Cleveland Halo Xl irons... thoughts?

[Tanner25]

9 hours ago, nostatic said:

 

Right now I'm in the same boat. Swing is finally getting back in a groove after a long injury layoff. Driver is usually straight and typically hit 10+ fairways a round. Around the green I've been good historically, been working hard on the green and that is now pretty well-behaved. But GIR is typically low single digits. That makes it hard to break 80. I've migrated to more hybrids as I hit them well, and I hit my wedges well. I really just need something between 7H and GW that I can trust.

 

In the past, 9-GW have not been the best clubs for these. Hopefully, there's improvement with this new set. 

Edited September 2, 2021 by Tanner25

[Tanner25]

Update from Demo Day: Greensboro National Golf Course in NC (which looks really nice BTW, never been there before). Ok, I had my trusty HB3's side by side with the new XL Halo irons. My HB's (regular shaft)  just want to go left (pull and hook) where the new halo xl's (R and A's) want to go straight or maybe some pulls on the 4 iron. Part of this is user error of course.  I loved the XL Halo senior A shafts. They had some extra power for this senior golfer with a slow swing. Will be purchasing these. The rep said, it should take two weeks with a customer order (plus 1/2 inch). Overall, these clubs were easy to launch high and very forgiving. It's time to make a move on these and finally kick the HB3's out of the bag. 

[JA17]

2 hours ago, Tanner25 said:

Update from Demo Day: Greensboro National Golf Course in NC (which looks really nice BTW, never been there before). Ok, I had my trusty HB3's side by side with the new XL Halo irons. My HB's (regular shaft)  just want to go left (pull and hook) where the new halo xl's (R and A's) want to go straight or maybe some pulls on the 4 iron. Part of this is user error of course.  I loved the XL Halo senior A shafts. They had some extra power for this senior golfer with a slow swing. Will be purchasing these. The rep said, it should take two weeks with a customer order (plus 1/2 inch). Overall, these clubs were easy to launch high and very forgiving. It's time to make a move on these and finally kick the HB3's out of the bag. 

Nice! I just ordered the 4-9. But I went with an upgraded shaft and grips so I may get them around Xmas! 

[Tanner25]

39 minutes ago, JA17 said:

Nice! I just ordered the 4-9. But I went with an upgraded shaft and grips so I may get them around Xmas! 

 

Great! I thought about getting recoils. But, was getting decent results on the stock A shaft.

Edited September 3, 2021 by Tanner25

[bryanwmilburn]

for some reason I keep having this totally irrational desire to give these irons a shot......and it's not even silly season yet.

[Tanner25]

You won't go wrong. Take a look at the used clubs (HB Turbos), they hold their value and are not that cheap. For a few dollars more, why not get new ones? 

[bryanwmilburn]

4 minutes ago, Tanner25 said:

You won't go wrong. Take a look at the used clubs (HB Turbos), they hold their value and are not that cheap. For a few dollars more, why not get new ones? 

Definitely. My only concern is that I'm a high ball hitter and I'm worried that I might hit just absolute moon balls with these. For now I'll keep watching positive review after positive review and hope to stay off the Titos so they don't arrive on my doorstep randomly.

[Tanner25]

i have the same concern for the moon ball. But, they felt so pure and straight, willing to take a chance. My prior gen HB3's go low and left. 

Edited September 3, 2021 by Tanner25

[Billfitz]

1 hour ago, bryanwmilburn said:

Definitely. My only concern is that I'm a high ball hitter and I'm worried that I might hit just absolute moon balls with these.

That's not what they do. My HB don't go much higher, if at all, than I did with irons I had in the past when I hit them well. The difference is the percentage of shots that I hit well. I'm far less likely to hit thin or fat shots than before. Before the HBs I approached most iron shots with more than a bit of trepidation, hoping for the best while expecting the worst. With the HBs I'm confident of hitting a good shot, and I usually do.

[bryanwmilburn]

2 hours ago, Billfitz said:

That's not what they do. My HB don't go much higher, if at all, than I did with irons I had in the past when I hit them well. The difference is the percentage of shots that I hit well. I'm far less likely to hit thin or fat shots than before. Before the HBs I approached most iron shots with more than a bit of trepidation, hoping for the best while expecting the worst. With the HBs I'm confident of hitting a good shot, and I usually do.

That's great! I honestly might give these a shot once more shaft options come available on their site. I've always wanted to do a super GI experiment to see how it impacts my game. I'm all for shaving strokes however that may be!

[RacineBoxer]

Would you guys say the long(ish) irons are a little more iron like than most hybrids? For example, my longest iron is a 5 iron, it's my 200 yard club. But I hit it like crap, missing the center far too often. Would the 5 iron halo XL be a bit more iron like than most hybrids (if you know what I mean)? I'm hoping for a smidge more accuracy from a halo iron/hybrid than I get from my Callaway Mavrik 20* hybrid (that's more 210-215 anyways). 

[erock9174]

On 9/2/2021 at 6:50 AM, Tanner25 said:

 

In the past, 9-GW have not been the best clubs for these. Hopefully, there's improvement with this new set. 

Out of curiosity, what didn’t work ?

 

I gamed the cobra Trails and thought the 3 set wedges were the best in the set.  Deadly accurate and consistent. Kinda miss them lol 

 

[Billfitz]

2 hours ago, RacineBoxer said:

Would you guys say the long(ish) irons are a little more iron like than most hybrids?

My HB 5 iron plays more like a hybrid than the shorter irons, but it doesn't play just like my HB hybrids either. Up to the 6 iron mine are dead straight, with not a lot of workability unless I take a substantial inside out or outside in swing. I like that, because it minimizes missed greens on mis-hits. When I do miss it's almost always short, seldom left or right, and it's short because I tend to chicken out on the swing, afraid of going long. My home course greens all tilt to the front, so short is always better than long. My HB hybrids are very workable, so I can draw or fade them with only a moderate swing adjustment. I prefer a slight draw, but I can fade when I want to. My HB 5 iron is in between those extremes. I can easily work it to either direction, but haven't had a full out hook or slice yet.

[Tanner25]

8 hours ago, erock9174 said:

Out of curiosity, what didn’t work ?

 

I gamed the cobra Trails and thought the 3 set wedges were the best in the set.  Deadly accurate and consistent. Kinda miss them lol 

 

 

They were great to chip with. But, I think they are a bit clunky and just lacked the power and feel of the other irons in the set  on full shots. Also, the new XL Halo irons have a cleaner look. I hoping they are an improvement from prior gens.

 

Edited September 4, 2021 by Tanner25

[Tanner25]

8 hours ago, RacineBoxer said:

Would you guys say the long(ish) irons are a little more iron like than most hybrids? For example, my longest iron is a 5 iron, it's my 200 yard club. But I hit it like crap, missing the center far too often. Would the 5 iron halo XL be a bit more iron like than most hybrids (if you know what I mean)? I'm hoping for a smidge more accuracy from a halo iron/hybrid than I get from my Callaway Mavrik 20* hybrid (that's more 210-215 anyways). 

They are more iron like. Kind of a cross between and iron and a hybrid. Regular hybrids seem far different to me. 

Edited September 4, 2021 by Tanner25

[JA17]

My 5-8 irons were delivered today. The 4 iron and 9 iron are back ordered due to the shafts I wanted (Dynamic Gold S300). I immediately took them to the range and was so impressed. High and straight. Won’t know about the distances until I get them out on the course. The offset was basically the same as the turbos. The only difference to my eye was the blade seems a bit longer. But to me that’s a good thing. Struck it really solid, great turf interaction. Perhaps it was just a good day. Time will tell but these XL Halos were awesome at first blush.

[Tanner25]

Played a round with the Halo Xl irons. They are hitting straight. But, they are not playing better than my prior gen HB clubs. I am wondering if it is beneficial to hit behind the ball on purpose and let the club slide and let the rails do their thing? Still getting aquainted with the Halos. 

Edited September 23, 2021 by Tanner25

[nostatic]

3 hours ago, Tanner25 said:

Played a round with the Halo Xl irons. They are hitting straight. But, they are not playing better than my prior gen HB clubs. I am wondering if it is beneficial to hit behind the ball on purpose and let the club slide and let the rails do their thing? Still getting aquainted with the Halos. 

 

I don't think an intentional mis-hit would be a good plan. I just got the 8i and DW after first trying the 9i then PW. I find that hitting ball first and taking a reasonable divot works fine - these clubs will take some turf if you strike that way.

 

fwiw I don't find these to be "long" at all. In fact they are shorter (on good strikes) than my ZX7s. The big difference though is that getting off the sweet spot with the XL doesn't really penalize you much. It still goes straight and about as far. So these are much more about consistency than extra length.

 

Will get them on the course next week and we'll see how I score but I'm betting it'll go in the right direction.

[JA17]

1 hour ago, nostatic said:

 

I don't think an intentional mis-hit would be a good plan. I just got the 8i and DW after first trying the 9i then PW. I find that hitting ball first and taking a reasonable divot works fine - these clubs will take some turf if you strike that way.

 

fwiw I don't find these to be "long" at all. In fact they are shorter (on good strikes) than my ZX7s. The big difference though is that getting off the sweet spot with the XL doesn't really penalize you much. It still goes straight and about as far. So these are much more about consistency than extra length.

 

Will get them on the course next week and we'll see how I score but I'm betting it'll go in the right direction.

I have the same experience with length. They are about a half to one club shorter than my previous Titleist and Mizuno irons. But they end up on the green or around the green virtually every time. Forgiveness in irons is much more valuable to me than length. I just hit an extra club smoother. These irons have made me a better player.

[Billfitz]

My HBs don't have rails, but even without the rails I find the 5 and 6 and to some extent the 7 work best with more of a sweep swing, as do my hybrids and of course driver. To encourage that, and more important prevent me from lifting and dropping the club and hitting it fat, I start my takeaway dragging the club lightly on the ground. Where the rails are concerned I have those on my HB hybrids and I can't say that I'm aware of them. I use the same sweep swing as I did with the fairway woods they replaced, the only major difference is that they're much more accurate.

[Tanner25]

How are the XL halo irons doing on the course guys? I am taking my time, just practicing with them. I don't find these very long. But, they are accurate. My senior shaft feels very light. I had them extended by a half inch. I saw on a q&a on TGW, that if there were any modification to the club, you will lose the counter balanced weight. Not sure if that is a big deal or not.

[SugarLandGolfer]

Checked the Cleveland site and they can’t be customized there, but golf galaxy looks like they might. Does that make sense? The old HB turbos could be customized on the site.

Has anyone had them built to specs, or are they simply off the rack clubs?

[Billfitz]

My HB are off the rack, sort of. I got the stock Miyazaki shafts, but I made all of them longer to realize a 3/4" difference instead of the usual 1/2", then I gripped them with Winn Dri-Tac OS. Just last week I re-gripped again, with JumboMax Ultralite, size S, which I like very much. They just came out with the XL Halo so I suspect it will be a while before they have enough inventory to offer custom builds.

[scruffynick]

I'm off 6 and play the earlier Cleveland hybrids, basically the same. Absolutely love them, would never change ever.....had the bad shanks, hated my irons so I thought why not. Never looked back. I get looked at, a few sNopes here and there....but do I care, nope 😀 so easy to hit and great fun, especially after the shanks 

[erikro]

I haven’t tried these but did try the launcher hb turbo the other day. I play I210s now. I wanted to like them but my initial impression wasn’t great. I just thought they were ok. They didn’t feel particularly good but that isn’t a real concern. What I didn’t understand that was despite the differences in loft I was getting about the same distances from both sets. If I felt I was gaining something I would have bought them. In fact I tried them out with the thought I would be buying them. The closeout price is great on these right now. I don’t care about looks if my score is better. Maybe I will give them another chance.

[SugarLandGolfer]

37 minutes ago, erikro said:

I haven’t tried these but did try the launcher hb turbo the other day. I play I210s now. I wanted to like them but my initial impression wasn’t great. I just thought they were ok. They didn’t feel particularly good but that isn’t a real concern. What I didn’t understand that was despite the differences in loft I was getting about the same distances from both sets. If I felt I was gaining something I would have bought them. In fact I tried them out with the thought I would be buying them. The closeout price is great on these right now. I don’t care about looks if my score is better. Maybe I will give them another chance.

 I think the biggest benefit comes on those shot that aren’t very clean. If you’re hitting i210s fairly well, then you ball striking may be pretty good, and the results you saw matched the good ball striking.
 

While the lofts are a little strong by players irons or classic iron standards, they actually aren’t that strong (30* 7 iron) by modern standards (power spec i210 is 31.5*). So if you are hitting well, you may see similar results.
 

It’s those shots you get out the toe that still go straight and the same distance that help most people. 

 

 

[nostatic]

17 hours ago, Tanner25 said:

How are the XL halo irons doing on the course guys? I am taking my time, just practicing with them. I don't find these very long. But, they are accurate. My senior shaft feels very light. I had them extended by a half inch. I saw on a q&a on TGW, that if there were any modification to the club, you will lose the counter balanced weight. Not sure if that is a big deal or not.

 

So I finally got out onto the course for a round last week. Been hitting the XL Halos at the range but the proof is in the pudding...er....grass.

tl;dr - most enjoyable round I've played in probably 3 years

Why? I suspect it is expectations, or lack thereof. I went off the first tee with what felt like a lot less pressure. Kind of, "well, these are SGI clubs so if I get close to the green it'll be a win." That attitude evidently worked with everything but the putter. My usual 10 or so fairways in regulation - driver is rarely a problem. But way more GIRs, and some dead perfect shots including a smooth DW on 18 from about 85y to an elevated green that left me a 2' putt.

5H showed up yesterday, will take it to the range today. I did use my G425 6H to good effect as well, and went back to my F9 3W and 3H - both got used multiple times without mishaps. Thinking less about what clubs are "right" and instead just going out and hitting something that works seems to be a win.

[nostatic]

3 hours ago, SugarLandGolfer said:

 I think the biggest benefit comes on those shot that aren’t very clean. If you’re hitting i210s fairly well, then you ball striking may be pretty good, and the results you saw matched the good ball striking.
 

While the lofts are a little strong by players irons or classic iron standards, they actually aren’t that strong (30* 7 iron) by modern standards (power spec i210 is 31.5*). So if you are hitting well, you may see similar results.
 

It’s those shots you get out the toe that still go straight and the same distance that help most people. 

 

 

 

I had i210 a few years back and liked them a lot - always thought the felt very good for any club, let alone a cast head. Then swapped things up after a long injury layoff and most recently had ZX7. I loved the way the ZX7 felt when I hit it right, and it was very long. But I just didn't hit it that way enough times out of 10, and I'm on the wrong side of 60 now to be banging buckets of balls every day to tweak the swing. My main miss is toe and the XL Halo handles that well. The Halos actually aren't particularly long irons. A well struck ZX7 7i went longer in my hands than a well struck Halo 7i, despite the Halo being a bit strong loft. But a poorly struck shot with the Halo doesn't penalize me as much.

 

I'm getting used to the sound and feel. It isn't particularly hard feeling, and actually you can feel the difference between a well struck and poorly struck shot. Just isn't like a forged blade/players feel.

[Billfitz]

2 hours ago, nostatic said:

 a poorly struck shot with the Halo doesn't penalize me as much.

That's the point of a SGI club. If all you hit is perfect shots you don't need to improve your game.

[Tanner25]

23 hours ago, SugarLandGolfer said:

Checked the Cleveland site and they can’t be customized there, but golf galaxy looks like they might. Does that make sense? The old HB turbos could be customized on the site.

Has anyone had them built to specs, or are they simply off the rack clubs?

 

I had them custom ordered at golf galaxy and it was delivered in 3-4 weeks. You can make a lot of changes; shaft, grips, lie etc.