Surprised Again - Cleveland XL Fairway!

[Dpavs]

Went out yesterday looking for something I could play off the fairway to fill a gap I had between my 3 hybrid and 3 wood. The likely suspects were either a 2 hybrid or a 5 wood. I walked in with the attitude that it really did not matter what brand I purchased and as I was not really concerned with being able to stick something on the green, my only criteria was that it needed to be straight, consistently easy to hit off the deck and fit the distance gap I was looking to fill.

 

With the lower lofted 2 hybrids there was an unfortunate diminishing return effect. The distance gains vs my 3 hybrid were too small and my consistency hitting from the deck dropped off, so they were a no go.

 

I moved on to 5 woods and tried the offerings from Taylormade, Callaway, Cobra, Titleist, Srixon, Tour Edge, Mizuno, Wilson, Cleveland and Ping. In my testing I noted that there are really several good choices out there now. I produced some of the most consistent results with the Qi10’s, Ai-Smokes, G430, Dynapwr, and Halo XL clubs. The Cleveland perhaps being the unexpected contender of the clubs tested here. Distance-wise my most consistently long were the Dynapwr and Halo XL. Again, I was surprised by the fact that it was the Wilson and Cleveland clubs providing the greatest distances. Now that said, both the Ai-Smoke and Qi10 were very consistent but with a higher launch and accordingly a shorter distance. For someone looking to fill a particular gap with something that could very well stick greens I felt like either of these two would have been a great choice. In this case however, that was not what I was after so neither of these two made the finals.

For me, it came down to the Dynapwr and the Halo XL as both were a consistent 7-10 yards longer than the other clubs tested. The winner ended up being the Cleveland Halo XL this go around as it was a couple yards longer, which fit the gap I was aiming at perfectly, and was easier for me to dial in consistently. The added bonus was the glide rails on the Halo XL which did seem to add an element of forgiveness distance wise if I hit it slightly heavy. Also, while it may turn away some buyers, the Halo has a larger head and face profile which I actually preferred as it instilled more confidence in me. To be sure also, despite the larger profile, the Cleveland was as easy to hit off the deck as anything out there.

 

So, for me anyway, the moral was that if you can throw any preconceptions you might otherwise have, the results just might surprise you. One last thing… while price was not a consideration on this go around, my choice kept plenty of coin in my pocket for a change as the Halo’s are $50-150+ cheaper than the other clubs tested! 😊

Edited yesterday at 05:18 PM by Dpavs

[DiscoStu35]

I completely understand where you're coming from. I got fit into Cobra LTDx 7 and 5 woods a while ago and they might be my 2 favorite clubs in the bag. I had never hit any Cobra clubs before but they blew me away. I fought with hybrids for a long time before I figured out they don't fit my swing. Also got fit in to King Tour irons so Cobra just works for me. 

 

I went completely brand agnostic at my fitting and nothing was as consistently long, high and straight as the Cobra's. I am such a believer in the baffler rails and it seems that you fell in love with them on the Halo XL as well. I don't know how much they actually help but whether it's the design or just mental, knowing they're there gives me confidence off the tee or fairway. I never want to replace them since the Darkspeed woods got rid of the rails!

Glad you found something that works for you 

 

[DocBrown3887]

7 hours ago, Dpavs said:

Went out yesterday looking for something I could play off the fairway to fill a gap I had between my 3 hybrid and 3 wood. The likely suspects were either a 2 hybrid or a 5 wood. I walked in with the attitude that it really did not matter what brand I purchased and as I was not really concerned with being able to stick something on the green, my only criteria was that it needed to be straight, consistently easy to hit off the deck and fit the distance gap I was looking to fill.

 

With the lower lofted 2 hybrids there was an unfortunate diminishing return effect. The distance gains vs my 3 hybrid were too small and my consistency hitting from the deck dropped off, so they were a no go.

 

I moved on to 5 woods and tried the offerings from Taylormade, Callaway, Cobra, Titleist, Srixon, Tour Edge, Mizuno, Wilson, Cleveland and Ping. In my testing I noted that there are really several good choices out there now. I produced some of the most consistent results with the Qi10’s, Ai-Smokes, G430, Dynapwr, and Halo XL clubs. The Cleveland perhaps being the unexpected contender of the clubs tested here. Distance-wise my most consistently long were the Dynapwr and Halo XL. Again, I was surprised by the fact that it was the Wilson and Cleveland clubs providing the greatest distances. Now that said, both the Ai-Smoke and Qi10 were very consistent but with a higher launch and accordingly a shorter distance. For someone looking to fill a particular gap with something that could very well stick greens I felt like either of these two would have been a great choice. In this case however, that was not what I was after so neither of these two made the finals.

For me, it came down to the Dynapwr and the Halo XL as both were a consistent 7-10 yards longer than the other clubs tested. The winner ended up being the Cleveland Halo XL this go around as it was a couple yards longer, which fit the gap I was aiming at perfectly, and was easier for me to dial in consistently. The added bonus was the glide rails on the Halo XL which did seem to add an element of forgiveness distance wise if I hit it slightly heavy. Also, while it may turn away some buyers, the Halo has a larger head and face profile which I actually preferred as it instilled more confidence in me. To be sure also, despite the larger profile, the Cleveland was as easy to hit off the deck as anything out there.

 

So, for me anyway, the moral was that if you can throw any preconceptions you might otherwise have, the results just might surprise you. One last thing… while price was not a consideration on this go around, my choice kept plenty of coin in my pocket for a change as the Halo’s are $50-150+ cheaper than the other clubs tested! 😊

Another win for Cleveland on the site, definitely never overlooking them again...one of their putters won me over and now in the bag.

 

2 hours ago, DiscoStu35 said:

I completely understand where you're coming from. I got fit into Cobra LTDx 7 and 5 woods a while ago and they might be my 2 favorite clubs in the bag. I had never hit any Cobra clubs before but they blew me away. I fought with hybrids for a long time before I figured out they don't fit my swing. Also got fit in to King Tour irons so Cobra just works for me. 

 

I went completely brand agnostic at my fitting and nothing was as consistently long, high and straight as the Cobra's. I am such a believer in the baffler rails and it seems that you fell in love with them on the Halo XL as well. I don't know how much they actually help but whether it's the design or just mental, knowing they're there gives me confidence off the tee or fairway. I never want to replace them since the Darkspeed woods got rid of the rails!

Glad you found something that works for you 

 

 

Yep, I don't know what it is but those LTDx 5 and 7 woods have magical powers to go high and straight.

[RogerinNewZealand]

The twin rail concept on 2010 Clevo Mashie worked well👍

[alexc93]

Curious - did you try the same shaft across all the heads? As that likely plays into ball flight, peak height, etc more so than the different brand heads.

[Dpavs]

2 hours ago, alexc93 said:

Curious - did you try the same shaft across all the heads? As that likely plays into ball flight, peak height, etc more so than the different brand heads.

 

Where possible the Tensei AV blue in the regular flex was used which in several cases it was. If it was not available I tried what what various shafts which were and that were supposed to have the same mid\mid profile around 60g or so. My process was to start with a very broad field and variety of heads\shaft combo's then narrow that down to 4, then narrow the 4 down to 2 and then the 2 to 1.  The goal being to find the head which seemed to suit me best first, then the shaft that worked best for me in that head.

 

The shop I went to, Maple Hill, has a pretty decent variety of shaft\head combo's on hand as they are a large green grass shop and online seller. A big shout out to them and their facility btw for all their help!

 

I know it's not as perfect as a custom fitting, but it's pretty darn good and my intent was to not have to special order anything as I wanted to leave with club in hand that day. 🙂

Edited Tuesday at 10:36 PM by Dpavs

[TM golf guy]

I have a couple Dynapower fairways and they’re definitely underrated. They have a nice feel/sound and they’re easy to hit off the deck. 

[Dpavs]

9 minutes ago, TM golf guy said:

I have a couple Dynapower fairways and they’re definitely underrated. They have a nice feel/sound and they’re easy to hit off the deck. 

 

I did like the Dynpwr's very much and they were just nudged out by the Halo XL during this try out.

Edited Tuesday at 10:37 PM by Dpavs

[Roejye]

Always glad to see Cleveland get some love, they make really good things outside of their wedges too. I think part of it, particularly on a forum like this, is they are generally aimed at the higher caps.

[Dpavs]

19 minutes ago, Roejye said:

Always glad to see Cleveland get some love, they make really good things outside of their wedges too. I think part of it, particularly on a forum like this, is they are generally aimed at the higher caps.

 

Love the CBX zipcore wedges... they are money in my book.

I honestly think that as a brand Cleveland is just underrated. I'd put Tour Edge and Wilson in that same category too.

 

[Roejye]

1 hour ago, Dpavs said:

 

Love the CBX zipcore wedges... they are money in my book.

I honestly think that as a brand Cleveland is just underrated. I'd put Tour Edge and Wilson in that same category too.

 

Same, love Tour Edge as well. They all make really good products, just need to find what works for you and in your budget range. My budget tends to be in that Wilson, Tour Edge, Cleveland, Cobra previous generation products lol.