Cleveland Golf Launcher XL Halo Irons Review

Cleveland Golf’s Launcher XL Halo irons provide hybrid performance in every club… and new tech makes them easy to swing.

Completing Cleveland’s new 2022 family, the Launcher XL Halo golf irons feature the brand’s highest MOI ever, aiming to be the best golf irons for those who want maximum distance, forgiveness and accuracy.

The Launcher XL Halo irons are a hybrid-iron design, aimed at helping you develop a better and more consistent strike while making the game more fun.

At a time when more people are taking up and returning to golf, there’s no doubt the XL Halo irons will prove hugely successful.

The XL Head design delivers the highest MOI ever in a Cleveland hybrid-iron – 17% higher than the previous generation – improving forgiveness and producing a high launch.

As with the the XL irons, Cleveland Golf used artifical intelligence to develop the optimal face for the Halo irons. The MainFrame face has a variable thickness pattern, which maximises COR and ball speed to help generate more distance than previous generations.

Three gliderails on the long irons are designed to deliver excellent turf interaction, while the mid-to-short irons feature the same V-Shaped Sole as the XL irons, which cuts through the turf to aid a better contact, even on heavy shots.

The loft specific grooves found in the XL irons continue into the Halo model, while the HiBore Crown Step found in the hybrids is also found here to drop the centre of gravity and increasing the launch. 

The entire XL range features an eight-gram weight in the grip to help counter balance the club and square it up at impact.

As with the rest of the family, Cleveland offer a custom-fitting configuration that removes the the weight and shortens the clubs by half-an-inch.

Cleveland Golf Launcher XL irons: Key Technologies

XL Head Design
This is huge: a bigger head means an MOI of 3,081 g-cm2 in the 7-Iron—the most ever in a Cleveland Golf game-improvement iron. Cleveland say it’s maximum distance with maximum fun.

MainFrame

Designed using artificial intelligence, MainFrame variable face technology increases ball speed while unique weight pad designs ensure maximum forgiveness across the face.

Rail to V-Shaped Design

Gliderail in the long Irons gradually transitions to a V-Shaped sole in the short irons and ultimately a three-tiered sole on the Dual and Sand Wedges.

Loft Specific Grooves

4i-7i lofts have wider, flatter grooves. 8i-DW lofts have closely-spaced, deeper, and higher spinning wedge grooves. Higher lofts also feature laser-milled grooves for enhanced friction.

Action Mass CB

An 8g weight placed inside the end of the grip delivers better balance for more control without extra effort.

RELATED: TaylorMade Stealth irons take forgiveness to new levels

Verdict: Cleveland Launcher XL Halo iron

Every time our pro tests hybrid irons he ends the session with a smile from ear to ear and finds himself questioning why golfers insist on making the game harder than it needs to be by using smaller more compact irons.

At average club golfer speeds not only is the Halo super easy to launch high enough to maximise distance, its wide-hybrid-style-body is also forgiving when shots are sprayed across its face. In our Best 2022 High-Handicap Iron Test the Halo was amongst our highest launching, flying and spinning irons, all traits that are brilliant for keeping shots in the air for longer at moderate speeds.

The Halo won’t win any beauty contests but what it will do is help a mishit shot carry a lake, bunker or hazard, which will aid enjoyment, cut down on lost balls and shave strokes from your game.   

WATCH: Best 2023 Moderate Speed/High-Handicap Iron video

RELATED: How good are Cleveland CBX ZipCore cavity back wedges?

How does the Cleveland Launcher XL Halo iron compare to other High-Handicap Irons in data?

Cleveland Golf Launcher XL Halo irons: Specifications

RELATED: Tested – Best Irons

What Cleveland Golf say about the Launcher XL irons

“From head to grip, Launcher XL Halo Irons just make golf easier and more fun,” Joe Miller, European Product Manager at Cleveland Golf, told Today’s Golfer.

“Most of us don’t have much confidence standing 170 yards out with a long iron in hand, and needing to carry a bunker to make the green. But with Launcher XL Halo, you’ll swing easier, feel confident, and be shocked at how forgiving they are.

“These irons will become your go-to clubs.”

READ NEXT: Cleveland Launcher XL irons reviewed

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 

Rob Jerram is the Digital Editor of todaysgolfer.co.uk
He has been a journalist for more than 20 years, starting his career with Johnston Press where he covered local and regional news and sport in a variety of editorial roles across ten years.
Rob joined Bauer Media in 2010 and worked as the Senior Production Editor of Today’s Golfer and Golf World magazines for ten years before moving into the Digital Editor’s role in July 2020.
He has been playing golf for almost three decades and has been a member at Greetham Valley Golf Club in Rutland for eight years, playing off 12.

      

Cleveland Launcher XL Halo Irons

RRP £499 (Steel), £599 (Graphite) | VIEW UK OFFER | VIEW US OFFER
Launched March 25, 2022
Availability 4-iron-SW
Women's? Yes
Left hand? Yes (4-iron-DW)
7-iron loft 30º
Stock shafts True Temper Elevate XP 90 (103g R, 104g S); Project X Catalyst 50 (57g A); Project X Catalyst 60 (62g R, 67.5g S); Project X Cypher Irons Ladies (47.5g, L)
Stock Grips Men's Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360 (52g, 58 round); Women's Winn Dri Tacc Ladies (35g, 59 round)