Cleveland Launcher Halo Hybrid

Same name, new face.  The Cleveland Launcher Halo hybrid is a resurrection of a familiar name, in a whole new package.  While the new Launcher Halo Hybrid carries some of the great technology from its former life, it definitely carries a more modern look to it.  But enough of the nostalgia, let’s dive into the review.

The Looks

The first thing you’ll notice when looking at the new Cleveland Launcher Halo hybrid are the two pockets created on the sole by the three rails. The other side of the club features the ridge towards the front of Cleveland’s Hibore crown.  It serves a purpose, and we will dive into that later.  Similar to the HB Turbo lineup from Cleveland, the Halo hybrid features an all black, “stealthy” color scheme (save for that one chrome rail in the middle of the sole) with a black headcover to boot.  Just like I said with the HB Turbo Driver, the color scheming from Cleveland for the new lineups looks really slick.

While the Halo Hybrid is designed to be long and forgiving, it has a traditional, rounded hybrid look that most will feel comfortable with.  What does that mean?  It doesn’t have an overly large head to accomplish those distance and forgiveness claims.  I’d classify it as average to just below average in size.  With that, it still finds a way to instill confidence when you step over the ball, without looking like a short fairway wood.

How Does it Feel?

To me, there are two types of feel that I find important in a hybrid: how the balls feels off of the face, and how the club feels through the turf.  So let’s start with off the face, shall we?

Typically when I hit a game-improvement club, I’m expecting a fairly hollow, emptier feeling at impact.  This isn’t the case with the Cleveland Launcher Halo hybrid.  On contact, whether I’m in the rough or on the fairway, the club has some meat behind it, giving it a more solid feel versus a hollow one.  It’s not necessarily an “exploding” feel, which in my opinion is a good thing.  That solid feel lets you know you struck the ball well (when you do so), but also gives enough feedback to let you know when you don’t.

Now let’s get to the turf interaction.  I typically have a very steep angle of attack, so turf interaction is big for me.  That’s where the Gliderails of the Cleveland Halo factor in.  The Gliderails help keep the club face stable and moving through the turf, so even if I catch it on the fat side, the club still moves quickly through the grass, and feels square at impact.  I also didn’t get the feeling of “losing control” of the club in the rough.  The rails seem to do their job in keeping the club going through the thick stuff, allowing me to make solid contact and not send rattles through my hands.

How Does it Sound?

Whether coming out of the rough or approaching from the fairway, the sound of the ball off of the face of the Cleveland Launcher Halo hybrid is a deeper “thwack” sound.  This typically isn’t something I expect from a game-improvement hybrid, but I’ll welcome it with open arms.  Again, there isn’t that loud “crack” and the sound matches the feel very well.  Solid feel, solid sound.

On-Course Performance

I predominantly use a hybrid as a rescue club, which isn’t unusual since people refer to them as that anyways.  So let’s start with that.  From out of the rough, the Cleveland Launcher Halo is very easy to hit.  For one, the Gliderails help the club “glide” through the grass, allowing you to make solid contact.  They also help keep the face square giving you a more consistent impact position.  Lastly, once contact is made, the ball gets up in the air quickly and easily, which I’ll attribute to the Hibore crown lowering the center of gravity.

The consistency of the Launcher Halo was very impressive.  From the fairway, my vertical shot dispersion (difference in yardage in regards to distance) was only a few yards.  Even when I missed one off of the toe or towards the heel, my distance loss was minimal.  Not only that, but shots out of the rough or the fairway bunker weren’t as punishing either.  I only seemed to lose about five to seven yards hitting the Halo out of the thick stuff, while maintaining that higher ball flight I discussed before.  For me, I can either hit a heavy, short shot with my typical hybrid, or a jumper with no spin that soars the green.  The Halo seemed to stay pleasantly consistent with both ball flight and distance.

Final Thoughts – Cleveland Launcher Halo Hybrid

The Cleveland Launcher Halo Hybrid is designed to help golfers get the ball airborne from anywhere on the course, while delivering consistent distances, and that’s exactly what you get.  If you’re an average player who struggles out of the rough at longer distances, the Halo hybrid may be what you’re looking for.  It’s long, forgiving, and easy to hit.  That alone should make it worth checking out.

Stock Cleveland Launcher Halo Hybrid Specs

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