One of the biggest surprises out of the new Cleveland Launcher XL HALO series is what the brand is deeming a “Hy-Wood.” The Cleveland Launcher XL HALO hybrid is a monster out of any lie, featuring technology also found in its driver and woods. I absolutely loved this club right from the start, easily finding a place for it in my bag.

Launcher XL HALO Hy-Wood Technology

The main purpose of the Luancher XL HALO Hy-Wood is to give you confidence in an area of your game that might need some work: hitting a fairway wood off the turf. I know that I struggle often with this shot from any distance or lie, making the Hy-Wood perfect for my game.

Much like the Launcher XL HALO fairway woods, the Hy-Wood features a large clubhead — deemed an XL Head — and a GlideRail sole to smooth turf interaction. This combo provides a slightly larger-than-usual clubhead appearance at address, yet an extremely easy club to control on every shot. You’re not going to lack confidence hitting the Hy-Wood at any point, effectively shortening the golf course on what would normally be longer shots.

Rebound Frame tech also makes an appearance in the Hy-Wood, which includes two flex points within the head to boost ball speed and distance. This feature makes the hybrid-shaped club an absolute monster in this category, providing distances you normally see from a 3- or 5-wood.

A counterbalanced weight in the butt-end of the grip, similar to the Launcher XL woods, further eases the use of the Hy-Wood by increasing swing speed without more effort. Offsetting the weight in the clubhead via the addition of the grip weight was ingenious and makes for one of the easiest clubs to swing ever.

Performance and Feel

There’s so much to say about the performance of the Launcher XL HALO Hy-Wood, but it’s best summed up into one word: incredible.

I have yet to try a hybrid-shaped club that has performed better for me than the Hy-Wood. From the moment I struck my first golf ball with the club I immediately saw distances and forgiveness that is unmatched from anything else I’ve tried in the past. Ball speeds were similar — if not higher — than what I normally expect in a fairway wood, and distances easily surpassed my current hybrids and 3-wood. For reference, I average 250 yards total with my gamer 3-wood, and the Launcher XL HALO Hy-Wood covered that distance with no problem.

At impact, the Hy-Wood feels powerful and crisp without sounding too harsh, which was a slight criticism I mentioned in my review of the Launcher XL driver. Shots exploded off the face with the perfect height and trajectory, landing softly as a hybrid should while covering distances a hybrid shouldn’t. This club is going to be my secret weapon for reaching par-5’s in two for the rest of the season… and beyond.

I enjoyed the Hy-Wood so much that it is replacing my 3-wood in my bag, which allows me to add a utility iron or perhaps another wedge to help with yardage gapping.

Overall Impression

I honestly can’t say enough about the Cleveland Launcher XL HALO Hy-Wood. Despite the admittedly silly name, this club is hands down one of the best hybrids you’ll ever hit. It checks all the boxes for yardages, ball speed, forgiveness and accuracy, making it a must-try for anyone looking for help in their fairway woods or hybrids.

For more information, visit the Cleveland Golf website here.