Cleveland LDI Hybrid Review

I found it a bit strange when Cleveland released two different hybrids in 2005. The HALO kind of came out of nowhere and many of us thought that the LDI would be Cleveland’s only entry into the hybrid market for the year.   The LDI was out on Tour… David Toms had been using it …

I found it a bit strange when Cleveland released two different hybrids in 2005. The HALO kind of came out of nowhere and many of us thought that the LDI would be Cleveland’s only entry into the hybrid market for the year.

 
The LDI was out on Tour… David Toms had been using it for a while and we all assumed that it would be in stores soon. Next thing we knew, Cleveland had two hybrids competing for different areas of the market.
 

I don’t know if I should call the LDI a hybrid or a drving iron… it looks like a driving iron but it plays a lot like a hybrid. The LDI looks like a big, bulky blade. Cleveland has keep the exterior look fairly clean but has done a lot inside the club to make it work. The LDI has a low center of gravity… thanks to internal weighting. This produces a fairly high ball flight but not as high as a lot of the hybrids on the market… including the Cleveland HALO. Like most hybrids, the LDI also features a high MOI… it’s good on miss hits. MOI is the new COR for 2005… it’s a golf joke… not all of you might get it. Don’t worry… it’s not that funny anyways! The LDI only comes in three different lofts so it limits itself as to what it can do. The stock shafts in the LDI are great… the Dynamic Gold SL steel and the Aldila NV 105 graphite. Don’t like the stock choices? No problem. There is a whole list of custom options available.

 

Let’s make one thing clear… the LDI is not for everyone. A higher handicapper would be better off with the HALO. The LDI is really designed for the better player that wants to have a “control” club for off the tee and on long par 5’s. Look at the lofts available… only three… a good sign that Cleveland is targeting a very specific player with this club. Our testers didn’t mind this club but none of them put it near the top of their “hybrid wish list”. A few better players I know really enjoyed it because they liked the ball flight and the overall look of the club. Put it this way… if I was a 20 handicap looking for a hybrid, I wouldn’t consider the LDI. If I was a 5 handicap that played a lot of tight courses and wanted a good “control” club, I would run out and try the LDI. An ok club… not for everyone…limited lofts… good shaft options. That about sums it up!

 

Overall Rating – 60%

 

Target Handicap: 12 and Below

 

Ball Flight: Mid to High (Lower than most other hybrids)

 

Lofts: 18,21,24 degree

 

Shafts: Dynamic Gold SL steel, Aldila NV 105 graphite