cheffor
verified 20 handicap
Ended up with the non adjustable 10.5 regular b asha
Cleveland Classic XL & XL Custom Driver Preview Thread
hereisnowhy
Garden Gnome
Of note: while talking to the Cleveland Rep today at the Demo. He said the XL Fairway woods and hybrids are junk. I have never hit the Classic Hybrid, I have hit the FW. In fact, I hit them at the Demo (not very well though.) I thought this unusual conversation for a Rep. Specifically, he didn't like the stock shaft offerings in them.
note to self: don't wear all black and Cleveland Golf hat to a demo. I had more people asking me questions than the rep, and I was just there to swing some clubs....
note to self: don't wear all black and Cleveland Golf hat to a demo. I had more people asking me questions than the rep, and I was just there to swing some clubs....
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- #1,428
That is pretty funny actually. Especially knowing who made them, how they were created and watching the process.
Jersey Nate
#JourneyToBetter #THPMC
That is interesting....he's not the greatest rep it seems, lol. Sounds like he was a rep before the switch from Miyazaki to Matrix in terms of shaft offerings for their FWs and hybos....
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- #1,430
And I'm guessing has not spoken to the club builder as to why the change took place.
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- #1,431
Oh Ohio... Yeesh. Not to be crude, but that guy is lost. I've only had limited exposure to the fairway, but I am REALLY pumped for the hybrid. That thing is awesome.
hereisnowhy
Garden Gnome
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- #1,433
On him? No idea. On the clubs? I tend to study golf equipment a bit each day.
hereisnowhy
Garden Gnome
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- #1,435
Cleveland does not own Miyazaki. Both are owned by SRI. I know it sounds like semantics, but its quite a bit difference.
hereisnowhy
Garden Gnome
I'm aware of the corporate structure : ) It is the same umbrella though, being my point....
More specifically, I am aware Sumitomo Rubber Industries Sports division owns Srixon, Cleveland and Miyazaki. While I understand they operate as exclusive entities entirely, there exists a corporate avenue I'm certain.
More specifically, I am aware Sumitomo Rubber Industries Sports division owns Srixon, Cleveland and Miyazaki. While I understand they operate as exclusive entities entirely, there exists a corporate avenue I'm certain.
So, the 3g weight in my CXL is incredible.
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- #1,438
Stock setting on the head? What makes the 3g so much better for you?
Stock setting, 10.5 setup.
The lighter weight in the head seemed to make me really focus on my swing and tempo, allowing me to get a good swing on the ball. Tried all 3 weights, and the 3g formless me was where it was at. Results don't lie.
#beagsbombs
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- #1,440
Big fan of Beags Bombs. Did you notice at all the heavier weight getting the ball flight higher for you?
I did, actually, and was surprised by it. I was tinkering with it during the scramble, and hit a bomb with it with the 3g weight in it, so decided to finish the round with it there.
I definitely want to spend some more time with the 11g weight in there as well, not sure why, but it seemed to give me a higher initial launch? Perhaps my angle wasnt as steep?
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- #1,442
I managed to get out on my range (full grass range) today, which marks the first time hitting the XL Custom on actual grass. Sadly, the wind was peppering me in the face throughout, however, despite the colder conditions, I was really pleased with the overall sound and contact that I was making.
One thing I did today that I didn't do the first time out, was limit the amount of swings I took with my previous gamer. The weighting is quite different as is the length (-0.25"), and being a player that relies a lot on rhythm, I was having a really hard time switching back and forth while maintaining consistent flight.
The last time I swung the driver, it ended on the Upright +0.75 setting which makes the head slightly open and the loft 8.5 degrees. Rather than leaving it there, I took it back to neutral upright and began getting to know it. What I was producing was a lot of solid contact, but the draw I was producing was a bit more pronounced than i prefer. It got me wondering what could be causing that to happen and I went back in my head to my original Cleveland iron fitting, which when changing them to upright, helped me produce a draw.
Silly me I guess, thinking that I was doing myself a favour! I quickly snagged the wrench, adjusted to neutral, and went back to work. This time around, I was really getting the flight I wanted. Probably reasonably mid flight, with much of the results generating a small draw, yet some misses still hanging high and right (but more of a high push).
Time to get creative I think to myself, and crank the head to the polar opposite, -2.25 (I think) causing it to be over 2 degrees closed and 10.5 degrees of launch. For those curious whether that is actually what happens, when I dropped the head to the ground, it was very visibly closed:
With that said, I found it very difficult not to self adjust the head to a neutral face position before takeaway, causing some pretty massive high launchers hanging on the right side rather than hooking as expected. Experimental brain stems satisfied, I cranked it back to upright neutral to try and recreate the draws I was originally seeing, and sure enough, power draws were back.
This experience really gave me a lot of confidence in what I was adjusting on the head. I'm not all that much of a believer on adjustability to resolve swing flaws, but I also know that most 'tour' or 'pro' driver heads come slightly open, leading me to believe there is a reason for everything. As it currently stands, the driver sits at +0.75 off neutral (non-upright) which equates to being slightly open with a loft of 8.5 degrees. This was consistently allowing me to hit mostly straight balls, with some drawing slightly on account of contact slightly on the toe side of center (where I generally am). Here's a view of post range session, noting my consistency out there where I like to be. The white marks below are just from the epoch tee (which is awesome) and will very easily come off I am sure.
I can't speak much for distance right now, especially considering the wind and being on the range. I'll be on course tomorrow and will hopefully be able to provide some numbers to get an idea of how far I am able to hit the XL Custom, along with how accurate I can be.
One last comment I want to make is on the JDL shaft. While I don't have spin numbers or anything of that nature to consider, the consistency of the swing feedback and loading rarely changed regardless of how I adjusted the head. It may not be clear, but changing a setting on the XL Custom equates to a slight rotation in the shaft, and the spineless design of the JDL along with the graphics really did not make me feel like I was making a large change each time. I think that is a valuable feature for someone who loves to tinker with their head settings.
As always, I welcome questions!
One thing I did today that I didn't do the first time out, was limit the amount of swings I took with my previous gamer. The weighting is quite different as is the length (-0.25"), and being a player that relies a lot on rhythm, I was having a really hard time switching back and forth while maintaining consistent flight.
The last time I swung the driver, it ended on the Upright +0.75 setting which makes the head slightly open and the loft 8.5 degrees. Rather than leaving it there, I took it back to neutral upright and began getting to know it. What I was producing was a lot of solid contact, but the draw I was producing was a bit more pronounced than i prefer. It got me wondering what could be causing that to happen and I went back in my head to my original Cleveland iron fitting, which when changing them to upright, helped me produce a draw.
Silly me I guess, thinking that I was doing myself a favour! I quickly snagged the wrench, adjusted to neutral, and went back to work. This time around, I was really getting the flight I wanted. Probably reasonably mid flight, with much of the results generating a small draw, yet some misses still hanging high and right (but more of a high push).
Time to get creative I think to myself, and crank the head to the polar opposite, -2.25 (I think) causing it to be over 2 degrees closed and 10.5 degrees of launch. For those curious whether that is actually what happens, when I dropped the head to the ground, it was very visibly closed:
With that said, I found it very difficult not to self adjust the head to a neutral face position before takeaway, causing some pretty massive high launchers hanging on the right side rather than hooking as expected. Experimental brain stems satisfied, I cranked it back to upright neutral to try and recreate the draws I was originally seeing, and sure enough, power draws were back.
This experience really gave me a lot of confidence in what I was adjusting on the head. I'm not all that much of a believer on adjustability to resolve swing flaws, but I also know that most 'tour' or 'pro' driver heads come slightly open, leading me to believe there is a reason for everything. As it currently stands, the driver sits at +0.75 off neutral (non-upright) which equates to being slightly open with a loft of 8.5 degrees. This was consistently allowing me to hit mostly straight balls, with some drawing slightly on account of contact slightly on the toe side of center (where I generally am). Here's a view of post range session, noting my consistency out there where I like to be. The white marks below are just from the epoch tee (which is awesome) and will very easily come off I am sure.
I can't speak much for distance right now, especially considering the wind and being on the range. I'll be on course tomorrow and will hopefully be able to provide some numbers to get an idea of how far I am able to hit the XL Custom, along with how accurate I can be.
One last comment I want to make is on the JDL shaft. While I don't have spin numbers or anything of that nature to consider, the consistency of the swing feedback and loading rarely changed regardless of how I adjusted the head. It may not be clear, but changing a setting on the XL Custom equates to a slight rotation in the shaft, and the spineless design of the JDL along with the graphics really did not make me feel like I was making a large change each time. I think that is a valuable feature for someone who loves to tinker with their head settings.
As always, I welcome questions!
- Moderator
- #1,444
I was really REALLY trying to pin that down today, but I'm just not confident on what I am seeing yet to honestly tell you one way or another. That said, MOST of the time when I miss outside and high it makes the head open and then close in a hurry, causing a pretty healthy power draw to a hook. Having the X in there seems to calm that down a fair bit, but more often then not, when I'm that far out, my hands are closed enough to create that turn.
In any case, I think I maybe "lost" two balls on all the impressions on that head. Both were big turns left, and I imagine that's what you're seeing way outside.
Jersey Nate
#JourneyToBetter #THPMC
I've seen that with the OG Classic with me, my high-toe misses have draw spin or hook spin. Interesting....
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- #1,446
I think it's more common than most think, and wouldn't really be too inclined to pin it solely on Cleveland offerings. In fact, in terms of severity, Adams Fast 12 LS (by far, far far and away far the worst) -- Callaway Razr Fit -- TaylorMade Burner Superfast 2.0 TP (wide open clubhead) -- Cleveland Classic (OG) -- Cleveland Classic XL Custom
Those are the clubs I've gamed over the last season or so, and I would say the Classics are better than most at calming that, especially when I've paired an X shaft.
hereisnowhy
Garden Gnome
With the Matrix, the 3 was too light. And it exaggerated the low ball launch for me....
hereisnowhy
Garden Gnome
My normal miss is a slice/ fade and I can't get this thing to do either. All I'm seeing on my misses are slight left immediately off the tee and loss of distance. I feel like I can't get this puppy to go right no matter what I do ...
Jersey Nate
#JourneyToBetter #THPMC
See I haven't hit the new Classic but my OG Classic's typical ball flight for me is a slight fade on good swings and a slice for my miss, unless I get that upper toe, which then promotes a draw.
hereisnowhy
Garden Gnome
I'm certain it's the shaft, when I loaded the Dromos in it, I can slice it easily if I over swing it...