Tour Cleveland Hibore w/ UST V2 Review

03trdblack · November 13, 2006

Thorough (Long)

Cleveland Hibore Tour Review

Loft: 10.5*
Face Angle: 2* open (I think, not measured yet)
Length: 44.5”
Shaft: UST V2 Stiff
Swingweight: D2
Grip: Golf Pride V55 Full Cord Rib
Price: Paid $180 from Edwin Watts in Alabama! They apparently got a shipment of them from Cleveland and were trying to move them. It has the TXXXX serial number only with no “B” or “C” on the hosel. I guess this is the “A” type tour head.

I removed the standard Cleveland grip, and cut the shaft down from 45.25” to 44.5”. I also pulled the shaft from the head and spine aligned the neutral bend point to a 9 o’clock position. I added a small tip weight in the shaft to bring the swing weight back to my preferred weight of D2.

My Game:

I play anywhere between a 4.7 and a 5.6 handicap. I usually shoot in the mid to upper 70’s with some rounds in the low 80’s. I usually hit the ball very straight off the tee and have a good iron game. My chipping and putting is good, but my putting SUCKS! I usually play a soft fade with my misses being a pull.

Overall Look:

Obviously everyone knows what a Hibore looks like. It has the big scoop out of the back with a flat black paint. The face flops open a good 2* or so when laid on the ground. I have the rib in the grip aligned so that the face is square with the grip. The scoop is not a factor as it disappears and doesn’t bother me at all when hitting this club. It actually is kind of good looking as it breaks the “norm” of drivers.

Sound/Feel:

I am very impressed at how good this club sounds. Given the shape, I really would expect a funky sound to accompany it. The sound is very pleasing to my ears and sounds just like a titanium driver should sound. I know its very cliché, but it really sounds very solid.

The feel is extremely nice. The face feels very thick and substantial. Most drivers today feel like they have the thinnest face possible. This is not the case with the Hibore. It really feels like there is some major meat colliding with the ball. Misses feel the best on the toe side and are harsher on the heel. You MUST hit this club in the center of the face! If you hit it higher on the face like most of today’s drivers, it will punish you with a very harsh feeling and sound. It is fun teeing the ball lower and actually getting the most from the driver in the middle of the face.

Trajectory/Launch:

This club has a very unique trajectory. If you visit Cleveland’s website, you will see they have a picture of the Hibore’s trajectory. When I hit this club, my trajectory is exactly like the picture on the website. The best way I can describe it is a perfect rainbow shape.

The ball shoots up and ascends into a beautiful perfect shaped arc. Given this club is 10.5* but open, I would guess the effective loft would be somewhere around 9*. I love the flight of the ball. It really just seems to hang in the air forever! The only downside is if you have a lot of wind in your face you will probably suffer greatly in distance. If you have wind behind you, however, hang on because it will fly for days.

Workability:

If you are looking for a driver to work, don’t buy this driver. This club will go nowhere but straight. It is actually pretty amazing how straight this thing goes. I pulled it a few times, but it went dead straight left with no curve on the ball. When I tried to play my fade with this club, it would only move 5 yards at most. I don’t try to work my clubs so this is perfect for me. If I can hit a tee ball dead straight all the time, I’m sold. This club will do that.

Forgiveness:

Forgiveness is very surprising given the club face is somewhat shallow. Toe hits are the most forgiven with no movement on the ball and not much distance loss at all. Heel hits are harsher feeling but still don’t curve any. Did I mention this club is straight? Heel hits seem to be shorter by about 10 yards or so. Hits made low on the face are funny sounding but still get up quickly. High hits on the face are very harsh and balloon very high.

Distance:

After reading all of the reviews on this club, I was thinking I would not hit it as far. I actually found quite the opposite. This club is LOONG! Like I mentioned before, the ball just hangs in the air forever and carries a great deal longer than I’m used to. I don’t get massive roll out with this club, but I do get enough. This club did not suffer one bit from distance loss for me. Maybe this combo of loft and shaft is right for me. I haven’t hit a launch monitor and probably won’t since I’m having great success with it as it is.

Overall:

Cleveland has a real winner here. I have never hit the retail version so I don’t know how it compares, but this tour version is wonderful. I will definitely make this club a mainstay in the bag. Don’t be afraid to try out this club on the range and see how the different shafts affect the performance.

easyyy · November 13, 2006

Thanks for the review. Real good one. What driver did you use before this one?

IHFN · November 14, 2006

Which store in Alabama did you get this one at?

rhersch · November 14, 2006

This is good news. I have one on the way.

03trdblack · November 14, 2006

I have lots of drivers. I mainly like to use my Callaway FT-3, AGT Aurora, TaylorMade R7 TP, and now the Hibore.

03trdblack · November 14, 2006

Which store in Alabama did you get this one at?

To be honest, I don't remember. I called one place and they were sold out so I called another location in Alabama and they had two.

ocobb · November 14, 2006

i got one too, mine is an B with a 2 degree open face as well. it is amazing, long and straight, but I can work mine easily, right to left, and left to right, high and low as well.