Cleveland Halo Xl irons... thoughts?

[Billfitz]

They weren't getting their doors blown off by his driver. They were getting their doors blown off by him. 😉

[GrandStranded]

On 4/14/2022 at 8:23 AM, Billfitz said:

The last time I was concerned about the cool factor of my clubs I still had a full head of hair. The same applies to all the guys in my league. Nobody cares what anyone has for clubs. There's no place to write it down on the scorecard. 😉

I agree, up to a point. The cool factor doesn’t matter to me either, but like a lot of guys here, I like to buy my fair share of different clubs. Most of the guys I play in leagues or comps with aren’t like that.

I do get tired of the “trying to buy a game jabs, even if they’re meant in jest.  Most people I play with don’t have a clue about PXGs lower pricing now, so when I bought my Gen 3’s I caught more than my share of ribbing.

[Billfitz]

Other than those playing them, if there are any as I've not noticed, the guys in my league wouldn't know a PXG from an XYZ. My Launcher irons are far more visibly different from other clubs than PXG, yet in the two seasons I've been gaming them not a single guy in my league has made any comment about them. Like myself they're too busy concentrating on their game to pay attention to what's in everyone's bag.

[oiler45]

Exactly - I have 8 rounds in with my XL Halos and not one person has commented on them. This includes my regular group of guys as well as random people who have joined up with me. Truth of the matter is most golfers don't give a rat's azz what others are playing. I was kinda self-conscious of these at first because they are no super models, but now I don't even think about it. One thing to be aware of however is these irons are very upright - most SGI irons have upright lie angles to reduce fading/slicing. I had them bent one degree flatter (most they said they could do) which makes them still very upright as I had my lie angles measured and they were even more upright than specs. First couple of rounds I had a bad case of the hooks and the "lefts", but have now somewhat adjusted my swing. I concentrate on being less handsy through impact - just let the clubhead hit the ball. My last few rounds have been much better - I've hit some excellent iron shots. I range between a 9-12 hcp so these clubs aren't really aimed at me, but I'm going to stick with them as I don't know why I would want to make the game harder than it is. They are rather homely but they feel and sound good to me and the forgiveness is really the selling point.

[Billfitz]

I did find my Halos initially tended to go a bit left, when I used the same swing as my driver and hybrids, which is inside out. I've done that for thirty years, to negate my natural tendency to fade. I then tried taking the Halo irons straight back and the result is a straight shot. I can still go inside out or outside in to work them when I want to, but unless I've got a tree in my line that I want to go around I seldom have the need.

I wouldn't say they're aimed at high handicappers. IMO they're suitable for anyone who doesn't want to be a high handicapper. 😉

[Oddjob]

So still awaiting my set to arrive in the uk due to a custom order. 1 inch kbs 120 stiff . I have brought 4-pw will report back once they arrive 😀

[GrandStranded]

On 4/27/2022 at 8:57 PM, oiler45 said:

Exactly - I have 8 rounds in with my XL Halos and not one person has commented on them. This includes my regular group of guys as well as random people who have joined up with me. Truth of the matter is most golfers don't give a rat's azz what others are playing. I was kinda self-conscious of these at first because they are no super models, but now I don't even think about it. One thing to be aware of however is these irons are very upright - most SGI irons have upright lie angles to reduce fading/slicing. I had them bent one degree flatter (most they said they could do) which makes them still very upright as I had my lie angles measured and they were even more upright than specs. First couple of rounds I had a bad case of the hooks and the "lefts", but have now somewhat adjusted my swing. I concentrate on being less handsy through impact - just let the clubhead hit the ball. My last few rounds have been much better - I've hit some excellent iron shots. I range between a 9-12 hcp so these clubs aren't really aimed at me, but I'm going to stick with them as I don't know why I would want to make the game harder than it is. They are rather homely but they feel and sound good to me and the forgiveness is really the selling point.

Not that it matters but my neighbor is a 7, and has played the prior version for 3 years.

Two other single digit players at my club play the Halos. When one of them let me try his on the range, I knew my PXGs were in trouble…

[ChaosTheory]

On 4/27/2022 at 9:33 PM, Billfitz said:

I did find my Halos initially tended to go a bit left, when I used the same swing as my driver and hybrids, which is inside out. I've done that for thirty years, to negate my natural tendency to fade. I then tried taking the Halo irons straight back and the result is a straight shot. I can still go inside out or outside in to work them when I want to, but unless I've got a tree in my line that I want to go around I seldom have the need.

I wouldn't say they're aimed at high handicappers. IMO they're suitable for anyone who doesn't want to be a high handicapper. 😉

I played a couple of rounds with a demo set of the Launcher HBs when they came out.  They just wanted to go left.  I think they must have internal draw weighting.  I really wanted to like them but couldn’t keep the ball in front of me.

[Oddjob]

So checked with the retailer here in the UK yet another delay with cleveland now saying 29th of June but with a different excuse this time.  To say am not impressed is a understatement 

Edited May 12, 2022 by Oddjob
Spelling

[Billfitz]

Almost every manufacturer is in the same boat. Literally. Their parts coming from foundries in China are sitting on container ships off the California coast.

[bird_4_3]

I don't know about the Halo irons, but the Launcher XL irons are fantastic.  I never have been a Cleveland fan, until now.  They are some sleepers.  

[Head Beagle]

Due to aging challenges - knee, hip, shoulder I'm now a "Senior Golfer" with accompanying loss of distance & contact quality. Needed to move on from Callaway Apex & fitted with Cleveland Launcher XL HALO hybrid iron set yesterday. Kaboom! 2° flat & 1/2" shorter; now gotta hack my current sticks for one more month.

[GrandStranded]

2 hours ago, Head Beagle said:

Due to aging challenges - knee, hip, shoulder I'm now a "Senior Golfer" with accompanying loss of distance & contact quality. Needed to move on from Callaway Apex & fitted with Cleveland Launcher XL HALO hybrid iron set yesterday. Kaboom! 2° flat & 1/2" shorter; now gotta hack my current sticks for one more month.

I’ll wager you get them in less than 3 weeks.

BTW I ordered the 4 iron yesterday, lol. So what started out as an experiment to replace my 6&7 irons, turned into me also ordereng the 8-DW, then the 5 iron, and now the 4. 🙄

I remember saying in my first post how much I loved my Rogue ST hybrids… well the 5hyb has been replaced, I’m expecting the 4H to be also, and now I’m thinking about a Hy-wood to replace the 3H. The only reason I haven’t done it already is my Halos are 2* strong throughout the set, and I want to find out if the 4i at 18* makes the Hy-wood or my 3H unnecessary.

[wichitapenguin]

How do these do in various grass conditions, IE tight lies, thick rough etc?

[Spankapotamus redux]

On 5/13/2022 at 10:10 AM, bird_4_3 said:

I don't know about the Halo irons, but the Launcher XL irons are fantastic.  I never have been a Cleveland fan, until now.  They are some sleepers.  

And the Launcher CBX are the best irons I've ever played. Bought these on a lark because I wanted a durable set of irons with a lighter graphite shaft. Never thought I'd play Clevelands, just never saw a set I liked, but now I may never play anything else.

[Billfitz]

9 hours ago, wichitapenguin said:

How do these do in various grass conditions, IE tight lies, thick rough etc?

Mine have no problem with different conditions.

[Tanner25]

How are the Halo XL irons playing for you guys? I am warming up to them. They are straight and forgiving. Also, they pair up well with the Lamkin Sonar grips (Black-Blue). 

 

Chipping and pitching with these are great. 

[oiler45]

I have to admit that I am falling out of favor with my XL Halo's. I always knew they were gonna be ugly as sin and won't feel great but I was prepared to live with that as long as the performance was there. Problem is - the performance is not blowing me away. I hit them about a 1/2 club shorter than my previous Mizuno HM due to the fact they fly very high. I realize I can get a bit scoopy which is one of the reasons why I bought these. They are forgiving on slightly fat shots and work well out of the rough or fairway bunkers. I'm undecided right now but I'm leaning toward going back to the Mizzy's. I may wait until the end of the season and see if things change in the next couple of months.

As of right now I'm kinda sorry I switched to these this year. Oh well - first world problem !!

[GrandStranded]

38 minutes ago, oiler45 said:

I have to admit that I am falling out of favor with my XL Halo's. I always knew they were gonna be ugly as sin and won't feel great but I was prepared to live with that as long as the performance was there. Problem is - the performance is not blowing me away. I hit them about a 1/2 club shorter than my previous Mizuno HM due to the fact they fly very high. I realize I can get a bit scoopy which is one of the reasons why I bought these. They are forgiving on slightly fat shots and work well out of the rough or fairway bunkers. I'm undecided right now but I'm leaning toward going back to the Mizzy's. I may wait until the end of the season and see if things change in the next couple of months.

As of right now I'm kinda sorry I switched to these this year. Oh well - first world problem !!

I got mine 2* strong after seeing the same thing with a prior set. It’s made a big difference in both ball flight, and distance.

Maybe give that a try with one or two of yours?

[Billfitz]

16 hours ago, Tanner25 said:

How are the Halo XL irons playing for you guys?

Chipping and pitching with these are great. 

I don't find the wedges and short irons to be all that different from previous clubs I've had, but the 5. 6 and 7 irons give me accuracy I never had before.

[oiler45]

15 hours ago, john myrbch said:

I got mine 2* strong after seeing the same thing with a prior set. It’s made a big difference in both ball flight, and distance.

Maybe give that a try with one or two of yours?

Hmm  ..  I'll have to think about that. I always worry that bending irons from spec will make them harder to sell if I decide to go that route. I guess I could always bend them back to original. Hmm ...

[Billfitz]

On that topic, if your gapping between clubs is good all the way up through driver what does it matter if you hit a 5 or a 6 iron to reach a given distance? I see some pretty silly loft specs on irons these days. Just a few days ago I saw a 20 degree 5 iron. That's ludicrous. Time was that was a 3 iron. It's gotten to the point that the club number has become meaningless. 

[Tanner25]

7 hours ago, Billfitz said:

I don't find the wedges and short irons to be all that different from previous clubs I've had, but the 5. 6 and 7 irons give me accuracy I never had before.

 

Nice. Accuracy is a strong suit of this club. They like to go straight.

[Billfitz]

Yes, but that doesn't mean you can't work them. I seldom do, but I can when I want to. 

[oiler45]

4 hours ago, Billfitz said:

On that topic, if your gapping between clubs is good all the way up through driver what does it matter if you hit a 5 or a 6 iron to reach a given distance? I see some pretty silly loft specs on irons these days. Just a few days ago I saw a 20 degree 5 iron. That's ludicrous. Time was that was a 3 iron. It's gotten to the point that the club number has become meaningless. 

I agree - I'm not worried about the number on the bottom - but - my 8I is my 130-140 yard club. Too often I will hit it "ok" and it will go straight up and fall way short. I realize this is a swing problem and no iron is going to solve everything. I just find this happens more often with the Halo's than with my previous set. I still maintain if they are gonna be ugly, and feel and sound kinda meh - then they really have to perform better than my old set. So far that is not been the case. I'm not being critical of these clubs - just trying to be honest. I think Cleveland/Srixon make a product second to none - these just may not be ideal for me.

[GrandStranded]

1 hour ago, oiler45 said:

I agree - I'm not worried about the number on the bottom - but - my 8I is my 130-140 yard club. Too often I will hit it "ok" and it will go straight up and fall way short. I realize this is a swing problem and no iron is going to solve everything. I just find this happens more often with the Halo's than with my previous set. I still maintain if they are gonna be ugly, and feel and sound kinda meh - then they really have to perform better than my old set. So far that is not been the case. I'm not being critical of these clubs - just trying to be honest. I think Cleveland/Srixon make a product second to none - these just may not be ideal for me.

Actually what you’re doing is bringing up a very valid, and common occurrence a number of people have had with these clubs. For some, there is a tendency for them to balloon, upshot, (whatever you want to call it) and the player loses distance.

@Billfitz obviously loves them, as do a ton of other people who play them. I do too, but the first set I had, I felt exactly the same as you and I had the same issue with them.
After a few months of struggling with a more conventional set, I did what I thought would fix that for me, (adjust the lofts to match my prior set and combine that with the forgiveness of the Halos). 
It worked out very well for me. At our SS going 2* strong wasn’t going to add any more than 5 yards or so to each club, but what it did for me was give me a much better ball flight, and consistent distance. In my mind those two things and the forgiveness these offer are exactly what I want in my irons.

 

Edited June 25, 2022 by john myrbch

[rusty-blades]

On 6/23/2022 at 10:35 PM, oiler45 said:

I have to admit that I am falling out of favor with my XL Halo's. I always knew they were gonna be ugly as sin and won't feel great but I was prepared to live with that as long as the performance was there. Problem is - the performance is not blowing me away. I hit them about a 1/2 club shorter than my previous Mizuno HM due to the fact they fly very high. I realize I can get a bit scoopy which is one of the reasons why I bought these. They are forgiving on slightly fat shots and work well out of the rough or fairway bunkers. I'm undecided right now but I'm leaning toward going back to the Mizzy's. I may wait until the end of the season and see if things change in the next couple of months.

As of right now I'm kinda sorry I switched to these this year. Oh well - first world problem !!

Completely agree. Purchased XL Halo's 6 months ago and just put my 10 year old Adams back in the bag. I was hoping an increase in performance would override the "ugly" factor. That didn't happen. Notwithstanding aesthetics, the bigger issue I found is the lack of feedback (both feel and sound) between good strikes and bad. As a result I believe it would be very difficult to improve your ball striking with these. Also sorry I switched, or attempted to switch to these.

[Tanner25]

On 6/24/2022 at 8:25 PM, oiler45 said:

I agree - I'm not worried about the number on the bottom - but - my 8I is my 130-140 yard club. Too often I will hit it "ok" and it will go straight up and fall way short. I realize this is a swing problem and no iron is going to solve everything. I just find this happens more often with the Halo's than with my previous set. I still maintain if they are gonna be ugly, and feel and sound kinda meh - then they really have to perform better than my old set. So far that is not been the case. I'm not being critical of these clubs - just trying to be honest. I think Cleveland/Srixon make a product second to none - these just may not be ideal for me.

 

I had the same problem. But, it seems to improve over time. I believe with hybrid irons sets there's a lot to get used to. But, worth it, in the end.

[fairway_bandit]

I'm still a relatively young guy and bought a set of these to fool around with. Using the stock cypher shafts, balls really do like to launch high (quite a bit higher than my Mizuno 225’s with modus 105s). Already ordered some heavier Fujikura MCI black shafts to see if that’ll lower the launch a bit. Can’t say that I’ve been experiencing any loss in distance.

 

Feedback on mishits is more muted than my other irons, but the good strikes feel and sound very satisfying. Some people might find the ‘ting’ a little weird at first, but all is forgiven when you see that beautiful soft landing close to the pin.

Overall they’re extremely easy to hit and really fun to play with. 

[Andrew7447]

Has anyone tried these against the cobra t rails 2? 

I'm kinda stuck between them.