Review Of The New Cleveland Launcher DST Tour Driver - By Alex Morton

With Cleveland having recently being bought over by the Srixon Golf Company, in my opinion this is the best thing that could have happened as shown by the improvement to their product range. In recent years I have found that the performance of Cleveland woods and in particular the driver has been disappointing. The driver seemed very ‘spiny’ (creating lots of backspin on the ball at impact) and therefore not particularly good for flight or length.

Technology is changing all the time and being a current Srixon playing Tour Professional I recently had the opportunity to test out the new range of Srixon and Cleveland woods to decide which I would be playing for the current season. Switching from my old Srixon Z-RW 9 ° driver to the new Cleveland Launcher DST Tour 9.5 ° driver was a revelation. As I generate a fair amount of spin on the ball at impact, my old Srixon used to launch the ball quite high in the air, with a high spin rate. When tested at the Srixon/Cleveland centre of excellence in Maidenhead, this spin rate was between 4,500 and 5,500rpm, far too high to achieve consistency and a penetrating ball flight into wind. Whereas with the new Cleveland Launcher DST Tour driver fitted with a Diamana Whiteboard Stiff shaft, suited my high swing speed, my spin rate was down to between 2,250 and 3,250 rpm, giving a far more powerful controlled flight.

Quite a few players on Tour have commented on how well the ball comes off the face of this new driver, saying how impressed they were. The ball flies off with such pace and power; it does wonders for my confidence. I estimate changing drivers has given me 10-15yds more distance off the tee and even more when I really go for a big drive. But just as important as length, my Cleveland driver really promotes accuracy.

I’m not saying to rush out and buy one simply to make you a better player, as it probably won’t. But I am saying consider buying from the Cleveland Launcher DST range, as I did and see the benefits for yourself.

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