HiBore XL Tour?

electroleum · June 4, 2007

Feedback?

Hey

Just curious as to which fellow WRX'ers have tested out the HiBore XL Tour model, and if so, what is your opinion? I'd be even more interested in how the 3* open face as impacted your results. I'm prone to a big ol' honkin' hook.....so I'm thinking this open face could be highly beneficial for me.

Gxgolfer · June 4, 2007

From GolfWRX's BagChatter:

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<p><a href="http://www.golfwrx.com/BagChatter/2007/05/08/cleveland-hi-bore-xl-tour-intelligent-driver-re-engineering/" rel="bookmark">Cleveland Hi-Bore XL Tour: Intelligent Driver Re-engineering</a></p>

By mr_divots</div>

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<p><img title="Hi-Bore Tour XL" src="http://www.golfwrx.com/BagChatter/wp-content/uploads/hibore_xl_tour_hero_hr.jpg" alt="Hi-Bore Tour XL" height="217" width="188" align="right" border="0" />If you enjoy watching professional Golf like I do, and happen to take notice of the Prosâ€™ golf equipment, Cleveland Golfâ€™s professional staff may have left you with one unanswered question last season: Where are all the Hi-Bores on Tour? For the average player, hitting the ball straight can be a blessing. For the Tour player, if you can believe it, there is actually such a thing as too straight. Well, they are professionals, -so I guess we canâ€™t get too upset with them! For the 2007 season, Cleveland Golf has launched their Hi-Bore XL Tour driver to address the very issue of workability. They went back to the drawing board to effectively â€œun-doâ€ some of the engineering that made the original Hi-Bore such a straight hitter.</p>

<p>One thing I immediately noticed, and appreciated, about the XL Tour was its size. At 440ccâ€™s, there is still room for growth (scary.) But, it is more the size I had <em>expected</em> the original Hi-Bore to be. The XL Tour has a large, easy-to hit look about it this go-around. The face size is large and deep, giving it a â€œcanâ€™t missâ€ look at address. It has retained the matte black finish which helps to hide its size. If you asked me just a year ago if the XL Tour looked sedate, you may have gotten a different response. But with the outcropping of high MOI (moment of inertia) drivers on the scene now, the Hi-Bore XL Tour, dare I say, looks understated and very business-like. The sole is finished in a rich-looking smoky mirror effect, with just a tad of gold paint fill. Bravo to Cleveland for keeping a radical overall shape very palatable for the more traditionally-minded golf consumer.<a id="more-12"></a> For many more accomplished golfers, gone are the days of fighting a slice off the tee box, often only to be replaced with the tendency to hook the ball (what a game.) Cleveland has such golfersâ€™ best interests in mind, and has brought to retail a true â€œTourâ€ style head in the Hi-Bore XL Tour. At address, you will immediately notice the face angle is open by a few degrees. (3 degrees according to Cleveland; mine came in at 2.5 degrees open.) This effectively helps to take the left side out of play, and allows the more accomplished player to fire through the ball harder without fear of a hook rearing its ugly head. The XL Tour was more than up to the challenge, as my shots were very straight overall, and I could pick a target and let it drift back with a baby fade on command. For someone like me that can fight a hook, this club is heavenly. The internal weighting of the head is toe-biased to keep the face from squaring too quickly. It was very effective in this regard.</p>

<p>The overall performance of the XL Tour did not disappoint. In launch monitor testing, I registered consistently high ball speeds. The launch angle was fairly high, but the backspin numbers remained in the optimal range. In contrast, the original Hi-Bore was a tough fit for me. I re-shafted three times seeking the right combination of launch and spin to no avail. The XL Tour seems less â€œpickyâ€ shall we say. Part of this was the deeper face which seems to provide a more boring trajectory. It also is more responsive to differing tee heights. Tee it high to let it fly, or tee it down to keep things in check into a head wind. This was a noticeable improvement from the original for me, as the original only wanted to be teed low and hit on the same trajectory each time. Players seeking to control their trajectory will certainly appreciate this newfound ability of the XL Tour. It was also workable in both directions, with fades coming more easily than draws. Overall when trying to draw the XL Tour, the resulting shot was still very straight for me, with a baby 5 yard draw being the norm when really attempting to turn it over.</p>

<p>Sound is a big sticking point for consumers of late when it comes to the new generation of high MOI drivers. While certainly not restrained by any means, the sound of the XL Tour is at least bearable. It really rings out; the sound contributing to the overall â€œhotâ€ feel of the face. I felt this was again an improvement from the original, which I thought suffered a little from â€œtin-canâ€ syndrome. When you catch one flush with the XL Tour, you will certainly know it.</p>

<p>Overall, the stability of the XL Tour head is pretty astounding. It suffers very little distance loss on mis-hits. Cleveland refers to the overall placement of the â€œsweet spotâ€ and face and head geometry as â€œFull Face Performance.â€ With a high MOI and large effective hitting area backed by a low and deep center of gravity, the XL Tour is pretty point-and-shoot for a â€œplayersâ€ oriented driver. In both outdoor and launch monitor testing, the XL Tour was consistently straight, -almost surprisingly so. On some not so great swings on the launch monitor, I fully expected to be off the target grid, only to be pleasantly surprised by the results. If you have not been on a launch monitor for a while, I urge people to go get fit- especially since the influx of high-MOI designs is changing how drivers are now fit. I have been finding higher launch angles and spin rates seem to be the new norm. Going down in loft and using a lower-spinning shaft may be two things to check out when demoing the high-MOI drivers.</p>

<p>I was pretty spoiled in that my Hi-Bore XL Tour arrived with the Diamana BlueBoard shaft. Cleveland offers a full complement of shafts through their custom department. The stock shafts are Fujikura co-developed designs with â€œRedâ€ and â€œGoldâ€ color designations. The stock shaft for the XL Tour is the red, said to have a lower, more piercing ballflight. The one complaint I had with regard to the shaft was again the finished length. At 45.5 inches, it felt a little long for me. I ended up tip-trimming the shaft down to a more easily manageable 44.75â€ and re-swingweighted using a lead tip weight. This is a matter of personal preference, but it was a change which made the XL Tour feel that much more â€œautomaticâ€ for me.</p>

<p>The Cleveland Hi-Bore XL Tour took a good design and made it better from the original. Realizing the need for a more workable, player-oriented driver design, they have delivered on many fronts. From the open face angle, to the very neutral head weighting, it offers the kinds of attributes the better player often seeks out. Was it longer than other drivers out there? In a nutshell- no. The USGA has seen to it that everyone is playing on a very level field these days. For the golfer looking for serious distance with some help lessening the potential for hooks, the Hi-Bore XL Tour is now at home in the hands of PGA Tour professionals and accomplished amateurs. Well done Cleveland.</p>

<p align="center"><em>Michael White</em></p>

<p align="center"><em>GolfWRX.com BagChatter </em></p>

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electroleum · June 4, 2007

beauty!

thanks for that reference!!

COSX · June 4, 2007

In my bag Cleveland Hi Bore XL Tour Spec 9.5 stock fujikura 65 Stiff. I am keeping it for good.... 220 - 240 meter

Previous club : TM Superquad TP (Limited) + Diamana White 63 Regular ... 210 -220 meter

I am pint size... at 58 kg 169 cm tall...

I am hitting left with TM but XL give me straight and low trajectory... my ball flight is alway high...

With Pro V1 X , the ball do not fade or draw too much, just nice straight and mid trajectory..

The impact and feedback felt very good and the sound at impact is the most acceptable one (as compared to sumo2 etc...)

Me hcp is 11.9.

Just my 2 cents worth...

Dennis

PT1911 · June 4, 2007

The Hibore XL Tour is a great club! The head is lower spin tham most other drivers out there too. I bought a TM Burner TP and lost probably 20 yards (yeah 20 yards), mainly because I was spinning the ball a lot with that club so I bought the XL Tour being it was a low spin head and BAM! my yardage was back and I am having some of my longest and straightest drives I have ever had.

sandy · June 4, 2007

I have a 8.5 Tour with the X red shaft. The 3 degrees open does not help me with not hooking. It likes the left side of the fairway. Definitely an improvement over the original in looks and sound but still is several yards shorter than the FT-5 and SuperQuad TP.

lenmarks · June 4, 2007

I was fitted by the Cleveland truck in London.

I was fitted with the xl tour 9.5 with the proforce V2 X stiff

I was getting 290 yards carry without really going at the ball when I really went for it I was surprised no hook and over 300 carry with a club head speed of 125 mph.

All in all awesoooooome!!

Its on order will get it in 2 weeks

cggolf · June 5, 2007

Hi

I just bought an XL 9.5 Tour red shaft. I use to play a 983K and I am much more consistent with this club. I use to draw the ball on my drives but now they are straight. I can really go for it and not worry about being in the woods on the left.

I do have a question for the XL tour owners. I noticed that there seems to be a small "dent" or indentation on the top of the club. Not sure if it is a defect. Just wandering if this is normal or should I be concern and trade it in for another?

Any thoughts or feedback would be appreciated

Thanks

electroleum · June 5, 2007

I'm gonna have to give my rep a call and see if he can track down a lefty for me to try out.

electroleum · June 14, 2007

Well, I took one of these bad boys out for 9 holes this morning, and I'm sold. I placed my order this afternoon :P

I didn't hit it very often, but on the few occasions I did, I killed it. One of my drives was the best drive I've hit in a long time. On the 529yd Par 5 8th hole @ Sirocco, I had 160 into the pin after my drive. It flew absolutely prefectly...better than I've ever hit any other club before. My drive on the first tee was almost as good, although I don't remember how far it measured out.

As I had anticipated, the 3* open face is absolutely perfect for me. I'm always fighting a hook, so I think the open face does a great job of neutralizing that.