The CG16 are the newest irons offered by Cleveland Golf with a release date of March 2011.
They contain many of the successful technologies as their predecessor, the Cleveland CG7 Black Pearl Irons and more , making them one of the best mid-high handicapper irons sets released in 2011.
FROM THE COMPANY:
The Cleveland CG16 irons are designed with maximum distance in mind, featuring a lighter overall club weight and longer club length.
The large cavity back has a full undercut that stretches the center of gravity low and deep to optimize launch angle and significantly improve forgiveness.
The large, thin face on the CG16 Irons allows for increased COR (Coefficient of Restitution, which has become a commonplace term amongst golfers when manufacturers began thinning out clubfaces to create a trampoline effect when the ball makes contact resulting in greater distance) that will produce distances that compete with any iron set on the market, but with increased control.
PRODUCT FEATURES :
Laser Milled Face
The CG16 Irons feature Cleveland Golf’s breakthrough Laser Milled surface roughness technology, also found on the Cleveland CG16 Wedges. Using the precision accuracy of a laser, each face features four perfectly calibrated texture lines milled between each groove exactly to the conforming roughness limit.
This more precise and consistent surface roughness application optimizes ball-to-face friction 
and maximizes spin, especially from the rough.
Tour Zip Grooves
The Tour Zip Grooves in the Cleveland CG16 Irons are a precise milling technology that preserves edges and maintains perfect groove consistency while maximizing the allowable groove dimensions that are in compliance with the 2011 USGA groove requirements.
Ultralite Longer and Lighter Design
Ultra-lightweight steel and graphite shaft designs combined with optimized head weights, lofts and club lengths that will improves clubhead speed and distance while maintaining standard swing weights and control.
Increased Overall Forgiveness
Wide sole for consistent turf interaction, and full cavity back design with undercut for high MOI (Moment of Inertia a property of physics that indicates the relative difference in how easy or difficult it will be to set any object in motion.)
For the review, I tried out the Cleveland CG16 Black Pearl Irons and after one round I was hooked. They’re categorized in the game-improvement column of golf clubs, but I feel that players of all skill levels will enjoy the clubs. I’ve reviewed quite a few Cleveland golf clubs, and these are by far my favorite irons from the manufacturer.
Still in my bag are the ’09 TaylorMade Burner Irons, but I was bombing the CG16 Irons AT LEAST one club longer than the Burners. The thinner face on the irons lives up to the hype and increase the ball speed by 2 mph compared to the CG7’s.
They’ve got a great, soft feel and when you hit the sweet spot, let the golf euphoria begin, very very nice.. The CG16’s provide plenty of forgiveness and have a nice high shot trajectory that hold the line really well.
The Black Pearl finish looks great, but the club aesthetics need some perfecting. It’s like putting a new awesome coat of paint on a Ford Pinto. Also, the clubface begins to show wear rather quickly, although, I don’t mind that so much. It gives you a great idea of where you’re making contact on the clubface, almost like a built in training aid! 🙂
Overall, the CG16 Irons are great clubs that I am sad to be sending back to Cleveland.
If you’re looking to purchase a set, below is a link to GlobalGolf.com who offer a 30 day playability guarantee.
Click here to see the sale price.
Want to see what we have to think? Check out our Golf Club Reviews page to see if we’ve take the club you’re interested in for a test drive.