First look: New Cleveland Launcher woods and irons

Driver: £279

Fairways: £200

Hybrids: £179

Cleveland Launcher CBX irons

My first impression of the new CBX irons was they had heaps of shelf appeal for a ‘game-improvement’ iron. From a looks point of view they were ticking a lot of boxes.

The shorter irons are more compact, have less offset and a thinner top line, in contrast the longer irons have a longer blade length, more offset and a thicker top line.

Through feel balance technology the weight from the hosel has been moved closer to the centre of the club to better align the sweet spot with the impact pattern. This reduces rotation at impact, gives you a softer feel and helps increase ball speed.

In the longer irons there’s a new cup face design that helps increase ball speed and distance. The progressive V sole design improves feel and overall performance by maintaining speed through the turf without digging in at impact.

One of the main design features of these irons though is the spin technology. The Launcher CBX face is designed to minimize spin drop-off when going from fairway to rough.

The iron grooves are identical to that of the RTX-3 and CBX wedge grooves, resulting in much more control from various lies and improving distance control.

And interestingly they have the loft printed on sole of each iron to make sure you get your gapping right at the top and bottom end of the bag.

SRPs:

Men’s Steel Set (5-PW): £570  (single iron: £95)

Men’s Graphite Set (5-PW): £648 (single iron: £108)

Cleveland Launcher HB irons

If it’s ultra forgiveness and easy launch you are after then the Launcher HB irons  should be right up your street.

These hollow construction irons offer even more forgiveness than a cavity back iron with its ultra thin flex face which allows for more weight to be distributed further back and lower in the club.

Cleveland say they have really pushed all the boundaries with these irons to appeal to those who struggle with iron play.

The long irons are more hybrid shaped to give a feeling and shape of better forgiveness, whereas the shorter irons are more iron-like shaped to promote the feeling of better control.

Cleveland say that regardless of the strike location you will see the same results from across the whole face due to the hollow construction design.

SRPS:

Men’s Steel Set (5-PW): £570 (single iron: £95)

Men’s Graphite Set (5-PW): £648 (single iron: £108)

Cleveland Launcher range – NCG verdict

What Cleveland have done here is appeal massively to the golfer who simply wants to hit the ball straight, have more control and improve their distance.

The Launcher range offers that in abundance with its slick technological design features.

Despite Cleveland being more commonly known for its wedges, their longer game products are certainly not one to be overlooked. They all have tremendous shelf appeal and they do exactly what they say they do.

Coming in at a reasonable price point, I expect the Launcher range to be popular with club golfers when available. If you’re someone that struggles to get the ball in the air and wants a bit of added distance – this technology is going to work for you.

More information can be found on the Cleveland website.

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