The driver, the longest club in your bag, allows you to cover long distances on the course. It is played at the start of the hole, placed on a tee to get close to the flag. Do you want to buy your first Driver but are completely lost in the face of the technical information and golf vocabulary?
Progressing or a seasoned golfer, your driver, aged and no longer, is giving you complete satisfaction? Making the right choice of driver among those offered by golf brands regularly presenting new clubs becomes difficult!
Cleveland stands out among the renowned brands manufacturing golf equipment for bringing innovative clubs and equipment to the market. This article shares some of the best Cleveland drivers and tips on choosing the best one!
Best Cleveland Drivers
Let’s go ahead and take a look at the best Cleveland drivers.
1. Cleveland Launcher XL Driver
Cleveland Launcher XL driver is a 2.3 pounds driver with 10.5 degrees loft. The alternating zones of flexibility enable the golfer to produce more energy to the ball, increasing speed and distance. The stiffness is meant for the same purpose. The end of the grip has a 0.28 oz., placed inside for better balance and control. It makes it effortless for the golfer to have control in each stroke. This driver has an adjustable loft, which can be adjusted in 0.5-degree increments with 12 positions in total from 9 to 12 degrees to optimize launch angle, distance, and stroke shape. This driver is ideal for golfers for whom precision is the top priority. The custom setting it offers is with no counterweight enabling you to have maximum tee control.
2. Cleveland Launcher XL Lite Driver
Cleveland Launcher XL Lite has 10.5 degrees and has more or less the same features as the Launcher XL Driver. The difference lies in its head. It has a larger head than the previous one. A larger head means an MOI of 0.18 oz-cm2, which makes it huge. This driver allows golfers to achieve maximum distance without putting much effort due to its forgiveness to a high pitch from the low and deep weight.
The alternating zones of flexibility and stiffness are the same as the above to increase the speed and ball distance. The end of the grip has a 0.28 oz. the weight placed inside of it, offering more control and balance.
3.Cleveland Golf Launcher Turbo Driver
This is a seniors’ driver with a 12 degrees loft. It gets its name from its turbocharged Cup Face, providing a higher COR over a larger impact area for higher ball speed and more distance. The center of gravity (CG) is reduced by 2.00mm in this Cleveland’s model by redesigning HI Gauge Bore Crown for optimal launch conditions.
The deep weight, discrete mass saver offers more speed with an increased MOI. The external and internal weight reduction is redistributed in a way that enables greater launch and more forgiveness. The shaft design is balanced with the MIYAZAKI C. Kuma center of gravity. It is positioned further towards the grip, increasing MOI with additional head mass.
How to Choose the Best Golf Driver
Unfortunately, no miracle sends the ball to 250 meters on its own! However, it is essential to have a driver adapted to your swing, your level of play and your physical characteristics to master a specific driver correctly. Your technique is improving, and depending on your physical condition, you manage to generate more speed with your clubhead. To hit further while staying on the fairway, here are the different avenues available to you to find the best golf driver:
Size of Your Driver
To have the most suitable clubs possible, which best suits your body, choose them by size. Whether you are a woman or a man, the distance between the ground and your hand determines your club’s length.
Generally, there are two sizes:
- Size 1 corresponds to players with a distance between the wrist and the ground less than 78.5 cm.
- Size 2 corresponds to players with a distance between the wrist and the ground greater than 78.5 cm
If your measurement is 78.5 cm, we recommend that you choose size 2.
To measure this gap between your wrist and the ground, you can stand against a wall in shoes without heels, shoulders straight, and closed fists. Make a small line in pencil at the level of half of your hand. The measurement between the ground and the line will give you your size one or size two equivalent.
Should the Size of the Head be Reduced?
Not necessarily. Of course, each player is different. Unless you have a successful technique, you are advised to stay on the same size as during your progression. Indeed, your level does not yet allow you to hit the ball in the sweet spot regularly.
Should the Loft be Reduced very Slightly?
Not necessarily. If you want your ball to take less tailspin, test it with a golf driver with a lower, more closed loft. For example, a professional player plays with a driver open at 8.5°. The trend among pro players is even to increase the lofts of their driver, so don’t worry, you could play very well all your life with a driver open at 10.5° or more. Be careful, though! A lower loft will make the club less tolerant from a management point of view.
Should I Choose an Adjustable Driver?
A chance to be seized. If you see a trend in you, whether it’s the slice (a ball that escapes on the right for the right-handed person) or the hook (a ball that runs on the left), don’t hesitate to go for the adjustable drivers. As a general rule, many “slicers” play with a loft that is too weak. If your grip is correct, try to increase your loft or put more weight towards the heel of your club. There are many possibilities offered by adjustable drivers, which are now standard in the market. Be careful though, no purchase of an adjustable golf driver is there to correct your technical faults. Only a pro can do it.
The Ball Trajectory and the Loft
The distance the ball travels depends on the trajectory. The ideal trajectory has two essential components: the club speed and the loft. The analogy that can be made is that with a water jet. By fully opening the water tap, you can reach a certain distance. If the tap is closed by a quarter of a turn, the water pressure is less, equivalent to the club’s speed. To maintain the same distance of the water jet, you tilt it upwards; that is, a higher loft.
Thus, the ideal shooting angle depends, among other things, on the swing speed.
Should I Adapt the Shaft to My Swing Speed?
Consider it as a rule! Like the wheels on a racing bike, the shaft is the key element. It is it that will restore the speed that you produce with your movement. Again, if your physical condition allows it, the better technique will result in greater club speed and, therefore, a shaft that will warp even more. Take a photo of your swing, and you will get a glimpse of this phenomenon. Even if the Flex/Senior-Regular-Stiff classification is random depending on the manufacturer, experiment with a stiffer shaft than the one you started with, especially if you or your pro notice an increased speed during the downswing (part descending swing).
Little Head and Good Surprises
Very good players manage to contact the ball very regularly with the sweet spot. They can therefore afford to play smaller faces (430cc). In this case, the tolerance is “sacrificed” to benefit the ball’s work and the effects that one wishes to impart to the latter. However, you have to be very careful since little clubheads are very difficult to play with.
Loft and Shaft: Same Fight
At this point, you probably know your swing speed. As a general rule, players with a swing speed greater than 150 km/h (approximately 93 miles/hour) are oriented towards stiff shafts or even extra-stiff for speeds around 170 km/h (105 mph). The loft will also depend on this speed. For example, a 9° driver requires you to have a swing speed of at least 160 km / h. This is the sine qua non for moving towards the ideal takeoff angle. The high price of these products can be explained largely by the quality of the shaft supplied (light and stiff). So do not hesitate to rely on a pro golf driver comparison to help you choose the right one.
What’s an Ideal Loft, then?
There’s no definite answer to this without a more detailed analysis of the swing. On the other hand, there are two important things that you must consider:
- The more the loft is closed, the less distance the ball will achieve!
- The more a player is trained, the more he can play a driver with a closed loft!
However, the dynamic loft is not necessarily identical to the clubhead loft and depends on two other important parameters:
- The flexibility of the shaft: Flexibility represents the flexibility of the shaft. If the handle is flexible, the club at impact will increase the dynamic loft (and therefore have a higher trajectory). On the contrary, a too stiff handle will lead to a low ball. A heavier shaft will be stiffer than a light shaft. It will have a slightly slower swing speed, but will offer more control, and therefore a straighter trajectory.
- The angle of attack: The angle of attack at the time of the strike depends directly on the swing. A vertical attack will tend to close the dynamic loft.
Other Characteristics to Take into Account but of Less Importance:
- The sweet spot: It is the ideal place of contact between the ball and the club. The larger the impact zone, the greater the tolerance. However, the precision and feel will be less good.
- The offset: This parameter represents the offset of the clubhead from the shaft. It helps to reduce the effects on the right (slice) that present a good majority of the players. Indeed it allows the golfer to give him more time to close the clubhead on the ball’s impact.
- The center of gravity: Generally, the lower it is, the easier the player will lift the ball.
In general, large driver heads (over 450 CC) with a high sweet spot and a low center of gravity are therefore easier to play.
Making the Right Choice of Driver!
Thus, the choice of the driver is based on two essential components:
Swing speed, and therefore club speed at impact, and dynamic loft, depending on club loft, flexibility and your swing. In this context, to determine the suitable driver, the best solution is to have your swing measured by a specialist, the club maker, who will then determine the best characteristics suited to your swing.
However, by default, a player with a two-digit Index can reasonably think that a regular handle, a 450 CC driver’s head, and a minimum loft of 10.5° should be more or less suitable. In all cases, it is necessary for golfers, before buying a driver, to try it out at the practice on a tee to assess the sensations and the control that this club gives you.
How to Tune a Driver?
To unscrew the head, place the adjustment key on the screw and turn counterclockwise. To put the head back in place, just turn in the other direction. You will hear a “CLICK” indicating that the head is tight.
Our Final Thoughts
We hope the information above about the best Cleveland drivers and the tips and techniques to consider while buying one will help you choose a driver according to your swing speed and level of play. Do not forget to share this with your golfer friends and let us know how it worked for you!
