Cleveland Classic Driver - THP Preview Thread

[Hawk]

Nice write-up, Jon. That was the 290?

 

[biggsy]

Enjoyed reading that Jon. It's even better on the course.

 

[JonD]

Nice write-up, Jon. That was the 290?

Enjoyed reading that Jon. It's even better on the course.

Thanks guys. That was the 290. Another thing I'll say is I really noticed the head weight on it this time. My driver you don't feel it as much... I liked it, obviously. I'm at work trawling eBay while I wait for a PM from Blind 9 lol.

 

[Arkie_3_fan]

Actually I got it today after coming home from 18 holes of golf. Soooooo I cut my lawn, eat me some lunch, and then headed back out for nine more. Well the nine turned into 18 more because I was having so much fun with the Classic it was hard to stop. I have my big tournament of the year this weekend and I needed some bonding time. Without putting a voodoo hex on this driver, I can tell ya things are going quite well in the honeymoon stage :thumb:

I will give ya a hint and say when swinging in tempo this dawg will hunt big time! I got the stock 43 gram stiff shaft and although it is super light to me, it is working very well. I would like to try the blue in this driver but that is for another time.

While I'll admit to a slight amount of trolling here, did you get the 270 or 290? I found where you got a 10.5 loft but may not have went back far enough to find the weight.
I went with the 290 in 9 degree with the same 43g stiff shaft. For me, I'm still trying to figure out this driver a bit. I've hit at least 3 drives that rank right up there with some of my best ever on a couple of particular holes, but then on some other drives, I've felt I hit the ball well and been met with average results. In those cases, I'm not sure if my transition isn't matching the shaft of the driver, of if my swing speed is less that what it feels like. It's a bit perplexing, but with less than 3 rounds of golf under my belt with the Classic (and no range time), the learning phase is still in full swing.

 

[Jersey Nate]

While I'll admit to a slight amount of trolling here, did you get the 270 or 290? I found where you got a 10.5 loft but may not have went back far enough to find the weight.
I went with the 290 in 9 degree with the same 43g stiff shaft. For me, I'm still trying to figure out this driver a bit. I've hit at least 3 drives that rank right up there with some of my best ever on a couple of particular holes, but then on some other drives, I've felt I hit the ball well and been met with average results. In those cases, I'm not sure if my transition isn't matching the shaft of the driver, of if my swing speed is less that what it feels like. It's a bit perplexing, but with less than 3 rounds of golf under my belt with the Classic (and no range time), the learning phase is still in full swing.

I think OG has the 290.

The C Kua was the same with me as well - I hit some amazing drives and some average ones. I think my transition (personally) was too quick for it at times, and when I switched to the much stouter and heavier Blue, my results were much more consistent. But thats just me. I think the C Kua rewards a smooth transition the most - on my best drives with it in, I felt like I was swinging so slow yet BOOM there went a 250+ yard drive.

 

[gioguy21]

I think OG has the 290.

The C Kua was the same with me as well - I hit some amazing drives and some average ones. I think my transition (personally) was too quick for it at times, and when I switched to the much stouter and heavier Blue, my results were much more consistent. But thats just me. I think the C Kua rewards a smooth transition the most - on my best drives with it in, I felt like I was swinging so slow yet BOOM there went a 250+ yard drive.

Jersey Nate, this is me to a tee. i have a smooth transition but i'm aggressive through the zone...this thing on the monitor FLEW for me when i felt like i was going easy with it back and hard coming down with a slight pause at the top. i don't think i've been this anxious about a club in a long time.

 

[Jersey Nate]

Jersey Nate, this is me to a tee. i have a smooth transition but i'm aggressive through the zone...this thing on the monitor FLEW for me when i felt like i was going easy with it back and hard coming down with a slight pause at the top. i don't think i've been this anxious about a club in a long time.

I think you're gonna love it, Gio.

 

[chestnutcheese]

Question - I very much want a Cleveland Classic. I currently play a Cobra X Speed 460CC with XX shaft (somebody gave it to me) 8.5 loft. I hit the ball very high. I certainly don't need that stiff of a shaft. Any reccos on which model to look at?

 

[Jersey Nate]

Question - I very much want a Cleveland Classic. I currently play a Cobra X Speed 460CC with XX shaft (somebody gave it to me) 8.5 loft. I hit the ball very high. I certainly don't need that stiff of a shaft. Any reccos on which model to look at?

The low spinning head has lowered a lot of people's ball flight on here...but what is your driver swing speed?

 

[Arkie_3_fan]

I think OG has the 290.

The C Kua was the same with me as well - I hit some amazing drives and some average ones. I think my transition (personally) was too quick for it at times, and when I switched to the much stouter and heavier Blue, my results were much more consistent. But thats just me. I think the C Kua rewards a smooth transition the most - on my best drives with it in, I felt like I was swinging so slow yet BOOM there went a 250+ yard drive.

I'm definitely going to have to put in some range time and work on set up, tee height and my transition to see what combination works the best. Right now I'm still searching and too inconsistent.

 

[Jersey Nate]

I'm definitely going to have to put in some range time and work on set up, tee height and my transition to see what combination works the best. Right now I'm still searching and too inconsistent.

Yeah, I've been teeing the ball up very high and putting it off of my front foot. I've been getting some good results that way. It will come, Arkie!

 

[JonD]

Quick question if anyone knows the answer. I'm seeing a mail in rebate on some of these on different sites. Do I get that if I buy it from a store too?

 

[3leggedpony]

I have a dilemma that I hope one of you can help me with.
I was fitted for a custom driver last year and came away with an Adams 4G Ultralight 12* loft fitted with a 44.75" Graphite Design Quattro Tech MD 6 (S) shaft.
Now I really don't like the look or sound of the driver, but I have been hitting the ball straighter than ever. I used to have a wild slice but my miss now is more of a low hook but is a lot rarer. I guess my question is whether it is the shaft or club head that is making me hit it straight off the tee. If I were to get the Classic, which I simply love looks wise, and put the Quattro Tech shaft in it, would I be undoing all the work the fitter did? In other words, if he'd decided on the Cleveland head would he have put me in a different shaft?

Thanks in advance
(The other info I got that means nothing to me is that the swing weight is D1.3 and Frequency 258)

 

[Hawk]

The head and the shaft are going to work together to produce launch conditions, so I don't think just putting that shaft in the Classic head is a guarantee that you'll see results that you are hoping for.

 

[Hanks]

If it's through the co. I can't see why not

Quick question if anyone knows the answer. I'm seeing a mail in rebate on some of these on different sites. Do I get that if I buy it from a store too?

 

[Arkie_3_fan]

Yeah, I've been teeing the ball up very high and putting it off of my front foot. I've been getting some good results that way. It will come, Arkie!

I've tried that set up a few times but seem to hit the ball high on the face and lose it to the right a bit when doing so. My swing is a little too flat and I tend to almost brush the ground with my driver when I swing, so that's something I'm working on. Hovering the club at address has helped with that some, but it's certainly a work in progress.
The Classic is certainly a bomber, so I'm looking forward to figuring it out.

 

[3leggedpony]

The head and the shaft are going to work together to produce launch conditions, so I don't think just putting that shaft in the Classic head is a guarantee that you'll see results that you are hoping for.

Thanks. Damn

 

[tyno]

Alright, so I've put the Cleveland Classic in play for the last 2 nights now and here are the straight facts of what went down...

Initial thoughts:
Originally not a fan of the old school look of the driver. But it has slowly become somewhat of a guilty pleasure or even a contradiction. It looks so wrong, but it feels so right. And it's ugly, but it's so cool looking! I know that's confusing, but anyone who's seen this or hit it, will know what I mean. So far I'm liking the GP NDMC white/black as far as the grip goes, but I'm not 100% sold on the look with the blue Miyazaki shaft and the mahogany driver head. We'll see though...
For some strange reason, when I line this bad boy up, it feels shorter and stiffer than my R11...when in fact, it's the same length (if not a very small fraction longer) and I know they are different shafts, but stiff nonetheless. Regardless, it looks great at address and I enjoy how the gold comes up from the bottom and onto the face of the club and outlines the sweet spot...almost as if it acts like a 2nd target lineup to coincide with the Classic text on top of the driver.

First swings:
Now the first couple balls I hit in my back lawn all went straight, but I had no judge of distance. The sound it made was a little off-putting because it was a very loud "crack" that almost sounded like I was hitting rocks. This also happened on the first few Srixons I teed up on Wednesday. Easily dismissed as I figured I was just breaking the driver in and getting used to it. I also remember the Srixons feeling this way when I first teed them up with my R11. I had been playing ProV1s, which do feel much softer on all of my clubs...but after awhile, the Srixons soften up as well and I feel/see no difference.
Day 1 yielded mixed results in terms of ball flight. I hit a few way too high and thought "oh no, I've definitely chosen the wrong club/shaft combo!" But after awhile, I realized that it is just my swing and getting used to hitting a new club. After awhile, I started to find my groove and was able to easily etch out my goto ball flight and realize what my misses were going to be. I hit more slight draws on Day 1 than on Day 2, but seemed to gain some distance and confidence on Day 2.

Results:
Here are some estimated numbers I came up with for the 2 days. I don't have a range finder or gps, so these numbers are based on hole yardage minus an estimation of what I had left to the pin. Close enough for me...

Hole	Yardage	Drive	Ball Flight	Fairway
1	432	232	High-Fade	Yes
2	392	242	Mid/Low-Draw	Yes
3	343	220	Low-Slice	Yes
5	345	245	High-Draw	No
6	543	250+	Mid-Low Straight	Yes
8	314	250	Mid-Draw	Yes
9	382	205*	High-Slice	No

Hole	Yardage	Drive	Ball Flight	Fairway
1	432	230	High-Slice	No
2	392	200*	Pop-up	Yes
3	343	250	Mid/Low-Fade	No
5	345	245	Mid/Low-Fade	No
6	543	260+	Mid/Low-Fade	Yes
8	314	240	High-Fade	Yes
9	382	255	Mid/High-Straight	Yes

So with the exception of #9 on Day 1 (hit a tree) and #2 on Day 2 (pop up to the pitcher), I've got a good average of about 245-250 yards and hit about 64% of fairways. As I mentioned, I slowly started to find a decent groove with the nice Mid/Low piercing fade but can miss with a high slice every now and then. *Also should mention I played the Z-Star both days.*

Conclusion:
It's tough to come to any final conclusions from just after 2 days but I can say that I'm able to hit this driver well and control it fairly easily. No drives have really "gotten away from me" yet, which I think could be a testament to the shaft because I have yet to hit a poor shot with my 3wood, that has a similar shaft in it. But the Cleveland Classic is for real and I like it. Will I gain anymore distance? Probably not...because most of that is going to be in my swing and not in the club. But the Cleveland Classic is the gamer in the bag for me right now and the results can only get better.

 

[Hawk]

Nice summary, tnolan. That's some pretty solid accuracy right there and it sounds like distance is right where you'd expect.

 

[Jersey Nate]

Great writeup Tyler. You'll only get better with this driver as you get used to it. Some great numbers there.

 

[mhachtx]

I think OG has the 290.

The C Kua was the same with me as well - I hit some amazing drives and some average ones. I think my transition (personally) was too quick for it at times, and when I switched to the much stouter and heavier Blue, my results were much more consistent. But thats just me. I think the C Kua rewards a smooth transition the most - on my best drives with it in, I felt like I was swinging so slow yet BOOM there went a 250+ yard drive.

Nate, I'm considering going with a heavier shaft since I feel that I have started swinging too quick with a lightter one. Has the heavier shaft helped with your tempo? Or do you think it's mainly the fact you went with a stiffer flex?

 

[Jersey Nate]

Nate, I'm considering going with a heavier shaft since I feel that I have started swinging too quick with a lightter one. Has the heavier shaft helped with your tempo? Or do you think it's mainly the fact you went with a stiffer flex?

I feel like the heavier shaft has helped with my tempo for sure, as I feel the stoutness of this Blue 72S more through the entire swing. The C Kua 43S felt a tad more whippy through the swing and I felt like my transition was not suited for the shaft. You can swing the C Kua fast, no doubt, but you better have a smooth transition at the top otherwise (for me) you might think you killed a ball only to see it go a slightly below average distance. The Blue has also lowered my ball flight and given me more roll out, and I feel like I can get after it if I want to.

 

[mhachtx]

I feel like the heavier shaft has helped with my tempo for sure, as I feel the stoutness of this Blue 72S more through the entire swing. The C Kua 43S felt a tad more whippy through the swing and I felt like my transition was not suited for the shaft. You can swing the C Kua fast, no doubt, but you better have a smooth transition at the top otherwise (for me) you might think you killed a ball only to see it go a slightly below average distance. The Blue has also lowered my ball flight and given me more roll out, and I feel like I can get after it if I want to.

I need to get on a launch monitor, I think I could benefit from a heavier shaft. When I go with a light shaft I feel like I got all of out synch.

 

[biggsy]

The low spinning head has lowered a lot of people's ball flight on here...but what is your driver swing speed?

Actually didn't lower mine at all even with the low-launching Miyazaki Black. I think I am in the minority however.

 

[Jersey Nate]

Actually didn't lower mine at all even with the low-launching Miyazaki Black. I think I am in the minority however.

Ah cool. I thought that JB and a few others saw a lower ball flight initially from the Classic, but I could be wrong.