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WRX Spotlight Review: Cleveland Huntington Beach SOFT putters

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Product: Cleveland Huntington Beach SOFT Putters

Pitch: When you think of a $130 putter, you typically think of cheap inserts and “gimmicky” shapes or paint. Not so with the new Cleveland Golf Huntington Beach SOFT putters. The HB SOFT line has traditional-looking blades and popular mallets that should suit the eye of most golfers. All models have a matte silver finish to reduce glare and simple, yet effective alignment markings.

Our take on the Cleveland Huntington Beach SOFT putters

The HB SOFT line is now made of 304 Stainless Steel, for better feel, said to be about 50 percent softer than 17-4 Stainless.

The big story on the HB SOFT line is the new face milling that helps with mishit putts. The precision milled putter face has Speed Optimized Face Tech that attempts to increase the ball speed on putts that aren’t hit dead center. This CNC milled diamond pattern increases friction for more consistency and better roll out on toe/heel struck shots, according to Cleveland.

For this review, I took out the Cleveland Huntington Beach SOFT 11 model and gave it a good run. Being an Odyssey #7 user for years, the HB SOFT 11 was very easy on the eyes and I like the way it framed the ball on the green.

The head has a single sight line, but the “wings” on the side act like additional alignment marks to make sure you are square to the target. There are also two additional lines on the flange that you could paint fill and make it a triple line setup if that is your thing. The finish looks great and glare shouldn’t be a concern, even on the brightest days.

The head is cast, and then Cleveland mills the SOFT diamond pattern onto the face, but the milling looks great. You can really see and feel the different depths and textures across the face of the putter. The center of the putter has the deepest mill and it gets shallower and more smooth the further out you go.

The HB SOFT 11 has a short neck that gives it more toe hang than I was expecting, sitting around 7 o’clock. That is the new thing though (mallets with toe hang similar to blade putters).

On the green, the HB SOFT line really shines. As I said before, the 11 head really frames the ball and is easy to align to the cup. I always felt confident that I was lined up correctly, never having to second guess that.

HB SOFT putters have a really good, lively feel to them. The ball pops off the face really quickly with fairly minimal skidding and hop. The feel is soft with a hint of spring to it, but distance control is very good and repeatable.

Putts off the toe were still very soft and had very minimal distance loss, I was a little shocked how well they rolled out. For me the heel miss had less roll out, but also had a bit more vibration to it. I was purposely hitting balls off the toe/heel and those shots stayed on the target line really well, typically only missing the cup by inches.

The only complaint I really have is minor: I don’t love the oversize grip. For me it is too round and needs a little flatter top to it, but a very easy fix.

Overall, the Cleveland Huntington Beach SOFT putters really perform great and won’t break the bank. They will easily hang with putters costing three times as much. I even saw a couple friends out there who tried it, and everyone said they were impressed with the putter. You will be hard-pressed to find a better deal on a new putter.

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5 Comments

5 Comments

  1. JP

    Feb 12, 2019 at 9:28 pm

    Final Score:
    .
    Cleveland – 1 / Cameron – 0

  2. Tiger Noods

    Feb 12, 2019 at 5:04 pm

    Nice “True Roll” tech. Theft from the Solheims continues…

  3. Tom

    Feb 12, 2019 at 4:31 pm

    If you have a soft putter, you need the blue pill!

  4. Tom

    Feb 12, 2019 at 2:52 pm

    Having a soft putter isn’t going to make you very popular with the ladies….

  5. Iutodd

    Feb 12, 2019 at 1:14 pm

    Looking forward to trying this one. I have all Srixon/Cleveland in my irons and wedges so I might as well make it official with the putter.

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Equipment

Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (4/18/24): TaylorMade BRNR mini driver head

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At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals that all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.

It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.

Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, there is a listing for a TaylorMade BRNR mini driver head

From the seller: (@lasallen): “For sale is a BRNR mini 11.5 deg head only in brand new condition.  $325 shipped.”

To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: TaylorMade BRNR mini driver head 

This is the most impressive current listing from the GolfWRX BST, and if you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum you can check them out here: GolfWRX BST Rules

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Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (4/18/24): Ping PLD Limited Anser – 1988 Open Championship – #2 of only 88 Made

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At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals that all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.

It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.

Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, there is a listing for a Ping PLD Limited Anser – 1988 Open Championship – #2 of only 88 Made.

From the seller: (@DLong72): “Ping PLD Limited Anser – 1988 Open Championship – #2 of only 88 Made. ?: $1150. ?? 100% milled collectors item from the limited releases commemorating when Ping putters won every major in 1988 (88 putters made). This was the model Seve Ballesteros used to win the 1988 Open Championship. Condition is brand new, never gamed, everything is in the original packaging as it came. Putter features the iconic sound slot.

Specs/ Additional Details

-100% Milled, Aluminum/Bronze Alloy (310g)

-Original Anser Design

-PING PP58 Grip

-Putter is built to standard specs.”

To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: Ping PLD Limited Anser – 1988 Open Championship – #2 of only 88 Made

This is the most impressive current listing from the GolfWRX BST, and if you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum you can check them out here: GolfWRX BST Rules

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Inside Collin Morikawa’s recent golf ball, driver, 3-wood, and “Proto” iron changes

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As you probably know by now, Collin Morikawa switched putters after the first round of The Masters, and he ultimately went on to finish T3.

The putter was far from the only change he made last week, however, and his bag is continuing to change this week at the 2024 RBC Heritage.

On the range of The Masters, Morikawa worked closely with Adrian Reitveld, TaylorMade’s Senior Manager of Tour at TaylorMade, to find the perfect driver and 3-wood setups.

Morikawa started off 2024 by switching into TaylorMade’s Qi10 Max driver, but since went back to his faithful TaylorMade SIM – yes, the original SIM from 2020. Somehow, some way, it seems Morikawa always ends up back in that driver, which he used to win the 2020 PGA Championship, and the 2021 Open Championship.

At The Masters, however, Rietveld said the duo found the driver head that allowed “zero compromise” on Morikawa’s preferred fade flight and spin. To match his preferences, they landed on a TaylorMade Qi10 LS 9-degree head, and the lie angle is a touch flatter than his former SIM.

“It’s faster than his gamer, and I think what we found is it fits his desired shot shape, with zero compromise” Rietveld told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday at the RBC Heritage.

Then, to replace his former SIM rocket 3-wood, Morikawa decided to switch into the TaylorMade Qi10 core model 13.5-degree rocket head, with an adjustable hosel.

“He likes the spin characteristics of that head,” Rietveld said. “Now he’s interesting because with Collin, you can turn up at a tournament, and you look at his 3-wood, and he’s changed the setting. One day there’s more loft on it, one day there’s less loft on it. He’s that type of guy. He’s not scared to use the adjustability of the club.

“And I think he felt our titanium head didn’t spin as low as his original SIM. So we did some work with the other head, just because he liked the feel of it. It was a little high launching, so we fit him into something with less loft. It’s a naughty little piece of equipment.” 

In addition to the driver and fairway wood changes, Morikawa also debuted his new “MySymbol” jersey No. 5 TP5x golf ball at The Masters. Morikawa’s choice of symbols is likely tied to his love of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team.

Not enough changes for you? There’s one more.

On Wednesday at the 2024 RBC Heritage, Morikawa was spotted with a new TaylorMade “Proto” 4-iron in the bag. If you recall, it’s the same model that Rory McIlroy debuted at the 2024 Valero Texas Open.

According to Morikawa, the new Proto 4-iron will replace his old P-770 hollow-bodied 4-iron.

“I used to hit my P-770 on a string, but sometimes the distance would be a little unpredictable,” Morikawa told GolfWRX.com. “This one launches a touch higher, and I feel I can predict the distance better. I know Rory replaced his P-760 with it. I’m liking it so far.” 

See Morikawa’s full WITB from the 2024 RBC Heritage here. 

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