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Cleveland 588 Altitude Hybrid Irons Preview

SuperStroke
oughtoh said:
I saw the shaft weight on the reg flex and the A flex were the same. What is the difference between the 2 flexs? I am 60 and only take a 3/4 swing.
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Hard to say as I haven't hit either one. I would imagine that the A would be easier to load than the R.
 
I had a nice range session with the Altitudes last night. I ended a big bucket (say 135 balls) with 7 out of 7 landing on the target green at 120 with the 9. That doesn't sound like much, but I'm a hack, was tired from hitting a lot of drivers, and there was enough cross wind to move the ball as it was sitting on the ground. I was pretty impressed.

This isn't going to be a common opinion, but I actually think I like the 7-DW more than I like the 5 and 6 (and I like the 5 and 6 a lot). The 7 down just seem to have the perfect amount of offset and forgiveness. I can understand not liking the looks and feel, but people on the fence should give the higher lofted ones a go.

The verdict is still out for me a little with the 4. Put a solid swing on it, and it is great. Duff it a bit and it's no longer than the 5. It's the archer not the arrow, but that one takes a bit more concentration. The 5 down are a breeze.
 
You guys are messing with my head! Might have to run over and try the LH demo club at Golfsmith after my morning 9 hole round.
 
ryebread said:
I had a nice range session with the Altitudes last night. I ended a big bucket (say 135 balls) with 7 out of 7 landing on the target green at 120 with the 9. That doesn't sound like much, but I'm a hack, was tired from hitting a lot of drivers, and there was enough cross wind to move the ball as it was sitting on the ground. I was pretty impressed.

This isn't going to be a common opinion, but I actually think I like the 7-DW more than I like the 5 and 6 (and I like the 5 and 6 a lot). The 7 down just seem to have the perfect amount of offset and forgiveness. I can understand not liking the looks and feel, but people on the fence should give the higher lofted ones a go.

The verdict is still out for me a little with the 4. Put a solid swing on it, and it is great. Duff it a bit and it's no longer than the 5. It's the archer not the arrow, but that one takes a bit more concentration. The 5 down are a breeze.
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Have you tried fitting in regular hybrids for the 5 and 6?
 
Didn't get to hit these at all today, rained out, bummer! I did get an email from the ebay vendor that messed up my order for the D wedge. They're going to send me the club and let me keep the glove for my trouble, not too bad. Also the S wedge is shipped and should be here soon. I can't wait to get these out for some comparisons, and to see if the Altitude S will stay in the bag.
 
The DW was so damn good for me today. Just absolute money from 100-110. Gave me 3 looks at birdie from within 15 feet, love this damn club.
 
BamBooBender said:
Have you tried fitting in regular hybrids for the 5 and 6?
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The last time I had Altitudes, I tried virtually every combination of integration that you could imagine. I played the 5/6 with more traditional irons. I played the bottom ones with more traditional hybrids. I played all of them. I played some with some other wedges.

Some will probably disagree, but I find these a little tough to integrate with clubs from other OEMs. The lofts are fairly aggressive, and yes the clubs hit higher than the loft would suggest, but the distances are still a little weird (about a half club). Do you want a gap high? Do you want a gap low? Do you skip a club when integrating to another OEM?

I spent this offseason trying about every hybrid that interested me, including some older models that I'd had before trying to pair up with a set of irons I liked. I'm still selling the last of the hybrids off. I really loved a 6 hybrid that I had (Ping G15), but then didn't like the 3/4 in that model (or really in any of the iron like hybrids). My favorite "mini-fairway" styled hybrid is by far the Tour Edge Trilogy, but they don't make those in a 6 and the 5 is extremely difficult to find.

A lot of the SGI hybrids have a bit too much offset for my taste. Yes, I'm a hack that needs help getting the ball up in the air, but I either hook or choke them out when you start moving into the lower lofts. It's the archer not the arrow, but it just doesn't work.

The Baffler T hybrids would probably be the best combination of long runs and gaps that would integrate with irons, but then there was the cost associated with trying to find all the lofts. Also, I'm extremely anal about club condition and the PVD finish on them wears quickly.

All of those reasons are why I'm back to the Altitudes. I want a long run of clubs that play consistently and gap evenly. I want something with a little less offset. I want them in all graphite. I don't want to mess with integration with other clubs. I want something with a durable finish.

Most of all, I don't want to got to range and have to practice with FWs, mini-fw styled hybrids, iron styled hybrids, irons and then wedges all in my bag. That's where I was a couple of months ago, and I was honestly struggling. It was just too much to think about and keep up with for someone like me who struggles enough just to put a decent swing on it every time (not the most athletic and a weird back). I suspect that there are many high handicap hacks out there like me who this might resonate with.
 
Amen brother.
ryebread said:
The last time I had Altitudes, I tried virtually every combination of integration that you could imagine. I played the 5/6 with more traditional irons. I played the bottom ones with more traditional hybrids. I played all of them. I played some with some other wedges.

Some will probably disagree, but I find these a little tough to integrate with clubs from other OEMs. The lofts are fairly aggressive, and yes the clubs hit higher than the loft would suggest, but the distances are still a little weird (about a half club). Do you want a gap high? Do you want a gap low? Do you skip a club when integrating to another OEM?

I spent this offseason trying about every hybrid that interested me, including some older models that I'd had before trying to pair up with a set of irons I liked. I'm still selling the last of the hybrids off. I really loved a 6 hybrid that I had (Ping G15), but then didn't like the 3/4 in that model (or really in any of the iron like hybrids). My favorite "mini-fairway" styled hybrid is by far the Tour Edge Trilogy, but they don't make those in a 6 and the 5 is extremely difficult to find.

A lot of the SGI hybrids have a bit too much offset for my taste. Yes, I'm a hack that needs help getting the ball up in the air, but I either hook or choke them out when you start moving into the lower lofts. It's the archer not the arrow, but it just doesn't work.

The Baffler T hybrids would probably be the best combination of long runs and gaps that would integrate with irons, but then there was the cost associated with trying to find all the lofts. Also, I'm extremely anal about club condition and the PVD finish on them wears quickly.

All of those reasons are why I'm back to the Altitudes. I want a long run of clubs that play consistently and gap evenly. I want something with a little less offset. I want them in all graphite. I don't want to mess with integration with other clubs. I want something with a durable finish.

Most of all, I don't want to got to range and have to practice with FWs, mini-fw styled hybrids, iron styled hybrids, irons and then wedges all in my bag. That's where I was a couple of months ago, and I was honestly struggling. It was just too much to think about and keep up with for someone like me who struggles enough just to put a decent swing on it every time (not the most athletic and a weird back). I suspect that there are many high handicap hacks out there like me who this might resonate with.
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5-DW ordered.
 
My set is sitting on the floor, ready for new grips to get slid on.

Last night I decided to strip the old ones off, without having hit the irons yet. Might as well throw the grips on that I like for my first session with them.
 
ryebread said:
The last time I had Altitudes, I tried virtually every combination of integration that you could imagine. I played the 5/6 with more traditional irons. I played the bottom ones with more traditional hybrids. I played all of them. I played some with some other wedges.

Some will probably disagree, but I find these a little tough to integrate with clubs from other OEMs. The lofts are fairly aggressive, and yes the clubs hit higher than the loft would suggest, but the distances are still a little weird (about a half club). Do you want a gap high? Do you want a gap low? Do you skip a club when integrating to another OEM?

I spent this offseason trying about every hybrid that interested me, including some older models that I'd had before trying to pair up with a set of irons I liked. I'm still selling the last of the hybrids off. I really loved a 6 hybrid that I had (Ping G15), but then didn't like the 3/4 in that model (or really in any of the iron like hybrids). My favorite "mini-fairway" styled hybrid is by far the Tour Edge Trilogy, but they don't make those in a 6 and the 5 is extremely difficult to find.

A lot of the SGI hybrids have a bit too much offset for my taste. Yes, I'm a hack that needs help getting the ball up in the air, but I either hook or choke them out when you start moving into the lower lofts. It's the archer not the arrow, but it just doesn't work.

The Baffler T hybrids would probably be the best combination of long runs and gaps that would integrate with irons, but then there was the cost associated with trying to find all the lofts. Also, I'm extremely anal about club condition and the PVD finish on them wears quickly.

All of those reasons are why I'm back to the Altitudes. I want a long run of clubs that play consistently and gap evenly. I want something with a little less offset. I want them in all graphite. I don't want to mess with integration with other clubs. I want something with a durable finish.

Most of all, I don't want to got to range and have to practice with FWs, mini-fw styled hybrids, iron styled hybrids, irons and then wedges all in my bag. That's where I was a couple of months ago, and I was honestly struggling. It was just too much to think about and keep up with for someone like me who struggles enough just to put a decent swing on it every time (not the most athletic and a weird back). I suspect that there are many high handicap hacks out there like me who this might resonate with.
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Well put man. I think I misread your your post though, beer may or may not have been involved.
Any way, sounds like a good idea to keep things simple. I completely agree on how the set flows so smoothly, that's one of the reasons I'm going with 3-S in these and see how it works out. I have thought about having the loft tweaked on the 3 to get a little more out of it maybe, but I'm not sure it's worth the trouble yet. I still need some more course time with them, and for it to warm up here, before I really know what I can expect from each club.
 
Yeah, I think I will really like them. I was thinking about going just 5 and 6 iron, but there was way too much gap between the 6 iron I demoed and my 7 iron. As in I was hitting the 6 iron 180 yards and my 7 iron is a 145 club. My swing is kind of all over the place right now so I didn't hit them great, but I am not hitting anything great right now.

I ended up going with the stock steel shafts in regular flex. I looked at the graphite, but they just didn't feel good to me and I was not able to get a good tempo with them. The shafts are +1/2 and up three degrees
 
Acuna said:
I was thinking about going just 5 and 6 iron, but there was way too much gap between the 6 iron I demoed and my 7 iron. As in I was hitting the 6 iron 180 yards and my 7 iron is a 145 club.
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That's what I always see when I try to integrate these with other clubs. I don't hit it as far as you do, but it just created some weird gaps, particularly if I went from graphite in one club run/style to steel in another. I'm sure the Cleveland TT/MTs flow better, but those weren't really irons I was every trying to tie the Altitudes in with.

The Niblick is pretty good for a transition. It's lofted pretty strongly and I hit it pretty well, so the gap is fairly even. There's a massive difference in height related to loft though. I'll bet I hit the graphite shafted 9 Altitude as high as I hit the steel shafted Niblick 42. :D
 
BamBooBender said:
Well put man. I think I misread your your post though, beer may or may not have been involved.
Any way, sounds like a good idea to keep things simple. I completely agree on how the set flows so smoothly, that's one of the reasons I'm going with 3-S in these and see how it works out. I have thought about having the loft tweaked on the 3 to get a little more out of it maybe, but I'm not sure it's worth the trouble yet. I still need some more course time with them, and for it to warm up here, before I really know what I can expect from each club.
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No worries at all if you did misread. It was actually a good question as listed. My first run with Altitudes saw me mixing and matching.

I've mixed and matched with XLIs and HB3s as well. The XLIs were probably the best for mixing and matching with other OEMs because the lofts and shaft lengths are a bit more "conventional." Cleveland make slight tweaks to both through the versions. The XLIs were probably my second favorite of the Cleveland sets for that reason and due to the looks.

The loft tweaking may not be a bad idea. It might make the 3 playable, or make the 4 a little bit easier.
 
Looks like something that'd make my hook hookier. Probably would be a good set for some of my hacker buddies.


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chumphries said:
Looks like something that'd make my hook hookier. Probably would be a good set for some of my hacker buddies.


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I can hook with the best of them and hitting golf4life's 7i today that isn't the case. That said I dont think this club will cure a hook either. It is super easy to hit the ball up in the air though, no doubt about that.
 
Well, they arrived on Tuesday. Regripped and ready to rip!
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It's so crazy to me to think that some are scared off of these due to looks. Let's just pretend that one night, praying on your custom alter in your golf shed, you ask God for the 100th time to please help you hit straighter before your big tournament. Unlike your previous requests, however, the sky unzips under a flash of lightning and descending down to you on cherubs' wings is God's own golf bag. And inside, are the Cleveland hybrids.

Who in the world would complain about the looks? And while not God's clubs, the fact is, they'd be just like that if a young man Nicklaus or etc had seen these 50 years ago (or insert any good game improvement club today against the wood and leather of other ages). If they help you hit straighter, they are an answer for you. Whether from God or from Cleveland, they're and answer.

I LOVE mine. I'm a double bogey handicap now after a few years off and just coming back in, and I still hit my old Mizuno irons pretty well actually. But after torturing myself mixing and matching and trying to work in all the different combinations, I just said, "this is crazy, I'm going to simplify and just focus on training myself".

First thing I did was dump the driver. Gone. Put in a 3 wood fit to me that I hit well. Done. Next was to add the Altitude set in. No quiltwork mixing, just a consistent set. I then added a Cleveland 56 wedge (my favorite club in the world) and a Mizuno 52 that I love. Finally a putter I love. Done. Simplest bag I've ever had. Sure the Altitudes are ugly monkeys, but I'm owning it and am even in the market for a set of head covers that look like paper sacks with eye holes. But I'm proud to be out training again, and the combination of these + simplicity means my training has started crackling with electricity again much more quickly than before. I focus on my swing and the course now, and forget the nuances of all my different quiltwork equipment.
 
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chumphries said:
Looks like something that'd make my hook hookier. Probably would be a good set for some of my hacker buddies.


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I can think of four guys off the top of my head that play to a lower index than you and have done so at a thp event with these in the bag.

They won't be for everybody, but don't say things that might come back to make you look silly.
 
chumphries said:
Looks like something that'd make my hook hookier. Probably would be a good set for some of my hacker buddies.


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Fun fact, they have less offset than the Diablo Forged.

Yup.
 
Hawk said:
I can think of four guys off the top of my head that play to a lower index than you and have done so at a thp event with these in the bag.

They won't be for everybody, but don't say things that might come back to make you look silly.
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**cough** HOF Tag **cough**

:alien:
 
Ordered 4-DW steel shaft last night...supposed to be here Tuesday
 
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