HiBore XLS Tour 2* open

[rolltherock]

Hello all I'm new here and just posting today for the first time. I'm curious how many people actually knew there were driver heads with open face angles....not just what is stamped on the head, but what they actually play to.

I have stuck with my TM R540 for the past 6 years b/c there is no way I can play one of the garden variety hook faces that come on most of the drivers today. I have been keenly aware of this every since my college coach taught me about it even back in the persimmon wood days(yes I'm old)!

When TM came out with the TP versions and claimed to be square I still wasn't convinced. Case in point, I took the 4 Burner TP drivers they had at GolfSmith off the rack and had the club builder measure the face angles last year and had variations from .4* closed to .2* open, and TM claims they are 1* open. So I chose not to spend the 400.

I was picking up some grips from GolfSmith about 6 weeks ago and saw the Cleveland XLS Tour...had heard of it, but I don't know that Cleveland spends as much on advertishing in the driver market. Once again I had the tech put 4 of the Tour models on his little machine and true to form the face angles were all 2* open with one being 2.1*(I bought this one).

Let's just say I'm ecstatic. After having the shaft cut down to 44.5" and reweighted inside the head to match the factory swing weight....I have completely alleviated the left side of the course off the tee and actually picked up significant distance over my R540 which was a nice bonus.

I know from computer analysis that I hit the ball on average at 2.1* inside so hitting the ball left isn't difficult. For those that are attacking the ball inside and want to make the course twice as big.....do yourself a favor and mabe take a look at the Cleveland XLS Tour models!

On the same token, I think we would all be shocked to see the lack of quality control we are getting for these 'magic drivers' that are not even what they are advertised to be. How many people are paying top dollar for a TP head thinking it's open when they have one '.4*' closed? For those that don't think a single degree has much to do with accuracy on a driver go spend some time on a launch monitor The difference between good drives and poor drives is typically 2 degrees. When my swing would reach 3* inside I would pull the ball 20 yards off line......2* was a 5 yard draw.

And not to knock TM b/c I love their products by and large. I have been loving my RAC LT's for 5 years and the putter as well. I literally love my irons to death and my putter more. I have no idea why the driver quality control is so poor for them. My irons are square as square can be....and the lofts are dead nuts on as well.

[SilverUberXeno]

Quality control issues are not breaking news by any means. You should've had the guy check the loft against what it was stated to be, too. You'd lose your faith in the entire industry. Most 9.5's are closer to 11.

The XLS Tour is a NICE club. I noticed the open face, and also the more compact looking head. Good luck with it

[rolltherock]

Originally Posted by SilverUberXeno

Quality control issues are not breaking news by any means. You should've had the guy check the loft against what it was stated to be, too. You'd lose your faith in the entire industry. Most 9.5's are closer to 11.

The XLS Tour is a NICE club. I noticed the open face, and also the more compact looking head. Good luck with it

I forgot to add that as well! The tech at GolfSmith gave me the lofts as well and even before he measured then he kind of smirked at me and said something to the effect of 'you are smart to check this out b/c they are all different'. He knows. The TP Burners I pulled off the shelf were all 9.5's, but were all measured to be 1-1.5* more than that.

To Cleveland's credit, the lofts we measured on the 10.5's were all within .3 degrees. Mine is actually 10.4.

[kdp86]

Hey guys, first post here. I just decided to get one of these drivers about a week ago after hitting it at Golf Galaxy vs. my trusty 983k. It should be here tomorrow, and I'll let everyone know how it goes. Ordered 8.5 tour version, Fit-on Red stiff (I hit the ball very high naturally so none of that will be a problem, my 983k is 8.5 and stiff as well).

[eli_yates]

i broke the face on my old 983k which was 1.5* open and ever since then i lay my drivers open a hair just to counteract the hook bias i cannot look at a closed driver face and feel comfortable about it. i guess thats probably a little weird.

[rolltherock]

Originally Posted by eli_yates

i broke the face on my old 983k which was 1.5* open and ever since then i lay my drivers open a hair just to counteract the hook bias i cannot look at a closed driver face and feel comfortable about it. i guess thats probably a little weird.

No not odd at all. Rather....it takes some skill to hold a driver face open and control it. I can do that with my irons down to maybe a 6, but after that it's just too risky for me. Twisting a club open with that little loft is infinitely harder....for me anyway. Whatever works is what works....that's the beauty of golf with all the experimenting!

[Victory]

you learned a good lesson.. have your clubs checked out if possible.. before you buy. but agree the xls is a hot muther....

[rolltherock]

Originally Posted by kdp86

Hey guys, first post here. I just decided to get one of these drivers about a week ago after hitting it at Golf Galaxy vs. my trusty 983k. It should be here tomorrow, and I'll let everyone know how it goes. Ordered 8.5 tour version, Fit-on Red stiff (I hit the ball very high naturally so none of that will be a problem, my 983k is 8.5 and stiff as well).

Regarding your high ball flight. I'm sure you know this, but just remember if you are trying to hit a straight ball with this 2* open face then you have to shut the face down 2* at impact.....which will turn the 8.5 into a 6.5....assuming you hit the ball from the inside and not a hatchet move over the top. However, I doubt you are buying a 2* open driver so you can hit it straight. The straight shot with any club leaves the least margin for error......

I have actually found a really cool shot with this open face angle. Try playing it where you would most likely set up for a mid iron....7 or so....and make a grass tee. I saw Woody Austin do it at the PODS a couple of years ago. The coolest shot I have ever hit with a driver. It puts your head a bit more over the ball and with the open face it's much easier to 'pinch' the ball and hit a low, boring cut that surprisingly is only 15-20 yards less than a teed up ball. It will feel odd having your head 'on top' of the ball rather than behind it, but man alive it works....for me anyway. It will be a screamer about 20 fee off the deck!

[kdp86]

Ok, so it's a little premature I know, but after playing nine holes with this driver and giving it some time on the range, I think it's a real winner. The weird part for me is that to draw the ball, I have to try. I think that to my eye it sets up perfectly square at address, either that or I'm used to twisting the grip in my hands either strong or weak without thinking about it until it's straight. If you just set it down on the grass I think it looks exactly square to possibly the tiniest bit open, but to my eye a lot of drivers that aren't advertised as draw bias have one. My friend's new Nike falls under that category for sure. The two things most different from my 983k that I am noticing are the much stiffer tip on the shaft, which I like though it still feels a bit weird, and the internal toe weighting, which for performance purposes I think affects the ball flight much more than the 2* open face. You know, it's kinda nice to drive in the fairway again! On the course I only lost one to the right, which was due to a horrible swing on my part off of the first tee trying to crush it. I have noticed that for me the 460cc head makes me want to swing harder, so I have to fight that urge. All the rest were in play and legitimately 10-20 yards longer than my 983k. The first drive that I really connected with on the course on hole #2 was 296 yards right up the middle, high ball flight with a 10-15 foot draw. I'm going out to play again today, so hopefully it's as nice to me as it was yesterday, and my putter's a lot nicer. Yesterday was some of the worst putting I've ever done, I shot +5 on 9 holes with 4 three puts! Needless to say, after the round I planted myself on the putting green for a good hour or so, and feel more confident now. I'll report back soon, thanks guys - Kenny