New Cleveland ZipCore XL Irons just released...

[mrdctaylor]

If you haven't seen them, they look pretty sexy (https://us.dunlopsports.com/cleveland-golf/clubs/irons/zipcore-xl-irons/zipcore-xl-irons/MZCXLI.html).  They seem to borrow some design cues from the Srixon irons.  They replace the Cleveland Launcher XL irons, which I bought last year when they put them on sale.  I really like those irons.  One reason is because 7i and up are a hollow body design, whereas 8i down are cavity back.  I was really surprised to hear that they didn't continue this trend (as far as I can tell) in their new line of ZipCore XL irons.  They all seem to be cavity back and they use other tweaks to supposedly make long irons easier to hit.

 

Anyway, I was just curious if anyone has any thoughts on these.  I love the looks, but I'm not sure sure they would be an upgrade.  I feel like the set I have is pretty unique in that they are sort of a split set out of the box.  I wonder why they did away with that concept. 

[hammergolf]

1 hour ago, mrdctaylor said:

If you haven't seen them, they look pretty sexy (https://us.dunlopsports.com/cleveland-golf/clubs/irons/zipcore-xl-irons/zipcore-xl-irons/MZCXLI.html).  They seem to borrow some design cues from the Srixon irons.  They replace the Cleveland Launcher XL irons, which I bought last year when they put them on sale.  I really like those irons.  One reason is because 7i and up are a hollow body design, whereas 8i down are cavity back.  I was really surprised to hear that they didn't continue this trend (as far as I can tell) in their new line of ZipCore XL irons.  They all seem to be cavity back and they use other tweaks to supposedly make long irons easier to hit.

 

Anyway, I was just curious if anyone has any thoughts on these.  I love the looks, but I'm not sure sure they would be an upgrade.  I feel like the set I have is pretty unique in that they are sort of a split set out of the box.  I wonder why they did away with that concept. 

I will definitely be trying them. I really like the head shape and have always preferred a longer blade length. If they don’t have the hard or clicky feel and perform I may put them in the bag. 

[mrdctaylor]

2 minutes ago, hammergolf said:

I will definitely be trying them. I really like the head shape and have always preferred a longer blade length. If they don’t have the hard or clicky feel and perform I may put them in the bag. 

The Launcher XL irons that I have are the best feeling GI irons I've hit.  For comparison I've hit recent model TaylorMade and Ping GI irons, and the Cleveland have a *much* better feel to me.

Edited January 16 by mrdctaylor

[hammergolf]

1 minute ago, mrdctaylor said:

The Launcher XL irons that I have are the best feeling GI irons I've hit.  For comparison I've hit recent model TaylorMade and Ping GI irons, and the Cleveland have a *much* better feel to me.

I look forward to trying them.

[jholz]

The new ones actually look pretty good. Probably the most "players" looking GI irons I've seen recently. 

 

The address photos look very playable. 

Edited January 16 by jholz

[iNeedMoreGolf]

That is a srixon iron lol

[dmeeksDC]

Man oh man. These GI irons are looking less and less GI. 
 

Some strong contenders — These Clevelands, the Paradym AI Smoke, Cobra Darkspeed, Wilson Dynapower, Mizuno Hot Metals, TaylorMade Qi10. 
 

Never been more or better options. 

[elwhippy]

Crazy lofts but they do look good value. 

[hammergolf]

17 minutes ago, elwhippy said:

Crazy lofts but they do look good value. 

I’ve just got to the point where I don’t even pay attention to the number on the club. I just focus on the lofts and make sure that they have enough spin and decent angle. Essentially almost all modern GI clubs are 1 to 1.5 clubs strong given the lofts and longer shaft length. My set is “stamped” 6-G but in reality is 5-P.

Edited January 16 by hammergolf

[mrdctaylor]

What's strange is that I don't really hit my new stronger-lofted GI clubs much further than I hit my old mid-90s Pings.  *Maybe* half a club further if that despite the stronger lofts. 

[dmeeksDC]

39 minutes ago, hammergolf said:

I’ve just got to the point where I don’t even pay attention to the number on the club. I just focus on the lofts and make sure that they have enough spin and decent angle. Essentially almost all modern GI clubs are 1 to 1.5 clubs strong given the lofts and longer shaft length. My set is “stamped” 6-G but in reality is 5-P.

Exactly how I feel. It is a club difference. Some sets you get a little forgiveness help because the shaft is a little shorter. Bottom line is you have 14 clubs to cover all the distances and shots and some of these new designs make the game a lot easier. And the best ones are not huge anymore, some are even a bit compact  
 

I had an eye opening experience down in New Orleans. Played a borrowed set of standard Paradym irons and I was surprised at how good they are. So easy to play. Feel great too. And that is not even supposed to be a GI iron, it’s player’s distance. I guess because of its compact blade length. Seemed as easy to hit as anything I’ve tried. Now my mindset is why pass up the help if it looks great and plays great?

[jholz]

All I know is that since Srixon acquired Cleveland - they have been putting out quality equipment. 

 

Whether it is Srixon, XXIO, or Cleveland, it really just hinges on your willingness to give it a chance. 

 

It is as good as anything out there. 

[dmeeksDC]

 

[mantan]

They will be sleeper irons. Pretty much everything good about the Srixon/Cleveland line in a easy to hit cast club that's easy on the wallet.  Similar mainframe design/v-sole.

 

Too bad more people won't give them a chance. Cleveland has slowly taken more spots in my bag. I love my ZX5s and have zero reason to change them.  But if I didn't own them, I'd give these new irons a LONG look.  Heck at $100 a club, I may buy a 6-iron and 9-iron to be practice mules at the range.  They are close enough to my normal set and will save me a bit of wear and tear (hit a somewhat sandy range 2-3 days a week)

 

Edited January 17 by mantan

[optimator]

Those are a great looking head.

[Golfcrzy]

Gosh, I’m a huge Cleveland fan, have been for years, but exclusive to wedges. 
 

I have no space for new irons, let alone a need, but I sure would love to try these out and see how much more ego I can remove from my game. 
 

I’m on the Joe Rogan program, as it pertains to my golf game: complete ego death and becoming one with the universe. 

[akronswitness]

4 hours ago, mantan said:

They will be sleeper irons. Pretty much everything good about the Srixon/Cleveland line in a easy to hit cast club that's easy on the wallet.  Similar mainframe design/v-sole.

 

Too bad more people won't give them a chance. Cleveland has slowly taken more spots in my bag. I love my ZX5s and have zero reason to change them.  But if I didn't own them, I'd give these new irons a LONG look.  Heck at $100 a club, I may buy a 6-iron and 9-iron to be practice mules at the range.  They are close enough to my normal set and will save me a bit of wear and tear (hit a somewhat sandy range 2-3 days a week)

 

 

I switched from MD4 wedges to Zipcore CB wedges last season and it improved my game dramatically. I wonder if the Zipcore iron set would do the same 🤔

[Streuner]

I saw the Launcher XL price drop to very low levels last. But the new ones really look way better. I will watch out for them in the spring Demo season… 

[mrdctaylor]

6 hours ago, Streuner said:

I saw the Launcher XL price drop to very low levels last. But the new ones really look way better. I will watch out for them in the spring Demo season… 

Yeah, that's when I bought my Launcher XLs.  And I don't regret it.  Although these definitely look better in the bag, the Launcher XL set had hollow body irons 7i-4i and then cavity back for 8i down.  I really like that concept and I'm not quite sure why Cleveland went in another direction this year abandoning hollow body construction altogether.  I assume that they are able to get as good (or almost as good) performance out of the cavity back long irons with more consistency.  But I really don't know.  Or maybe I'm misunderstanding the information that's out there.

[ode]

17 hours ago, hammergolf said:

I’ve just got to the point where I don’t even pay attention to the number on the club. I just focus on the lofts and make sure that they have enough spin and decent angle. Essentially almost all modern GI clubs are 1 to 1.5 clubs strong given the lofts and longer shaft length. My set is “stamped” 6-G but in reality is 5-P.

Not sure why folks even bother mentioning lofts.  These are the exact same as the prior gen and 1* stronger then the UHX.....🤔....LOL

[mrdctaylor]

3 minutes ago, ode said:

Not sure why folks even bother mentioning lofts.  These are the exact same as the prior gen and 1* stronger then the UHX.....🤔....LOL

 

No kidding.  🙂  They are the same lofts as every other game improvement iron made in the last few years.  Like it or not, it is the new standard.  It*was* a change from my previous irons (Ping ISI-K) which had a 47* PW.  However, with the 43* PW in this set, I just bought the matching 48* gap wedge and my gaps are still roughly the same.  (I already had 52* and 58* Cleveland CBX ZipCore wedges).

Edited January 17 by mrdctaylor

[MattM97]

4 minutes ago, mrdctaylor said:

 

No kidding.  🙂  They are the same lofts as every other game improvement iron made in the last few years.  Like it or not, it is the new standard.  It*was* a change from my previous irons (Ping ISI-K) which had a 47* PW.  However, with the 43* PW in this set, I just bought the matching 48* gap wedge and my gaps are still roughly the same.  (I already had 52* and 58* Cleveland CBX ZipCore wedges).

 

People like to complain about lofts here and some probably still think they hit the ball the same as they did 30 years ago too. 

[xkilgorextroutx]

These are tops on my "irons to try" list this year. What a great looking GI iron. 

[TallGuy90]

I’m drawing the line on 7 irons being less then 30°. I ran into the issue with TM stealths I had a 40 yard gap between my AW and 50° Wedge. 

[tatertot]

2 minutes ago, TallGuy90 said:

I’m drawing the line on 7 irons being less then 30°. I ran into the issue with TM stealths I had a 40 yard gap between my AW and 50° Wedge. 

MORE WEDGES FOR EVERYBODY!

 

It's getting crazier every cycle.

[Green Valley]

I have been eyeing these irons for a while when they got leaked on another site. I currently play cbx-2 with Oban shafts. I absolutely love the look of these irons of the length of heel to toe and the topline doesn't look bad at all. I actually prefer the longer look. Most GI are shorter now, and fat topline.  These lofts are the future especially for GI irons. Ping has done it. I am hoping club champion or true spec offer these for fittings. 

[optimator]

I just called a couple of local course pro shops about these. Both are having demo days in April. I'm pretty excited to try them. 

[mrdctaylor]

They look sexy.  I'd be curious how they feel compared to my Launcher XLs.  Then again, I played with my last set of irons for 20+ years.  I don't think I'll be looking to swap out irons I bought last year.  🙂  Besides, they were half the price (on sale) that these new irons are.

[TallGuy90]

2 hours ago, tatertot said:

MORE WEDGES FOR EVERYBODY!

 

It's getting crazier every cycle.

Yea these companies are going to need to start making 5-SW sets because these GI AW do not blend into a traditional wedge set 

[mrdctaylor]

The gap wedge in the Cleveland set (and the Launcher XL) is 48* I believe.  That blended into my existing wedges (52* and 58*) perfectly fine that I was using with my traditionally lofted set with a 47* PW.