Club Test 2011: Cleveland Golf CG16 and CG16 Tour Irons

From Golf Magazine (April 2011)
CG16
Category: Game-Improvement Irons
We tested: 3-PW with Cleveland Actionlite 55 graphite shaft; 3-PW with Cleveland Traction 85 steel shaft

Key Technologies: An undercut cavity creates a CG location that's 10 percent lower and 75 percent deeper than a traditional blade so the ball launches higher. Its laser-milled, rough-textured face is designed to bolster spin. The large, thin face increases ball speed by 2 mph compared to CG7 irons.

OUR TESTERS SAY: Forgiving, powerful, lightweight club is a good fit for mid-handicappers with more moderate clubhead speeds.

PROS
PLAYABILITY: High, soft-landing irons that settle very quickly; heavy sole slices through rough.

ACCURACY/FORGIVENESS: Shots hold their line very well -- mostly slight pulls or pushes, at worst.

DISTANCE CONTROL: Testers don't sacrifice much on off-center toe hits; one tester is 7-10 yards longer compared to CG7 Tour irons.

FEEL: Clubs are easy to swing; very soft feel at impact; several testers like the lightweight feel, even with a steel (85-gram) shaft.

LOOK: Black Pearl finish scores big with testers; milled face looks like it will give great bite.

CONS
Club weight is too light for our hardest swingers; Black Pearl finish wears fairly quickly during our test session; off-center hits don't offer much feedback.

CG16 Tour
Category: Tour Irons
We tested: 3-PW with True Temper Dynamic Gold steel shaft

Key Technologies: Its small undercut cavity provides forgiveness and responsiveness on slight mis-hits. The "tour zip grooves" and "laser milled face" (to increase surface roughness) create added spin and, thus, control.

OUR TESTERS SAY: Provides good consistent results and enjoyable feel on pure shots.

PROS
PLAYABILITY: The small head and narrow sole make it easy to hit shots from different kinds of lies.

ACCURACY/FORGIVENESS: Respectable results in terms of accuracy on solid hits.

DISTANCE CONTROL: Similar outcome on pure and not-so-pure shots compared with testers' own iron sets.

FEEL: Most testers get plenty of feedback on solid strikes.

LOOK: Testers couldn't wait to pull it from the bag and give it a go -- small clubhead with minimal offset and dark "black pearl" finish is a big hit.

CONS
Some testers notice too much sidespin [and not enough help] on misses; others experience a lack of feel on chips and pitches.

From Golf Magazine (December 2010)
It's for: Game-improvement players

The CG16 irons are lighter, longer and have stronger lofts than standard irons. A large, undercut cavity positions the center of gravity (CG) 10 percent lower and 75 percent deeper than in typical blades for higher shots and increased forgiveness, while "zip grooves" and "laser milled face technology" add control. A large, thin face increases ball speed to bolster distance. Cleveland prints the iron number, plus degrees of loft, on the sole to help with proper gapping. The CG16 comes in black pearl or satin chrome finish.

CG16: $699, steel; $799, graphite
CG16 Tour: $ 799, steel

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