The new Cleveland Launcher XL 2 drivers come with maybe the best artificial intelligence catchphrase of the 2024 product launch season.

You can’t spell GAINS without the “AI.”

Hey, I didn’t write it.

But the catchphrase is indicative of where the golf equipment world is now. It’s an artificial intelligence world, boys and girls. And if you don’t have a supercomputer iterating the crap out of your designs, you’ll find yourself lost in the smoke.

(OK, that one’s on me.)

Unfortunately for Cleveland, its last round of drivers did get left behind despite AI’s best efforts. But the thing about AI is the more it iterates, the better the iterations. So maybe, just maybe, the Launcher XL 2 is finally the driver that puts Cleveland’s reborn metalwoods offering back on the map.

The Evolution of Cleveland Drivers

Cleveland exited the full-line offering game in 2015 when the powers that be decided we’d be best served with Cleveland as a wedge/putter specialist. That lasted all of two years. The company reintroduced itself with the Launcher HB series of metalwoods and hybrid irons as well as the Launcher CBX irons.

While Cleveland’s hybrid irons have been solid to outstanding performers in MyGolfSpy testing, the metalwoods have had, shall we say, their ups and downs.

Mostly downs.

Cleveland’s most recent driver, the original Launcher XL, featured three models: the Launcher XL, the XL Lite and the XL Lite Draw. In our 2022 driver testing, the standard Launcher XL finished 28th out of 40 drivers tested. The XL Lite finished 33rd. The XL Lite Draw was the best performing of the bunch, finishing 22nd overall.

That was the overall testing. The drivers fared no better when broken down into the low- and mid-swing speed brackets, which ostensibly is who the Launcher XL series was designed for. The XL Lite Draw was the top performer in the family, finishing 14th out of 40 for low-swing speeds and 20th out of 40 for mid-swing speeds.

Don’t think it’s because the good folks at Cleveland-Srixon-XXIO don’t know drivers. Last year’s Srixon ZX5 Mk II LS driver finished a strong fifth overall.  But something is amiss with Cleveland. And it’s something Cleveland thinks AI can help it lick.

Cleveland Launcher XL 2: AI Steers the Ship

While Cleveland used artificial intelligence to help design the original Launcher XL, it’s letting AI flex its muscles a bit more this time around. Specifically, Cleveland is bringing Srixon’s AI-optimized MainFrame face technology to the new Launcher XL 2, calling it MainFrame XL.

By now you know the drill. AI iterates variable thickness face designs and then simulates thousands of the most common strikes across the club face to see what happens. Based on the results, it then reconfigures the face geometry and does it all again until the people running the machines are satisfied.

“We see how each one performs and go from there,” says Cleveland Senior Product Manager Casey Schultz. “We remove as much mass from the face as possible and move it to other places. That lets us maximize ball speed across what’s a very large, deep face.”

The goal is to create a high COR area (defined as being over 0.800) over a larger portion of the face. Cleveland stresses it’s looking at impact locations in areas where the likes of you and me tend to make contact, not Hideki or Keegan. At the risk of making you say, “Duh,” the key to distance is hitting the center of the face with great speed. What AI does is optimize performance over a wider impact area. No, it’s not the same as hitting it on the screws. But the results will be better than they’d be without an AI face.

Refining the Launcher

As mentioned, the previous XL driver line featured three models: XL, XL Lite and XL Lite Draw. The new lineup has only two models: the standard XL 2 and the XL 2 Draw.

In our 2022 driver testing, the XL Lite Draw was the best performing of the bunch but, for 2024, that’s the model Cleveland is dropping.

Sort of.

“The Launcher XL Draw is essentially the new Lite model, in a way,” says Schultz. “It’s going to have a lighter shaft and lighter components. It’s 12 grams lighter than the standard and is designed for the type of player that the Lite was originally designed for.”

While there’s one less option, Cleveland has more than made up for it by adding hosel adjustability to the Launcher XL 2 lineup. That allows the XL 2 Draw to pull double duty.

“Whatever the Lite player needs, whether it’s more loft or more draw bias, they still have that plus a few more options,” says Schultz. “Weight has been shifted toward the heel. That, plus the face angle, achieves the draw bias we want.”

Cleveland-Srixon offers what might be the most versatile adjustable hosel in the game. The Launcher XL 2 models can be loft-adjusted up or down 1.5 degrees while also adjusting lie angle in half-degree increments from standard to three degrees flat. Face angles are also adjustable from square to slightly open or slightly closed.

With 12 different setting possibilities, the Cleveland-Srixon hosel offers a ton of options. It is, however, far from intuitive. You don’t have to be an Oppenheimer to figure it out, but it would help.

XL = Extra Large?

So, does the “XL” in the Cleveland Launcher XL 2 stand for Extra Long or Extra Large? It looks extra-large, even though it’s still 460 cc.

“The profile is kind of squashed,” says Schultz. “We want to use geometry in a way that’s conducive for forgiveness instead of having more volume taken up in areas that won’t help.”

You won’t find any carbon fiber in the Launcher XL 2 lineup but you will find the Srixon-inspired Rebound Frame technology. Rebound Frame is a ball-speed generating double flex system. For the driver’s face to flex properly, it needs to be backed up by a rigid frame. Rebound Frame doubles down by backing up the first rigid frame with a second “flex zone.” That flex zone is backed up by the rigid read of the club head.

This double-trampoline launched Srixon’s ZX5 Mk II LS to a top-five finish in last year’s MGS driver testing. It didn’t help the previous Launcher series much but that lineup didn’t include the AI-designed MainFrame XL face.

If you’re extra cynical, you might think XL stands for Extra Loud. While not 2008 HiBore-level loud, Cleveland drivers are, shall we say, harsh-sounding. The good news is the new Launcher XL 2 sound is much improved over the previous model.

But it’s still on the harsh side.

“It’s something we always try to make the best we can without sacrificing forgiveness or performance,” explains Schultz. “There’s a balance between putting in extra ribs that help sound but hurt performance.

“When you go with these larger profile heads, it’s going to have a certain sound. It goes with the territory and there’s always a tradeoff. Do you go with sound performance or do you go with forgiveness? For us, forgiveness normally wins.”

Who Is the Cleveland Launcher XL 2 Driver For?

It’s safe to say that nearly 90 percent of the drivers sold come from one of the Big Five. That leaves Srixon-Cleveland-XXIO, PXG, Mizuno, Wilson and everyone else fighting for table scraps. When Cleveland came back, it was intended for the recreational game-improvement golfer, and it still is.

“The player we’re targeting is more concerned about finding the fairway,” says Schultz.

And that’s what makes Cleveland’s AI efforts different from those of Callaway or even its own brother, Srixon.

“You’re not optimizing the same design,” Schultz explains. “Each design is different, with different targets. The last generation was maybe great in our simulations but if fitters say it’s launching a little low, we’ll make sure we move the center of gravity and then optimize the face for that.”

For its purposes, Cleveland says the standard Launcher XL 2 is for moderate to fast swingers. It’s classified by Cleveland as mid-spin, mid to high launch with a straight-flight bias. The Launcher XL 2 Draw is for moderate swing speeds. It’s higher spinning and higher launching with a slight draw bias.

Emphasis on slight.

“We don’t want to massively snap the face closed,” says Schultz. “We’ve done that in the past and we think it was a little too much for some players’ eyes. Our approach this time is to maximize forgiveness but also build in some draw bias to hit the target we want.”

Final Thoughts

Coming in at $449.99, the Cleveland Launcher XL 2 is a relative bargain. You don’t get carbon fiber for $449.99 but you’re also not paying to support Tour sponsorships since Cleveland isn’t paying anyone to game this thing.

As always, price is a double-edged sword. No one is jumping with glee over the new $600 driver price threshold. But whether it’s confirmation bias, marketing-based brand-washing or just plain experience, consumers find it hard to believe a driver that costs $150 less can perform with higher-priced options.

Cleveland is giving you some value at $449.99. The Launcher XL 2 series comes standard with ActionMass CB, which is an eight-gram counterweight in the butt end of the club. The idea is to make the club feel lighter and easier to swing. Cleveland says it will promote a more inside-out swing path and a squarer club face at impact. (Archer-Arrow Warriors please note: Cleveland did NOT say it will GIVE you an inside-out path or a square club face, only that it will help).

Additionally, there’s an optional Accuracy Build throughout the Cleveland line where you can custom order a build that’s a half-inch shorter and without the ActionMass weight. You’re swapping out a bit of potential distance for a tad more consistency in hitting the center of the face which, ironically, might wind up giving you more average distance, anyway.

We won’t know how the Cleveland Launcher XL 2 drivers stack up against the Ai-Smokes of the world until we wrap up 2024 driver testing. But given Cleveland’s relatively mediocre performance over its last several cycles, there’s plenty of room for improvement.

Cleveland Launcher XL 2 Drivers: Specs, Price and Availability

As mentioned, the Launcher XL 2 drivers will retail for $449.99. And give Cleveland props: the company is upping its shaft game.  The standard XL 2 features a real-deal Mitsubishi Tensei AV Series Blue as the stock shaft. The lighter XL 2 Draw features the lighter Aldila Ascent PL 40. The Lamkin Crossline 360 is the stock grip for both.

Both drivers are adjustable and will be offered in nine-, 10.5- and 12-degree models. The entire lineup is available for lefties and righties except for the nine-degree draw model. That’s for righties only.

For women, Cleveland is offering only a 12-degree XL 2 Draw model in right-handed. Lefties will have to custom order.

As always, Cleveland offers an extensive selection of no-upcharge and premium shafts and grips available via custom order.

The new Cleveland Launcher XL 2 drivers will retail for $449.99 and will be available starting Jan. 19.

For more information, visit the Cleveland Golf website.

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