PGA Show: Cleveland Golf appears ready to soar with new Launcher

ORLANDO – Rarely does a sequel match the original. Maybe that’s why Cleveland Golf waited so long to re-launch its Launcher driver. But after the geometrically challenged Hi-Bore models didn’t become as popular as hoped, the company tapped back into its star player for 2009.

No gadget wrenches or funky shaft tips or adjustable weights. The new Launcher has a semi-cone shaped head, but at address it looks like a traditional driver. Cleveland also has one of the best shaft-fitting systems in the business (remember the green aldila in the orginal Launcher?).

“It had quite a following, and we have a lot of equity in that brand,” said Randy Romberg, VP of Marketing for Cleveland Golf/Srixon. “The early feedback has been tremendous. We‘re projecting that to be about 70% of our wood sales.”

I gotta admit … the ball jumped off the face better than the other drivers I hit so far. Had the best feel, too, although I haven’t hit TaylorMade’s R9 and a couple others yet.

To paraphrase its marketing slogan, maybe this new Launcher is back with a vengeance.