The Cleveland Golf lineup came back with a bang a couple of weeks ago with the launch of their new Launcher XL drivers and fairway woods. One area where this company has been at the forefront of innovation has been the hollow body and specifically the category of hybrid irons.
What started with the Altitude line back in 2013, the hybrid iron segment has continued to grow and today bringing their latest iteration with the Cleveland Launcher XL Halo irons. Before we dive into our full video review, let’s show off some of the tech specs.
The lineup comes complete with either the True Temper XP 90 steel shafts or the Project X Cypher iron shafts. An interesting note is that if you are someone that struggles with the length of irons, the Cleveland Launcher XL Halo irons can be ordered in what is called “Accuracy Build” where the clubs are a half inch shorter across the board. By going with this setup, you would lose the Action Mass CB, which is an 8g weight placed inside the butt end of the grip to deliver more balance.
In our THP Tech Studio video below we kick it off with some Cleveland Launcher XL Halo irons tech talk from an overhead view. From there, we hop into the hitting bay where you will see all of the swings and then finally we sit down in table view and breakdown the data from the swings you saw.
After watching the video above, what are your thoughts on the Halo irons?
The Details
In Stores: 8/20/21 for Graphite and 9/17/21 for Steel
Cost: $899 for Graphite and $799 for Steel
Grip: Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360
Wait. You’re saying these can’t be lie adjusted retrospectively?
just catching up on the earlier part of the thread…… How tall are you? Did you get the custom fit? Are they standard lie? Which shafts did you go with?
you say they’re slightly upright…? That’s interesting as I’m told I need a more upright lie, 2 degrees.
6 foot, standard lie and sr shaft
For some background, I had hit these at a demo day late last year. It was obvious that the -.5" short Accuracy Build was the best setup for me. What was not as clear was on the shaft selection. Most of my clubs are regular flex. My driver speed hovers 95-99 on a good day, but I tend to swing my irons a little slower than I can. My miss is a hook and it can turn into an ugly push-hook when I get tired. The Cleveland Rep recommended I go with the Stiff flex due to this and the flight I was seeing, especially towards the end of the session where I was getting huge hooks from the regular 7i.
So, I decided to order the 4i in stiff as a test. I’m glad I did because I was awful with it. I took it out on multiple days and just couldn’t get along with it. I was feeling pretty frustrated so I never ordered my clubs as I just wasn’t sure what to get. I also have been so busy that I hadn’t even been to the range in 5 months.
Last week I got a brand new set for a stupid-low price so I figured why not give them a try. I could even re-shaft them and still have saved money in the long wrong.
The 5 iron may be the easiest to hit club I have ever tried. Seriously, I hit a higher percentage of straight, slight draw, and long shots on target with it than any of the others. I was completely blown away.
I was pretty solid with the 8i as well. But I didn’t get along with the DW at all. My other wedges are Cleveland CBX, and while I’m not always the best with them, I definitely hit them better. That said, I have decided to have the entire set cut down -.5" to make them the same as the accuracy build. I’m going to reserve any opinions on until I get a chance to try them out afterwards.
No lie adjustment necessary?
Nice, yes you will enjoy chipping and pitching with the 9 & W.
Has no idea TE was doing that, fantastic idea.
For $50, you can U-TRY for 14 days at Global Golf.
Hybrid irons do take some getting used to. It is not always magic from the start as some indicate. So I get your point. I have heard many experiment with buying one club. If that works, then buy the set. Not a bad way to go. 4 iron is a good choice. That can be put in play with any set should you choose not to go with the Halos or sell it, probably easily.
So they’re more upright than standard lie and they’re softer flex than what you may expect? How upright would you say they are? 1 degree?
The reason I didn’t get these, or the hb turbos, is because Cleveland said they cannot be lie adjusted beyond 1 degree of standard and I need at least 2 degrees upright.
edit I bought a set of Ping G irons on eBay. Shipping now.
I say one degree. I always played PING 2 degrees flat, but yes the 5 iron that I ordered first (2 degrees flat) felt upright. The rest of the set I have is 3 degrees flat and sits perfect. And yes flex is definitely softer in graphite, maybe it is the low weight, but I like them.
I got 3 degrees flat, but maybe something changed. I loved/love Ping but yes the Halo´s is completely different when it comes to forgiveness
How did you get 3 degrees flat? Custom ordered? Cleveland told me that they cast them 2 degrees flat, standard, or 2 degrees up and then they can be bent 1 degree from that.
edit. I’m wondering if they do the extra 1 degree bend or leave that to the buyer to arrange.
I ordered them from eBay through justsaygolfcustom, but I remember seeing the 3 degree flat option on Clevelands official site also. Looking now, and I do not see it, not even graphite stiff is available. Maybe they sold too many
Some clubs seems to still be available
Good to know, there are golf equipment snobs out there. But, those who have played these hybrid irons knows how much easier they make the game.
Took my new set in to my local shop for -.5” adjustment and replacement of grips. Am I being picky thinking the Align strips are not straight?
No that is terrible.
I have found with the Align grips you have to let them set a while. Like 24 hrs at least before handling or using them otherwise it can twist the line cause the solvent hasn’t fully dried.
no…thass bad…I’d look for a new shop for the next grip replacement
They were carried to the car via the middle shaft and not touched. This is how they were put on, unfortunately
View attachment 9096092
Absolutely! I could do a better job in my basement!
These have to be the easiest to hit irons ever.
GIR is a good goal…
Thanks, Mike
So I slapped some new grips on these and off we went Friday. They feel excellent. Point and shoot pretty much. The stock lofts were perfect for me as well. I may add a half inch of length to each club because that’s what I’m used to. Will be a little extra work with weights on the grip end of the club but shouldn’t be too bad. My best shots were definitely ones a little toe of center. That seems to be the sweet spot if you are looking for a high baby draw which is what I typically play. Heely type strikes I did not see as much forgiveness. But I have found this same thing on all the Halo clubs. And I have the Driver, 3,5,7 and Hy-wood as well. Just toe of center and that thing launches so well.
Distance was good and I prob picked up about 5 yards of carry because of the ball flight. Adding a half inch may increase that a hair. We will see.
So for me…
Pros:
Feel, Ball Flight, Carry Distance, confidence at address, slightly toe of center sweet spot
Cons:
Sound wise they are not bad but very “clicky”. Heely type strikes the forgiveness goes way down for me.
Overall I love these clubs. Money well spent. And I love the looks. They look powerful and they are. More range time this week because they were delivered late on Thursday so I didn’t get much range time with them before we teed off early Friday am.
For me the main reason is the forgiveness in the long and middle irons. They are like nothing I have ever tried, and yes I have played a looooong time and I am probably not in the "target group" for these irons, but I love them. My friends joke about it but I do not care . I was shocked the first time I hit them and I am still amazed. I noticed that heel strikes and strikes high on the blade (I do not use a peg on par 3s anymore) can be punished (distance) but that is about it.
Another thing I like is the fact that there is not that much offset (which I am allergic to).
I have no experience of the Callaway Epic Forged star, but they are probably strong lofted like many new irons. For me these irons (I would call the longer ones more hybrids, with an iron feel, since they have a lot of spin) fly long and very high with a normal swing. And yes they are not that strong lofted.
Here are the specs:
Edit: Just noticed the specs for the Callaways you have:
Men’s Epic Forged Star Irons Product Specs
33° for a 9 iron and 26° for a 7 iron…. that is IMHO ridiculous