Cleveland Launcher XL irons. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

Gear: Cleveland Launcher XL irons
Price: $799.99 (4-PW) with True Temper Elevate 95 steel shafts and Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360 grips. $899.99 with Project X Catalyst graphite shafts
Specs: Hollow-body designed long irons blended with cavity-back short irons. Counterbalanced shafts. 

The new Launcher XL irons blend two types of clubs into one set to deliver easy-to-hit long irons and precision-focused scoring clubs.

All of the clubs are 15 percent larger from heel to toe than the previous generation of Launcher irons, and they have a wide V-shaped sole that is designed to work in and out of the turf efficiently to help golfers get better performance on fat shots. Each of the irons has also been given Cleveland’s MainFrame face, a hitting surface created after computers simulated thousands of shots with different face designs to create the fastest and most forgiving hitting area possible.

The grooves in the Launcher XL irons vary by loft. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

However, the 4-iron through 7-iron heads are hollow, to allow that face to flex more efficiently and create even more ball speed. The 8-iron through gap wedge have a cavity-back design that should provide more control and feel. The short irons also have narrower, deeper grooves than those found in the long irons. According to Cleveland, they should help to produce more spin, which can create a higher launch angle, steeper descent angle and more spin.

The V-shaped sole helps the Launcher XL work through the turf. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

At the top of the handle, under the grip, Cleveland has added an 8-gram weight. The weight helps to counterbalance the weight of the head, so with the same amount of effort, golfers should be able to create more clubhead speed. The company refers to it as Action Mass CB.

Cleveland Launcher XL Halo irons. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

Gear: Cleveland Launcher XL Halo irons
Price: $799.99 (4-PW) with True Temper Elevate 95 steel shafts and Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360 grips.
Specs: Hollow-body designed long irons blended with cavity-back short irons. Counterbalanced shafts. 

For people who are new to golf or who struggle to make solid contact, hybrids and fairway woods are often easier to hit than irons because they have a bigger face, lower center of gravity and wider sole that tends to slide over and through the grass easily. The Launcher XL Halo irons, which are essentially a set of iron-lofted hybrids, bring all that to the party.

The HiBore crown swoops down and helps lower the center of gravity for higher-flying shots. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

First things first, they’re large. Setting any of these clubs down behind the ball will instill confidence in players who struggle to break 90 or 100. The HiBore crown design features a step-down shape that helps to lower the center of gravity and encourage higher-flying shots. You can see it clearly in the 4-iron through 8-iron, but in the 9-iron through gap wedge, it is hidden from sight as you address the ball.

Cleveland’s MainFrame face helps to create more ball speed and distance. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

The wide V-shaped sole works in and out of the turf quickly, like in the Launcher XL irons, but the Launcher XL Halo also has more offset, which should help golfers make solid contact and square the face more consistently.

Like the Launcher XL irons, the Launcher XL Halo has the Action Mass CB counterbalanced shaft design and grooves that vary by loft to create more spin on approach shots.