ShopTalk: Cobra specs

[tflan]

Hi;   Here's what I get for the "King Cobra SS 350, 10.5�, Beta Titanium, .825 C.O.R./25.0 CM sq Sweet Spot"(!)   Length 45", Weight 318 gm, SW D-0.5   Shaft "Made for King Cobra. Aldila HM Tour Regular Flex Mid Kick, 60 grams.)   Frequency = 244 cpm gripped, 252 cpm no grip.   Subtracting weights; 318 gm - 60 gm shaft - 52 gm grip - 6 gm tape, ferrule, glue (est.) = head wt 200 gm.   I don't have a torque measuring device so I can't check that. I'll assume something in the 3.5 to 4.5 range though. The club specs are pretty much as one would expect other than the fact that it plays really boardy. That, it seems to me, has been a characteristic of Aldila shafts for a long time. But then, how to explain the same characteristics with the other 3 Cobras I hit, all of which had R flex Grafalloys? Ah, it is to wonder and ponder.   Aside from a relatively low swing weight I can't see why this shaft plays as stiff as it does, other than the possibility of really low torque, but it does indeed play stiffer than other shafts with the same freqs that I've used over the years.   One thing I did note though; the center of the face - the so-called "sweet spot," has no score lines. That implies a center section that's too thin to cut lines into, which in turn implies a "spring-like" effect. I suspect however that the absence of score lines is simply a marketing device. But then, I suspect there's no Santa Claus, Tooth Fairy, or Easter Bunny as well. I am however to suspend skepticism as to whether I'll someday find that damn pot at the end of the rainbow.   TFlan