Cleveland Classic XL

Brand: Cleveland
Game improvement driver: Classic XL
RRP: £239 Best price: £199
Lie: 58-degree Length: 45.5” Swing Weight: D5
Shaft: Miyazaki B.Asha 4 Grip: Golf Pride Tour 35

Summary: The Cleveland Classic XL features the largest, deepest driver face in golf, meaning the largest effective hitting area for added confidence. An enhanced variable face thickness technology creates lightning fast ball speed on off-centre hits for unprecedented forgiveness, while the centre of gravity has been moved deeper in the club head to promote higher launch.

Appearance: One of the more attractive drivers on the market with its classic gold and black markings and incredibly deep face, which you can see while standing over the ball. Everything felt ready for take off at address. There is plenty of depth on offer but the head is not as wide as some of the others on the market and that may put some golfers off. While we did not have any problems with alignment, as reflected in our dispersion pattern below, some players may crave a larger alignment tool rather than a small dot. 8.5

Feel: A very solid noise at impact, and the slightly heavier head weight makes you feel like you are going to spank one. The impressive Miyazaki B.Asha shaft also helped generate fast clubhead speed. Impressive. 8.5

Performance: An extremely pleasing dispersion pattern and maximum forgiveness on off-centre hits as well as powerful, long drives. The optimal centre of gravity in the Classic XL presented a higher than ideal ball flight but that by no means detracted distance. A drive tended to be easier to draw than fade but straight was thankfully the easier shot. 8.5

Verdict: Classy and effective. The deep face is perfect for those high-to-low misses and this driver will suit golfers of all abilities, particularly someone with a steep angle of attack. It also comes with a punchbag-style headcover that we simply adore. We can think of worse things to spend £240 on. 25.5

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