Cleveland

What it does: Cleveland’s Launcher line of irons has long focused on helping golfers who need a boost of forgiveness and assistance getting the ball airborne. The company’s latest version, the hollow-body Launcher XL Halo, really excels at both. The clubhead is driven by artificial-intelligent design, a process that produces far more potential clubhead designs than humans are capable of in any time period. The backside of each iron face is milled in a variable-thickness pattern made up of various indentations to provide extra ball speed and remove mass. For the 4 to 7-irons, wider, flatter grooves minimise distance-robbing spin. In the 8-iron through sand wedge, deeper grooves are more closely spaced to enhance spin.  

Why we like it: This technology can benefit almost anyone. Key to that is a head design that increases the moment of inertia to help mitigate the effect of mis-hits. According to Cleveland, the increase in MOI is 17 percent compared to the previous iteration to provide extra forgiveness for a player type that needs it. For those seeking even more control, the company is offering what it calls an “accuracy build” that is half an inch shorter than standard.

7-iron loft 30 degrees pw loft 44 degrees