Cleveland Golf Launches New Products for Fall 2K8

I have to hand it to the folks at Cleveland Golf. They aren’t resting on their laurels this winter season. In fact, they’re coming out this week with a few new goodies you might be interested in checking out during your weekly pilgrimage to your local golf retailer.

Boasting something for everyone, this update includes a new driver, fairway woods, iron/hybrid-style set, a Niblick, and some putters that will leave you some extra cash for greens fees (who doesn’t like that?).

So join me as we check out the fall releases from Cleveland Golf.

Launcher Driver
I’m a pretty traditional guy when it comes to golf equipment and while I understand the theories behind the geometric shapes that today’s drivers have become, I’ve yet to put one of those in my bag.

So needless to say, I like the fact that the folks at Cleveland Golf haven’t forgot about us slightly more “conventional-shaped” golfers and have released a driver that while boasting some fancy technology maintains a very standard-looking driver shape.

The new Launcher driver is characterized as a high moment-of-inertia, low spin, mid-trajectory driver and according to Cleveland Golf is “the longest and straightest Launcher that Cleveland has ever produced.” Considering how good the prior versions were, that’s definitely saying something.

Boasting a face that is 21% larger compared to the original Launcher and Launcher Comp, it is the biggest Cleveland has made to date, meaning you have more territory for your mis-hits. The “horseshoe shaped” weight pad located on the rear perimeter of the sole helps improves launch conditions as well as stability as 17 grams of weight is moved to low and deep in the clubhead, which gives you a higher MOI and a better center of gravity position.

The crown is thin – 0.5 millimeters – so don’t drop anything on it. This allowed more weight to be moved to that special low and deep position to help maximize launch conditions and to give you some more yardage on your drives.

To help generate more clubhead speed, a lightweight Fujikura Fit-On Flightspeed shaft (in Gold and Red) comes standard, with more custom options available through Cleveland Golf. The new Launcher driver is available in lofts of 9.0°, 10.5°, and 12.0°, will carry a street price of $299. Check yours out this week as they will be showing up in golf shops on October 15, 2008.

Launcher Fairway Wood
In addition, Cleveland is adding a new Launcher fairway wood to its lineup. Boasting a face that is 11% larger that previous incarnations of Launcher fairway woods and having a high MOI means more stability on mis-hits and oh yeah, more distance.

The Launcher fairway woods boast a slightly different offering as you have three versions for a three-wood, a low-trajectory 13°, a standard trajectory 15°, and a high-trajectory 17° and come standard with either the Fujikura Red or Gold shafts, which provides either a Standard trajectory (Gold) or a Tour trajectory (Red) to find a ball flight that works out best for you.

In addition, a 17°, 19°, and 22° are available as well and all will carry a street price of $179. Try one out for yourself this week as they ship October 15, 2008.

HiBORE XLi Irons
The HiBore XLi irons take the success Cleveland Golf had with their HiBORE Irons to a entirely new level by giving golfers more consistency, forgiveness and distance.

The HiBore XLi irons use the Distance Driven Geometry found in the HiBore XLS drivers and fairway woods which lowers their crown giving them the “lowest and deepest center of gravity position for maximum distance and forgiveness.”

It’s also the only hybrid iron product that has “full hollow construction” throughout the entire set which gives you a more consistent feel from the three-iron to wedge. In addition, the progressive offset and sole width helps you in promoting better ball striking by allowing a shallow attack angle in the long irons and a steeper attack angle with the shorter irons.

Toss in some toe and heel drag relief zones that help reduce “turf interaction” ie. less chunky shots and you have an iron set that should help make golf more fun. The HiBORE XLi Irons will carry a street price of $599 for steel shafts and $699 for graphite and will begin shipping October 15, 2008.

Niblick
Ah, the return of the Niblick, or at least Cleveland Golf’s version of it. As the folks at Cleveland Golf describe it; “the new Niblick combines the best features of a wedge, putter, iron, and hybrid to create the ultimate hybrid scoring club.” Sounds good in theory.

The Niblick is designed to help your scoring by allowing you to hit four different types of shots, including chips, pitches, approach shots, and recoveries. Featuring Gelback technology, “which is a lightweight, visco-elastic, vibration-damping material” that is directly behind the hitting area of the clubface to remove unwanted vibration on mis-hits, while still giving you some feedback for “a soft yet responsive feel.”

The Niblick also features Cleveland Golf’s patented Zip Grooves technology which creates larger groove volume to helps channel more debris compared to traditional grooves,which gives you better contact with the ball. Each groove is milled to maximum conforming dimensions and gives a golfer optimum spin on each and every shot. The Niblick comes with a steel shaft and will carry a street price of $109. Add a Niblick to your bag on October 15, 2008. No word yet on a mashie.

Cleveland Classic Putters
I end up getting a few comments whenever I preview (or review) a putter that costs a decent chunk of change about how ridiculous it is to spend so much on a a club even though you will use it the most of any club during a round of golf. They really do end up being a worthwhile investment.

I tip my cap to the folks at Cleveland Golf as not only do they boast a very good putter in the mid-priced category, the WP line that has been reviewed quite favorably, but they are now offering a a precision milled face that gives you a “soft while solid feel throughout the stroke” for – get this – $69. Yes, that is right, $69. Wow!

There are three models to choose from, the Classic 1, which is a blade-style putter with a plumber’s neck, the Classic 2, which is a mallet-style putter, and the Classic 3, which is a blade-style putter with a short, slant neck hosel.

All Classic putters have heel-toe weighting for a higher MOI for added forgiveness and help with limiting twisting on off-center hits. According to Cleveland Golf, “all models are manufactured from 17-4 Stainless Steel and come with a hand polished satin finish, which minimizes glare and provides a long-lasting and durable finish.”

Again, these will run you $69 and you can roll the rock with these this week (October 15th).

Final Thoughts
Kudos for Cleveland Golf for coming out with new equipment that remains traditional in shape (for some of it anyways) and still maintaining some reasonable price points. I still can’t believe they have a milled putter going for $69. I’ll be stopping in a golf shop this week to certainly check this out.