Cleveland HiBORE Iron Set
Because the clubface and hosel are cast as one piece, HiBORE irons have no welding spots, so the sweet spot is the size of the entire clubface. They're also more forgiving, thanks to hollow construction and an oversized face. The hollow design moves weight away from the face and positions it lower and deeper in the head to increase stability (moment of inertia) and accuracy.
The Cleveland HiBore irons are one of those “love ‘em or hate ‘em” irons… you won’t find too many golfers that are indifferent. Traditionalists don’t like the look of them and higher handicappers love what they can do with them.
Performance – It’s hard to dislike an iron that is as easy to hit as the HiBore. Cleveland has developed a club that gets the ball up in a hurry and that is tremendous on miss hits. Think of these as a “wide sole on steroids”. The obvious downside to an iron like this is that working the ball is out of the question. If you like shaping your shots, don’t bother looking at these. Some golfers also mentioned that they aren’t a huge fan of wider soles on their scoring irons.
Feel – Game improvement irons are designed to make every shot feel the same. Golfers that use these irons aren’t looking for buttery feel… they want forgiveness. Don’t expect a soft, forged feel here.
Value – The Cleveland HiBore irons offer decent value for the mid to high handicapper. These irons fall right into middle of the pack when compared to the competitors.
Looks – This category is a toss up. Some customers love the look of these irons because they inspire confidence. Others hate the look of these irons because they are bulky and anything but traditional. We say go with what works… but many still rank “looks” as one of their biggest buying motives.
Innovation – The stock shaft options in these clubs are decent and Cleveland offers a good variety of upgrades. Cleveland’s customer service has always been good and their custom shop can handle most requests. The HiBore irons offer the average golfer more game improvement technology than most irons on the market today.
Overall… Cleveland set out to create their most forgiving irons to date and they’ve done just that. Some golfers find the look of the HiBore irons distracting but those that don’t care about aesthetics will be pleasantly surprised.
