The Cobra Lady S3 Max Offset Fairway Wood Review

Could the Cobra Lady S3 Max offset fairway wood be just what you need if you tend to slice the ball? Drivers and woods with offset heads – like the S3 Max - are capable of helping mid- to high-handicap golfers achieve a square face at impact. And balls struck with a squared face typically fly straighter, so an offset head can help correct a slice. For some golfers, offset heads can even promote a distance-enhancing draw.

So, if you’re a woman who normally slices from the fairway or the tee of a par three, you might want to read this review of the Cobra Lady S3 Max. You’ll find out whether I think it fulfills the promise of its anti-slice design.

I’ll start this review by discussing the design features and other characteristics of these woods. At the end, you’ll find some of my impressions from playing a few rounds.

There are two main differences between the Cobra Lady S3 Max fairway woods and their non-offset, standard siblings: the S3 Max has an offset club head, and its center of gravity is closer to the heel than in the standard S3. What’s the net result? The Cobra Lady S3 Max has more draw bias than the standard version.

According to Cobra, its Cobra Lady S3 Max fairway woods are designed for women who want forgiving clubs that help them launch the ball higher but also have a draw bias for straighter, longer shots. Most women falling into that description have medium or high handicaps.

Thanks to the company’s “E9 Face Technology,” the oversized 17-4 stainless steel heads of the Cobra Lady S3 Max fairway woods have a significantly larger face than their predecessors and an expanded sweet spot (Cobra calls it the “Sweet Zone®”) for more forgiveness. This larger face is also hotter than that of earlier Cobra ladies woods, with a higher coefficient of restitution (“trampoline” or “spring-like” effect) to promote additional distance. The end result should be longer, more consistent drives.

At address, average and higher-handicap golfers often have trouble aligning the club face properly. Cobra has you covered: a visual alignment aid is present on the top of the crown of the Cobra Lady S3 Max offset fairway wood. This visual aid can prevent you from committing the common error of aligning the club to the right of the target line. It’s an easy mistake to make, but Cobra’s crown design can help ensure that your shots start off toward your target by making it easier to achieve the proper club head alignment.

Right- and left-handed Cobra Lady S3 Max offset fairway woods are available as a 3-wood and a 5-wood, but the 7-wood and 9-wood only come as right-handed models. The stock ladies flex shaft is an excellent, 48-gram graphite Fujikura Blur TX 004. Being so light in weight, this particular shaft is easy for women to swing, but it also has the low kick point lady golfers with slower swing speeds need to launch the ball high. A Golf Pride/Cobra grip is standard on every Cobra Lady S3 Max offset fairway wood.

I tested the 3- and 5-wood versions of the Cobra Lady S3 Max offset fairway wood. The first thing I noticed was the beautiful blue color of the crown. Appearance isn’t everything, but these clubs’ looks will make you proud and confident at address.

Some women struggle to hit a 3-wood crisply, but the Cobra Lady S3 Max makes it easy. Both clubs felt balanced throughout my entire swing. Feel and feedback at impact were outstanding – when I hit the ball purely, I knew it right away, and when I missed the sweet spot I felt some minor vibration but it was never overly harsh. Ball flight was medium to high, and distance and accuracy were quite respectable, even on heel or toe shots. These clubs were even fairly easy to hit from the rough. Unfortunately, the draw bias built into these woods caused me to pull and sometimes hook my balls. I strongly suspect it happened because my natural ball flight is a draw. For those of you who are prone to slices, the draw bias built into the Cobra Lady S3 Max could be a blessing.

The Bottom Line: Can the Cobra Lady S3 Max offset fairway wood help you hit the center of the fairway every time? No. No matter how good it is, no club can do that for you. There’s always some amount of side-to-side ball dispersion. And none of us makes a perfect swing every single time. But if you want a fairway wood that’s designed to correct a slice and maximize distance, accuracy and forgiveness, a Cobra Lady S3 Max offset fairway wood could be worth a look.

From Cobra Lady S3 Max offset fairway wood to other Cobra S3 reviews.