Junior Tester for Cleveland - Long Term Review

[miller821]

My son was the lucky recipient of Cleveland Launcher Junior set (Thanks GG!) the other week. I'm not really sure how to do this thread so forgive me if I get off track and ramble...

First off, my son Jake is 9 and loves to play golf. He was okay with just hitting balls around the back yard when I went out to work on pitches, chips and flops. But that all changed last year when his mother and I purchased the RAM jr set last Christmas. From that day on, he wanted to play on a real course, with real conditons and showed true desire to play the same game that his mom and I play (or at least attempt to). He started working on his putting in the house, fidgiting with his grip and constantly hitting balls in the backyard, not to mention going to the range every chance he would get. We signed him up for a local golf camp in the early part of the summer. This is when everything seemed to "Click" for him. They adjusted his set up, changed his grip a little and instantly you could see the improvement. Since that time, he has outgrown the set we had purchased him, and he stole my favorite SeeMore FGP putter (aaarrrggghh!).
After unboxing the Cleveland set which after looking at the adult set of Launchers, there is only a size differential separating them. Obviously, the driver is not 460, but seems to had the same shape, face and sound as the adult version. Along with the driver, comes a hybrid, 2 irons, a true cleveland wedge, and a putter.


Our first trip to the range was an exploratory effort. Just wanted to get used to the feel. Not to try and give them a real work out. All the shots seemed to have a true flight pattern. Jake even commented that he could feel a major difference on where he hit the ball compared to his old set. The length of the shafts were also a bit foreign to him, he has grown, and these shafts were longer than his old set, he could set up properly without having to bend as much. These factors combined gave him the same effortless swing he had early last spring after the golf camp.

I will be updating this as we make more trips to the range and them ultimately out on the course.

Til the next time.

Marc Miller and his son Jake

 

[jefffann]

Thanks for the review.Hope he has the same kind of results out on the course.

 

[Dirt_Guy]

That's great to hear everything is working well. I hope he is able to really put these clubs through their paces.

 

[GolferGal]

that is great, I can't wait to read the feedback as the weeks and months go on. If you have the time we would love to see some pictures.

 

[SethO]

This is going to be an awesome thread!

 

[thedue]

That's great to hear. Good luck to Jake! By the way, did you get the Seemore back, lol?

 

[MO_Hacker]

This will be fun to follow:good:

 

[ClairefromClare]

Great start! We hope the first tryout presages a great season with these clubs.

 

[bonknhead]

Sounds like Jake is enjoying his new clubs. I'm looking forward to see how he plays with them on the course. Good luck to both of you!

 

[miller821]

Junior Tester part 2

Junior Tester part 2

With today being a national holiday and schools being off, and my work being as "caught up" as possible, we decided that today would be another great range day.
Over the weekend the temps were in the low 40's (just enough to melt a good portion of the snow), and every now and again you would catch a glimpse of the sun peeking through the clouds. Today, however was back to the bitter cold and grey skies that makes everyone down and depressed, wanting warmer weather and green grass. Jake and I slept in a bit, did the breakfast shuffle and decided to head on out to the local heated range.
Here is how everything went....

For being 9 years old, Jake has taken the responsilbilty of being a club tester to heart. It was his decision to work on 1 particular club to work on out of the new set. He chose the driver for this round of reviewing.
His thoughts on it (along with mine) are very simple to convey....WOW!

This 325 cc club packs a decent punch for the kids. Modeled after the standard Cleveland Launcher, it has been "shrunk" down to a managable size for the youngsters. With the youth flex shaft, stock Lamkin grip, this 15 degree driver blows a lot of other kids clubs away. The sound of the shot just screams confidence. With it being a balmy 30 degrees outside, I could not really get an acurate feel for the yardage that he was hitting it, but even on the shots that he did not hit squarely sound good. He let me know right after contact with the ball what it was going to do (slice, hook, worm burner, or the awesome..."I can't hit it any better" phrase).
The balls seemed to come of the club face at a higher trajectory than his last set (same loft). We'll chalk that up to being a better made shaft and being a bit longer.

I asked Jake if he would recommend this club to any of his friends? His reply was a typical 9 yr olds response..."But if they get this set, they'll hit it long as I do".

Aren't kids great!

More to come. If I can figure out how to manipulate file sizes with my camera, I will post several pictures of Jakes swing.

Marc and Jake Miller

 

[Diane]

I asked Jake if he would recommend this club to any of his friends? His reply was a typical 9 yr olds response..."But if they get this set, they'll hit it long as I do".

Aren't kids great!

Yes!

I love it. Good for Jake. I can't wait to see pictures.

 

[JB]

Merged the 2 threads and we will call this the long term review thread for updating. I

 

[bdlorton]

I have had the privledge of watching Jake swing a club and whip his old man. What is fun about watching him (and most kids) is the grip-it and rip-it mindset. It is almost as if nothing is going through the kid's head at all. Just steps up to the tee and swings. None of "is the grip right......take it back straight.......where is my right elbow......did I pay the mortgage.....man I hope I don't hit that guy on the left....etc,etc.

 

[miller821]

I have had the privledge of watching Jake swing a club and whip his old man. What is fun about watching him (and most kids) is the grip-it and rip-it mindset. It is almost as if nothing is going through the kid's head at all. Just steps up to the tee and swings. None of "is the grip right......take it back straight.......where is my right elbow......did I pay the mortgage.....man I hope I don't hit that guy on the left....etc,etc.

Ain't it great to be a kid????

 

[miller821]

Finally! Here are few of the pictures from yesterdays session. More to come

(Thanks to all who helped me figure out this technological nightmare known as "My Computer"!)

 

[miller821]

Haven't been shirking our duties as tester(s). Jake and I (along with the rest of the family) have been dealing with a family crisis recently. We should have more pictures and the latest on the review of the Launcher Jr. set from Cleveland later this week or over the weekend.

Talk to everybody soon.

Marc & Jake

 

[bonknhead]

Hope everything's OK with the Miller family.

Looking forward to more pics and more insight from Jake's testing!

 

[miller821]

HYBRID Testing Day

After dealing with Jake's older brother's crisis (too long and involved to get into), Jake and headed out to our favorite heated range to put the Cleveland Launcher Jr Hybrid through it's paces.
Jake's old set included a 23 degree hybrid, which he could really smack, but it always had such a low trajectory. Cleveland's is a 25 degree. Really easy to get up into the air. Jake was having no problem at the range. We did happen to notice that he had a bit of a nagging slice on several of the shots (not sure if it was the club or just him getting tired). Length of the shots seemed similar to his old set, but definitely had a better ball flight.
He said that the feel of the shot was solid. and that he could see himself really getting the ball out of the rough with this. He loved the set up and seemed really confident about liking this club. With his old set (Ram), he always acted a bit intimidated when the shot called for the hybrid. Granted, looking at the Ram hybrid VS. the Cleveland, it's like night and day on the aethetics. Cleveland's nice clean lines compared to Ram's "blob at the end of the shaft" (No offense Ram, but we can see why you have been sent to the big box stores.)

I do have some pictures to upload, but the camera's battery is being charged. As soon as I get a chance, I'll edit this post and add this weeks pictures.

Until the next time....

Marc & Jake

 

[thedue]

Great stuff Miller. Really enjoying Jake's testing. Hope he's having a blast at it.

 

[miller821]

I don't know who's having more fun? Him playing and testing the clubs or me watching and listening to his commentary. This season should be a blast!

 

[bonknhead]

With Jake's newfound confidence in his equipment, you're going to have to step your game up too Marc. That's a good thing though. Great stuff - keep it coming!

 

[Esox]

I feel bad I missed this thread until now. I love hearing about junior golfers. Sure sounds like he is having fun testing these clubs. He's really got the fever. Sounds like Dad has the golfing with his kid fever. It's a blast to watch them progress. You might find you play a little better yourself as you worry about his game more than your own.

Kevin

 

[ClairefromClare]

Nice update, and I hope things with the older sib are okay.

A request, as another parent of a junior golfer. I love to hear (and read) the words coming out of the kid's mouth. Often they come up with things we never would. If Jake has some good quotes, please include them.

 

[miller821]

IRON Testing Day

Sorry for taking so long to get the next installment to everybody, but with it being February in Ohio, you can count on 2 things (besides death and taxes)...Sick kids and SNOW! Jake got sick for about a week and a half, then we were deluged with all this white crap falling from the sky. I'm all for the beauty of it, but with over 10" on the ground, I am now officially sick of snow....
Lucky for Jake and I, he is feeling better and the covered/heated driving range is open So we headed out to really "dive" into the new Cleveland Launcher Junior Irons.
The 2 irons that come with the set are a 5/6 iron and a 7/8 iron. With Jake's swing being a bit "rusty" from being sick, the first couple of "full" iron shots were pushed to the right. But after getting a few more swings in, he was launching them like he knew that he could.
The 5/6 iron seemed to get the ball up in the air really easy, but maintained a "flatter" bal flight. The 7/8 also very easy to hit, but the ball seemed to have a higher ball flight (as it should). We took a look at the clubface of both clubs and it seemed several had come off the toe of the club. I was puzzled at this fact, because none of the shots were too far off line. This is what they mean by forgiveness. After a large bucket, Jake was getting tired. I had decided that this trip, I would not bring my clubs so I could really concentrate on watching his swing (and figure out why I can't swing like him).

 

[ClairefromClare]

Thanks for the update. Can't wait to hear what happens once Jake finds teh sweet spot regularly.