In 2011, Cleveland Golf introduced the Mashie hybrid, which enjoyed a loyal following with many of THP’s readers. It incorporated a retro look and unparalleled versatility with a premium shaft. Following up on that success, Cleveland recently introduced their line of Mashie fairway woods, which are said to offer the same features that many people grew to love in the hybrid. THP’s Josh B. and I have had the opportunity to spend a great deal of time with these clubs over the last couple months and I will be sharing our thoughts in this review.
Aesthetics and Specifications
If you’re familiar with the Mashie hybrid, a visual description of the fairway wood will be quite easy to understand. First off, the head is larger and the shaft is longer. At address, they are very similar in looks aside from those two differences. When looking directly at the club-face it is evident that there is a small keel running along the bottom of the club from front to back. There are four rails on the sole, which matches the design changes Cleveland made to the hybrid in 2012.
The Retro Raw finish remains on the fairway wood and really made me realize just how much of a throwback look it is. I was immediately reminded of the older fairway woods that my father-in-law still plays. I mentioned that the head of the fairway wood is larger than the hybrid, but an important thing to note is that it is a bit more compact than many other fairway woods. Visually, this gave both Josh and I the feeling that we were hitting something a little more akin to a large hybrid than your typical fairway wood. We both found this to be a confidence booster at address.
The premium Miyazaki shaft was designed specifically for a fairway wood and measures slightly shorter than others we have seen in recent years. The C Kua shaft has that classic Miyazaki smoothness that I’ve come to enjoy while remaining stout enough to handle a good cut on the ball. At impact, I’m reminded of the sound of the Mashie hybrid, though there is a little more hollowness to it that almost brings in elements of the sound produced by the Cleveland FL fairway woods. In the end, the Mashie fairway wood maintains the utilitarian look that the hybrid carried. It’s a club that makes you feel ok about hitting the ball from some dicey spots around the course.
Technology
Longer from any lie, the Cleveland Golf Mashie is a utility-inspired fairway wood engineered for distance and versatility. It’s highlighted by enhanced Gliderail technology on the sole that measurably decreases turf drag for more speed at impact, meaning more distance and accuracy from any lie – rough, sand, tee or fairway.
Cleveland is really taking an interesting angle in the design and marketing of this line of clubs, especially when you look at the way fairway woods have been marketed in recent years. We are hearing that the Mashie fairway woods are designed to be versatile and effective in a number of different situations. I had a chance to hit balls with the Mashie in a controlled setting – off a tee on an indoors launch monitor – and outdoors in early spring conditions – i.e. off the tee, in mucky lies, thick grass, shorter grass, etc. I did find a great amount of versatility in that the club performed very well in each of these situations.
Coming into this review, I suspected the Mashie fairway wood would be strong when hit off the turf due to the railed sole and I wasn’t disappointed. The Gliderails seemed to mitigate some of the poor results that can come from those slightly fat shots some of us tend to make with a fairway wood in hand. I did see a small distance loss from these misses, but the club truly did slide into the ball with enough force to preserve distance and accuracy. I will also say that not all railed soles are created equal. Testing the Mashie fairway against a competitors railed fairway wood showed me that the Mashie had a tendency to dig less on fat misses.
When I struck the ball cleanly off the turf, I was very impressed with both the ball flight and distance I was seeing. I would characterize it as mid/high with similar distance to other fairway woods I’ve tested. I saw ball flight creep a bit higher with a modest distance increase when hitting the ball off of the tee. This actually surprised me a bit. My expectation was that the club would primarily excel from the turf, but it also performed very well when teed up.
As noted before, I felt the Miyazaki shaft held up nicely to a strong swing. It offered a ball flight that I enjoyed. Much like the Mashie hybrid, I didn’t get a sense that this club was any lighter than other clubs in my bag. It’s nicely balanced and felt great during the swing. I typically play a straight ball or small draw and this club offered much of the same. I was able to pull some shots left when I put a really poor swing on the ball, but I didn’t experience much of an issue with side spin. If anything, my prevailing miss during the testing process was a thick shot.
THP had a chance to speak with Cleveland Golf about this line at the 2012 PGA Show. You can hear some more information regarding the Mashie line in this short interview.
Final Thoughts
The Mashie fairway wood is definitely a must-try for anybody looking to get some added versatility out of their fairway wood. In addition, I’d recommend that anybody struggling with woods off the turf give them a close look this year. The Gliderails certainly add a unique element of forgiveness that we just don’t see much of right now and I found it very useful. One concern I had was whether this added forgiveness and versatility would come at the expense of distance off the tee and I didn’t notice that at all. You can find more information at www.clevelandgolf.com and I’d recommend talking to our friends at Blind9 Golf if you are looking to make a purchase. As always, thanks for reading and best of luck on the course this year.
Ryan H
Nice combo review there between Hawk & JB! This thing sounds like a beast from both off the deck and off the tee. I also really like the loft options available especially the strong 3 at 14*.
We all know how good the stock shaft is and needless to say, I look forward to hitting this in May and expect to see this in both teammates and competitors bags in July!!
Great write up guys!
Very nice review, Ryan. This FW is at the top of my must-try list.
Nice job Ryan. I am really looking forward to trying this out at the outing in May. I think it is going to be very solid from the reviews.
Good review Ryan, although I am a bit concerned with the pulls too. Cant wait to hit this in May and see if I can get some positive results.
Awesome stuff Hawk. It makes me want this club even more.
Great review Ryan. Enjoyed it.
Liked the comparison on 2 different railed clubs too, good point. I’m trying to not buy fairway woods this year, but the Mashie line definitely tempts me.
Great review guys. I am really intrigued by this club. I have zero issues with hitting a 3W off the tee but my problems begin off the deck. I really think this club could be a game changer for me. Official ponder time has begun.
Very good review Hawk.Appreciate the comparison to the other rails type FW. This one is definitely on the radar.
Nice review, Hawk. Impressed with the performance off the tee that you saw, as I believe most people look at the gliderails on the bottom and think only about how well it will work from the turf. Also, great graphic on how the gliderails work with turf interaction. Thanks!
Awesome review Hawk! This sounds like a fantastic product, and I really want to get some swings with it! I love that picture showing how the gliderails work. Really awesome!
Very well done Ryan H. Just confirms my choice to add this FW to my bag for this year. Full seal of Kmac™ approval.
Nice job Hawk! This FW is definitely on my list of clubs to hit for 2012
Great review Hawk…after my experience this weekend, this may be the one club that violates the “No Purchases Until Demo Day” edict.
Great review. This is definitely an intriguing club.
Wow this sure peak a ton of attention. Looks like a hybrid and plays like a hybrid with more forgiveness off the deck. Sounds pretty awesome to me! Great job as usual Hawk. JB your comments about the forgiveness off tight lies, is setting really heavy in my mind about trying one of these out.
Great feview Hawk! i am looking forward to trying this club out come summertime.
Great review as always Ryan!! I look forward to checking this club out in the very near future.
Nice review Hawkster! I’m seriously pondering the F7 for my bag
nice review Hawk.
this club has a great chance of ending up in my MC2 bag…
Great review Hawk. This is on my list of must trys and will probably find its way in my bag very soon.
Excellent review Hawk. I knew right when I heard about the Mashie FW that a lot of people on THP would be very excited. It sounds like the performance more than met the expectations. Great work!
Great review Ryan. Reading this really made me want to hit the Mashie again. It’s been too long.
Very good review guys. I look forward to having the 3 and 5 in my bag very soon.
Great review Hawk, I know that when it comes time to upgrade my fairway woods this one will be high on my list.
Great review! This and the CG Black are the top 2 on my list.
Nice review Hawk, I really need to try out those Miyazakis. If I decide to put a 3 wood back in the bag, I’ll definitely be looking at Cleveland’s offerings.
just put the 18° 5W in the bag!
Great work Hawk, you answered a lot of my questions and more.
Great review Hawk!
This review pretty much supported what I thought this club would be like. Cleveland makes an excellemnt product.
Fantastic review Hawk! I just put the 14* in my bag for this season and cant wait to get on course time with it. The feel and sound this makes is like any other FW ive hit, such a solid solid sound/feel, almost a thwack like a wood bat with very little ting to it. BIG fan of this Ckua 59 stiff as well, the 39s in the CG Black was so whippy feeling but this one is nothing like that, very stable and true to flex feeling.
even though i took the mashie hybrid out of my bag, these will be high on my list to demo.
Great Review Hawk. I read this review and actually went to GS last night and bought it. Super excited.
Just wanted to know if these have the 0.650 butt size like the launcher 270, 290, and FL woods? Wondering if I have to buy Cleveland’s Launcher-specific grips or if i can use any ol’ grip to regrip in the future. Thanks.
I bought both the Mashie fairway wood in a strong 3 and a 5 wood. I love both the woods, when struck, it communicates so much confidence both in sound and feel. You could even get a a good hit from the strong 3 off light rough. Great clubs.
Just bought one,(15.5 degree),off of eBay in “Like New” condition for 24 bucks. I wanted to complete the set of Cleveland clubs in my bag. I have the old Launcher 460, (I cant find a better driver, and I have the CG1 blades. The mashie has the stock stiff shaft. It still had the stickers on the face! What a great stick. The ball explodes off the face and I can work the ball very easily. I have hit longer fairway woods but not with the control I have with this club. I cant understand why more people don’t have this in their bag. Especially as cheap as you can get it now.