Cleveland HiBore XL Driver Review

Cleveland Golf has always been a fairly innovative equipment manufacturer over the years, not afraid of pushing the design envelope, particularly when it comes to the best fairway woods and best drivers. Models like the VAS and the Launcher spring to mind, but the latest design from the Cleveland think tank is the HiBore XL…

In terms of technology, the HiBore XL features a triangular chassis, which has been designed to optimize forgiveness, distance, and sound.

“As our R&D research has developed hand in hand with advancements of our A.I. simulation capabilities, the realization came that removing the constraints of a ‘traditional’ looking Driver shape would allow for new and exciting performance opportunities. By taking advantage of the unique HiBore philosophy of a performance-first design, we were able to unlock levels of forgiveness and distance that weren't possible before. But there is one key difference with the new model compared to that of the past. It also sounds great!” Joe Miller, European Product Manager at Cleveland Golf.

The chassis was narrowed to maintain the desired head volume, get the weight as low and far back as possible, while losing some volume at the back facilitated the HiBore’s extra large face. Cleveland is saying that this results in a 19% increase in sweet spot size from the Launcher XL 2. It has also launched a new technology called ActivWing, which is essentially some fins on the heel side of the crown designed to promote stability of the face during the downswing.

Looks wise, this is a grower. At first, you are likely to be hyper-aware of the very ‘non-traditional’ shaping of the head, but I can assure you that is likely to wear off pretty swiftly. Within about a dozen shots I was happily hitting shots, giving no thought to the visual at all. I found the triangular shape actually very easy to line up in truth, with the contrasting angles making the top edge stand out maybe more than usual.

I found the HiBore XL to be an excellent performer in testing, which was conducted with a FullSwing KIT launch monitor and TaylorMade TP5 golf balls at Saunton Golf Club. The stand-out feature for me was without a doubt the forgiveness on offer from across the face. Not only did the mishits seem to retain an awful lot of ball speed and a tight dispersion, but the retention of feel was outstanding making this one of the most forgiving drivers I have tested. Even the most extreme heel and toe strikes didn’t seem to reverberate in the hands like so many other drivers which really enhanced the playing experience.

Tightness of dispersion was another noteworthy finding during testing, and this was apparent not only left to right but also from front to back. You have to do something very wrong to not get a playable result from the HiBore XL putting this up there as one of the best drivers for high handicaps.

While ball speeds didn’t blow me away, this is by no means a slow driver and the adjustability on offer with the loft sleeve allows performance-enhancing tweaks to help you dial in those launch characteristics. I found myself settling at a loft around 0.5 degrees lower than my standard as the spin rates were just on the higher side for me, but those with slow to moderate speeds will love this profile.

If you are looking for a fairway-finding machine that can flatter you on even your poorest of swing days, then this is a driver well worth considering, and at £399/$399 there is most certainly value to be had.