Our reviews of the latest Cleveland drivers find innovative technology like new composite materials and exciting weight balancing to help straighten shots.

Cleveland Golf was founded in 1979 by Roger Cleveland. They started off producing replicas of classic golf clubs from the 1940′s and 1950′s as collectors items or for players who just wanted a bit of nostalgia to take them back to the good ole days. Now, Cleveland Golf is one of the forerunners in modern golf technology and currently produces the number one wedge in golf, in addition to highly rated golf drivers.

There have been several corporate ownership changes with the Cleveland brand over the years. In 1990 Rossignol, the world’s largest ski manufacturer purchased Cleveland Golf. In 2005 Quiksilver Inc., a leading surf brand, purchased the assets of Rossignol and became the owner of Cleveland Golf. Then in 2007, SRI Sports bought the Cleveland brand. SRI also owns Srixon Golf and is one of the leading Japanese manufacturers of tires, sporting goods and industrial products.

Cleveland Golf has over 325 employees in its Huntington Beach, California headquarters, and is the proud sponsor of many professional events including the Byron Nelson Championship. Several top professional golfers are also listed on Cleveland’s roster of sponsored athletes, including Vijay Singh, Boo Weekly, and Joe Durant.

The Technology Behind Cleveland Drivers

Much of Cleveland’s game changing technology begins with their wedges and irons, and moves into their golf drivers. Cleveland had ten clubs make the 2009 Golf Digest Hot List, including two drivers, the Cleveland Launcher driver and the Cleveland Hibore Monster XLS driver. Some of the more exciting technology developments we’ve seen from Cleveland include composite metal innovations, and a unique vibration absorbing system.

Cleveland has developed a composite material it calls CMM, which is truly revolutionary in golf driver technology. CMM metal is the first dual composition, light density metal to hit the golf market. The metal is more solid than typical forged or cast carbon steels yet it feels softer. It achieves this balance through the microscopic interaction of millions of carbon spheres which enhance internal dampening and soften disruptive vibrations and impact. In other words, your hands won’t feel the uncomfortable impact of the ball when you swing hard and really bust one. CMM also allows for additional forgiveness of miss hits.

The other exciting tech coming out of Cleveland is its patented Vibration Absorbing System (VAS) which dampens unwanted vibrations at impact with a unique visco-elastic compound. Presently available on in Cleveland irons, we expect to see this moving into Cleveland golf drivers soon as well. Combining VAS with CMM creates a truly unique experience when striking the golf ball, as extraneous vibrations and the resulting errant shots are minimized.

Some of the unique features that we've found in the current top Cleveland golf drivers now on the market, such as the Cleveland Launcher Driver, and the Cleveland Hibore Monster XLS, include thin crown technology and specialized weighting.

Cleveland Golf thin crown technology

Thin crown technology allows Cleveland golf drivers to lower the weight from the top to the bottom of the club head to optimize the center of gravity. This allows the ball to launch at the appropriate angle to generate maximum distance off the tee. The crown on the Cleveland Launcher driver is only a half a millimeter thick. The weight distribution of the Cleveland drivers is optimized even more through the use of a horseshoe shaped weight pad on the rear perimeter of the sole of the club head. This helps to further improve stability of miss hits and improve the MOI of the golf driver.

Cleveland also offers an Ultralite Editionof its classic Launcher driver. The driver features an ultra light grip that is only 37 grams and an overall club weight that is 30 grams lighter than the standard Launcher driver. Also the shaft is only 40 grams and is an inch longer than the standard model. The Cleveland Launcher Ultralite Edition is designed to produce maximum distance for players with swing speeds under 85 mph.

A unique feature found on the Cleveland Hibore Monster XLS Driverseries is designed to ensure authenticity and can be found on the toe graphics. The graphic says "Max MOI" and will change from white to yellow in the daylight or when exposed to ultraviolet light. Pretty cool - and a great way to prevent knock-offs and forgeries.

Overall, we like what we see coming from Cleveland. All of their equipment is top notch, from golf drivers to putters, irons, wedges, and accessories.

To learn more, visit Cleveland Golf's official website at www.clevelandgolf.com.

Cleveland Driver Reviews

Cleveland Launcher Driver Review

Cleveland Monster Hibore XLS Driver Review - The Cleveland Hibore driver offers fantastic accuracy and straight long drives off the tee. Optimal weighting and a sleek design enhance this golf driver.

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