Cleveland Launcher XL2 Driver Review
Gonna try it out next weekend vs the c723.
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- #103
I ended up playing this for all my rounds at Briggs Ranch last week and will be putting in the bag for an extended period of time it looks like. Hats off to @Jman for spreading the love!
I played some very mediocre golf after my first round, which is nothing new, but the first round I played this was downright magical. I hit most fairways and was regularly keeping up distance wise with the people that hit it normal distance. Coincidentally, I want to say I didn't actually hit the center of the face until the back nice. Really, really impressive forgiveness, especially on the upper half of the face and toe.
I can hit the ball pretty low sometimes if I shut the face down enough, and that did happen, but when I executed I hit some very high (for me) drives that carried and rolled impressively. I think I officially fell in love on the 12th hole when I hit it over a tree I was convinced I would just slam a ball into. I know my game very well, but the driver wasn't having it.
Sound is loud. Not the loudest, but it's not a quiet driver. It's very stretched out front to back. Both things I can and will live with if it continues to do what it did.
I played some very mediocre golf after my first round, which is nothing new, but the first round I played this was downright magical. I hit most fairways and was regularly keeping up distance wise with the people that hit it normal distance. Coincidentally, I want to say I didn't actually hit the center of the face until the back nice. Really, really impressive forgiveness, especially on the upper half of the face and toe.
I can hit the ball pretty low sometimes if I shut the face down enough, and that did happen, but when I executed I hit some very high (for me) drives that carried and rolled impressively. I think I officially fell in love on the 12th hole when I hit it over a tree I was convinced I would just slam a ball into. I know my game very well, but the driver wasn't having it.
Sound is loud. Not the loudest, but it's not a quiet driver. It's very stretched out front to back. Both things I can and will live with if it continues to do what it did.
So tried it a couple of holes this past weekend. Will need some more testing and to try some of the settings on the adapter to dial it in.
Initial thoughts it has some pop, won't beat any records but it won't leave you feeling like you're missing distance. I like the look of it, very confident standing over the ball and the face looks huge compared to my c723. As said previously it's loud, it reminds me of my bio cell driver from years ago in sound almost like a baseball bat but not as loud and not a ringing. It has a sharp sound but it doesn't blow your ear drums out or anything.
Where I was most impress is on off center strikes and on what I call "swippy" shots where I come very over the top and almost swipe at the ball. Usually that swippy shot is about 2 counties right, with the Cleveland i kept it in play both times I did it with this driver. It was not in a great place but finding the ball was impressive enough for me. I will say we played a more forgiving course so that could have added to the findability as I didn't lose a ball all round. I tend to hit the ball off the high side of the face when I get steep and this driver just did it's thing went straight and didn't kill the distance of the drive.
I will put this and my gamer c723 in the bag this weekend coming up and will see what it can do on a tougher track. Also @Nick Kane might get a couple of swings with it too and compare it to his g425.
Thanks @Thrillbilly Jim for letting me try it out.
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- #105
You hit a driver over a big ass tree. I’ve never been so happy for a Hawk drive in my life.
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- #106
It was a thing of beauty. Maybe I should try a little tilt in my setup my often.
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- #107
It was awesome. Absolutely awesome.
We need video of this glorious shot.
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- #109
Big thing for me is @Hawk playing it with a totally different swing than mine confirmed that this is a damn good driver head.
It’s incredibly forgiving, but, the design offers surprising speed.
Yes, it’s a little loud imo, but, I don’t know what I would do with a muted Cleveland golf driver haha
It’s incredibly forgiving, but, the design offers surprising speed.
Yes, it’s a little loud imo, but, I don’t know what I would do with a muted Cleveland golf driver haha
I have auditory hallucinations of a Launcher Turbo HB Driver. That was a loud one .
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- #111
Hahaha! Yes, yes it was. This isn’t near that loud.I have auditory hallucinations of a Launcher Turbo HB Driver. That was a loud one .
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- #112
I wish. I keep playing it back in my head lol.
I thought it was pretty dang long. I was neck and neck with all but the long bombers on Tuesday morning and that's a big deal for me.
A smidge more than the ZX5 MKII. Nowhere near the E723. It's definitely not in the offensive category.
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- #113
Absolutely agree on the sound thing
I have the c723 and I think the Cleveland os louder but different. The c723 definitely let's you know when you hit off center makes some different sounds. The Cleveland has that aluminum baseball bat sound for sure.
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- #115
I've not heard the C. The E will make people turn their heads from a couple holes over for sure.
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- #116
C is definitely more muted than the E. I think the E is a more apt comparison here, though this is waaaaaaaay less boisterous
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- #117
Much less so for sure.
This thing loved it when I teed the ball way up and just let it go. I suspect, just based off personal experience with monitors. that I was in the 15-16 degree range with spin in the mid to low 2000's. I swiped a couple into the spin zone, but really had to put a terrible swing on it to do that.
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I will definitely try anything for testing. The sound does almost sound like a version of a baseball bat. It sounds unique and is not super loud, but will get your attention.
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- #119
The fact you can interchange shafts between this and the Srixon line is such a wonderful thing in my world. I can think of a number of guys from the Srixon Experience that might find this one a winner. While the ZX5 MKII is very forgiving in its own right, this one seems to edge it out.