiff stock shaft) with the intent to reshaft.

however surprisingly, the 70+ gram voodoo shaft actually worked really well launch-wise. it was much lower and penetrating while the D2 head provided good dispersion stats. Distance gained was much better too - from 200m~220m to 210m~240m (250m if perfect drive). think i benefitted from the higher kick of the shaft.

weird thing is that i play regular shafts for all my other clubs (ns pro for irons and reg USA spec graphite/stock for woods) - which are also much lighter

wondering if the big fish 8 shaft has a higher kick pt than the voodoo? just wondering if i can get an even lower launch angle from it?

Have you been doing the "secret" training that DGMan prescribed?

watermyforrest wrote:

Have you been doing the "secret" training that DGMan prescribed?

Secret training? What secret training? It wouldn't be so secret anymore if I tell you, would it?

Seriously, no. The only thing that changes is the arrow, not the Indian...

Yarra wrote:

Secret training? What secret training? It wouldn't be so secret anymore if I tell you, would it?

Seriously, no. The only thing that changes is the arrow, not the Indian...

maybe u have become a better indian.......

TObe wrote:

wow, nice review and it bears gd resemblance to my situation too...

was actually having the prob of too high a launch - thereby killing distance for my drives. Then i tried a friend's Titty 909D2 with a matrix ozik shaft that just flew straight (most of the time) with lower launch (but occasionally high). was convinced that it would be the one for me, so i got a 909D2 (voodoo stiff stock shaft) with the intent to reshaft.

however surprisingly, the 70+ gram voodoo shaft actually worked really well launch-wise. it was much lower and penetrating while the D2 head provided good dispersion stats. Distance gained was much better too - from 200m~220m to 210m~240m (250m if perfect drive). think i benefitted from the higher kick of the shaft.

weird thing is that i play regular shafts for all my other clubs (ns pro for irons and reg USA spec graphite/stock for woods) - which are also much lighter

wondering if the big fish 8 shaft has a higher kick pt than the voodoo? just wondering if i can get an even lower launch angle from it?

I never hit a 70-gram Voodoo as in the past I always try to look for sub-50 grams driver shaft. There is a believe here that unless you are super strong with super fast swing speed, you should play a light-weight shaft. Never taken into account load and other parameter.

The 60-gram Voodoo still launches high on me. And the thing about this Big Fish is that it feels so stout that it actually gives me confidence going at it. I don't have to worry about clearing my hips too fast, psychologically. I know, it's all in your head... But it's good to have the tools to back up my twisted mind...

slinger wrote:

Yarra wrote:

Secret training? What secret training? It wouldn't be so secret anymore if I tell you, would it?

Seriously, no. The only thing that changes is the arrow, not the Indian...

maybe u have become a better indian.......

Hmm... I am not sure I can jump up that significantly within a month or so only with an Impact Stick. I don't mean to sound like a walking ad for DGman, but it is true. That's the only thing changes from my practice regime in the last month or so...

u know, its a good feeling to know u have NO FEAR when u bring the BIG DOG out.....

Yep... Now I got a problem. Got 3 other drivers with shaft weight ranging from high-50 to low-60 grams. It feels like floating on me! Now I gotta find 70-grammer to re-shaft all my driver!

my only logic to explain the shaft wt being suitable is b'cos its heavier & stiffer - thus allowing us big ego boys (heh..) to just attempt to crush the drive w/o letting the flex lead to too high a launch...

reason i said this is cos i know that i'm really really hitting so much harder with the driver (less fear of duff due to high teeing of the ball) than woods/irons... guess the assurance from the tee just makes me wanna let it rip.....

TObe wrote:

my only logic to explain the shaft wt being suitable is b'cos its heavier & stiffer - thus allowing us big ego boys (heh..) to just attempt to crush the drive w/o letting the flex lead to too high a launch...

reason i said this is cos i know that i'm really really hitting so much harder with the driver (less fear of duff due to high teeing of the ball) than woods/irons... guess the assurance from the tee just makes me wanna let it rip.....

I am a naturally high-launching and high-spinning player. The heavier shaft let me lower my launch and my spin rate considerably.