Cleveland Launcher UHX Irons Review – Are They Forgiving & Good for High Handicappers?

Cleveland Launcher UHX Irons Review – Are They Forgiving & Good for High Handicappers?

“The Cleveland Launcher UHX irons are billed as irons for mid to low handicappers.”

But I tested this set and I think the market is more expansive than that. While not as forgiving as some other Launcher offerings, the Cleveland Launcher UHX irons have a little something for everyone.

Cleveland Launcher UHX Irons Overview

“The Cleveland Launcher UHX is technically a combination set with the long and mid irons having a solid back, hollow body design and the short irons bearing a cavity back design.”

Right off the bat, this design combination is supposed to provide more forgiveness and distance in the long irons and more control in the short irons. I can say that the first part of that claim is definitely true. When I took the Cleveland Launcher UHX irons to the range, I was really impressed with the distance. Not only that, I was able to take my full, natural swing and get distance that was better than my gamer irons.

The long and mid irons are utility hollow irons so they have a fairly large profile. Still, they look clean enough at address and in the bag, it’s not like they scream, “game improvement!” Furthermore, the long irons have variable face thickness steel inserts. As a result, my mis-hits weren’t losing very much ball speed. So not only was the sweet spot pretty big and easy to hit, when I missed it I was still getting really solid distance.

I was averaging a carry distance of 178.8 yards with the 5-iron on pure strikes and on mis-hits that number only shrank to 174.9 yards. My only complaint about these irons is that the short irons aren’t as controllable as they are advertised. The cavity back design does make them easier to manage; but the launch control is minimal. I couldn’t dial in my apex height for the best landings on the green.

The Cleveland Launcher UHX irons also feature V-shaped soles in  the tradition of Srixon irons. But you can’t really tell just by looking at them. The soles are a bit on the thick side but they are indeed tapered. I really liked the turf interaction. Even on heavy shots, the club head wasn’t digging very much. This allowed me to maintain good club head speed through impact.

Are the Cleveland Launcher UHX Irons Forgiving?

“Pretty much every iron in this set is forgiving.”

Let’s not ignore the profile of the short irons. Even though this is a progressive set, the short irons are still pretty sizable. There is plenty of offset in them and the face profile is pretty deep. The only thing you have to be careful with is launch. The cavity back design makes ballooning a real possibility around the pin.

Other than that though, this is an exceptionally forgiving set of irons. The long irons yield near-effortless distance with a controlled launch. The hollow body design in concert with the variable thickness face inserts makes it ridiculously easy to get your distance up no matter what your swing is like.

The Cleveland Launcher UHX irons are advertised as “players distance” irons which suggests that they are for better players. But I beg to differ. The whole set is forgiving so I can easily see these irons in the bags of high handicappers as well.

Are the Cleveland Launcher UHX Irons Good for Beginners & High Handicappers?

“The combination of easy distance in the long irons and above-average forgiveness in the short irons makes these irons an easy play for high handicappers.”

Pure beginners may be another story though. The long irons in this set have a moderate profile and may actually be too small for beginners to wield effectively. I can see a beginner struggling through with these irons and ultimately making good use of them; but it would be a very frustrating trial, I think.

Instead, I would have no problem recommending these irons to high handicappers. Again, despite the lack of control in the short irons, the Cleveland Launcher UHXs offer everything a high handicapper needs: exceptional distance, forgiveness, and the ability to hit straight shots.

Should You Buy the Cleveland Launcher UHX or the Cleveland Launcher XL Irons?

“The Cleveland Launcher XL irons also have features like hollow body design in the long irons and cavity back short irons.”

But the Cleveland Launcher XL irons have a bigger profile and thicker soles. The Launcher XL irons also have weight pads that help the variable thickness face resist twisting on heel and toe-side mis-hits. If forgiveness is your main concern then know that the Cleveland Launcher XL irons are even more forgiving than the Cleveland Launcher UHXs.