There are a number of issues to love in regards to the new Cleveland Halo XL fairways and hybrids.

First, given Cleveland-Srixon-XXIO’s previous efficiency, these new Clevelands ought to fare fairly properly on this yr’s MyGolfSpy testing.

Second, given tendencies in AI design expertise and corresponding OEM pricing, these new Clevelands ought to characterize a fairly first rate worth.

And, perhaps most significantly, Cleveland is taking a gap-centric strategy to how you need to transition out of your driver to the longest iron in your bag that you simply really feel fairly snug hitting.

And never for nothing, you know the way we at MyGolfSpy love something that’s gap-centric whereas additionally being #datacratic.

And that’s fairly, too.

No, it’s not a revolutionary strategy by any means. However Cleveland is counting on real-world knowledge from real-world golfers courtesy of its partnership with Arccos. The way it all interprets into your recreation will depend upon what occurs while you give the brand new Clevelands a attempt.

Let’s dig in, we could?

The Wild World of Cleveland Metallic Woods

Since coming back from its two-year time-out as a full-line model in 2017, Cleveland has struggled with drivers. Metalwoods? A bit higher, thanks very a lot. 

Within the 2022 MGS hybrid testing, the Cleveland Hy-Wooden (a small fairway wooden or giant hybrid, relying in your viewpoint) was a stable top-10 performer that completed fifth general in accuracy. Its cousins from XXIO had been fourth and fifth in distance. The Cleveland Launcher XL Halo fairway wooden completed fourth general in 2021. Its stablemate, the Srixon ZX, was first.

So, yeah, Cleveland-Srixon-XXIO is aware of metalwoods.

For 2024, Cleveland is making just a few small modifications. The primary most likely means little, however whereas the driving force line nonetheless carries the Launcher XL moniker, the remainder of the metalwoods lineup is now merely “Halo XL.” Halo is a Cleveland legacy title courting again to the mid-2000s classic Halo Hybrid, nonetheless Cleveland’s best-selling hybrid ever. For these maintaining rating, Halo stands for Excessive Angle Elevate Off.

Cleveland Halo XL: Shrunken Driver Tech?

Cleveland could be very cautious to say the Halo XL metalwoods aren’t simply miniature variations of the brand new Launcher XL 2 drivers, despite the fact that they do share a wholesome chunk of expertise. For example, the fairways and hybrids share the identical AI-designed MainFrame XL face, solely optimized for every particular Halo XL membership.

Halo XL additionally shares, for lack of a greater phrase, Further-Giant head design. Whereas the drivers aren’t technically further giant (460 cc is, in spite of everything, 460 cc), the fairways and hybrids do have bigger footprints than what may be thought-about common. The Halo XL 3-wood, for example, is 190 cc, whereas the market common is round 175. The Halo XL 3 Hybrid is comparatively titanic at 146 cc. Trade common, based on Cleveland, is 107, Tremendous Hybrids however.

Additionally invited to the social gathering is Cleveland’s Rebound Body ball velocity expertise. As we talked about in at this time’s Cleveland Launcher driver article, Rebound Body is form of a double trampoline. A versatile face is backed by a inflexible supporting body, considerably like each different metalwood. Cleveland then backs that inflexible supporting body with second versatile zone, which is then backed by the inflexible the rest of the membership head.

In response to Cleveland, the dual-flex zones offer you a double boing, rising the quantity of vitality transferred to the ball. Meaning extra ball velocity which, in idea, ought to imply extra distance. To place it into perspective, each OEM in golf has some form of ball velocity expertise or mechanism to assist faces flex of their metalwoods. Rebound Body is how Cleveland-Srixon-XXIO does it and, primarily based on testing over the previous three years, it does the job.

GlideRails and Different Love Songs

Flip the heads over and also you’ll discover one thing on the Cleveland Halo XL metalwoods that you simply received’t discover on the Launcher XL 2 driver: glide rails.

Yep, go forward and say it. Cleveland went and copied COBRA’s practically 50-year-old sole expertise. To that I say, why the hell not? A very good concept is a very good concept, and if COBRA isn’t going to apply it to its metalwoods, there’s no motive Cleveland can’t.

You’ll discover GlideRail expertise on the Halo XL fairways, hybrids and the tweener, the Hy-Wooden. The concept is to assist the membership glide over the turf and cut back membership head sspeed loss that comes from, properly, not gliding over the turf. And should you’ve ever tried to hit a metalwood with glide rails out of the tough, you’ll know why Cleveland caught them on the Halo XLs.

It’s a type of issues that simply plain works, particularly for us mere mortals.

What the Heck is a Hy-Wooden?

Properly, we form of simply informed you. Fairway woods are massive whereas hybrids are small. Because the title suggests, a Hy-Wooden is within the center. It’s greater than a hybrid and smaller than a fairway wooden. The shaft is a bit longer than a hybrid shaft so, in idea, it ought to fly farther. The shaft can also be shorter than a corresponding fairway shaft so once more, in idea, it ought to be simpler to hit.

Callaway calls theirs the Tremendous Hybrid whereas TaylorMade’s final outing gave us the Stealth 2 HD. The Cleveland Hy-Wooden, nonetheless, would possibly simply be the largest child on the block.

“You’ve had a 3-wood in your bag for 20 years and also you’ve by no means been in a position to hit it properly,” says Cleveland Senior Product Supervisor Casey Schultz. “Why would you retain gaming one? You’ll use you hybrid swing with a Hy-Wooden and it’s going to go virtually so far as a purely hit 3-wood and it’ll be much more constant.”

Should you’d somewhat hit a membership 200 yards persistently or 220 yards as soon as each six to 10 tries, with all of the others topped, shanked, sliced, duffed, chunked or hooked off the planet? Keep in mind, it’s known as “golf” as a result of all the opposite four-letter phrases had been taken.

Cleveland launched the three+ Hy-Wooden in 2021. The pinnacle, at 162 cc, was virtually as massive as a typical 3-wood. However with a shorter shaft and 17 levels of loft, it was a lot simpler to hit. The 17-degree Hy-Wooden stays within the 2024 Halo XL lineup however is being joined by the 20-degree, 147 cc 4+ Hy-Wooden.

Arccos Lengthy Recreation Insights

Cleveland’s partnership with Arccos has offered some fascinating long-game insights. For example, on par-4s, 10- to 25-handicappers (Cleveland’s candy spot) use long-game golf equipment on 37 % of their strategy pictures. Single-digit handicaps are practically half that.

For those self same golfers, dangerous 4- or 5-iron pictures are virtually at all times shorter than dangerous 6-iron pictures. And good pictures with these golf equipment all carry inside seven yards of each other.

Additionally, 85 % of us carry a 5-iron. Most of us shouldn’t.

To treatment all this, Cleveland is making a long-game gapping system to fill the void between your driver and your greatest lengthy  iron.

“Every of our Halos has been analyzed by way of gamers’ exams and launch simulations,” says Schultz. “We’re specializing in the place the gap gaps are in gamers’ baggage. We would like gamers to ask why they’re carrying three golf equipment of their baggage that they hit the identical distance.”

In actual fact, Cleveland has discovered that slower swingers could not want as many golf equipment on that finish of the bag.

“Relying in your clubhead velocity, we’d advocate you go from a 5-hybrid to a 7-hybrid and skip the six,” says Schultz. “You don’t want a redundant membership in your bag.”

To that finish, Cleveland might be providing on-line instruments that will help you arrange your bag. It’ll ask a number of questions on your recreation together with swing velocity and driver distance. The device then helps you identify the perfect membership assortment primarily based on y our swing efficiency.  

That, in fact, isn’t any substitute for an actual becoming with an actual fitter. To that finish, Cleveland might be offering fitters with extra head and shaft choices than you’ll doubtless see from anybody else, all in a vivid yellow Halo XL becoming bag.

 Cleveland Halo XL Metalwoods Specs

Cleveland is providing 4 fairway woods within the Halo XL line beginning with a 15-degree 3-wood adopted by 5-, 7- and 9-woods in three-degree loft increments. The boys’s 3- and 5-woods might be out there in left- and right-handed fashions. The 7- and 9-woods are right-handed solely.

The ladies’s fashions function that very same loft assortment. They’ll be out there at retail for righties solely. Left-handed fashions can be found by way of the customized division.

The inventory shafts are a major improve with the Tensie AV Collection Blue 55 for males in S and R flex. The light-weight Aldila Ascent PL 40 is the inventory A-flex and girls’s shaft.

The Halo XL males’s hybrids can be found in 3- by way of 7-hybrid in three-degree loft increments beginning at 18 levels. Solely the 3- and 4-hybrids might be out there for lefties. The ladies’s fashions can be found in the identical lofts for righties. Solely the 3- and 4-hybrids might be out there for left-handed girls by way of customized order.

The Tensei AC Uncooked Blue Hybrid 65 is inventory in S- and R-flexes. The Aldila Ascent PL 50 hybrid is the inventory males’s A-Flex whereas the Ascent PL 40 Hybrid is inventory for girls.

And the Halo XL Hy-Wooden is out there in 17- and 20-degree fashions (3+ and 4+) for women and men. The boys’s fashions might be out there for lefties and righties whereas left-handed girls should customized order. The Ascent PL 40 is the inventory males’s shaft and the PL 40 girls’s mannequin is inventory for girls.

The Lamkin Crossline 360 is the inventory males’s grip. The Lamkin ST Mushy is inventory for girls.

As at all times, Cleveland provides a variety of no-upcharge and premium shafts and grips.

Worth and Availability

In comparison with new choices from the Large 5, the Cleveland Halo XL metalwoods are, comparatively talking, a cut price.

The Halo XL fairways will retail for $249.99 whereas the Halo XL hybrids will go for $229.99. The Halo XL Hy-Wooden, befitting its standing as a tweener, is $239.99.

The lineup might be out there at retail Jan. 19.

For extra data, go to the Cleveland Golf web site.