Cleveland Golf reveal Launcher HB Turbo Driver and Fairway Woods

Cleveland Golf have revealed their new Launcher HB Turbo Driver and Launcher HB Turbo Fairway Woods

Cleveland have revealed the latest iteration of their Launcher products – the Launcher HB Turbo driver and fairway woods – available in the UK and Ireland on the 18th October.

The brand, who reintroduced woods and irons two years ago to their line-up, say their newest Launcher driver and fairway woods are a big step up over the previous models thanks to a a new Turbocharged Cup Face design and redesigned HiBore Crown.

“Reintroducing Cleveland Golf Woods and Irons two years ago has been very successful,” said Brian Schielke, Marketing Director at Cleveland Golf. “However, the new Launcher HB Turbo woods represent a huge step up from the previous generation. They’re sleeker, faster, and more forgiving – exactly what all of us avid golfers are looking for off the tee.”

For Cleveland Golf, Launcher has always stood for one thing: launching the ball high in the air and straight down the fairway. The new Launcher HB Turbo remains committed to that mission with a lighter hosel, improved crown, and deeper weighting. Only now, it’s faster.

“The Launcher HB Turbo is engineered to help you hit long, straight drives,” said Jeff Brunski, Vice President of Research and Development at Cleveland Golf.

“We’ve squeezed discretionary weight out of every corner of the club head in order to produce one of the most forgiving drivers we’ve ever made. We’ve paired it with a high-balance point shaft that’s easier to swing fast. Authentic technologies such as the Turbocharged Cup Face, the Ultralight Hosel, and a more aerodynamic crown help the Launcher HB Turbo earn its name.”

The Launcher HB Turbo features a Turbocharged Cup Face, which offers a unique variable thickness pattern that delivers more speed across the entire face. The Turbocharged Cup Face stretches along the crown and sole, flexing at impact and reflecting that energy back into the ball for increased ball speeds at impact.

The redesigned HiBore Crown features a prominent step that lowers the center of gravity, while the Ultralight Hosel is even lighter to remove mass from a poor position. All of these weight savings culminate in the Deep Weighting sole pad. The result: a center of gravity that’s 4.4mm deeper and 2.2 mm lower, increasing launch at impact and maximizing distance off the tee.

Launcher HB Turbo comes standard with the new Miyazaki C. Kua shaft, which pulls weight from the length of the shaft and repositions it on the grip end. This makes the shaft feel incredibly easy to swing and allows for extra mass in the club head for increased momentum and more speed on every swing.

The same speed-enhancing technologies that define the Launcher HB Turbo Driver are featured within the Launcher HB Turbo Fairway Woods, delivering more speed and distance off the tee or when going for the green in two.

Key Features Inside Launcher HB Turbo:

• Turbocharged Cup Face: The new Turbocharged Cup Face, enhanced with a new variable face design, provides higher COR over a larger impact area for increased ball speeds and more distance.
• HiBore Crown: The redesigned HiBore Crown lowers the center-of-gravity (CG) by 2.2mm, enabling a lower CG position for optimal launch conditions.
• Deep Weighting: Discretionary mass savings positioned for significant increases to MOI, delivering more forgiveness.
• Ultralight Hosel: External and internal
weight reduction, redistributed low and deep for a higher launch and more forgiveness.
• Counter Balanced Shaft Design: Specifically designed for the Launcher HB Turbo, the Miyazaki C. Kua’s center-of-gravity is relocated higher toward the grip, enabling additional head mass for increased MOI.

The Launcher HB Turbo Driver
SRP: UK and Ireland of £309 (€339).
Models: Standard (9°, 10.5°, 12° options) and DRAW (10.5°)

The Launcher HB Turbo Fairway Woods
SRP: £199 (€225) each.
Models: 3-wood (15°),  5-wood (18°)

For more detailed information on Launcher HB Turbo visit: www.clevelandgolf.co.uk.

Why is non-adjustable a great concept? We asked Cleveland’s Vice President of Research and Development Jeff Brunski to explain.

Launcher HB Turbo woods are the second family of Cleveland product to be non-adjustable, what does non-adjustability offer that adjustability can’t?

Adjustable features require mass. Whether it be to make an adjustable hosel or build internal structures to support movable weights, in every case, you use valuable, limited mass.

This reduces the amount of discretionary mass you have to work with when optimizing for center-of- gravity and MOI – two key characteristics that have a big effect on distance and forgiveness.

By focusing on technologies that improve mass savings, we were able to achieve the lowest and deepest CG on the market.

How much weight are you saving by not building in adjustability, and how are you using this more efficiently?

By not having an adjustable hosel or adjustable weighting, we save about 25 grams. For example, the Launcher HB Turbo’s Ultralight Hosel is more than 15g lighter than the typical adjustable hosel. That’s big savings.

Launcher HB Turbo has 21% more mass added to the weightpad in the sole (over the previous generation). That additional weight allows the center-of-gravity to be deeper, and increase the heel-toe MOI significantly.

The improvements enhance forgiveness, help ball speed and allow the club to launch the ball slightly higher without adding spin.

How much of the golfing population can be covered off by non- adjustable woods? How many golfers actually need/use adjustability?

We’ve surveyed thousands of golfers. Our market research tells us our target player – the avid mid-handicap amateur player – doesn’t adjust their driver very often. Almost half of all golfers who buy an adjustable driver never change the hosel setting for lie angle or face angle. One out of three never change the loft setting.

Adjustable weighting is a similar story. Players who purchase a driver with adjustable weighting, a majority were fit with the weighting neutral-to-deep and in a slightly draw-biased configuration. That’s how we set up the Cleveland Launcher HB Turbo driver to begin with.

The bottom line is golfers are paying for adjustability – in real money and in terms of wasted mass – without reaping a benefit. For lots of mid-handicap players, it just doesn’t make sense to design a driver that can be made less forgiving or more slice-biased.

So is no adjustability actually the ultimate way to create new drivers and woods?

“Ultimate” is a tricky term, but in the sense of designing for maximum performance, the answer is yes.

One analogy is a Swiss Army knife. They’re very versatile and adjustable, but if you’re looking to design the “ultimate knife,” you would design a pure and simple knife.

A golf club isn’t any different. If you’re using mass to make a driver adjustable, you’re likely making a trade-off somewhere else. So if adjustability isn’t a key to better performance for you, then why make a trade-off for it?

That said, there are golfers out there who can benefit from adjustability. They’re typically better players who can score better by changing their driver specs from one round to another. For these golfers, the ultimate driver is one that has adjustable features that do not require significant design trade-offs. The challenge is to build adjustable features which require very little mass.

Who’s the target golfer for Launcher HB Turbo?

Our target is the mid-handicap amateur golfer. These are generally golfers who want to hit the ball far and straight. They’re not trying to work the ball or flight their drives depending on wind direction.

Many of our competitors spend their time and energy making drivers that perform well for Tour players. These designs are then modified and adapted to work for the rest of us. That’s not our approach with Cleveland drivers, and because of this differentiated focus, we often make a better performing product even at a lower price.