Cleveland Launcher XL Halo Irons

[Canadan]

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.

Whoa, that was fast!

Very very cool. Can't wait to hear how you liked them..

 

[Grand Stranded]

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

Just my two cents, but unless you’re a player as good as Dan, these aren’t going to be the most workable of clubs. They’re designed to be Uber forgiving, and want to go high and straight. As for size, my Rogue X are a big head, but these are bigger. I had no problem adjusting though. Ymmv.
BTW I’m a sweeper also, and yes they’re perfect for us in that regard. What really surprised me most though was how easy it was to pitch and chip with the 8 and PW. It felt like I was cheating, I must have hit 50 balls and never chunked one. I’m a 12, so you know that’s not something I’m used to seeing!

 

[Grand Stranded]

Whoa, that was fast!

Very very cool. Can't wait to hear how you liked them..

Lol, I didn’t even know they were coming out this week! I really wanted to try the T300’s, which I did, but these caught my eye when I saw them, and I’ve always wanted to try a set like this, so here we are…

 

[Canadan]

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

I don't think I lost that kind of yardage. Average carry was 189 and the two on the chart that ended up on the right side of center were at 186 yards. I'd say that's pretty tight.

 

[YukonLiving]

These look to be a great option for some! As a new golfer, one of my brothers would definitely be a good fit for these.

 

[erock9174]

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

when hitting a fade you inherently will hit the ball higher with more spin and thus usually a shorter distance. I know I tend to lose 5-7 yds when I produce a cut shot (rare for me and my usually draw swing). With someone at Dan's speed I could see the drop off being 10-15 yds.

 

[xcman04]

As a current user of the prior generation of these clubs, I’d love to hit these to see the difference between them. Love the looks on them for sure, just not convinced(yet) they would be a significant upgrade over the prior model.

 

[Roadrunner]

Just my two cents, but unless you’re a player as good as Dan, these aren’t going to be the most workable of clubs. They’re designed to be Uber forgiving, and want to go high and straight. As for size, my Rogue X are a big head, but these are bigger. I had no problem adjusting though. Ymmv.
BTW I’m a sweeper also, and yes they’re perfect for us in that regard. What really surprised me most though was how easy it was to pitch and chip with the 8 and PW. It felt like I was cheating, I must have hit 50 balls and never chunked one. I’m a 12, so you know that’s not something I’m used to seeing!

It looks like your golf profile is similar to mine, which means I might have to take a serious look at these clubs. I really like my Mizuno JPX921 HM irons, but the rail sole on the Halos would definitely help my sweeping contact.

 

[Grand Stranded]

As a current user of the prior generation of these clubs, I’d love to hit these to see the difference between them. Love the looks on them for sure, just not convinced(yet) they would be a significant upgrade over the prior model.

I don’t think there would be much difference for the player these are designed for.
They’ve tweaked a few things for sure. The swing weight is a bit lighter, they claim to have increased the MOI quite a bit, they put a weight under the grip to counterbalance the club, and they tweaked the soles. That sounds significant, but at the end of the day I’d bet the average guy wouldn’t notice much difference performance wise from the prior generation. If you’re talking the original set of HBs, I think you might.

 

[JB]

As a current user of the prior generation of these clubs, I’d love to hit these to see the difference between them. Love the looks on them for sure, just not convinced(yet) they would be a significant upgrade over the prior model.

Based on our pretty thorough testing, the biggest difference will be on off center contact. Seeing very little spin change and very little speed loss when you miss laterally. The other largest difference we are seeing is from those that make ground first contact and/or are a steeper swinging golfer. The amount of speed retention due to sole design is quite a bit different from the previous generations.

Its definitely worth a try, and once they are in stores in your area, hit them side by side.

 

[Grand Stranded]

It looks like your golf profile is similar to mine, which means I might have to take a serious look at these clubs. I really like my Mizuno JPX921 HM irons, but the rail sole on the Halos would definitely help my sweeping contact.

My buddy has the HMs, they’re a great club, but yes, for a sweeper? I think these work better.
Honestly, I think there are only two reasons why an older or mid high cap shouldn’t play these.
1. he just can’t get around the idea of hitting all hybrids, especially mid and bottom of the bag
2. plain and simple, ego. A lot of guys think they’re better than they are, or want something that looks like they are in their bag.
When you think about it from the 6 down, these aren’t bad at all size wise compared to GI and SGI irons, and the 4&5 are just like any other hybrids, but more forgiving than most.

 

[Grand Stranded]

Based on our pretty thorough testing, the biggest difference will be on off center contact. Seeing very little spin change and very little speed loss when you miss laterally. The other largest difference we are seeing is from those that make ground first contact and/or are a steeper swinging golfer. The amount of speed retention due to sole design is quite a bit different from the previous generations.

Its definitely worth a try, and once they are in stores in your area, hit them side by side.

C’mon, this is the Internet. What is this “off center contact” thing you speak of?

 

[xcman04]

Based on our pretty thorough testing, the biggest difference will be on off center contact. Seeing very little spin change and very little speed loss when you miss laterally. The other largest difference we are seeing is from those that make ground first contact and/or are a steeper swinging golfer. The amount of speed retention due to sole design is quite a bit different from the previous generations.

Its definitely worth a try, and once they are in stores in your area, hit them side by side.

Haha - so basically my two biggest issues are addressed by these? Um, yeah, will be trying these out for sure!

 

[JB]

Haha - so basically my two biggest issues are addressed by these? Um, yeah, will be trying these out for sure!

Hahah. Well I didn’t know they were your two. But honestly they are mine so it was a fun comparison.

 

[ULEWZ]

Any chance of a future comparison with the Srixon ZX4s?
They seem to be in the same category (high moi), but the Cleveland has a better price point.

 

[JB]

Any chance of a future comparison with the Srixon ZX4s?
They seem to be in the same category (high moi), but the Cleveland has a better price point.

We can probably do that in a few weeks when staff is here. Pretty different clubs construction wise but yes both are forgiving and hollow.

 

[rlb4]

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.

How was forgiveness, height and spin vs the Ping G425 and Titleist T300?

 

[Carolina Golfer]

Here it is folks...

 

[blugold]

https://www.thehackersparadise.com/forum/index.php?threads/cleveland-launcher-xl-halo-irons.8932788/#post-10053891

 

[Carolina Golfer]

Lol, I didn’t even know they were coming out this week! I really wanted to try the T300’s, which I did, but these caught my eye when I saw them, and I’ve always wanted to try a set like this, so here we are…

SC, Did you notice a hook bias? I have the HB3 and that's my one complaint with them, they want to hook.

It would be interesting to make a combo set by adding the Halo XL hybrids to the 4 and 5,

 

[Grand Stranded]

How was forgiveness, height and spin vs the Ping G425 and Titleist T300?

Forgiveness was easily better than both, the T300’s with Tensei Red were about the same height. i don’t remember with the spin.
I really didn’t get along well with the Pings. I realize they’re very good irons, but the G400 was the last version of the G series I liked. Take that with a grain of salt though, there’s a big part of me that realizes how foolish it sounds to be critical of that line.

 

[Grand Stranded]

SC, Did you notice a hook bias? I have the HB3 and that's my one complaint with them, they want to hook.

It would be interesting to make a combo set by adding the Halo XL hybrids to the 4 and 5,

That’s a great question. Not yesterday, so I’ll say no, but with this caveat… I’m not a player who is bothered by or even notices too much offset on a club, or a closed face. I very rarely hook any shot. I’ve pulled it off occasionally when I had to, but I’m not that guy who can work the ball consistently.

 

[Grand Stranded]

Here it is folks...

Just a reminder, That’s the 4 iron, so it has the rails on the sole. The soles transition from that to v soles (Srixon-ish) in the mids and tri soles (CBX wedges ish) in the short irons.

 

[Carolina Golfer]

Just a reminder, That’s the 4 iron, so it has the rails on the sole. The soles transition from that to v soles (Srixon-ish) in the mids and tri soles (CBX wedges ish) in the short irons.

great idea, I think the bigger flattesh look soles throughout the set was originally cool as a higher capper. But. not as playable as more narrow soles would be for the 7-W. Sounds like they got this one right.

Nice pic of all of the soles

https://www.golfdigest.com/story/cleveland-launcher-xl-halo-irons-provide-boost-for-those-who-need-it

 

[Et Tu Brute?]

I blamed it on the ultra wide soles which may not have been the reason but the PW and especially DW in the HB Turbos just went *nowhere* for me. High, floaty and 10 yards shorter than they should have for their loft.

I'm guessing the new version's highest lofted irons are improved in that regard because they're a little more conventional.

That said, for the steel shaft version the ultra lightweight shafts with a counterbalance weight is the very last thing I would ever want in the PW, 9, 8 iron end of a set. These seem aimed even moreso than previous generations at the very low clubhead speed 75-year-old golfer. I'll bet they expect the graphite to outsell the steel by a massive ratio.