The internet has been set ablaze with buzz about the new 2011 Cleveland Golf line for men. What a lot of people are forgetting is that they have a whole new product line for women as well and it deserves just as much discussion. Over the past several years Cleveland Golf has made a name for themselves as the wedge company. They introduced the Niblick, a funky looking wedge that can transform your golf game, which shocked and amazed golfers all over the world. In 2011 Cleveland began to make a new name for themselves with the introduction of the Mashie hybrid. A retro look with modern technology that is like no other hybrid on the market. All these great showings that are making waves in the golf industry are not just for men, the 2011 ladies line has all the same great products, but in my opinion, in way better colors!
The full 2011 ladies line-up from Cleveland/Srixon Golf:
- Bloom Sets
- XL 270 Driver
- FL Fairway
- Mashie
- CG16 Wedge
- HB Irons
- Niblick
- T-Frame Putter
- Classic 6 Putter
As you can see above the ladies have no shortage of great products to choose from the 2011 offerings. Two types of irons, two putters, the lightweight driver technology, plus the ever popular mashie and niblick. I have tested each piece of equipment listed above and I was not disappointed. Below is a breakdown of the different pieces and some company information about them including their state of the art technology.
Bloom Sets:
Created for women golfers looking to improve their game, the Bloom 14-piece set covers all of her equipment needs. Designed specifically for her swing, the 100% titanium Driver and Stainless Steel Fairway woods are designed with today’s modern lightweight and oversized technology to drastically increase and consistency particularly on mishits. The hybrid long irons are hollow constructed and extremely forgiving and are packaged together with the short game simplifying NIBLICK to make the game even easier to learn. If that isn’t enough, the classically designed mini boot bag has retro details yet modern convenience with ample pocket space and detachable wristlet.
What we think: I thoroughly enjoyed the bloom set that we tested back in 2009 and couldn’t wait for the new line to come to market. To me, what always makes Cleveland stand out is their choice of colors, and of course their technology. The Bloom Set comes in two color choices that are feminine yet classy. They are not in your face pink but rather subtle undertones that let you know it’s a woman’s set but doesn’t smack you in the face with it.
The Bloom is a great performance set that is easy to hit which will surely increase your confidence on the course.
XL 270 Driver:
The Women’s XL270 utilizes an ultralite design resulting in effortless distance. The removal of weight from the shaft and grip produces a lighter golf club. This lighter design produces faster head speed and therefore more distance.
What we think: If you have never hit an ultralite driver I will say that it does take just a bit of getting used to. However, once you get the swing of it (pun intended) you will understand what all this lightweight buzz is all about.
The lightweight design is created to give a golfer more distance and from my experience it does!
FL Fairway:
The Women’s FL fairway woods utilize an ultralite design resulting in effortless distance. The removal of weight from the shaft and grip produces a lighter golf club. This lighter design produces faster head speed, more ball speed and longer carry for all shots, from the tee or fairway.
What we think: I have a love/hate relationship with Fairway woods. I love to hit them because of the distance gap in my bag but I hate the results that I get. The Cleveland FL Fairway again offers that lightweight technology making it so easy to hit this club. The gap in my bag is quickly closing.
Mashie:
With its Gliderail™ Sole, Retro-Raw™ finish, and Utralite Technology, the Mashie™ represents the best of what utility clubs bring to the table: versatility and function. It’s also 30 grams lighter than most traditional utilities, meaning it provides faster head speed for more ball speed and carry.
What we think: Ahh, the Mashie. This is the club I have wanted to hit more than anything else on the market right now. This is the club that was all the rage at the THP Fall Outing & Demo Day. This is the club that is making waves all over the internet and I couldn’t wait to hit the ladies version. The time finally came and I was not disappointed.
I recently removed all hybrids from my golf bag because I simply couldn’t hit them anymore. I don’t know what was going wrong but I was an absolute mess on the course with my hybrids so I decided to put them in time out. Then the Mashie came along. The hybrid is no longer shunned from my golf bag thanks to the Mashie. It was every bit as easy to hit as the guys had been gushing about. The contact with the ball was solid, with a lovely sound and when the ball took off, it flew threw the air in a straight line towards my target. Don’t get me wrong I had plenty of miss hits and s-words (shanks) but I know that is my swing and not the club. I know this because more times than not the ball went where I wanted it to go and prior to hitting the Mashie it went everywhere else but my target.
This is by no means the end all be all of clubs but it’s certainly a saint in my book and will not be leaving my bag anytime soon.
CG16 Wedge:
Based on the shape of the tour proven CG14™ wedge, the CG16™ has a hint of offset and is slightly larger for added forgiveness. The face features the same spin maximizing technology featured on the CG15™ wedge – Tour Zip Grooves™ in combination with Cleveland® Golf’s breakthrough Laser Milled™ surface roughness technology. Using the precision accuracy of a laser, each face features four perfectly calibrated texture lines milled between each groove exactly to the conforming roughness limit. This surface roughness application optimizes ball-to-face friction and maximizes spin within the Rules of Golf.
What we think: I enjoyed the CG16 wedge. I don’t have the tour level game to make the ball spin back and do fun tricks around the green, however I was able to execute my short game shots quite nicely with the CG 16’s.
HB Irons:
- Advanced Internal Weighting – Weight removal on crown & sole recesses allow for internal discretionary weight placement and a 12% deeper face to CG depth than HiBORE XLi irons.
- Advanced Sole Design – The new sole design provides recessed sections to reduce drag and improve turf interaction while maintaining wide sole characteristics for increased control and forgiveness.
- Seamless Transition – The new HB3 takes hybrid irons to the next level in distance, forgiveness and overall performance. Their seamless transition and full hollow construction throughout the set provides golfers with irons so easy to hit, it almost feels like cheating.
What we think: I will be very honest about these irons, they were not for me. They are a fantastic set of clubs and they perform quite well but I simply can not get over the sound at impact. It’s just a bit too harsh for my liking. I need to stop being so vein because the performance is stellar and I was seeing great distance and accuracy with these irons, but I just could not get over the sound.
I would still highly recommend giving these irons a try if you are in the market for a new set because if the sound is a non issue for you then I can see many happy golfers out there gaming these clubs.
Niblick:
Cleveland® Golf’s revolutionary short iron hybrid incorporates classic concepts with modern design. The new Niblick™ combines the best features of a wedge, putter, iron and hybrid to create the ultimate hybrid club. Specifically designed to improve scoring, the Niblick™ enables players to hit four different types of shots, including chips, pitches, approach shots and recoveries.
What we think: This silly looking club has done wonders for my golf game. It is an all-in-one type of club that could easily replace several of the wedges in your bag. If offers such versatility around the green and through various approach shots. Experts call the hybrid your utility club because you can do so much with it but if I were calling the shots I would group the Niblick into that category as well.
T-Frame Putter:
- T-Frame – The mallet incorporates a dominant “T” feature which facilitates proper alignment.
- Lie Angles – The putter is available in three lie angles 68°, 70° & 72°.
What we think: When I first saw this putter I thought it was a bit awkward. I honestly didn’t think it would set up well to my eyes. However, once I got it out on the green my opinion quickly changed. The alignment aid was incredibly pleasing to my eyes and made it so much easier for me to set up and line up my ball. Aim has always been a bit of an issue for me but I found it much easier to get the proper set up with this putter. Now if only it could help me with speed…
The ability to get this club in three different lie angles is huge for a beginning golfer. A lot of times when someone is first starting out they are afraid to get properly fit for their clubs. But with the different lie angle options this allows even the move novice of golfers the change to have a putter that is right for their set-up.
Classic 6 Putter:
- Platinum Finish – New platinum finish minimizes glare.
- Plantinum Putters – Heel-Toe-Weighting – Heel toe weighting for increased MOI
- Classic Platinum CNC Milled – CNC Milled face for a soft yet solid feel
What we think: The minute I saw this putter I yelled “This is my putter, this is my shape!” It’s funny, when I first started golfing I really didn’t believe people when they said they had a ‘shape’ that they preferred. I always figured a putter is a putter if it works that’s all that matters. But as we all know now that is just not the case. If the putter doesn’t look good when you are standing over it then the chances of you putting well have significantly diminished.
Even though I was putting lights out with the T-Frame I still gravitated towards this putter because, well, it’s my shape! I just love the way this putter looks and I love the sound the ball makes rolling off the CNC milled face. The alignment aid is good but not as good as the T-Frame, but like all stubborn golfers, it doesn’t matter this one has a new home in my golf bag.
With so many choices for golf equipment in the market for men it’s such a breath of fresh air to see such a wide variety of choices for the ladies from Cleveland Golf. Not every club is going to work for every woman but it’s good to know that we now have some choices. If you, or a lady in your life, is in the market for new clubs definitely give Cleveland Golf a second look, with everything they have to offer I am confident there will be something for everyone. You can learn more about the 2011 Ladies Line by Cleveland Golf at their website at www.clevelandgolfwomens.com and you can purchase these items in stores or online at retailers across the nation such as www.blind9golf.com.
Your Golfing Guru,
GolferGal
Incredible write up on a lot of different product! Cleveland really stepped it up in 2011 for the men and women for sure. You hit the nail on the head, there’s a lot of variety of choices, and that’s always a good thing.
What a great write up GG! I really enjoyed the whole experience you had reviewing these clubs. If I can just get me my wife to go and hit her other set some. I could see her stepping up to this set down the road. Thanks for such a great review.
The amount of choices that Cleveland put out for the ladies is pretty amazing. I love that so many of the items worked well for you too, GG. Great run down of all the new equipment.
Nice job GG! Cleveland has some really great stuff for women. One of my friends just bought the women’s Mashie 3 and absolutely loves it.
Super Job GG. Very informative…..
Lengthy review there GG! Nicely done, I know it had to be kind of difficult to cram all of those clubs in to 1 review. Jenn and I saw the ladies mashie for the 1st time in person yesterday. I know she is looking forward to hitting them and the niblick at the demo day.
What a great write up! Lots of information and some great products coming out from Cleveland for the ladies!
It’s really good to see that Cleveland is bringing it with the ladies gear this year too!! A great write up GG!
Awesome review GG!!! It’s great to see Cleveland showing the ladies some love with the same clubs the boys have. Nice to see that not everything has a pink accent on it either, nice variety!
That was an amazing job you did on that write up GG! It clearly took a lot of work and organization on your part to keep your thoughts all together and yet separate at the same time. Very good job, you should be proud of this one. I knew you’d love the Mashie, heck I might be the slowest one to come around on it and even I loved it the couple times I hit it. I remember seeing your eyes light up upon seeing the women’s offerings from Cleveland at the PGA Show, I’m glad to hear that everything seems to work pretty well.
Bravo on the review!
First off – that was a really good read. You are a great reviewer GG!
Second: I can’t say it enough – i really love what im seeing from Cleveland – wedges/irons/ drivers/ FW/ and now a womens line. Fast becoming a favorite!
I will make sure I show my wife this review. She could use one of those putters to go along with her CG16 irons!
Very nice stuff. I’ll have to have my wife try out some of the woods. She may just like the Mashie, as she loves hitting her hybrids. Good review, GG.
Outstanding review GG!! Makes me want to get my wife into golf
Nice review, the ladies Mashie looks very exciting
So sorry for the incomplete reply. Needless to say, these are an amazing set. My 1st was a Nike junior set to see if I could get into the game. I had so much fun, hubby bought me these on this past Saturday. Although I’m so new, these are great. I have the bug!
I am so glad you are enjoying your new clubs. This will be a great set to get you even more hooked with this crazy game. I have officially put hybrids back into my bag thanks to the Mashie. For me, that club is magic!
-GolferGal-
thanks for the write up and let me say that I did buy the HB iron set. While they dont give the traditional “schnick” sound of an iron I got over that right quick and in a hurry once I saw my ball go long and straight down the course. cant say as I ever had a club square up as easy and feel as good on contact. I got fitted and the staff member did all the swing results and found that while the callaway diablos gave me a few yards more (avg 3 yrds) I was far more inconsistent. The Adams a7os were quickly sidelined as not for me, and the Faith set just didnt seem to feel right. I love me some HBs! I also love my year old niblick. That is the best little club in my bag.
I have a CLEVELAND 588 RTX CB SATIN CHROME 60* LOB WEDGE ACTION ULTRALITE 50 Is this a ladies club or how do I identify it is a ladies or mens.