For many mid handicappers, having a golf iron that provides extra forgiveness can take them a long way. Luckily, the Cleveland Golf Launcher HB Turbo Iron delivers that and more. With its big, hollow club head design, it’s arguably the most forgiving iron you’ll ever swing.
So is this mid handicap golf iron the one you’re looking for? Find out by reading our take on the Cleveland Golf Launcher HB Turbo Iron. Below, you’ll get to know this golf club better, notably its features, strengths and weaknesses. Buckle up and let’s jump right into it.
A Brief Glimpse of Cleveland’s Launcher HB Turbo Iron
Cleveland Golf’s Launcher HB Turbo Iron is as forgiving as forgiveness gets. For one thing, its club head is made bigger than most of the mid handicap clubs out there, allowing you a larger sweet spot. It’s also hollow, with the weight distributed on the club’s perimeters to ensure the ball flies straight and high.
In short, the Launcher HB Turbo can help you consistently produce higher, faster ball swings. It doesn’t matter if you’re a professional or amateur. With this amazing golf iron, you’ll have the ball flying at long distances and high altitudes.
Product Specifications
- Brand: Cleveland Golf
- Golf Club Flex: Stiff
- Hand Orientation: Left, Right
- Material: Alloy Steel
- Shaft Material: Steel
- Item Weight: 7 lbs
- Model: 4 to 9, P, D, S
- Loft: 20 to 54.5 degrees
- Length: 38.875 to 35.5 in
- Lie Angle: 61.5 to 65 degrees
- Offset: 2.73 to 1.23 mm
- Steel SW: D2, D3
- Graphite SW: D1, D2
- Customizable Shaft: Yes
Notable Features of Cleveland’s Launcher HB Turbo Iron
As one of the best golf irons for mid handicappers, the Cleveland Golf Launcher HB Turbo comes with many great features you won’t encounter in other products, including:
Turbocharged Face
The Launcher HB Turbo Iron comes with Cleveland Golf’s signature Turbocharged Face technology. That is, the club sports a thin high strength HT1170M steel face that enables it to swing the ball at explosive speeds and distances.
Hollow Construction
Similar to scaled-down hybrid irons, Cleveland’s Launcher HB Turbo features a hollow club head design. Combined with the product’s wider sole and thicker topline, it helps support the HT1170M stainless steel face, allowing the club to flex more efficiently and boost ball speeds during impact. Moreover, this hollow construction allows the Launcher HB Turbo Iron to provide more forgiveness than any other club.
Progressive Hollow Shaping
Besides its hollow construction, the Cleveland Golf Launcher HB Turbo club head has a unique shape. This allows the product to enjoy the benefits of hybrid-like long irons and iron-like short irons. As a result, it helps increase forgiveness even further, as well as grant you better ball control whenever you need it.
HiBore Crown Design
The Launcher HB Turbo is also one of the few Cleveland Golf products that sport a HiBore crown design. But unlike the polarizing shapes exhibited by its siblings, the HiBore crown integrated in the Launcher HB Turbo is more refined. Anyway, alongside the 34-gram weight pad behind the sole and a lighter hosel area, this crown shifts the iron’s center of gravity a bit lower to encourage easier hits and higher-flying drives.
Pros and Cons of the Launcher HB Turbo Iron
Next, let’s take a look at the Cleveland Golf Launcher HB Turbo Iron’s strengths and weaknesses. Knowing these will help you determine whether or not this golf iron is right for you.
What’s Great About Cleveland’s Launcher HB Turbo Iron?
Maximum Forgiveness
The Cleveland Golf Launcher HB Turbo’s cup face is a bit thicker at the center and thinner around the edges. Combined with its hollow construction, this allows the golf iron to provide more forgiveness than any other mid handicapper clubs out there.
Increased Speed and Distance
Additionally, since its Turbocharged face encapsulates the topline, toe, and leading edge, the Launcher HB Turbo is capable of making the ball fly at faster speeds. This allows you to swing your golf balls at greater distances and higher velocities.
Consistent Launches and Spins
The Launcher HB Turbo is developed with mid handicappers in mind. Thanks to its HiBore crown design, this iron will help you produce beautiful launches and spins more consistently. Whether you’re golfing just for fun or you want to make a career out of it, you can definitely enjoy this perk.
Customizable Shafts
The Cleveland Golf Launcher HB Turbo Iron can be fitted with your preferred shafts. But to ensure optimal performance, it’s highly recommended that you stick with these three:
- Dynamic Gold DST 98. This shaft is notable for being extremely lightweight, as well as providing outstanding weight balance. By fitting this in the Launcher HB Turbo, you’ll be able to swing the iron more effortlessly. However, its lightness can also make the club a bit trickier to handle.
- Miyazaki C. Kua 60 Shaft. Made from high-grade materials, this shaft is developed using advanced formulas and techniques. A True Tour Ultralite™ shaft, it features various patented golf technology unavailable elsewhere. Not only will it make your Launcher HB Turbo Iron look better, it will optimize your gameplay as well.
- Lamkin 360. This shaft is great for golfers who want a more classic design, not to mention a softer feel. With enhanced universal Crossline patterns and upgraded softer rubber compounds, it will add omni-directional traction and improved all-weather performance to the Launcher HB Turbo’s benefits.
Multiple Available Models
To accommodate more mid handicap golfers, the Launcher HB Turbo Iron comes in varying models, each with its own respective length, loft, offset, and other features. See the table below to check out each model’s specs.
| Model | Loft | Length | Lie Angle | Offset | Steel SW | Graphite SW |
| 4 | 20° | 38.875 in | 61.5° | 2.73 mm | D2 | D1 |
| 5 | 23° | 38.25 in | 62.0° | 2.03 mm | D2 | D1 |
| 6 | 26.5° | 37.625 in | 62.5° | 2.03 mm | D2 | D1 |
| 7 | 30° | 37.0 in | 63.0° | 1.73 mm | D2 | D1 |
| 8 | 34.5° | 36.5 in | 63.5° | 1.73 mm | D2 | D1 |
| 9 | 39° | 36.0 in | 64.0° | 1.73 mm | D2 | D1 |
| P | 44° | 35.75 in | 64.5° | 1.73 mm | D2 | D1 |
| D | 49° | 35.5 in | 65.0° | 1.23 mm | D3 | D2 |
| S | 54.5° | 35.5 in | 65.0° | 1.23 mm | D3 | D2 |
What’s Not So Great About Cleveland’s Launcher HB Turbo Iron?
Product Availability
Unfortunately, the Launcher HB Turbo Iron can no longer be bought through Cleveland’s main website (although you can still get the Women’s version there). To get this fantastic club, you need to look for one of Cleveland Golf’s authorized dealers. Alternatively, you can find the product at Amazon and other online selling platforms.
Expensive Golf Iron
The Cleveland Golf Launcher HB turbo can fetch as high as $914.24, making it one of the most expensive mid handicap clubs today. While its quality definitely makes up for this price, it can still put off many golfers from buying a club, much less a set.
Learning Curve
Lastly, there’s a learning curve involved when using the Launcher HB Turbo. If you haven’t tried a hybrid golf club before, you might initially have a hard time working with this iron. With time and practice, though, you’ll easily make this club do your bidding at the course.
How We Rate the Launcher HB Turbo Iron
To further help you make an informed decision, we decided to test the Cleveland Golf Launcher Turbo HB Iron and see how it is for ourselves. Below are our ratings for this product based on shaft, club head design, sole size, offset, and weight.
Shaft (5 out of 5)
As you learned in a previous article, golf club shafts come in two types: graphite and steel. Graphite shafts are great for golfers with low swing speeds, while steel ones are better for players who want extra weight.
Thankfully, the Launcher HB Turbo is available in both steel and graphite shafts. These shafts add value and performance to this already fantastic product. From state-of-the-art golf technology to various additional benefits, the club shaft will help you improve your game at the course.
Club Head Design (5 out of 5)
With its hollow construction, the Launcher HB Turbo basically enjoys a cavity back club head design. Thanks to this, the golf iron can allow you to launch the ball straighter and higher. But more importantly, it provides the forgiveness every player craves at the greens.
Furthermore, its progressive hollow shaping grants you better control of the ball. This enables you to essentially guide the ball so it moves in whichever direction you want.
Sole Size (5 out of 5)
Mid handicappers always fare better at the course if their golf irons have wider soles. Luckily, the Launcher HB Turbo has wide soles alongside its thicker topline and hollow head.
Additionally, the Launcher’s soles are complemented by a34-gram weight pad behind it. Alongside the iron’s lighter hosel area and center of gravity, this helps you make easier swings and launch the ball high up the air with minimal effort.
Offset (5 out of 5)
To improve their chances while golfing, mid handicappers need irons with offset hosel. That is, the club’s head must be in front of the face (rather than behind it) at the right distance. With Cleveland’s Launcher HB turbo, you’ll get that and more.
All Launcher HB Turbo irons come with offset hosels, with the distance varying depending on each model (see table above). Either way, they’ll allow you to get the ball high up in the air easily, as well as reduce the effort it takes to hit fades.
Weight (4 out of 5)
Finally, the Cleveland Golf Launcher HB Turbo iron is an extremely lightweight product, with the standard club weighing only 7 pounds. Thanks to its hollow cavity back design, most of this weight is distributed around the club’s perimeters.
But as mentioned above, while this weight makes the Launcher HB Turbo a daily balanced iron, it can also make the club somewhat tricky to handle. Nevertheless, it helps mid handicappers produce great launches and spins.
Final Verdict
The Cleveland Golf Launcher HB Turbo Iron may not look like your typical golf iron, and its price can certainly look daunting at first glance. But look past these caveats and you’ll see it for what it truly is: a fantastic iron for mid handicappers. So the next time you go out to get a new golf club, make sure to check this product out.
