Cleveland HiBore XLS Driver Review
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At a glance
- TG Rating
- Owner Rating
What we say...
Today’s Golfer’s team of equipment experts were the first in Europe to take delivery of the new clubs, which replace the popular HiBore XL range, and early testing has thrown up some promising results.
According to Cleveland all their efforts have concentrated on increasing the MOI, or forgiveness, of the range over its predecessor the HiBore XL and you can immediately tell the difference.
The Cleveland XLS driver looks much larger at address than the Cleveland XL and you can see that weight has been distributed differently as the head extends further back.
The head itself is a full 17% bigger than the previous model and Cleveland claim it is now one of the biggest legal drivers on the market. All this adds up to mean that the face is HUGE and packed with technology.
The driver is priced at £249 (£299 for the Tour version)
The Cleveland HiBore XLS Driver is much bigger than the previous XL version, the head is a whopping 17% bigger!
Every dimension of the Cleveland HiBore XLS driver has been pushed to the limit of what the rules allow, creating maximum Moment Of Inertia (MOI) for arrow straight, booming drives!
The 460cc Titanium head of the Cleveland HiBore XLS driver features a 17% larger face area than the previous HiBore XL driver. This provides amazing forgiveness on off-centre strikes with extra distance. Cleveland's 'Full Face Performance' (FFP) technology extends the 'Hot Zone' across a larger portion of the face creating more distance from both solid shots and mis-hits alike. Cleveland have stretched the clubhead as far back as possible to give a 13% increase in Moment Of Inertia (MOI) compared to the old HiBore XL driver. This gives less clubhead twisting on off-centre strikes for greater accuracy. The unique 'Scooped Out' geometric design of the Cleveland HiBore XLS driver moves weight lower and deeper in the club head. This aligns the centre of gravity directly with the sweet spot in the centre of the face, resulting in optimal conditions for greater overall distance. Fitted with an ultra high quality Fujikura 'Fit-On' Gold graphite shaft. The tip secion of the shaft gives the optimal trajectory for maximum distance, a higher ball speed and a smooth feel at impact.
Price: £249 (£299 Tour Version)
Contact: 01252 761300
Website: www.clevelandgolf.com
Your Reviews
Cleveland Drivers User Reviews
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Cleveland HiBore XLS 10.5° - The Marmite of golf
Strengths: Great design…. In my opinion! Sits really well behind the ball and looks great at address. Club provides optimal distance especially on mishits. Top notch shaft fitted which seems to suit my game. Weaknesses: Some people will hate the looks of the club! Squeaky “like hydrogen testing” pop on impact. I’ve been using the Cleveland HiBore XLS 10.5° driver (with Fujikura fit on gold regular flex shaft) for 9 months now and I’m really enjoying it. Cleveland claims that the clubface is 17% larger than the original HiBore XL, 13% increase in MOI and Full Face Performance (FFP) extends the "Hot Zone" of maximum .830 COR across a larger portion of the face creating more distance from both solid shots and mishits alike. The club sits nicely behind the ball, the large scooped out crown radiates confidence and aids any alignment issues. The shape of the clubhead has properties not dissimilar to marmite - you will either love it or hate it. Personally I love it; the shape is something new, exciting and unique. The underside of the clubhead is stylish without being garish, the red and silver compliment each other well. Another well styled attribute is the headcover, with E-Z grab technology, it makes taking the headcover off a much easier and more efficient process. The club comes fitted as standard with a highly commended Fujikura fit on shaft, with a choice of gold shaft or red shaft in regular, stiff or extra-stiff. The gold shaft is aimed at the standard ability golfer and promotes a higher ball flight because of the lighter shaft; the red shaft has been produced for the stronger player who wants a heavier shaft and lower ball flight. So far I have been impressed by the distance gained from using the XLS, previously I owned the XL model and I have discovered a notable increase of between 10 -15 yards by just using the new model. However I have been most impressed by the quality of strike on a mishit, even when the ball isn’t struck from the hot zone, the ball still flies! The sound…. Well the sound, just like the shape, is like marmite; although some love it, some hate it. I would describe the sound as a squeaky sonic boom which will definitely turn a few heads – but as long as it carries on flying straight down the middle I’m not going to complain!
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took a while to get used to but now...
I bought the 10.5 in march for £130 which was good value. It took a while to get used to it but now it is very consistent with a controlled fade it can find the fairway every time. It launches it very high so i'd recommend buying the loft lower than what you would normally use.
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Cleveland XLS Review
I’ve been using the club for a while now and what a club it is. The club provides optimal forgiveness for a hacker like myself, but gives great distance. Compared to the older XL model, the distance change is very noticeable – over 20 yards I’ve noticed since owning the last model. The club has a good quality shaft, and also a nice grip which doesn’t get too slippery in the wet. My only qualm with the club is the noise, it’s frankly horrendous – but as long as it carries on flying straight down the middle I’m not going to complain!
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Great driver!!
I switched to this club beacause i wanted to maximise my driving distance without compramising on accuracy. this club has given me 15-20 yards extra compared to my taylormade R7 425. mainly because of the 460cc head and large club face. The shaft options available at the custom fit center are great too. I would recommend this club to anyone looking for more distance.
