Bought the Cleveland Hi-Bore 8,5 equipped with the stnd Fujikura stiff shaft, this authumn and it has been such a disapointing experience!!
I used to hit the ball quite long with my Taylor Made XR-03, around 260, with the Hi-Bore i´m down to an average of 220. Yes it´s easy to hit straight but it leaves me with a 4 iron to the green instead of a 7-8 iron :-(
I have tried diffent balls, 2 piece instead of 3 piece balls - this doesn´t make any difference. It seems as the ball it going quire far, but then suddenly "dies" and drops allmost dead.
I have been hitting app 1000 shots with it, and nothing seems to work. My conclusion is, that this driver simply doesn´t fit me and it´s for sale right now.

Traded in some old clubs and my Hogan CS-3 driver for this club, Hi Bore XL w/Gold reg. flex Fuji stock shaft. Tried all variations at the range, and suprised to hit the reg. flex gold just slightly better than the stiff gold - couldn't hit the Red shaft (R or S) to save my life. When hit correctly, the ball goes a mile, with a slight draw, and an excellent mid-flight trajectory. I hit it much better than all other models tried. Only complaint is I still occasionally pull-hook it, and the face is slightly closed; but I think that's me, not the club. Very, very good overall.

Customer Service

NA

Similar Products Used:

Hogan CS-3, TM R7 425, all other competing models at range (G-5, MX-500, Sasquatch, etc.)

I bought this almost new on eBay for $60. I like it but it feels a bit stiff - slightly higher torque shaft might feel softer.

I haven't played on the course with it yet, but have hit a few buckets of balls and I seem to be hitting it 250+, and the weather here - Seattle - is a bit cold and damp, so I imagine come next spring/summer on a course I'll be getting 270-280 total distance which is awesome for me.

For the life of me I can't hit it right. I normally hit a bit left and with this club my drives seem to end up between 5 and 30 yards left of where I'm aiming. If I just use a half swing and punch the ball it goes reasonably straight.

I found I get my best hits with this club when I choke down half an inch and employ a slow, fairly short backswing, otherwise I occasionally get a wicked hook.

Overall, I like the club a lot but I might try to test a HiBore with a Regular flex shaft.

Was at the range last month and tried a buddy's Hibore and loved it. Went right where I aimed it every time. It felt great, too. Range ball felt like it just exploded off the face. So I bought the same 9.5 degree w/ Proforce V2 shaft-new, for a good price.
Went to the range and it was a little discouraging at first. I know better than to blame the club right away. I can shoot in the 70's and I can shoot in the high 90's, depending on which me shows up. I hit fade after fade. It just felt stiffer. The powerful feel at impact was not there. I went back to the range after work and worked it out by just placing my feet a little closer together, I think allowing for the 46" shaft to get on plane and lo and behold, balls went straight and far again. Still feels stiffer than my buddy's, perhaps a matter of shaft orientation (spine) or just not broken in, I don't know. I played 9 holes with it, though and it's a keeper. One hole (considerably downwind, to be fair to my old TM 580XD) my approach was from 110 instead of 150. With the exception of one clunker, all shots went where I aimed them. I'll get back to you on the distance improvement. It was too windy to make a fair assessment. If the shaft doesn't loosen up a bit on its own, I may play with spine alignment to soften it up a little. The sound of impact is not a pleasing one. That was one of the things I loved about the TM-the sound and feel was as close to persimmon-like as I've hit in a metalwood. If it's really getting me an extra 15 yards, as I suspect, I will make those sacrifices.

Similar Products Used:

Taylor Made 580 XD, R7, Ping PISI, G2

I purchased the Hibore when a sales person at Golf Town suggested I try it, I thought this was a sales pitch to clear inventory…

I currently play a 9.0 Callaway so I was reaching for the 9.5 Hibore the guy at the store suggested I take the the Hibore in a 10.5 ALDILA NV 65 stiff. I tired it on the Golf sim and WOW!!! I purchased this cub right away.

My 1st game with this driver set up as 12 degree in Temp (cold) and a 25-28 KMH wind. It surprised me that the higher loft did NOT make the ball launch any higher, the ball flight on the Cleveland was much better with a boring flight pattern then my Callaway, it seemed to cut through the wind. With the wind against me I was hitting the ball dead to my target and avrg 244-250. With the wind I was a consistently on the left side of the fairway or just into the 1st cut of rough with huge drives. This was the 1st time in 2 years I did not have a banana ball for the entire round.

They have the Hibore XL and the only difference I could really see was the larger head. I know they say it has a higher MOI and better CG, but $198 vs $359 doesn’t make sense to me. Save your money and go with the older one on a sell off you wont be disappointed.

Customer Service

N/A

Similar Products Used:

Callaway 454, HawkEye, ERC, Taylor Made 300, R7, Cobra Speed.

before i begin the review, let me just say, stick w/ a driver that works.

since 3yrs ago, i've tried about 15 drivers or so. reshafting w/ different options is not included in the 15 different drivers. total combination can be as high as 30 driver/shaft combo, can't count.

pros:
- smaller clubhead size
some like the 460cc trend, i personally don't. while callaway bb might be a little too small, but say cobra ld series may be too big for my eyes.
- 1* closed face
come on, let's be realistic. unless you're consistent 70s performer, you have no business buying yourself a r7 tp or hibore xl tour-spec. i'm a 8.1 handicap and i need the help. i'm just being real, as most of us in here (as apparent from the reviews) are fooling ourselves.
- distance
not the furthest hitting driver (tm does make fantastic clubheads), but respectable 240 carry is the norm.
- backspin rate
this baby puts just about 2500rpm backspin for me. while the ideal is 3000 to 3500rpm, i'd take little less of 2500 than 5000rpm - 240 carry w/ roll generated from 2500rpm comes to about 265 total yards for me.
- accuracy
my friends and i have what we call "countrywide tour". it's just the 4 of us haha. but i do lead the tour in driving accuracy. currently, my driving accuracy is about 77%, since i've put the hibore in my bag.

cons:
- sound
the hollow sound is annoying, even still (had the driver for more than 6months).
- lack of feel
it'll tell you the general direction of your mis-hit, but not the most sensitive feel either.
- lack of workability
as if i can at-will draw/fade... but it's much much prone to hooking than hitting a fade around dogleg rights. the 1* closed face is great at hitting draws and straight drives, but can't have it all right?

in summary, i will keep this driver for a long time. did try the newer xl and xl tour-spec also, but on the launch monitor, the older hibore just performs better. and i can't stand to look at the gigantic xl clubheads.

hope this review helped.
cleveland hibore 9.5*
ust proforce v2 stiff 67g
-0.5inch from butt (44.5 total length)
golf pride tour wrap full-cord .580round

Customer Service

Great Great service at Cleveland Golf

Similar Products Used:

Too many...

I bought my first Hibore XL 9.5 X-stiff shaft. Way too stiff for me. I sold it and bought a 10.5 with stock Cleveland Gold stiff shaft and this thing is long a straight. Wow! I couldn't be happier I have picked up 25 yards, sometimes more. In damp northern California you just don't get a lot of roll and at 56 I am hitting it 250 yards, which is good for me. Some of the young guys can hit it 285 or more. Beware it sounds like a tin can when you hit it. Cleveland really has a winner with this driver, very long and very straight. Good for all handicaps. Available on EBAY.

Similar Products Used:

Cleveland Launcher, Cleveland original Hibore, TM r5, Adams Insight (also very long).

Just an amazing driver. Gave me a nice draw. The harder I swung, the straighter it went. Went from really bad "Aspire" clubs to this and its such a difference. I don't slice anymore and I'm consistently hitting the balls 10-20 yards longer. Great Driver.

Similar Products Used:

Aspire XD2 Driver

I was using a Nike Ignite 450cc and had a horrible slice with a outside to in swing at about 93 mph, which is borderline Stiff shaft. I went to Golfsmith and hit quite a few drivers, the Hibore stuck with me. It has a pretty loud sound at impact. I now play the ball just to the left of the fairway if not on the fairway, the ticket with this driver is to tee it low, the center of gavity is low, which is what cleveland intended. If you tee it high you will balloon and sky the ball. Tee the ball 1 1/2 to 2 inches off the ground and let her rip. I really like the Driver, I got it in the regular flex, I have never had a problem with the look of the club, but the performance is great.

Customer Service

Not experienced

Similar Products Used:

Nike Ignite 450, Nike sasquatch

I have just bought the Cleveland Hibore 10.5 with a fujikara regular shaft.
What a great club!!!
I usualley hit a bit of a slice but this turned it into a wicked draw.
Great club at a great price.
Make sure you try it out at the range before you play it as the unusauel dish shaped head takes some getting used to.
Would reccommend this to anyone.
Great job down at cleveland.

Customer Service

not tryed them yet,

Similar Products Used:

cleveland launcher, cleveland hibore xl(overated).