Not often have I found a FW that is both easy and fun to play with at the same time. While my encounter with the new FW from Cleveland was not really long enough to fall in love, it sure provided more than just a nice round of golf.

AS I got an invitation to play a relatively new course away from home, or better said: a REMODELED course (the original 9 holes were revamped and 9 new holes were added), and once again I was not carrying my sticks, the local Pro was kind enough to fix me a "sampler" bag full of Cleveland goodies: HiBore driver and 3-5 woods, 2 Halos, Cg4's, CG11 wedges and.. a SC Newport putter.

The driver was used on the first tee only. The 55 NVS R flex shaft was just TOO WHIPPY for me. But the R flex stock shaft on the 3 and 5 woods was very manageable for me. Good, driver stays in the bag, lets play the FW and the Halos.

The 15 degree 3 wood plays more like my 5 wood, specially teed up. I could squeeze 240 yards with no problem, the feel from this heads is quite crisp but a little misleading at first, as you cannot easily tell if the contact was not made dead-center. Somewhat punitive on distance when hit even a bit off the mark, though.

The 5 wood is a delight from the tee box and from most lies that allow for the use of a FW. Hits from light rough really fly long and true. These sticks are very reliable and will most certainly help many golfers increase their success rate when playing from far off the fairway. Great for tee shots, no doubt about it.

I was pleasantly surprised by the stock shafts: may seem too soft for a R flex at first, but just give them time to load (that means dont swing them around like you are trying to finish off a swarm of mad killer bees!). The stock grips (Lamkin, I guess) were a bit too firm for my taste.

I played this FW's in almost all holes (even one 230 yrd. PAR 3), and while I found nothing exceptional in particular, they provide good playability and very consistent distances. The flexier shafts would not allow me to really push them, and I tried to put some draw on them but it was not easy. But they will get your ball on the target, and that is a BIG plus in every golfers book. I would not change them for the original Launchers, specially the Steel versions, but that its just my personal preference: much longer and workable!

Nice, reliable and enjoyable. Good mix! Now comes the downside: I find the Launchers to be a much better value, because of the dropping price and lets face it: the Launchers are PROVEN winners on ALL tours, long, workable and solid feeling as any FW has ever been. So if you are about to cough up your hard-earned $$$ for a new FW...maybe the HiBore is NOt such a good idea after all...

Recommended: Yes