Cleveland Launcher XL Halo Irons

[Hacker67]

I’m so happy with my E722’s I haven’t demoed the 430’s (or anything else released this year), but two of my friends bought them and won’t stop raving about them.

I've had the E722 and they were nice but just never got comfortable with that top line. I don't know what Ping did but they nailed it with the 430s. Cheers.

 

[Grand Stranded]

I've had the E722 and they were nice but just never got comfortable with that top line. I don't know what Ping did but they nailed it with the 430s. Cheers.

I honestly don’t notice it. We all pick up on different things. I really like that even with the 5&6 irons there isn’t any hint of backside (or flange) visible at address. I hate when I see that,
What makes a club look appealing or not is all dependent on the individual, no?

 

[boggyman]

I agree Boggy. I do not have a golf ego. I will play what works regardless.

I’ve been out chipping with the 9-SW in the Pads this afternoon after it dried up after reading this thread. Came a toad strangler today here. If rain holds up, I’ll hopefully play tomorrow and Wednesday with the Pads in the sack to see what happens

 

[Hacker67]

I honestly don’t notice it. We all pick up on different things. I really like that even with the 5&6 irons there isn’t any hint of backside (or flange) visible at address. I hate when I see that,
What makes a club look appealing or not is all dependent on the individual, no?

Agreed

 

[boggyman]

I’ve been out chipping with the 9-SW in the Pads this afternoon after it dried up after reading this thread. Came a toad strangler today here. If rain holds up, I’ll hopefully play tomorrow and Wednesday with the Pads in the sack to see what happens

The Pads didn’t pan out on the course today unfortunately so I rid myself of them….just not gelling with the hybrid style iron s at the moment I’ll stick to my blade’s for the remainder of the season. I’ll keep following this thread though. Probably be new Cleveland’s out for next year to look forward too.

 

[SC Putter]

The Pads didn’t pan out on the course today unfortunately so I rid myself of them….just not gelling with the hybrid style iron s at the moment I’ll stick to my blade’s for the remainder of the season. I’ll keep following this thread though. Probably be new Cleveland’s out for next year to look forward too.

That's too bad Boggy. Sounds like you have a plan going forward. Hit the blades well for the rest of the season. Keeps us posted

 

[boggyman]

That's too bad Boggy. Sounds like you have a plan going forward. Hit the blades well for the rest of the season. Keeps us posted

I know, right. Was hoping they’d work! Thank you! Will do.

 

[Carolina Golfer]

In my opinion, it takes at least one season to get going with hybrid irons, especially coming from traditional irons. Started with the Cleveland XLI's to HB3's to Halo XL's and have been very pleased.

 

[SC Putter]

The Pads didn’t pan out on the course today unfortunately so I rid myself of them….just not gelling with the hybrid style iron s at the moment I’ll stick to my blade’s for the remainder of the season. I’ll keep following this thread though. Probably be new Cleveland’s out for next year to look forward too.

I will finally get my Halos to the course next weekend on a trip to Santee SC. So two rounds back to back. Will report back when I return. maybe hot a few balls this coming weekend.

 

[SC Putter]

In my opinion, it takes at least one season to get going with hybrid irons, especially coming from traditional irons. Started with the Cleveland XLI's to HB3's to Halo XL's and have been very pleased.

Im going to give them some time. I have a back up bag with the Pings. Retirement coming at the end of this year so the plan is to hopefully play 2 or 3 times a week during the week.

 

[BigE]

I got fitted the other day. Hit what seems like every GI or SGI iron out there. Really liked the Halo's. They made it to my "Final 2" but eventually lost out to the new Titleist T350's. I'm going to continue to keep my eye on those Halo's. I think at some point they will fit my swing best.

 

[TLuke]

Received my new 7-DW yesterday. Odd though. Rcvd brand new Mavrik 8 iron along with the Halos. Contacted ebay seller. Probably know the answer.

Update: Neither the ebay seller or Cleveland Support wanted the club back. Cleveland was puzzled how a Callaway club got into their shipment. Free is good!

 

[Thrillbilly Jim]

I need to practice more. Even the Halos can’t help an open club face.

 

[SC Putter]

Received my new 7-DW yesterday. Odd though. Rcvd brand new Mavrik 8 iron along with the Halos. Contacted ebay seller. Probably know the answer.

I need to practice more. Even the Halos can’t help an open club face.

I think that is what I'm fighting at the moment. Just delivering the club face open. Range time this weekend.

 

[tanguy21]

I hope this video helps everyone that pushes the ball to the right. I made the change a while ago to a slightly stronger grip and it made a huge difference for me. Good luck out there.

 

[SC Putter]

I hope this video helps everyone that pushes the ball to the right. I made the change a while ago to a slightly stronger grip and it made a huge difference for me. Good luck out there.

Thank you for the tip and video. Going to adjust my grip to stronger position and work on neutral release. Thanks

 

[SC Putter]

In my opinion, it takes at least one season to get going with hybrid irons, especially coming from traditional irons. Started with the Cleveland XLI's to HB3's to Halo XL's and have been very pleased.

Said I wasn't going to but went to the range again this morning. Slight improvement but I think you may be right in that this may take some time.

 

[Carolina Golfer]

You will get there. Also, one of the benefits of hybrid irons is reducing the bad shots, which it is very good at.

 

[GutterSnipe]

I’ve been XL Halo curious ever since I found an 8 iron on the course a year ago. I hit it and it felt like cheating. I’ve also been struggling with a hook on my irons for the last couple sets of clubs, despite lessons and a simulator in my living room. My other tendency is to hit it on the heel. I shoot in the 70s but my iron play is the worst part of my game and I play TM RAC OS irons 6-PW. I tend to be a low ball hitter on the course.

I decided to pay for a fitting at PGA Tour Superstore. Targets were the Halos, Mizuno Hot Metal High Launch, Wilson Launch Pads, Srixon Zx4&5, Launcher XL (and anything else the fitter thought was appropriate).

We used the Mizuno shaft fitting system, and he put me in a KBS C Taper Lite Regular flex. I had been hitting stiff and play stiff in my driver & 3 wood, but have gone back and forth over the years.

I started out aiming at the right side of the screen, which I need to do to keep my irons in play. The first discovery is that offset is poison for my swing and causes the hooks. Once we got the Mizunos, Halos, and Launch Pads rolling I was able to start swinging down the line and just hitting a high draw that landed just left of center. The Mizunos gave me a tendency to lose it right sometimes though. (End of part 1]

 

[GutterSnipe]

Clubfitting Part 2

The ZX4 and Launcher XL were discarded as they launched too low…and the ZX5 had no forgiveness on heel contact. We also tried 2 degrees flat on the Halo and Mizuno irons but it felt wrong and I lost balls to the right. It’s notable that I hit the Launcher XL the farthest at 170 for the 7 irons, but I wasn’t there for max distance.

To my clubfitter’s great surprise at the end it was down to the Halos and the Launch Pads. They were both launching at about 18 degrees and 5800 spin, descent angle of 47 and carry of 160 and consistently hitting the same spot on the screen 15 feet away. But as I got more tired, the Wilsons faltered in the last set and the Launcher XL Halos got the nod.

My only concern is that on both sets I was hitting maybe a half inch on the heel…but that is my natural tendency and he wasn’t showing me ball contact or distance as we did the session, so I had no opportunity to adjust. It would have been nice to hit something other than the 7 iron in the Halos as well as the head shape varies so much through the set. My wife has the 4 Halo and it’s amazing, so that is something.

The two clubs really were neck and neck, but I wanted the Halos as they have a better makeup, more of the blended set and I would have still had to play my old hybrids as the Wilsons only go down to a 5.

I ended up ordering 4-DW, and the club fitter comped my fitting cost. Overall it was a great experience, if a bit tiring, especially after playing in the heat in the morning. Now I just have to wait for the clubs to arrive some time in September.

I went back to my clubs at the end of the session and my hook was back, so it was nice to confirm that. Crazy that I’ve been struggling so hard fighting it but I was fighting physics!

 

[rlb4]

Clubfitting Part 2

The ZX4 and Launcher XL were discarded as they launched too low…and the ZX5 had no forgiveness on heel contact. We also tried 2 degrees flat on the Halo and Mizuno irons but it felt wrong and I lost balls to the right. It’s notable that I hit the Launcher XL the farthest at 170 for the 7 irons, but I wasn’t there for max distance.

To my clubfitter’s great surprise at the end it was down to the Halos and the Launch Pads. They were both launching at about 18 degrees and 5800 spin, descent angle of 47 and carry of 160 and consistently hitting the same spot on the screen 15 feet away. But as I got more tired, the Wilsons faltered in the last set and the Launcher XL Halos got the nod.

My only concern is that on both sets I was hitting maybe a half inch on the heel…but that is my natural tendency and he wasn’t showing me ball contact or distance as we did the session, so I had no opportunity to adjust. It would have been nice to hit something other than the 7 iron in the Halos as well as the head shape varies so much through the set. My wife has the 4 Halo and it’s amazing, so that is something.

The two clubs really were neck and neck, but I wanted the Halos as they have a better makeup, more of the blended set and I would have still had to play my old hybrids as the Wilsons only go down to a 5.

I ended up ordering 4-DW, and the club fitter comped my fitting cost. Overall it was a great experience, if a bit tiring, especially after playing in the heat in the morning. Now I just have to wait for the clubs to arrive some time in September.

I went back to my clubs at the end of the session and my hook was back, so it was nice to confirm that. Crazy that I’ve been struggling so hard fighting it but I was fighting physics!

The Halos have pretty minimal offset especially for a game improvement iron.

 

[GutterSnipe]

The Halos have pretty minimal offset especially for a game improvement iron.

Yup. The Launch Pads have even less, but the Stealth HDs look like hook machines. Notably, the ZX4s have more offset in the longer irons as well.

 

[rlb4]

I'm looking forward for the updated versions of the Halos. There should be more info in the next several weeks.

 

[tanguy21]

Yup. The Launch Pads have even less, but the Stealth HDs look like hook machines. Notably, the ZX4s have more offset in the longer irons as well.

I believe the Launch Pads have more offset and the confusion is Cleveland lists the offset in mm while Wilson in inches. Halo 7 iron offset is 2.04mm (0.08") while LP2 7 iron offset is 3.556mm (0.14").

 

[GutterSnipe]

Big surprise today, I wasn’t expecting the order from 8/6 to come in until September, but I got a call from PGA Tour Superstore. Even the back ordered DW showed up!!

I really don’t know the fuss on the looks of these. Each club is designed for its task and they look gorgeous. Waiting to finish work before working them out in the simulator.