I have hit them both, what kind of comparisons are you looking for? Weight, head size, performance?
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Cleveland Classic Driver - THP Preview Thread
I have hit them both, what kind of comparisons are you looking for? Weight, head size, performance?
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tucsondivots
Fairways and Greens
Performance, for sure. Does the CG Black feel a lot lighter than the Classic? Is the Classic shaft in the 270 the same as the XL270? Which do you like better, and why? Thanks!
I couldn't stand it anymore....I took advantage of the Golfsmith President's day sale and picked up the Classic for $249. (Deal is still good through Friday, 24th). I checked in with my fitter first to see what shaft and loft I needed. He was a little disappointed I wasn't doing the full fitting, but after seeing me hit a few he agreed we would not likely improve on my distance with anything else. I definitely need a low spin driver, and this fits the bill.
Picked up the driver last night, and could not get to the course fast enough after filing a few things for clients this morning. The driver performed amazingly well. I average about 235-240 yards with my Titleist. Today I hit the Classic 12 times, and 5 of those were over 250, with one downhill, wind aided shot of 285. There was a bit of a breeze, and my drives into the wind were not as long, of course, but I was pleased with the distance I was getting. All of this was with a pretty easy swing -- since I'm not quite used to the driver I was afraid to really go after it today. When I get this dialed in I think my distances will only improve.
I also found the club very workable and was able to hit slight fades or draws with just minor adjustments to my ball position. I did hit a couple snap hooks that I attribute to the club being so light -- I will work that out. The 17th hole is a 410 yard dogleg right, and I tried to set up for a gentle fade down the left side of the fairway....and I sliced the ball into the middle of the 16th fairway. Worst slice I have hit in quite some time....so you can certainly generate some side spin with this club.
I absolutely love the feel of it. If it weren't for the sound, you would barely even notice you had hit a ball. And, of course, the looks of the club just add to the fun.
Picked up the driver last night, and could not get to the course fast enough after filing a few things for clients this morning. The driver performed amazingly well. I average about 235-240 yards with my Titleist. Today I hit the Classic 12 times, and 5 of those were over 250, with one downhill, wind aided shot of 285. There was a bit of a breeze, and my drives into the wind were not as long, of course, but I was pleased with the distance I was getting. All of this was with a pretty easy swing -- since I'm not quite used to the driver I was afraid to really go after it today. When I get this dialed in I think my distances will only improve.
I also found the club very workable and was able to hit slight fades or draws with just minor adjustments to my ball position. I did hit a couple snap hooks that I attribute to the club being so light -- I will work that out. The 17th hole is a 410 yard dogleg right, and I tried to set up for a gentle fade down the left side of the fairway....and I sliced the ball into the middle of the 16th fairway. Worst slice I have hit in quite some time....so you can certainly generate some side spin with this club.
I absolutely love the feel of it. If it weren't for the sound, you would barely even notice you had hit a ball. And, of course, the looks of the club just add to the fun.
I hit this guy today. It was fantastic. One of the best I have hit this year. I liked it a lot more than the Fast 12 LS I hit today.
My buddy is looking to upgrade is 909D2. He wants a smaller headed driver. I told him he should look at this one. I think my text to him was, "You have to hit the Cleveland Classic. It may give you an [free standing assembly]." What I actually said starts with an "e" and ends with "rection".
My buddy is looking to upgrade is 909D2. He wants a smaller headed driver. I told him he should look at this one. I think my text to him was, "You have to hit the Cleveland Classic. It may give you an [free standing assembly]." What I actually said starts with an "e" and ends with "rection".
10YardDraw
Ex Club Ho
The last couple days I have been really having the urge to give this one a test drive, I might try to find one used on the bay in a couple weeks or a month just to test it out. I have heard nothing but great things on this one and the looks of it have grown on me so much that I actually really really like it now. 290 model look out.
Jersey Nate
#JourneyToBetter #THPMC
I'd rep you if I could, Blu. I love this driver.
Joshzilla
Secret Agent
I'm looking forward to swinging this bad boy. Unfortunately, I've yet to find anywhere nearby that has one in stock. Two of my local DSG's said that they doubt that corporate will send them any.
Jersey Nate
#JourneyToBetter #THPMC
Now THAT is surprising....you have any Golfsmiths or Golf Galaxies relatively nearby?
Joshzilla
Secret Agent
I agree! My guess is that it's because I've seen the same Cleveland SL drivers sitting in there for the last year. It's pretty rare that I see anyone on the courses around here not playing a Taylormade driver, so naturally the store is loaded with 'em (and I have to say, I don't hate the RBZ Tour driver).
I don't have a Golfsmith or GG nearby. It will be a two hour drive to another golf shop...and that might have to happen on the next rainy Saturday we have. If that doesn't work, I'll be in Kansas City in April and I KNOW they have good stores.
Ball flight was pretty much perfect! I tend to generate a lot of backspin with my driver. My Titleist 910 hit the ball so high that I felt it was costing me distance. I posiibly could have adressed that with a diferent shaft, but that is kind of moot.
The Classic still reaches a good height, but it has a more traditional,gradual rise. With the exception od the big mishits I dscribed above, dispersion of shots was very tight. Most of my drives were straight or slight draws, and if I just moved the ball forward in my stance a little I could hit a gentle fade.
Went to the range at lunchtime again to continue getting acquainted with the Classic. Today there was a stiff breeze right into our faces....over 15 mph, with gusts over 20. Not ideal for working with your driver. Hitting into a wind not only costs you distance, but exaggerates the aerodynamic effect of your spin, causing shots to balloon up, and for slices and hooks to shoot dramatically off to the side.
I could have used my bucket of balls to practice hitting low shots into the wind. But, I hardly ever play in strong winds, and I was there to play with my new toy. I decided not to worry about what the wind did to the ball, and just focus on how the ball launched. I think I hit 36 drives, which is way more than I normally would try, but I was just getting used to the weight of the club and seeing how different set ups might effect ball flight.
I had 4 or 5 huge "classic" slices....they started out high and straight, and then at top of their arc just veered off to the right. I'm not 100% sure what's causing those as I never hit that kind of shot with my Titleist ("There is no gambling at Bushwood, and I never slice!"). Towards the end of my session I was trying to make sure the toe of the club was passing the heel through impact, and the slices disappeared. Still, with the way the slices were sneaking in, I expect I will see 1 or 2 per round this weekend until I get things straightened out.
I won't be too upset with those slices, though, becuase when I wasn't hitting slices, I was hitting shots directly on target or with a slight draw. Had a couple of flatter shots that only carried 200 yards or so but probably rolled for days. I had 6 shots that rolled into the trees at the back of the fairway, which I laser measured at 272. All of this was into a stiff wind.
For my last four drives I put some impact tape on the club. Here were my results:
The one that is high and towards the toe was my penultimate shot of the day. Started a little right, and then faded further right....probably not in the fairway.
There comes a point in time where "your new driver" just becomes "your driver". I haven't reached that point just yet with the Classic, but I think this will be a pretty short courtship. Its a near perfect match. I just wish people would stop posting those trackman charts that suggest I need more backspin....
I could have used my bucket of balls to practice hitting low shots into the wind. But, I hardly ever play in strong winds, and I was there to play with my new toy. I decided not to worry about what the wind did to the ball, and just focus on how the ball launched. I think I hit 36 drives, which is way more than I normally would try, but I was just getting used to the weight of the club and seeing how different set ups might effect ball flight.
I had 4 or 5 huge "classic" slices....they started out high and straight, and then at top of their arc just veered off to the right. I'm not 100% sure what's causing those as I never hit that kind of shot with my Titleist ("There is no gambling at Bushwood, and I never slice!"). Towards the end of my session I was trying to make sure the toe of the club was passing the heel through impact, and the slices disappeared. Still, with the way the slices were sneaking in, I expect I will see 1 or 2 per round this weekend until I get things straightened out.
I won't be too upset with those slices, though, becuase when I wasn't hitting slices, I was hitting shots directly on target or with a slight draw. Had a couple of flatter shots that only carried 200 yards or so but probably rolled for days. I had 6 shots that rolled into the trees at the back of the fairway, which I laser measured at 272. All of this was into a stiff wind.
For my last four drives I put some impact tape on the club. Here were my results:
The one that is high and towards the toe was my penultimate shot of the day. Started a little right, and then faded further right....probably not in the fairway.
There comes a point in time where "your new driver" just becomes "your driver". I haven't reached that point just yet with the Classic, but I think this will be a pretty short courtship. Its a near perfect match. I just wish people would stop posting those trackman charts that suggest I need more backspin....
tucsondivots
Fairways and Greens
Does anyone have some information on how the Classic 270 compares to the XL270? It appears both use the same Miyazaki shaft, D6, 6.4 Torque with Mid flex point. I replaced my XL270 with a CG Black which is D2. I am drawing the ball more than I would like with the CG Black and wonder if the Classic 270 would be more similar to the XL270.
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To me they are completely different drivers outside of the total weight. Different design, different forgiveness, ball flight, depth, etc.
I hit the 290 a couple days ago at a Golfsmith and wasn't very impressed. I loved the look of the club and couldn't get it out of my head and had pretty much made up my mind to buy the thing, but just couldn't get myself to do it before hitting a few balls. So I compared it with my decades old Cleveland Launcher 330. I found that the only thing different was the amount of forgiveness in the club was very high compared to my 330, but that could be said for any 400cc+ driver. Because of this I could easily hit above 250 yards consistently. But there lied the problem where I was also hitting my old driver over 250 yards. Of course I would have some mishits, but I couldn't justify spending so much money on a brand new club that had very minimal advantages over my current driver. I guess I have in my head a notion that these new drivers would give me an extra 20-30 yards and just become disappointed when they don't.
So to wrap up here are my main thoughts on this driver:
Very forgiving driver that will keep your mishits straight and relatively as long as well hit shots.
A round, pear shaped profile from the top is aesthetically pleasing to those who are traditionalists.
The deep face of the club is extremely confidence building as it almost insures that you won't miss the sweet spot.
If I had the money to throw around I would buy this thing in a heartbeat, but I guess my survival comes first before golfing pleasure.
So to wrap up here are my main thoughts on this driver:
Very forgiving driver that will keep your mishits straight and relatively as long as well hit shots.
A round, pear shaped profile from the top is aesthetically pleasing to those who are traditionalists.
The deep face of the club is extremely confidence building as it almost insures that you won't miss the sweet spot.
If I had the money to throw around I would buy this thing in a heartbeat, but I guess my survival comes first before golfing pleasure.
Jersey Nate
#JourneyToBetter #THPMC
Yep, this driver isn't for everyone, as is any driver out there. Thanks for the honest opinion, verifyid.
the_paulo
Euro target practice
Although you said in the first sentence you weren't very impressed, it actually sounds like you talked yourself round while typing that!
Thanks for the thoughts. So you hit an old 330cc driver over 250 with consistency? So besides price for you to upgrade there really wasn't much you didn't like about the Classic?
tucsondivots
Fairways and Greens
I am going to get on the monitor with the Classic this weekend. The Miyazaki shaft (39R) and weight suit my swing speed. I am a high ball hitter so the deep face that reduces spin may work for me. I still have some love for the CG Black, just curious as to how the same weight, but different design, forgiveness, etc will turn out for me with the Classic.
Puttin4Bird
Say what again mf'er!
I finally had a chance to check this driver out over the weekend. Didn't hit it but got to see it and take some mock swings with it etc and I gotta say my transformation has almost done a full 180 on it. At first I thought it looked hideous and I thought the idea was a bad one but then after seeing more in hand pics and hearing about the performance I was slowly coming around. After seeing it in person I can actually say that I don't mind the look and can't wait to hit it. Holy smokes is it a deep face though!
I almost wish it didn't looks so unique. I have played 3 rounds with my Classic, and it definitely gets noticed on the first tee, which results in me feeling pressured to perform with it. Unfortunately, my last two rounds have not been stellar (not the Classic's fault), so I think people come away unimpressed with the driver.
Yesterday I only hit driver 8 times on the course, opting for 3 wood on the shorter holes. 4 of my drives were well over 260, with one being 300 based on the yardage markers (elevated tee that easily adds 20 yards to your drive). 2 of them I didn't catch great, and got my standard 235 or so, and 2 of them I hit terribly...of course the two terrible drives were on the two holes where I really needed some distance. My percentages weren't much better with the 3 wood....Used it 5 times off the tee, crushed it twice, hit it off the toe twice, and hit one real stinker with it....so I'm thinking my swing needs a little work.