Cleveland Launcher XL Halo Irons

Canadan

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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.



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The lineup comes complete with either the True Temper XP 90 steel...

Continue reading...
 
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Enjoyed watching @Canadan testing these out in the tech studio. I think this might be my favorite of the Cleveland hybrid irons by a pretty good margin.
 
These look great for the higher handicap. The addition of the rail system under the long irons could really help get the ball up. I bet it's very different to look at than what the traditional irons are, as stated in the video. The numbers, or how close they are, are what I suspected. I think that's a big give away on the game improvement category is how consistent shots are, regardless of whether they are a little toe, heel, topped etc. Great review!
 
Nice.
Really interesting to see the difference in profile from 5i to pw. Pretty cool.

Great price point too!

Looks like a winner for those in the market for this kind of iron.
 
I am in that high handicap, game improvement iron category. They look very good and sound was good as well. How do they compare to Tour Edge E521 ironwood line?
 
These look great for the higher handicap. The addition of the rail system under the long irons could really help get the ball up.

One thing a rail system really does as well as maintains speed. For a lot of golfers ground first contact is part of life. While it might not be ideal, the amount of speed lost can be large and the rail system is designed to maintain that speed higher. I have seen so many tests that show how well it works too.
 
One thing a rail system really does as well as maintains speed. For a lot of golfers ground first contact is part of life. While it might not be ideal, the amount of speed lost can be large and the rail system is designed to maintain that speed higher. I have seen so many tests that show how well it works too.
That makes good logical sense as well, if you're not digging into the ground as much and skimming over it you will better maintain your speed which can also lead to more consistency in the shots (if my logic train follows).

My big question about that, and maybe it's a more advanced conversation is that you're told to take a divot after the ball - if these irons are better at making sure you don't dig in to soon does that reduce the amount of divot that it's possible to take and what is the end result of that? Watching @Canadan hit them from the mat there are obviously no divots. OR does that give the long irons less (what's the golf term? precision?) accuracy but with the lack of that behind the iron rail on the scoring wedges it still allows for better ball manipulation around the greens?
 
That makes good logical sense as well, if you're not digging into the ground as much and skimming over it you will better maintain your speed which can also lead to more consistency in the shots (if my logic train follows).

My big question about that, and maybe it's a more advanced conversation is that you're told to take a divot after the ball - if these irons are better at making sure you don't dig in to soon does that reduce the amount of divot that it's possible to take and what is the end result of that? Watching @Canadan hit them from the mat there are obviously no divots. OR does that give the long irons less (what's the golf term? precision?) accuracy but with the lack of that behind the iron rail on the scoring wedges it still allows for better ball manipulation around the greens?

It is actually less about preventing a divot (I still took big divots with these) and more about maintaining speed through impact.
 
Cool. These look better than the previous edition.


In the original post, there's a slight issue with @Canadan describing the shafts... "The lineup comes complete with either the True Temper XP 90 steel shafts or the Project X Cypher iron shafts " I figure the Cypher's are graphite but it doesn't say so. Not everyone knows that.:)
 
In the original post, there's a slight issue with @Canadan describing the shafts... "The lineup comes complete with either the True Temper XP 90 steel shafts or the Project X Cypher iron shafts " I figure the Cypher's are graphite but it doesn't say so. Not everyone knows that.:)

Did you watch the video? :D
 
Great video @Canadan ! Super performing clubs! Look great! Shocked at how much backspin this produced! They are priced well. Hard not to like this new version of Launcher irons.
 
These look very interesting. If I hadn't just bought the wife a new set of Tour Edge C521's , these might have been in the running.
 
I have been waiting anxiously for the new Cleveland iron set to come out. My wife plays the previous Turbo Launcher set and it was a game changer for her. I need to hit these to see if they will be right for me.
I tried a Tour Edge Hot Launch E521 wedge with the Houdini sole that was billed as being able to "reduce Turf interaction", but for me, the feel just wasn't there. It forced you to hit a straight hit with no ability to manipulate the head.
I hope the rails on the bottom of the new XL's do not have this tendency.

I did watch the video and enjoyed it. ;)
 
Enjoyed watching the video. I was actually expecting to see lower lofts than they are. Price points are really solid as well.
 
If we had on-course demos, I would love to play a round of golf with these to see how easy they are.
 
I'm a fan of rails - like them in Cobra hybrids and fairways. I'd be curious to hit a 9i to slot in between G425 hybrids and my wedges.
 
I have been waiting anxiously for the new Cleveland iron set to come out. My wife plays the previous Turbo Launcher set and it was a game changer for her. I need to hit these to see if they will be right for me.
I tried a Tour Edge Hot Launch E521 wedge with the Houdini sole that was billed as being able to "reduce Turf interaction", but for me, the feel just wasn't there. It forced you to hit a straight hit with no ability to manipulate the head.
I hope the rails on the bottom of the new XL's do not have this tendency.

I did watch the video and enjoyed it. ;)

I think designs like this are generally favorable of not flighting, but moving it left and right wasn't too much of an issue.
 
The wedge sole on this one looks fantastic being all polished. Wished they wouldn’t have put the painted graphics on the iron soles. Cheapens the looks especially once the paint wears off.
 
I think designs like this are generally favorable of not flighting, but moving it left and right wasn't too much of an issue.
I assume "flighting" refers to keeping the ball low (sorry, knob question)?
I just want to see the turf interaction with the rails. Does it cause the club head to bounce, or dig in, and what about a shot where the club head is not straight on impact? Does it cause the head to rotate towards center?

I think my new club choice will come down to between these or the Srixon ZX4s.
 
Great review, Dan! The clubs really performed.

The lofts were more traditional than I expected to see and the spin Dan was getting more than I thought these clubs would produce.
 
I assume "flighting" refers to keeping the ball low (sorry, knob question)?
I just want to see the turf interaction with the rails. Does it cause the club head to bounce, or dig in, and what about a shot where the club head is not straight on impact? Does it cause the head to rotate towards center?

I think my new club choice will come down to between these or the Srixon ZX4s.

yes sir, altering trajectory, sorry.
Rails won't cause the club head to bounce or dig, but are designed to maintain speed and glide through rather than fighting it.
 
Demoed yesterday, ordered today.
4-PW with Cypher graphite.
I really had fun hitting this club. I couldn’t believe the forgiveness with these. They only want to go high and straight (which is fine by me) and the distance was comparable to the PIng G and Titleist T300 irons I also tried.
They just might be the set that finally knocks the Rogue X out of my bag! I’m looking forward getting them and finding out.
 
yes sir, altering trajectory, sorry.
Rails won't cause the club head to bounce or dig, but are designed to maintain speed and glide through rather than fighting it.
I know it was probably mentioned in the video, but for those who didn’t watch it….
while demoing these yesterday, I was told the set actually has 3 soles. The rails, the v, and the tri (which is found in the CBX wedges.)
There is a ton of tech in this new version, and as someone else mentioned the retail price is great.
*the discount I got made it a no brainer. 😉
 
great video @Canadan , i noticed when you try to manipulate the shot to fade you lost about 15 yards. do you think that was you or the club?

these type of irons are something i was thinking about...just don't know if i can get past the size at address. i am more of a sweeper now and theses might help me. thanks for the review
 
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