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I was recently given the opportunity to choose a Cleveland product to test and review (Thanks, Sakman!), with the options of a driver, irons, or wedges. I love my current driver and irons, and I've played Cleveland wedges on and off throughout the years, and if there's one segment of my bag that I sometimes question if there is a better option, it's the wedges. Initially, I asked to try the wedges, but after giving it a little thought, I realized that I wouldn't really be able to tell anyone anything they didn't already know about Cleveland's wedge line, but I could test out the conventional wisdom that people with faster clubhead speeds are better off with a heavier driver -- for stability and control, or just for feel. I knew that Cleveland was touting their line of lighter drivers this year with the heaviest at 310 grams, and with a real deal Miyazaki C.Kua shaft as the stock offering. I've heard very good things about the Miyazaki offerings, so that was intriguing. So, I decided to test the Cleveland Launcher TL310 against my TaylorMade Superdeep TP to see how the lighter driver performed compared to my current gamer. The timing proved to be somewhat fortunate, because I recently did a Trackman session that seemed to indicate that my swing speed is not as fast as at used to be -- I have a launch monitor report from '06 where I was swinging 125mph consistently. Now, I've dialed that back somewhat in the name of control, but the ball speed numbers from the Trackman fro a couple of weeks ago seem to indicate that I'm only swinging at around 110 or so (Trackman the Game doesn't measure swing speed). So, maybe a lighter driver is something I should start thinking about.
A little bit about me:
Age: 34
Driver SS: 110-115 MPH
Current Handicap: 1.8
Ballflight: Low/Mid with a slight draw. Misses are usually hooks and blocks.
TaylorMade Superdeep TP specs: 9.5*, Fujikura Motore F1 75X, 44.5" long, FCT set to Neutral (no loft adjustment), 12g and 14g weights in the head. Total weight 340 grams (weighed on a kitchen scale, converted from ounces to grams -- it's all I have on hand
)
Cleveland Launcher TL310 specs: 8.5*, Miyazaki C. Kua 59x, 45.25" long. 310 grams (checked weight on scale, and it checked in right at 310)
I went with lower loft on this driver because the Superdeep is a very low spin head, and I have played 8.5 degrees in previous club that I've used. I thought a 9.5 head might balloon on me a bit.
Look:
The TL310 is a traditional looking pear shaped head with no distractions at address. There is also no alignment aid on the crown, which is something that I'm not used to, since probably my last half dozen drivers have been TaylorMade. However, it really doesn't matter, because it's easy to align the center of the clubface to the ball. When the club sits on the ground (sorry the picture doesn't really capture this), it appears to sit slightly open. The clubhead is 440cc, but as you can see from the comparison to the 460cc Superdeep (which is known for having a compact look), it does not appear to be smaller than any of today's large drivers.
Obviously, the Superdeep has one of the deepest faces you'll see on a driver, so it's no surprise that the TL310 is shallower.
The lines toward the middle of the face are not actual grooves, but I think they're done through a similar "laser milling" process that Cleveland uses to create the small grooves in their irons and wedges. It's kind of a cool look and helps a little with alignment.
Feel & Sound:
The first thing I wanted to know is whether Cleveland's claims that "Weight has been removed from the club without sacrificing swingweight or flex profile" were accurate. When I picked up the TL310 and compared the weight to the SD, I could tell that it was a lighter club -- no question about it. But, as Cleveland claims, when you swing the TL310, you don't lose the feel of the clubhead and the shaft feels like it can handle the speed. It's pretty cool how they achieved this, and I can see how especially their 270 and 290 models could help people who need help generating clubhead speed.
As I said, I've played TaylorMade drivers for a long time, and I'm used to how they feel. When you hit a TM driver well, it feels kind of like the ball is springing off a trampoline. I've tried drivers from other manufacturers, and they don't have that same feeling -- you know that you caught it well, but it's just different. The same can be said about the TL310. When you smack it, you can tell you hit it well, but it's a harder feeling. Not an unpleasant one, but again, it's different.
Probably my least favorite thing about the TL310 is the sound. My Superdeep is metallic and loud, but it's more of a "thwack", which the Cleveland produces a higher-pitched "plink" kind of sound, and it seems louder than what I'm used to.
Performance:
Obviously, the most important thing is, how did the TL310 perform? I had a chance to take it out while I was playing a practice round for a tournament I'm playing next week. It was just my dad and me, and the course was pretty deserted (it rained in the morning, which must have scared people off), so on each hole that called for Driver, I first hit my Superdeep, and then hit a second ball with the Cleveland. Both balls were the new Titleist Pro V1x's, and I marked the balls differently to make sure that I could identify which was which. I did this head-to-head test on 10 holes, and fortunately, I was hitting it well off the tee that day, so on probably half of those holes, I hit very similar shots, which allowed for a pretty good comparison. We've gotten a lot of rain this spring, so there was little or no roll on any shot. Here are the notes from each shot:
The holes where the shots I hit provided the best comparison are 2, 4, 11, 14, and 16. From these comparison shots, I can say pretty conclusively that when I hit either club well, there's not much difference in carry distance, though the Superdeep does have a little bit in reserve if I absolutely nut it. The big difference between the two clubs that I saw it in the trajectory. The TL310 achieved these carry numbers with a lower, more boring trajectory, compared with the high flat trajectory that I get with my Superdeep. I'm anxious to see how the total distance stacks up when the ground dries up and the ball actually starts rolling a bit.
The TL310 was also surprisingly anti-left. The usual ballflight was actually straight or a slight fade, unless I consciously manipulated it to draw the ball. This wasn't an anomaly with my swing, either, as I was hitting my usual shot shape with my gamer.
I didn't notice a tremendous difference in forgiveness between either club, but it was a pretty limited sample, and I made solid contact on most of the swings with both clubs. The worst swing of the day was with the TL310 on #9, but that was a technology-proof swing that the most SGI driver on the planet wouldn't have helped.
I plan to do a comparison on "Trackman the Game" in the next few weeks when I have a chance to go to the place near me that has it to get some hard numbers on ball speed and spin (I also want to see if they have anything to allow me to measure clubhead speed, as I think that is a key element to compare in this test).
Overall:
I like this driver a lot, and I'm seriously considering keeping it in the bag, at least part-time. The lower trajectory seems like it would be great for windy days, and this club is long. I haven't hit everything on the market or anything, but I'm very surprised how well it kept up with my Superdeep. With the possibility that my clubhead speed isn't what it once was, I may also need to think about moving to a lighter setup permanently -- especially one like this where the clubhead doesn't get lost during the swing. I want to get on the Trackman for a more detailed analysis, but my initial impression is very positive. I'll post the Trackman results and further impressions once I'm able to do that.
I'm happy to try to answer any questions, if there's anything I didn't cover in this novel.
A few more pics:
A little bit about me:
Age: 34
Driver SS: 110-115 MPH
Current Handicap: 1.8
Ballflight: Low/Mid with a slight draw. Misses are usually hooks and blocks.
TaylorMade Superdeep TP specs: 9.5*, Fujikura Motore F1 75X, 44.5" long, FCT set to Neutral (no loft adjustment), 12g and 14g weights in the head. Total weight 340 grams (weighed on a kitchen scale, converted from ounces to grams -- it's all I have on hand
)Cleveland Launcher TL310 specs: 8.5*, Miyazaki C. Kua 59x, 45.25" long. 310 grams (checked weight on scale, and it checked in right at 310)
I went with lower loft on this driver because the Superdeep is a very low spin head, and I have played 8.5 degrees in previous club that I've used. I thought a 9.5 head might balloon on me a bit.
Look:
The TL310 is a traditional looking pear shaped head with no distractions at address. There is also no alignment aid on the crown, which is something that I'm not used to, since probably my last half dozen drivers have been TaylorMade. However, it really doesn't matter, because it's easy to align the center of the clubface to the ball. When the club sits on the ground (sorry the picture doesn't really capture this), it appears to sit slightly open. The clubhead is 440cc, but as you can see from the comparison to the 460cc Superdeep (which is known for having a compact look), it does not appear to be smaller than any of today's large drivers.
Obviously, the Superdeep has one of the deepest faces you'll see on a driver, so it's no surprise that the TL310 is shallower.
The lines toward the middle of the face are not actual grooves, but I think they're done through a similar "laser milling" process that Cleveland uses to create the small grooves in their irons and wedges. It's kind of a cool look and helps a little with alignment.
Feel & Sound:
The first thing I wanted to know is whether Cleveland's claims that "Weight has been removed from the club without sacrificing swingweight or flex profile" were accurate. When I picked up the TL310 and compared the weight to the SD, I could tell that it was a lighter club -- no question about it. But, as Cleveland claims, when you swing the TL310, you don't lose the feel of the clubhead and the shaft feels like it can handle the speed. It's pretty cool how they achieved this, and I can see how especially their 270 and 290 models could help people who need help generating clubhead speed.
As I said, I've played TaylorMade drivers for a long time, and I'm used to how they feel. When you hit a TM driver well, it feels kind of like the ball is springing off a trampoline. I've tried drivers from other manufacturers, and they don't have that same feeling -- you know that you caught it well, but it's just different. The same can be said about the TL310. When you smack it, you can tell you hit it well, but it's a harder feeling. Not an unpleasant one, but again, it's different.
Probably my least favorite thing about the TL310 is the sound. My Superdeep is metallic and loud, but it's more of a "thwack", which the Cleveland produces a higher-pitched "plink" kind of sound, and it seems louder than what I'm used to.
Performance:
Obviously, the most important thing is, how did the TL310 perform? I had a chance to take it out while I was playing a practice round for a tournament I'm playing next week. It was just my dad and me, and the course was pretty deserted (it rained in the morning, which must have scared people off), so on each hole that called for Driver, I first hit my Superdeep, and then hit a second ball with the Cleveland. Both balls were the new Titleist Pro V1x's, and I marked the balls differently to make sure that I could identify which was which. I did this head-to-head test on 10 holes, and fortunately, I was hitting it well off the tee that day, so on probably half of those holes, I hit very similar shots, which allowed for a pretty good comparison. We've gotten a lot of rain this spring, so there was little or no roll on any shot. Here are the notes from each shot:
The holes where the shots I hit provided the best comparison are 2, 4, 11, 14, and 16. From these comparison shots, I can say pretty conclusively that when I hit either club well, there's not much difference in carry distance, though the Superdeep does have a little bit in reserve if I absolutely nut it. The big difference between the two clubs that I saw it in the trajectory. The TL310 achieved these carry numbers with a lower, more boring trajectory, compared with the high flat trajectory that I get with my Superdeep. I'm anxious to see how the total distance stacks up when the ground dries up and the ball actually starts rolling a bit.
The TL310 was also surprisingly anti-left. The usual ballflight was actually straight or a slight fade, unless I consciously manipulated it to draw the ball. This wasn't an anomaly with my swing, either, as I was hitting my usual shot shape with my gamer.
I didn't notice a tremendous difference in forgiveness between either club, but it was a pretty limited sample, and I made solid contact on most of the swings with both clubs. The worst swing of the day was with the TL310 on #9, but that was a technology-proof swing that the most SGI driver on the planet wouldn't have helped.
I plan to do a comparison on "Trackman the Game" in the next few weeks when I have a chance to go to the place near me that has it to get some hard numbers on ball speed and spin (I also want to see if they have anything to allow me to measure clubhead speed, as I think that is a key element to compare in this test).
Overall:
I like this driver a lot, and I'm seriously considering keeping it in the bag, at least part-time. The lower trajectory seems like it would be great for windy days, and this club is long. I haven't hit everything on the market or anything, but I'm very surprised how well it kept up with my Superdeep. With the possibility that my clubhead speed isn't what it once was, I may also need to think about moving to a lighter setup permanently -- especially one like this where the clubhead doesn't get lost during the swing. I want to get on the Trackman for a more detailed analysis, but my initial impression is very positive. I'll post the Trackman results and further impressions once I'm able to do that.
I'm happy to try to answer any questions, if there's anything I didn't cover in this novel.
A few more pics:
Edited by Tiger Jr., 03 May 2011 - 09:39 AM.
