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Golf Club Reviews

Feb
29

Golf Club Review Cleveland Hibore XLS Gold 2008 Driver

Posted under Clubs Reviewed, Drivers by Swinger

Golf Club Review

Its been a busy week for me, as I mentioned on twitter to Golf Girl Patricia Hannigan earlier this week the weather has changed back to blue skies and fantastic sunshine and it has been a complete return to the course and getting in as much golf as possible. So it was time for me to take the Cleveland Hibore XLS out on the course for a proper outing.

Having already taken the Cleveland Hibore XL 2007 out to the range in the pooring rain I have to say I am a little impressed at the smooth look and feel of the club. It sits right in your hands and has a natural look to it even with its sunken back.

Sales bumph below:

Cleveland Hibore XLS Gold 2008 Driver - RH Graphite

Cleveland Hibore XLS Gold 2008 Driver – RH Graphite

Higher inertia = more consistency across the face = more shots go longer and straighter = tighter shot dispersion down the range.Introducing the new XLS series from Cleveland Golf. With Distance Driven Geometry, Full Face Performance, and and Energy Transfer Core, this entire line of clubs is bound to have you playing and looking your best. Distance Driven Geometry: Moves weight lower and deeper in the club head. This optimized Center of Gravity location aligns the Center of Gravity Projection with the C.O.R. Hot Spot in the center of the face, resulting in optimal launch conditions and greater overall distance.

Full Face Performance: Alignment of Sweet Spot and C.O.R. Hot Spot produces optimal launch conditions over a large area of the face, maximizing ball-speed for increased driving distance.

Energy Transfer Core: An engineered system of thin, lightweight titanium spines directs impact energy to the ball to create more efficient energy transfer and high ball speeds from impact locations.

HiBORE XLS Draw Driver: This club is designed for players who tend to fade or slice. A forward hosel design, internal heel weighting, and a draw biased face combine to eliminate slices and maximize distance. A 3o closed face promotes a draw flight.

At 17% larger than the HiBORE XL, the face is Cleveland’s largest ever and among the biggest on the market. Full Face Performance (FFP) extends the “Hot Zone” of maximum .830 COR across a larger portion of the face creating more distance from both solid shots and mishits alike.

Features maximum USGA club head dimensions to push the MOI limit. 5300 MOI represents a 13% increase from the HiBORE XL for control off the tee leading to straighter drives. Heel and toe “stability foils” signify where weight has been added to the perimeter of the clubhead to maximize stability.

Gold Standard Trajectory Shaft: Low-Mid kickpoint and active tip section for increased launch angle.

Higher ball speed and optimal trajectory results in maximum distance with smooth feel at impact.

Now the first thing I noticed about this club is the club head it is massive compared to the 2007 version. The Cleveland Hibore XLS 2008 has a club face that is around (according to the bumph) 17% larger than the previous version. This means it has a larger sweet spot and is a lot more forgiving for those golfers looking to take their club head speed up a level and still get the control.

The technology the club uses means that the weight from the back of the club is channeled directly into the sweet spot giving a greater control of the club face at point of impact.

At the moment there are so many new drivers hitting the market it is impossible to say that any of them don’t meet up to being a good club to have in your bag because of the fact that technology is making clubs better and easier to use. The Cleveland Hibore XLS Gold is no exception its not as long as the Nike Sumo2 SQ 5900 Driver but because of the size of the club face the control is in my opinion as good. One special thing that Cleveland have added is a little hologram that turns yellow to show that the club is genuine see if the fakers can crack that one. Cost of the club is around $299 and I personally feel it is a good driver.

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  1. Ken Johnstone Said,

    Just bought a Hibore XLS last week. I had no intention of doing so, as I was more than happy with my old Taylormade 540 XL which I’d been playing consistently well with for years. But our club pro convinced me to try out one of the Cleveland Hibore demo clubs in my regular Tuesday fourball.
    WOW!!!! This driver is exactly what I’ve been looking for for years. It’s a good 30 to 40 yards past my old Taylormade, with no loss of accuracy. I’ve only missed 3 fairways in my last three rounds of golf. The Hibore XLS is way better than the Taylormade on off-centre hits. Straighter and longer. Last round I beat the standard scratch by 6 shots!

  2. J.P. Bolinger Said,

    I just bought a Cleveland HiBore XLS Driver, 10.5* with a Red stiff shaft, and I only missed 2 fairways out of 14, and both of those misses were only because I was aimed improperly. Last year, driving the ball was my weakness, but with this club, it has become my strong point. I know I can set myself up for a solid approach on almost every hole with this driver in my bag. Great club, Cleveland!

  3. Craig Said,

    My 10.5 Gold Stiff Hibore XLS came in the mail on Thursday and I had it at a dome range today. Wow. I had a couple of hits that I am certain would have passed 300 on the fairway. Off-center hits had a lot less movement before hitting the wall than the Big Bertha 460 I was hitting last year (that may be due to the 460 having a regular shaft as I won it at a putting contest and was not fitted to the club) as well. Love the loud, crushing sound that the club gives off upon impact, and any hit that’s even close to the center of the face gives a great feel through the shaft.

    Definitely a winner. Can’t wait to get it out on the course next week.

  4. Gertrude Said,

    I love this club! My old driver broke so I really wanted to get a new one. I was gonna get the Nike SQ 5900 but then realized that it was 100$ over my budget, so I chose the Cleveland. Wow! My average shot with this is around 220 (Im only 13 years old, figure it out) and my old Lynx was only a wimpy 190. CLEVELAND THANKS FOR MAKING A GREAT CLUB!!!!

  5. Chris Said,

    this thing is beast!

  6. paul Said,

    Just bought the club on black friday and it was probably the smartest decision I’ve made to help my game. 25 yards longer than the 09 burner. It was a steal for 249 at a pga tour store in atlanta

  7. Dirty Dave Said,

    I’m glad to hear the good reviews on this club. I bought a ” used once” XLS with the Gold shaft for $50…um yeah $50, can’t beat that now can you. I hope to get to the range tomorrow night.

  8. Chris Said,

    I bought the HiBore XLS 9.5* with Fuji Gold stiff shaft. This thing is a cannon, sound and distance, very easy to hit and llllllllooooooooooonnnnnnngggggggggggggg,

  9. T Floyd Said,

    After scanning the preceding comments, I can only echo what has been said. This thing is straight. It doesn’t matter how far you hit a ball if you can’t find where it lands. If your goal is to hit a straight drive, give this one a try. I tried the driver on a course yesterday for the first time. After 18 holes, I have not gained distance over my Adams Redline, but I have boosted consistency of direction and carry.

  10. KJ Wong Said,

    I brought this XLS with the red stiff shaft 10.5 in the weekend and started using it on the range on the same day and today. I have to say, it is a very good club. I used to have a 420cc shark, hitting it pretty straight but some stray to the right. I found that the Hibore is very forgiving on mishit. I can’t work out why I lost some distance though, 30-50m. I will try again another day and see whether it is my timing. I used to hit 230-250m. With the hibore, the trajectory is lower as expected.

  11. Al Said,

    I’ve been using the first Hi Bore for around a year now and during last season i was hitting it 250 – 265 but the winter play has messed my swing up a bit and i decided to replace it with the XLS. Ive hit 1 ball today maybe 220 and i’m concerned that the extra forgivness will lose some distance. I will report back after my next round.
    Got to say both feel great and give you baggs of confidence to smash the ball for miles.(both are 9.5 stiff)

  12. fred bran Said,

    Hello all, I am angry first too add I loved the Hi Bore 9.5 Stiff Fuki shaft for about the first 10 balls. Very explosive distance as well, I was well clearing 300 yards and straight as a arrow, I have been playing Cleveland clubs for some time now, I was deciding on buying the Hi Bore XLS but I found one at a charity auction and it was exactly what I wanted, so stoked, got club out to range first 8 shots were monsters down the middle then next 2 sliced huge and clubhead made different sound, as I checked club I some how cracked the front where the sticker that says cleveland and turns yellow in UV (very cool for fakers). I was so angry when I returned home I contacted Cleveland’s Customer support, I was very polite and a guy named Brian was almost as he did not want to help me. He told me to take it to golf smith as they will be able to send it back to Cleveland and it should be 5 to 6 days. I then asked if he could mail me a replacement *RMA he told me no they cant do it. I said fine have a nice day (click).

    Went to Golf smith in which they were very nice and they told me they have to mail the club back to Cleveland and it will take 6 weeks. I said oh man OK that’s fine what else are my options? I guess at least I will get it fixed but I don’t have mass money to purchase another driver and I have a Tourney on the Dec 24, guess I wont be in that match up ;(

    Just my .02 cent if anyone else has had any problems please advise…

    Merry Christmas…

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