Love Triangle

Some may not care for the shape of the new HiBore XL driver from Cleveland Golf. Plenty will, though.

By Tony Dear

In 2006, Cleveland Golf introduced a driver whose shape made a lot of people curious – and curious enough to try it – while others took one look and immediately thought “Nope.” The HiBore probably had much the same impact as when golfers saw the first ever Ping putter 65 years ago or the modern game’s first metalwood 20 years later. It was … different.

The original HiBore driver had no crown, or rather the top of the club looked like it had been scooped out to leave a bowl shape in which you could carry a ball if you so wished. The idea was to push the Center of Gravity (CG) low and back to raise your golf ball’s launch angle and increase the Moment of Inertia (MOI) – forgiveness. Talk of Centers of Gravity and Moments of Inertia did exist in 2006, but it certainly wasn’t as commonplace as it is nowadays. The whole ‘extra-forgiveness, ‘higher-launch’ thing was very appealing to many, but manufacturers would discover more conventional, and perhaps more attractive, ways of accomplishing it in the coming years.

Cleveland Golf was perfectly content to build a driver it knew some would immediately dismiss, but which it thought performed as well as anything on the market. And, judging by the shape of the 2024/5 HiBore, Cleveland’s mindset is much the same as it was 18 years ago. It’s likely the triangle look will put people off, but the promise of more forgiveness from off-center strikes will always get a lot of golfers’ attention.

This isn’t the first triangular driver, of course. The Titleist 907 D1, Callaway FT-IZ, and Big Bertha Fusion were similarly shaped, and Cobra released its LTDx just a couple of years ago. Each had its level of ‘triangle-ness’ but none, surely, were quite as geometrically-accurate as the HiBore. No, it’s not a perfect triangle, but that is, of course, exactly what it puts you in mind.

Looking at it, you’d be forgiven for thinking it was shaped that way to reduce drag and improve the club’s aerodynamics but that has nothing, at least very little, to do with the HiBore’s shape.
It’s mostly to do with the size of the clubface. Which is huge. Cleveland wanted to give players a larger hitting area and, in turn, a larger sweet spot – 19% larger than that of the Cleveland Launcher XL 2 which was introduced at the start of the year. A larger clubface, though, obviously means other parts of the club need to be smaller for the head to remain at, or below, the USGA’s size limit of 460cc.

Again, Cleveland was well aware the shape wouldn’t be to everyone’s liking, but how the club performed took precedence. A 12-gram weight sits at the very back of the club head to keep that CG low and as far from the face as possible which helps maximize stability and MOI (you can’t move the weight, but a club fitter can swap it out – 2 gram, 8 gram, and 16 gram weights are sold separately).

The heel side of the crown has a small wedge shape known as ActivWing which may be familiar to anyone that’s hit a XXIO club before. XXIO, Cleveland Golf’s stablemate, describes ActivWing as an “airfoil that generates lift, guiding the club to its optimal impact angle for maximum speed and distance.” Basically, it helps you keep the club on the plane on the downswing which should mean you hit the ball with a squarer clubface.

And speaking of that clubface – which is huge, remember – it was designed using AI (but, of course) to ensure each part yields good results. Increased rigidity in the sole and crown reduces the amount the clubface vibrates at impact. That means it feels and sounds better than the previous HiBore which did have something of a reputation for making some noise.

An eight-gram weight placed in the top end of the shaft counterbalances the club which makes it feel lighter as you move it away from the ball. That generally leads to a smoother, more consistent swing.

The Cleveland HiBore XL Lite will also be available. Weighing about 27 grams less than the standard HiBore XL, it is designed for players with slightly slower swing speeds.

HiBore XL
$400
Lofts – 9˚, 10.5˚, 12˚  (the heads are the same but the adjustable sleeve sets the club at these lofts)
Shaft – Mitsubishi Tensei AV Series Blue 55
Right-hand only.

HiBore XL Lite
$400
Lofts – 9˚, 10.5˚, 12˚  (the heads are the same but the adjustable sleeve sets the club at these lofts)
Shaft – Aldila Ascent PL40
Right and left-hand (order left-hand club through Cleveland’s custom order department).

Order now at clevelandgolf.com (automatically takes you to us.dunlopsports.com/cleveland-golf). Arrives at retail on December 6^th.

Colorado AvidGolfer Magazine is the state’s leading resource for golf and the lifestyle that surrounds it, publishing eight issues annually and proudly delivering daily content via coloradoavidgolfer.com.

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