As with so many Snake Eyes products, the Fire Forged Max C.O.R. 400 makes for a terrific looking component. Sincere attention to aesthetics is one of the primary reasons that the Snake Eyes line has been so very successful with clubmakers around the world. In this case, a deep, luminous burgundy-to-black paint job with gold accents has been used in an understated manner that allows the head to participate harmoniously in many color schemes. We have tried the Fire Forged with five, different shafts. Each has made for a beautiful combination. The Fire Forged, as with most Snake Eyes drivers, looks dead sharp in the bag, and at address, as well. This driver sets up nicely. Its 400cc head looks reassuringly large, but without any of that “Volkswagen on a stick” look that afflicts some 400+cc heads.
All of our testers have found that the feel at impact with the Fire Forged is very substantial. The shimmer and high-pitched tingliness that accompany many rival, titanium drivers is not present. Instead, the Fire Forged resonates with a solid, lower pitched smacking sensation, or more appropriately, a “sma-ocking” sensation since a touch of springiness in the face can be discerned. Balls struck across most of the face leave with a good sense of authority.
With the Snake Eyes ProLite shaft, the feel is sweetest, though it is a bit too soft for some. With the AccuFLEX Icon v2, the feel is mellow, but very firm – almost boardy. With the SK Fiber Tour Trac 80, the feel is solidly responsive and comparatively vibrant. Aside from these three shafts, we also briefly tried the Fire Forged in two versions of the Aldila One – the Stiff 65 Low Launch and the Regular 65 Mid Launch. They produced lower trajectories, but feel was not very memorable. It was decided that no real chemistry existed between these components and extended testing was discontinued.
The Fire Forged Max C.O.R. 400 likes to be hit with authority. It seems most responsive when a little oomph is laid into it. When hit hard with any of the three test shafts, the Fire Forged delivers up powerful drives that carry very well with relatively high, arched trajectories. Distances are consistently first-rate – not always exceptionally long, but generally quite good. The 9-degree test drivers flew moderately high for their loft in the ProLite and SK Fiber shafts – more like a 10-degree head for some hitters. Consequently, roll was less than with some rival drivers. With the AccuFLEX and Aldila One Mid Launch, the trajectories were a bit lower. With the Aldila One Low Launch, trajectories were noticeably lower, but were still not as low as some other heads on the same shaft.
In terms of workability, the Fire Forged can be a little reluctant to turn over. It can be hit straight or with a draw, but most testers found that its dispersion patterns favored the right side of the fairway. Fading was easier than drawing. Hooking was infrequent. These tendencies really manifested themselves when our hitters laid off the ball too much, or when they were just plain weary. When either happened, drives went higher and shorter to the right. With the SK Fiber senior flex version we used a short length of 44.5”. This gave a low swingweight of D1. The Fire Forged became quite easy to manage and drives hung out to the right less often. The right side tendencies were still visible,however
The stiffer flexed versions of the Fire Forged were shafted between 45.5 – 45.75 inches. This made the rightwards inclination more pronounced. At 202 grams, these Snake Eyes heads are a few grams heavier than are some rival heads specifically designed for overlength shafts. Swingweights ranged from D5.5 to D7.5 in all longer-shafted versions. As a result, the inclination for these heads to be a tad slow in coming around can be exaggerated with longer shafts. For this reason, most players will want to keep this head at 44 ˝” to 45”. Still, the Fire Forged worked quite well for us at longer lengths; it just needed to be struck well and struck firmly.
Because of these general right side tendencies, chronic slicers will probably be best advised to avoid the Fire Forged completely. However, handsy players who succumb too readily to snap hooks may find that this driver keeps a higher percentage of their drives in play. In terms of making mistakes to the left, the Fire Forged is a very stable performer, particularly when coupled to lower torque shafts such as the AccuFLEX Icon v2 and the Aldila One. For some, this driver may bring their patterns back to dead center.
s to overall consistency of accuracy: The Fire Forged is good, but not great. Basic aiming is intuitive, but precise aiming is not. The snazzy, little Snake Eyes logo is used on the crown as an alignment aid. This is a sharp looking bit of graphic design. It is not a particularly effective alignment aid, however. Some users may not be sure exactly where it should be pointing. Consequently, the head may register a little too open or closed. Such uncertainty can occur whenever a company decides to use its own logo as an alignment aid. In general, any graphics on a crown should be specifically designed to be effective alignment marks, or the crown should be left plain. Nonetheless, reaction to alignment marks varies greatly, so this aspect may be completely irrelevant to many players.
As to the shafts that were used:
The AccuFLEX Icon v2 is for very strong hitters only. Teamed with the Fire Forged it creates a real blaster. A player can lay into this combo with all he’s got and still maintain tight patterns. Slicers will definitely want to avoid it, however. Trajectories are noticeably lower with the AccuFLEX than they are with the other two shafts tested. They penetrate well and produce more roll. Appearance-wise, the charcoal and pewter Icon made for a very handsome, very rich looking driver with an ultra-serious appearance.
For another combination, we decided to go with the Snake Eyes ProLite by Grafalloy because we were familiar with the shaft. We thought that it would make a good point of reference. In retrospect, we wish that we had opted for the Snake Eyes Fire Forged graphite by UST. The ProLite graphite provided its typical feel; a feel that is smoothly responsive and enjoyably mellow. Cut long, however, it provided a bit too much head movement for most of our crew. The Grafalloy shaft felt a shade too whippy and loose with somewhat of a slingshot effect – more like a firm, senior flex than a regular flex. It did generate the best distances of the bunch with moderately high trajectories, but consistency of control was somewhat lacking. Though we have not tested the combo, we would suggest that stronger players who desire a matched head/shaft combination opt for the Snake Eyes/UST shaft cut to no more than 45 ˝”. Its reduced torque rating should provide tighter patterns.
In the third combination, we teamed the black and red SK Fiber Tour Trac 80 senior-flex graphite with a dark, burgundy leather grip from Gripmaster. Another exceeding fine looking driver resulted. Besides looking good, this combo produced the most consistently pleasing results of the three. The SK Fiber is not very soft for a senior shaft. Few would consider it to be at all whippy. It should be thought of as soft regular flex best suited to those with smooth, slow tempos. True seniors may want a shaft with a little more kick to it. The Tour Trac 80 is an inexpensive shaft with a mid bend point and a moderate torque rating of 4.0. It seemed to add some additional height to the Fire Forged drives, but ballooning did not occur. Feel was reasonably vibrant and patterns for those hitters suited to this shaft remained quite good. For a 44.5” driver, this combo pronounced some very good yardages – high, but good.
The added trajectory height and shorter shaft length of the SK Fiber combination were genuine blessings for one of our testers. His normal tendencies are to hit draws that fly too low to achieve top-rate distances. Low-flying, snap hooks are his primary nemesis. For him, this combo flew very straight with trajectories that were still low, but more arched than normal. Carry was improved noticeably with only marginal reductions in penetration and roll. They both remained quite good. In the past, other large-headed drivers had reduced his inclination to go too far left, but they generally did so due to stiffer, hard-feeling, low-torque shafts. Though the Fire Forged/SK Fiber combo was an inch shorter than his usual, regular flex drivers, it produced a better, overall distance average. This was due to an increase in carry and a noticeable reduction in mistakes to the left. Also, the jumbo head and shorter shaft were very reassuring at address. This created swings that were more confident and relaxed.
Summary: The Snake Eyes Fire Forged Max C.O.R. 400 is an extremely good looking head with a color scheme that goes well with many different shafts. Fit and finish is very fine. This head looks like an expensive, top quality component. Feel at impact with the Fire Forged is decidedly solid and substantial. Shots leave the forged face with authority and carry very well with arched trajectories. This is a moderately high-hitting head that can achieve fine distances for those who need a bit more height. The Fire Forged is a workable head, but it is also one that goes to the right easier than to the left. Severe slicers and those who push their fades too often will probably want to avoid the Fire Forged. Hookers, on the other hand, may find it suits their needs quite admirably. When coupled to overlength shafts, this head produces some heavy swingweights that can exaggerate its right side tendencies. For most, it will work best at 45” or less.
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