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Cleveland Golf has earned a favorable reputation in making clubs for better players, and it will continue advancing such equipment. But in 2005 the company is also putting an emphasis on new clubs designed for a broader range of golfers, including mid to high handicap men and women.

Two notable additions to the Cleveland portfolio are the game-improving Launcher irons and the Launcher 460 Comp driver.

Also relatively new is a unique wedge from a company known for top-notch wedges, the CG10 Black Pearl, and an expansion of its women’s W-Series line with the addition of offset woods, TA6 irons and a redesigned 588W wedge.

Further, mirroring a growing trend in usage on tour, Cleveland is introducing a Launcher Driving Iron which features a hollowed clubhead in a choice of lofts.

A division of sports equipment giant Rossignol, Cleveland Golf is coming off its best performance season on the PGA TOUR, where its clubs took part in 17 TOUR victories. Of course, nine of those wins were racked up by Vijay Singh, the No. 1-ranked player in the world, with other titles coming from Jonathan Kaye, Chad Campbell, Steve Flesch, David Toms, Bart Bryant, Rod Pampling, Vaughn Taylor and Woody Austin.

“Although each of the victories is the result of the players’ dedication and hard work, we take great pride in the fact that they made Cleveland Golf their choice of clubs,” said Greg Hopkins, Cleveland president/CEO.

Here’s a closer look at the latest from Cleveland Golf. - LAUNCHER IRONS

Cleveland’s new Launcher irons, with a large cavityback, large face, thick topline and wide, rounded sole are designed for mid to high handicap players.

Engineered with a low, deep center of gravity to help balls get airborne, the irons are also built for forgiveness on off-center hits, boasting a high MOI (moment of inertia) factor, which translates to stability.
Cleveland’s Launcher irons are designed for mid to high handicap players. (Provided to GolfWeb)
Cleveland’s Launcher irons are designed for mid to high handicap players. (Provided to GolfWeb)
“Robotic testing has shown these new irons to have [a tight] shot dispersion,” said Todd Harman, Cleveland’s director of product marketing. “These irons are the most forgiving that we’ve ever made.”

Packaged as an eight-club set ranging from 4-iron to a 50-degree dual wedge, the company also offers 1, 2 and 3 irons, plus a 55-degree sand wedge as optional matching clubs. Suggested retail price per set (4-DW) is $800 with True Temper steel shafts and $928 with Cleveland graphite shafts.

In testing among a group of amateurs assembled by GolfWeb, the Launcher irons were praised for their looks and ability to lift the ball, along with being judged extremely “workable.” Overall, testers labeled the new irons “very satisfactory.”

DRIVING IRON

The Launcher Driving Iron, also called LDI, is an iron-style hybrid primarily geared to replace hard-to-hit regular long irons in situations calling for either tight tee shots or long approach shots.

The clubhead has been hollowed to help lower and deepen the center of gravity, and to enhance forgiveness beyond the realm of standard irons.

“The LDI shouldn’t be confused with the ‘helper’ clubs that are available,” said Harman. “This is a club that’s built to be used as a driving iron.”

Available with lofts of 18 and 21 degrees, suggested retail price per LDI is $142 with steel shaft and $191 with graphite.

COMP DRIVER

Cleveland joins the growing field of companies offering a multimaterial driver with its new Launcher 460 Comp, featuring the benefits of lightweight graphite combined with the strength of beta titanium. The net result is meant to be a higher launch angle with reduced spin for added total distance off the tee.

The 460 Comp is made with an ultralightweight carbon fiber composite crown, allowing the redistribution of 25 grams of weight to lower and deeper locations around the clubhead perimeter. There’s also a beta titanium face promising an enlarged sweet spot. Overall the clubhead measures 460cc, just under the limit allowed by USGA regulations.

For its new driver, Cleveland engineers also focused considerable attention on refining the sound at impact, a factor that in some composite clubs has drawn negative reactions from golfers. The result is a driver that should prove more pleasing acoustically.

Available in a variety of lofts, suggested retail price is $479.

BLACK PEARL WEDGES

The CG 10 Black Pearl wedges augment Cleveland’s satin chrome CG10 lineup.

Like the originals, the Black Pearl wedges are made with a Carbon Metal Matrix (CMM) head of supersoft metal for greater touch, feel and workability. Essentially, CMM comprises microscopic carbon spheres suspended within to help create a matrix material which is 10 percent less dense and 15 percent softer than the traditional carbon steel used in cast and forged heads.

For the new wedge, Cleveland has a multilayered finish consisting of a double layer of nickel, followed by an ultrathin chrome coating and topped with a Black Pearl layer to help reduce glare and frame the ball at address.

In lofts of 52, 54, 56 and 60 degrees, Cleveland uses a combination of bounce angles the company calls standard, low and high to produce 10 wedges overall in the CG10 Black Pearl series. Suggested retail price is $149 per club.

WOMEN’S CLUBS

Cleveland’s new W-Series Offset woods for women comprise a 410cc titanium driver and matching Nos. 3, 5, 7 and 9 fairway woods. The lineup features lightweight graphite shafts with low kickpoints to help generate more clubhead speed and a higher trajectory. The offset is designed for women who consistently hit a weak fade or slice.

The W-Series TA6 game improvement irons are designed with less material in the cavityback and more weight in the sole and perimeter to enhance stability at impact and help get the ball in the air more easily.

All the woods and irons in the W-Series are offered with shafts in either standard women’s or petite lengths.

There are three models in the versatile 588W wedge series, featuring lofts of 53, 56 and 60 degrees. With a large face area, high toe profile and U grooves, the wedges are made with a new double-nickel cobalt finish to help reduce glare.

Suggested retail prices are $249 for the driver, $175 per fairway wood, $684 for a set (4-SW) of TA6 irons, and $116 for a 588W wedge with graphite shaft, $108 with steel.

Flexibility : Instructors believe golfers can swing better after exercises.
Focus : Golf is a mind game and yoga helps in better concentration, says yoga instructor Sukhdev Singh.
Positive : The mind stays calm because of meditation, says Jasjit Singh, Head PRO.
Strength : Yoga helps golfers in gaining flexibility, balance and concentration needed for success, says Ajay Kharbanda, an instructor.

YOGOLF is the new combo that has hit golfers. More and more senior professionals, as well as amateurs and junior players are doing yogic exercises to enhance their performance level. And they believe the exercises have been helpful. Says golfer Simarjit Singh, who has been into Yogolf for the past six months. “I have been doing 45 minutes of yogic exercises and 15 minutes of meditation daily and it has improved my performance significantly.”

The exercises help to increase flexibility, strength and balance. “Incorporating yoga basics into the game helps a player to stay fit mentally and physically and his game improves,” says Monish Bindra, resident chief pro at the Noida Golf Course.

Agrees Jasjit Singh, Head PRO, Jaypee Greens Golf Club, “Golfers have started following yoga very closely. Meditation helps calm the mind and stretching exercises keep the body supple and reduces the risk of injury.”

As yoga instructor Sukhdev Singh puts it, the best piece of equipment you own is your body. He believes that success in golfing needs both physical and psychological fitness and yoga helps in both. “Golf is a mind game. When a player hits a ball, he needs to have concentrate fully. The moment doubt creeps in, his performance goes haywire,” says singh.

Ajay Kharbanda another instructor agrees. Golf according to him, is also about balance and flexibility.

“The elements of strength, flexibility, balance and concentration that are essential for golf are the foundation of yoga,” he says.

Many yogic poses are designed to bring greater flexibility to the muscles of the body involved in the mechanics of the golf swing – primarily the spine, shoulders, and legs, say experts.

With consistent effort, a player will be more balanced in his golf stance, which is helpful while teeing off.