Cleveland Halo XL Fairways and Hybrids

There are several things to like about the new Cleveland Halo XL fairways and hybrids.

First, given Cleveland-Srixon-XXIO’s past performance, these new Clevelands should fare pretty well in this year’s MyGolfSpy testing.

Second, given trends in AI design technology and corresponding OEM pricing, these new Clevelands should represent a pretty decent value.

And, maybe most importantly, Cleveland is taking a gap-centric approach to how you should transition from your driver to the longest iron in your bag that you feel pretty comfortable hitting.

And not for nothing, you know how we at MyGolfSpy love anything that’s gap-centric while also being #datacratic.

And that’s pretty, too.

No, it’s not a revolutionary approach by any means. But Cleveland is relying on real-world data from real-world golfers courtesy of its partnership with Arccos. How it all translates into your game will depend on what happens when you give the new Clevelands a try.

Let’s dig in, shall we?

The Wild World of Cleveland Metal Woods

Since returning from its two-year time-out as a full-line brand in 2017, Cleveland has struggled with drivers. Metalwoods? A bit better, thank you very much. 

In the 2022 MGS hybrid testing, the Cleveland Hy-Wood (a small fairway wood or large hybrid, depending on your point of view) was a solid top-10 performer that finished fifth overall in accuracy. Its cousins from XXIO were fourth and fifth in distance. The Cleveland Launcher XL Halo fairway wood finished fourth overall in 2021. Its stablemate, the Srixon ZX, was first.

So, yeah, Cleveland-Srixon-XXIO knows metalwoods.

For 2024, Cleveland is making a few small changes. The first probably means little, but while the driver line still carries the Launcher XL moniker, the rest of the metalwoods lineup is now simply “Halo XL.” Halo is a Cleveland legacy name dating back to the mid-2000s vintage Halo Hybrid, still Cleveland’s best-selling hybrid ever. For those keeping score, Halo stands for High Angle Lift Off.

Cleveland Halo XL: Shrunken Driver Tech?

Cleveland is very careful to say the Halo XL metalwoods aren’t just miniature versions of the new Launcher XL 2 drivers, even though they do share a healthy chunk of technology. For instance, the fairways and hybrids share the same AI-designed MainFrame XL face, only optimized for each specific Halo XL club.

Halo XL also shares, for lack of a better word, Extra-Large head design. While the drivers aren’t technically extra large (460 cc is, after all, 460 cc), the fairways and hybrids do have larger footprints than what might be considered average. The Halo XL 3-wood, for instance, is 190 cc, while the market average is around 175. The Halo XL 3 Hybrid is relatively titanic at 146 cc. Industry average, according to Cleveland, is 107, Super Hybrids notwithstanding.

Also invited to the party is Cleveland’s Rebound Frame ball speed technology. As we mentioned in today’s Cleveland Launcher driver article, Rebound Frame is kind of a double trampoline. A flexible face is backed by a rigid supporting frame, somewhat like every other metalwood. Cleveland then backs that rigid supporting frame with second flexible zone, which is then backed by the rigid remainder of the club head.

According to Cleveland, the dual-flex zones give you a double boing, increasing the amount of energy transferred to the ball. That means more ball speed which, in theory, should mean more distance. To put it into perspective, every OEM in golf has some sort of ball speed technology or mechanism to help faces flex in their metalwoods. Rebound Frame is how Cleveland-Srixon-XXIO does it and, based on testing over the past three years, it does the job.

GlideRails and Other Love Songs

Flip the heads over and you’ll find something on the Cleveland Halo XL metalwoods that you won’t find on the Launcher XL 2 driver: glide rails.

Yep, go ahead and say it. Cleveland went and copied COBRA’s nearly 50-year-old sole technology. To that I say, why the hell not? A really good idea is a really good idea, and if COBRA isn’t going to use it on its metalwoods, there’s no reason Cleveland can’t.

You’ll find GlideRail technology on the Halo XL fairways, hybrids and the tweener, the Hy-Wood. The idea is to help the club glide over the turf and reduce club head sspeed loss that comes from, well, not gliding over the turf. And if you’ve ever tried to hit a metalwood with glide rails out of the rough, you’ll know why Cleveland stuck them on the Halo XLs.

It’s one of those things that just plain works, especially for us mere mortals.

What the Heck is a Hy-Wood?

Well, we kind of just told you. Fairway woods are big while hybrids are small. As the name suggests, a Hy-Wood is in the middle. It’s bigger than a hybrid and smaller than a fairway wood. The shaft is a bit longer than a hybrid shaft so, in theory, it should fly farther. The shaft is also shorter than a corresponding fairway shaft so again, in theory, it should be easier to hit.

Callaway calls theirs the Super Hybrid while TaylorMade’s last outing gave us the Stealth 2 HD. The Cleveland Hy-Wood, however, might just be the biggest kid on the block.

“You’ve had a 3-wood in your bag for 20 years and you’ve never been able to hit it well,” says Cleveland Senior Product Manager Casey Schultz. “Why would you keep gaming one? You’ll use you hybrid swing with a Hy-Wood and it’s going to go almost as far as a purely hit 3-wood and it’ll be a lot more consistent.”

If you’d rather hit a club 200 yards consistently or 220 yards once every six to 10 tries, with all the others topped, shanked, sliced, duffed, chunked or hooked off the planet? Remember, it’s called “golf” because all the other four-letter words were taken.

Cleveland introduced the 3+ Hy-Wood in 2021. The head, at 162 cc, was almost as big as a typical 3-wood. But with a shorter shaft and 17 degrees of loft, it was much easier to hit. The 17-degree Hy-Wood remains in the 2024 Halo XL lineup but is being joined by the 20-degree, 147 cc 4+ Hy-Wood.

Arccos Long Game Insights

Cleveland’s partnership with Arccos has provided some fascinating long-game insights. For instance, on par-4s, 10- to 25-handicappers (Cleveland’s sweet spot) use long-game clubs on 37 percent of their approach shots. Single-digit handicaps are nearly half that.

For those same golfers, bad 4- or 5-iron shots are almost always shorter than bad 6-iron shots. And good shots with those clubs all carry within seven yards of one another.

Also, 85 percent of us carry a 5-iron. Most of us shouldn’t.

To remedy all this, Cleveland is creating a long-game gapping system to fill the void between your driver and your best long  iron.

“Each of our Halos has been analyzed through players’ tests and launch simulations,” says Schultz. “We’re focusing on where the distance gaps are in players’ bags. We want players to ask why they’re carrying three clubs in their bags that they hit the same distance.”

In fact, Cleveland has found that slower swingers may not need as many clubs on that end of the bag.

“Depending on your clubhead speed, we might recommend you go from a 5-hybrid to a 7-hybrid and skip the six,” says Schultz. “You don’t need a redundant club in your bag.”

To that end, Cleveland will be offering online tools to help you set up your bag. It will ask several questions about your game including swing speed and driver distance. The tool then helps you determine the best club assortment based on y our swing performance.  

That, of course, is no substitute for a real fitting with a real fitter. To that end, Cleveland will be providing fitters with more head and shaft options than you’ll likely see from anyone else, all in a bright yellow Halo XL fitting bag.

 Cleveland Halo XL Metalwoods Specs

Cleveland is offering four fairway woods in the Halo XL line starting with a 15-degree 3-wood followed by 5-, 7- and 9-woods in three-degree loft increments. The men’s 3- and 5-woods will be available in left- and right-handed models. The 7- and 9-woods are right-handed only.

The women’s models feature that same loft assortment. They’ll be available at retail for righties only. Left-handed models are available through the custom department.

The stock shafts are a significant upgrade with the Tensie AV Series Blue 55 for men in S and R flex. The lightweight Aldila Ascent PL 40 is the stock A-flex and women’s shaft.

The Halo XL men’s hybrids are available in 3- through 7-hybrid in three-degree loft increments starting at 18 degrees. Only the 3- and 4-hybrids will be available for lefties. The women’s models are available in the same lofts for righties. Only the 3- and 4-hybrids will be available for left-handed women through custom order.

The Tensei AC Raw Blue Hybrid 65 is stock in S- and R-flexes. The Aldila Ascent PL 50 hybrid is the stock men’s A-Flex while the Ascent PL 40 Hybrid is stock for women.

And the Halo XL Hy-Wood is available in 17- and 20-degree models (3+ and 4+) for men and women. The men’s models will be available for lefties and righties while left-handed women will have to custom order. The Ascent PL 40 is the stock men’s shaft and the PL 40 women’s model is stock for women.

The Lamkin Crossline 360 is the stock men’s grip. The Lamkin ST Soft is stock for women.

As always, Cleveland offers a wide range of no-upcharge and premium shafts and grips.

Price and Availability

Compared to new offerings from the Big Five, the Cleveland Halo XL metalwoods are, relatively speaking, a bargain.

The Halo XL fairways will retail for $249.99 while the Halo XL hybrids will go for $229.99. The Halo XL Hy-Wood, befitting its status as a tweener, is $239.99.

The lineup will be available at retail Jan. 19.

For more information, visit the Cleveland Golf website.