Cleveland has introduced two new products, both at very competitive prices, which are their first entry into the rapidly expanding utility – hybrid golf club market.  The first is the Cleveland HALO Hybrid Utility.  HALO means “High Angle Lift Off”.  A great acronym for a hybrid club since one reason to buy these kinds of clubs is that they get the ball into the air easier and at a higher launch.  The club comes in both steel and graphite and in enough lofts to make selection a breeze.

The second is the Cleveland LDI Hybrid Utility Iron.  LDI means “Launcher Driving Iron”.  In this case the acronym isn’t as descriptive but let’s give Cleveland an “A+”, overall for achievement in acronym creation!!  Again, the club comes in either steel or graphite but not as many lofts as their HALO Hybrid Utility.

Notice how Cleveland gave both the “Hybrid” and “Utility” names to both of their new clubs.  This certainly points out the issue this new area of golf club design is having.  What do you call them?  Hybrid or Utility?  As I pointed out on the home page of this site the terms are interchangeable .

Yes you can.  Both the HALO Hybrid Utility and the LDI Hybrid Utility come in a new steel shaft introduced by True Temper late in 2004.  It is called the Dynamic Gold Superlite.  The True Temper Dynamic Gold shaft has always been the best selling high quality steel shaft and Cleveland has made a great decision to use the new lighter version of the Dynamic Gold in their hybrid utility clubs.

Again, yes you can but in this case the graphite shafts are very different on the two clubs.  On the HALO they have introduced a private branded shaft called the HALO Graphite.  On the LDI the stock shaft is the Aldila NV 105.  The 105 means the weight of the shaft in grams.  At 105 grams this would be heavier than other hybrid utility shafts available.  Since, in my opinion, this club is mostly for the low handicap golfer it makes sense to use a heavier shaft. 

The LDI, which is designed to replace your long irons, comes in either an 18 degree or a 21 degree loft.  The 18 degree is designed to replace your two iron and the 21 degree your three iron.  They really aren’t designed to replace any of your fairway woods.  The 18 degree is 40 inches long in steel and 40.5 inches long in graphite and the 21 degree is 39.5 inches long in both steel and graphite.

The HALO comes in lofts ranging from 16 degrees up to 25 degrees.  The model numbers are 1i for 16 degree, 2i for 19 degrees, 3i for 22 degrees and 4i for 25 degrees.  They say on their website that these clubs are also made to replace your “hard to hit” long irons.  In the case of the 3i and 4i that probably is true but the other two are really for replacing your fairway woods.  I would probably use the 1i to replace a four wood but if you can’t hit your three wood off the fairway then toss the three wood and get the 1i.  At 41 inches long in graphite it is about two inches shorter than a standard three wood.  The 2i could be used to replace anything from a five wood to a seven wood.  Personally, if you like the Cleveland HALO series and you have trouble with long irons and fairway woods you should consider buying all four lofts and replacing both your three and five woods and both your three and four irons.  You won’t be sorry and your scores will drop. 

If you would like more assistance in figuring out which manufacturers offerings to purchase you can click on the following link to get further help: “How to Select A Utility or Hybrid Golf Club”.  There you will find out how to make a comparison and selection based upon the club you are trying to replace, or what golf problem you are trying to solve or advice if you are a low handicap golfer and lastly a section to advise beginning golfers.