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Cleveland Launcher XL Halo Irons

SuperStroke
Before I became interested in the HB Turbos I was looking at Ping G10’s. How would they compare? I know there’s a few years between them.
 
I'm 5'9" and take a standard lie. Only way to figure this out is to go there and see what happens.
 
I met some non-golfer coworkers at a par 3 course today for some disc golf. One of them mentioned he had just started playing real golf and has taken 3 lessons and played 1 round. By his own admission, he doesn't even know the distances on his clubs yet. I had brought my clubs in the car (real golf practice round afterwards!), he happened to have brought his, we both hit the driving range.

Coworker dude starts hitting some Callaway X irons he got off of Craigslist, and its kind of a mess. Bunch of chunks, bunch of thins, not many clean. He drives very well, better than I do after 2 years (whoever his instructor is must be really friggin good), but his irons look like a first time player

I think I have just the thing in my bag to help with that, so I offer to let him hit my Launcher 7 iron.

BOOM.

He starts firing these friggin TOWERING rockets one after the other.

I was speechless. Whatever swing fault he has, the Cleveland bandaged it for him. I knew these SGI irons had helped my game, but to see them just transform a new player's game like that was frankly more than I thought a golf club was capable of.
 
So played a few rounds now. I done a online custom fitting am 6ft 6 play 1 inch longer no other adjustments do have kbs120 stiff shafts. I did have to wait ten weeks for shipping however cleveland did give me 2 dozen z stars as a goodwill. My thoughts these clubs are like rockets hitting a lot more greens in reg ( 3 putting for fun ) . My mishits seem to have a slight draw to them so can't complain. These clubs are very strong my 8 iron is covering 160-165 so gained 25 yards . One other benefit I've notice bump and run shot have become very easy due to the nice chunky sole. Will report back again soon happy golfing
 

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Bought Ping I 525 irons in late April and liked them much better than Cobra Forge Tec but then hit the Launcher XL Halo at a club outing - wow - had the first generation Launchers in 2017 but these are better in - feel - height - and shaft response - traded in my Ping I 525 the next day - bought the Halo XL in graphite Project X Cypher sixty reg. flex - 3 rounds in - I know they are ugly but they are so much easier to hit consistently for an old guy like me - hit 10 to 12 greens in all 3 rounds - something that I used to do very often but since I turned 70 I have only been hitting 5 to 7 greens for the last 3 years - let the fun begin
 
I went and took my first swings with my new Halo XL's. I took the 5, 8, and DW out for a spin at the range.

For some background, I had hit these at a demo day late last year. It was obvious that the -.5" short Accuracy Build was the best setup for me. What was not as clear was on the shaft selection. Most of my clubs are regular flex. My driver speed hovers 95-99 on a good day, but I tend to swing my irons a little slower than I can. My miss is a hook and it can turn into an ugly push-hook when I get tired. The Cleveland Rep recommended I go with the Stiff flex due to this and the flight I was seeing, especially towards the end of the session where I was getting huge hooks from the regular 7i.

So, I decided to order the 4i in stiff as a test. I'm glad I did because I was awful with it. I took it out on multiple days and just couldn't get along with it. I was feeling pretty frustrated so I never ordered my clubs as I just wasn't sure what to get. I also have been so busy that I hadn't even been to the range in 5 months.

Last week I got a brand new set for a stupid-low price so I figured why not give them a try. I could even re-shaft them and still have saved money in the long wrong.

The 5 iron may be the easiest to hit club I have ever tried. Seriously, I hit a higher percentage of straight, slight draw, and long shots on target with it than any of the others. I was completely blown away.

I was pretty solid with the 8i as well. But I didn't get along with the DW at all. My other wedges are Cleveland CBX, and while I'm not always the best with them, I definitely hit them better. That said, I have decided to have the entire set cut down -.5" to make them the same as the accuracy build. I'm going to reserve any opinions on until I get a chance to try them out afterwards.
 
For those of you playing these, what does the rest of your bag look like? I currently have a D and 5W. I love my Mizuno 5w off the tee for when my driver isn't playing nice, but not so much off the deck. Considering looking at a Hy-wood and a 4 hybrid to fill the gaps.
 
Shepx13 said:
For those of you playing these, what does the rest of your bag look like? I currently have a D and 5W. I love my Mizuno 5w off the tee for when my driver isn't playing nice, but not so much off the deck. Considering looking at a Hy-wood and a 4 hybrid to fill the gaps.
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A Taylormade 4H that will be the last club to ever leave my bag, a Taylormade 9.5* driver that I could take or leave, and a gaggle of Cleveland wedges.

I'm eyeballing the Hy-Wood to fill that FW sized gap in my bag, but to be frank... I don't miss my FWs that much.
 
Special_K said:
So played a few rounds now. I done a online custom fitting am 6ft 6 play 1 inch longer no other adjustments do have kbs120 stiff shafts. I did have to wait ten weeks for shipping however cleveland did give me 2 dozen z stars as a goodwill. My thoughts these clubs are like rockets hitting a lot more greens in reg ( 3 putting for fun ) . My mishits seem to have a slight draw to them so can't complain. These clubs are very strong my 8 iron is covering 160-165 so gained 25 yards . One other benefit I've notice bump and run shot have become very easy due to the nice chunky sole. Will report back again soon happy golfing
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No lie adjustment necessary?
 
Played my second round with my new Halos. 41 on the front, 46 on the back. It was hot. Just ran out of gas. Hit some nice iron shots, couple of thin ones, a couple loose to the right. None were fat. 14 putts on the front, 20 on the back. I’m typically a bogey golfer.
 
Special_K said:
So played a few rounds now. I done a online custom fitting am 6ft 6 play 1 inch longer no other adjustments do have kbs120 stiff shafts. I did have to wait ten weeks for shipping however cleveland did give me 2 dozen z stars as a goodwill. My thoughts these clubs are like rockets hitting a lot more greens in reg ( 3 putting for fun ) . My mishits seem to have a slight draw to them so can't complain. These clubs are very strong my 8 iron is covering 160-165 so gained 25 yards . One other benefit I've notice bump and run shot have become very easy due to the nice chunky sole. Will report back again soon happy golfing
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Nice, yes you will enjoy chipping and pitching with the 9 & W.
 
The XL Halos are getting a lot of love here. It makes me curious, what is the difference for those of you who also played the HB Turbos?
 
I know that Cleveland doesn’t really need to entice people to buy the Halos with all the publicity. But if TE can offer a demo E522 7 iron for 40 bucks, why can’t Cleveland do something similar for us fence-sitters that don’t have physical access to Halos? I hate dropping a dime buying a set of Halos sight unseen. Just sayin’.
 
TLuke said:
I know that Cleveland doesn’t really need to entice people to buy the Halos with all the publicity. But if TE can offer a demo E522 7 iron for 40 bucks, why can’t Cleveland do something similar for us fence-sitters that don’t have physical access to Halos? I hate dropping a dime buying a set of Halos sight unseen. Just sayin’.
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Has no idea TE was doing that, fantastic idea.
 
TLuke said:
I know that Cleveland doesn’t really need to entice people to buy the Halos with all the publicity. But if TE can offer a demo E522 7 iron for 40 bucks, why can’t Cleveland do something similar for us fence-sitters that don’t have physical access to Halos? I hate dropping a dime buying a set of Halos sight unseen. Just sayin’.
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For $50, you can U-TRY for 14 days at Global Golf.
 
TLuke said:
I know that Cleveland doesn’t really need to entice people to buy the Halos with all the publicity. But if TE can offer a demo E522 7 iron for 40 bucks, why can’t Cleveland do something similar for us fence-sitters that don’t have physical access to Halos? I hate dropping a dime buying a set of Halos sight unseen. Just sayin’.
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Hybrid irons do take some getting used to. It is not always magic from the start as some indicate. So I get your point. I have heard many experiment with buying one club. If that works, then buy the set. Not a bad way to go. 4 iron is a good choice. That can be put in play with any set should you choose not to go with the Halos or sell it, probably easily.
 
I am liking what I'm hearing. Can't wait for that demo day to get here. I remember years ago playing with some guy who had a set of irons with really wide soles, hybrid style. Don't reallyremember the brand, and when I asked him what they were, because he was hitting the dog snot out of the ball, he said, "old man clubs!" He was a fair bit older than me. I suspect that those may have been some the older Adams "Idea" irons. Well, I'm an old man now, so I could be ready for those!
 
These irons change my golfgame completely. Before I tried to bomb the driver to have a short iron in because I could not hit anything longer than 8 iron. Some months ago I hit a socket with my 5 iron into the pool on a 195 yard par 3 and then I went home and youtubed easy to hit irons. Saw these videos that were posted earlier in this thread and bought a single 5 iron 2 degrees flat. Completely changed everything. I ended up ordering a 4 iron (2 degrees strong) and now my 5 wood is out of the bag. I am now comfortable with the middle/long irons. And yes I ordered the whole set... but 3 degrees flat since they are more upright than other irons. Not sure I needed the SW and DW but I said fck it, and I sometimes mishit my short irons also. I ordered them stiff graphite, but they really feel like regular. My old stiff irons are definitely stiffer. Something to think about if you order online without testing them.
 
Also, what i noticed is that misses high on the face (especially on the middle/long irons) takes away a lot of distance. Low on the face not. Hence I do not use a tee on par 3s with these irons.
 
TallGolfer said:
Before I became interested in the HB Turbos I was looking at Ping G10’s. How would they compare? I know there’s a few years between them.
Click to expand...

My answer would be the same as that I gave a few pages back regarding the PXG 0311XPs.

The G10s are probably like most current GI clubs, albeit with weaker lofts. I doubt they are that much less forgiving.

If you are swinging well, you'll hit them well. Likely just as good as the Halos.

But if you swinging well you can hit any club well. You could hit blades as well as the Halos.

The big positive (for me) with the Halos is what happens when you swing badly.

They won't magically swerve a pull hook to the right. Or send a thin shot sky high. Or a fat shot long.

But they will punish those crappy swings less than any other club I've tried.

I hit some great shots with my Halos the other day. But I think they would have been great with my PXGs. Or my old Forged Tecs.

The difference was that I hit a couple of very average shots with them that would have been truly awful with normal clubs.

And very average versus truly awful is a real stroke saver.
 
Micael said:
These irons change my golfgame completely. Before I tried to bomb the driver to have a short iron in because I could not hit anything longer than 8 iron. Some months ago I hit a socket with my 5 iron into the pool on a 195 yard par 3 and then I went home and youtubed easy to hit irons. Saw these videos that were posted earlier in this thread and bought a single 5 iron 2 degrees flat. Completely changed everything. I ended up ordering a 4 iron (2 degrees strong) and now my 5 wood is out of the bag. I am now comfortable with the middle/long irons. And yes I ordered the whole set... but 3 degrees flat since they are more upright than other irons. Not sure I needed the SW and DW but I said fck it, and I sometimes mishit my short irons also. I ordered them stiff graphite, but they really feel like regular. My old stiff irons are definitely stiffer. Something to think about if you order online without testing them.
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So they’re more upright than standard lie and they’re softer flex than what you may expect? How upright would you say they are? 1 degree?
 
sfdoddsy said:
My answer would be the same as that I gave a few pages back regarding the PXG 0311XPs.

The G10s are probably like most current GI clubs, albeit with weaker lofts. I doubt they are that much less forgiving.

If you are swinging well, you'll hit them well. Likely just as good as the Halos.

But if you swinging well you can hit any club well. You could hit blades as well as the Halos.

The big positive (for me) with the Halos is what happens when you swing badly.

They won't magically swerve a pull hook to the right. Or send a thin shot sky high. Or a fat shot long.

But they will punish those crappy swings less than any other club I've tried.

I hit some great shots with my Halos the other day. But I think they would have been great with my PXGs. Or my old Forged Tecs.

The difference was that I hit a couple of very average shots with them that would have been truly awful with normal clubs.

And very average versus truly awful is a real stroke saver.
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The reason I didn’t get these, or the hb turbos, is because Cleveland said they cannot be lie adjusted beyond 1 degree of standard and I need at least 2 degrees upright.

edit I bought a set of Ping G irons on eBay. Shipping now.
 
Carolina Golfer said:
The XL Halos are getting a lot of love here. It makes me curious, what is the difference for those of you who also played the HB Turbos?
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I suspect, objectively, there isn't a massive difference.

But I had a set of Turbos a while back and couldn't get over my snobby reaction to their look and feel. So I sold them.

Recently I tried a set of Halos and have been able to get over my snobby reaction to their very similar look. I now game them.

So for whatever reason the Halos work better for me.

And I definitely prefer the Halo feel.
 
TallGolfer said:
So they’re more upright than standard lie and they’re softer flex than what you may expect? How upright would you say they are? 1 degree?
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I say one degree. I always played PING 2 degrees flat, but yes the 5 iron that I ordered first (2 degrees flat) felt upright. The rest of the set I have is 3 degrees flat and sits perfect. And yes flex is definitely softer in graphite, maybe it is the low weight, but I like them.
 
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