Two years ago, Clevleand Golf came back to the market with a full line of woods, hybrids and irons, designed for the kind of players who may not quite get as much out of the company's sister Srixon line.
The Launcher name was supposed to and continues to invoke a certain confidence: of the ball flying high, straight and far, which is a challenge for most golfers.
Now, Cleveland is back with a new iteration on their Launcher line, the Launcher HB, which the company claims is a big step forward in total performance.
Launcher HB Turbo driver and woods
The new Launcher HB Turbo driver and woods, in particular, represent a material leap for the company. As you'd expect in a club built for the biggest possible portion of the bell curve as possible, Cleveland has gone out of their way to remove any discretionary weight they can from the hosel and crown, allowing them to place weight low and back and drive down the center of gravity for the mix of high launch and fairway-finding spin perfect for average players.
The Launcher HB Turbo features a Turbocharged Cup Face, with a variable-thickness pattern for consistent speed across the face, wrapping into the sole and crown to flex better at impact and deliver more energy back to the ball to increase ball speed. The HiBore crown has been redesigned to feature a step that lowers the center of gravity, while a new Ultralight hosel gives additional weight savings. The Deep Weighting sole pad is the feature made possible by those weight savings, moving the center of gravity back 4.4 mm and down 2.2 mm.
The stock Miyazaki C. Kua shaft features weighting toward the butt end, giving a counterbalancing effect that makes a smoother, more consistent swing possible to ensure better contact and added swing speed.
The Launcher HB Turbo Fairway Woods sport similar features to the driver.
The Cleveland Golf Launcher HB Turbo driver is available on Oct. 4 in standard (9-, 10.5-, 12-degree options) and draw (10.5 degrees) heads for $350 each, while the Launcher HB Turbo Fairway Woods are available in a 3-wood (15 degrees) and a 5-wood (18 degrees) for $230 each.
Launcher HB irons
The new Launcher HB irons are, as you'd anticipate, geared toward the game-improvement player looking for more accuracy and forgiveness. They have a hollow-body construction, sporting a new face insert that is thinner and hotter. The HiBore crown drives down the center of gravity low and deep. A progressive shaping keeps the blade longer and forgiving in the hybrid-like longer irons and more compact in the traditional-looking short irons for control in the scoring range.
Cleveland Golf Launcher HB Turbo Irons are available in both men’s and women’s along with right and left hand options for $800 for for a seven-piece steel-shafted set. Add $100 for the set in graphite shafts.
Launcher UHX irons
For golfers wanting something a little more traditional-looking but featuring as much technology, Cleveland has its Launcher UHX irons. These are a hollow-body design featuring iron-shaped clubs through the set.
The 4-7-irons are hollow for more distance and forgiveness, with a lower and deeper CG profile. The rest of the set feature cavity-back construction designed to create a combo set that flows from longer, more difficult shots through to green-light shots. The UHX long irons have a high-strength variable-thickness steel face insert for added distance. The V-shaped sole offers forgiveness and better turf interaction. Tour Zip grooves and laser milling on the scoring clubs help deliver spin from all lies and any scoring distance.
In addition, Launcher UHX Utility Irons will also be available in 3-, 4- and 5-iron lofts, for hybrid-like performance in the shape of an iron.
Cleveland Golf Launcher UHX Irons are available in both men’s and women’s along with right and left hand options for $800 for for a seven-piece steel-shafted set. Add $100 for the set in graphite shafts.
The Launcher UHX Utility Irons are $170 each.
