Equipment

WRX Spotlight Review: Cleveland Huntington Beach SOFT putters

Published

5 years ago

Feb 12, 2019

wrx-spotlight-review-cleveland-huntington-beach-soft-putters

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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Equipment

A shocking Backstryke putter appearance + 7 interesting gear photos from the Zurich Classic

Published

13 hours ago

Apr 25, 2024

Andrew Tursky

Welcome to New Orleans, where TPC Louisiana plays host to the 2024 Zurich Classic. In between breakfast beignets and nightly Creole feasts, PGA Tour players are also competing in the unique two-man format at the Zurich this week.

Although the vibes in Nawlins are a bit lighter-fare than the recent back-to-back competitions the Masters and the RBC Heritage signature event), the gear news was no less serious this week.

We spotted some recent changes from Rory McIlroy, a very rare Odyssey Backstryke putter, dove into the bag of legendary New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, and spotted Patrick Cantlay continuing to test new equipment.

Get your beads out and crack your crawfish, because it’s time for an equipment rundown from The Big Easy (meaning New Orleans, of course, not Ernie Els).

See all of our photos from the Zurich Classic here

Rory’s on-and-off lob wedge

Since the end of 2023, Rory McIlroy has had an on-again, off-again relationship with a Titleist Vokey K-Grind lob wedge. In his last start, it was on, and the wedge is back in the bag again this week. We got a great look at the complicated grind that McIlroy uses.

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A full look into McIlroy’s bag above also shows that he switched out of the TaylorMade BRNR Mini Copper that he used at the RBC Heritage, and he’s back into the Qi10 core 3-wood. As we discussed last week, McIlroy will likely keep the BRNR around as a course-specific club, trading it in and out for the 3-wood.

See Rory McIlroy’s full 2024 WITB from the Zurich here

Turning Back the clock

Unless Tommy Gainey is in the field, it’s unlikely you’ll ever see Odyssey’s Backstryke technology make an appearance on the PGA Tour.

But then, when you least expect it, Russ Cochran shows up.

For more than a decade – since the 2013 Sony Open in Hawai’i – Cochran has been stuck on 599 PGA Tour starts. This week will be his 600th.

Cochran is in the field at the Zurich this week playing alongside Eric Cole, whose regular caddie is Reed Cochran, Russ’s son.

The Backstryke putter was first released back in 2010, and its unique design helps shift the axis point of the putter closer to the CG of the head. And, the putter is getting a nod this week at the Zurich Classic, thanks to Cochran’s 600th career PGA Tour start.

The putter is certainly awesome, but don’t forget to check out Cochran’s full WITB from this week.

Drew Brees with a Super Bowl winning Scotty Cameron putter

Drew Brees, a legendary retired quarterback for the hometown New Orleans Saints, made an appearance at the Zurich’s Wednesday Pro-Am, playing alongside Zach Johnson, Ryan Palmer, and current Saints QB Derek Carr.

Brees’ bag included a TaylorMade Stealth2 Plus driver, a BRNR Mini 13.5-degree, a Stealth 5-wood, a mixed set of P-790 and P-760 irons, Milled Grind Hi-Toe wedges, and a custom Scotty Cameron “New Orleans Saints” putter, which Scotty made for Brees following his Super Bowl MVP-winning performance in 2010.

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It should also be noted that Brees has his Venmo QR code as a bag tag.

If you’re gambling with Brees on the course, just know that not having cash won’t work as an excuse.

Brilliant.

See Drew Brees’ full WITB from the Zurich here

Stricker’s unrecognizable putter

Steve Stricker has made numerous upgrades to his bag recently, including a new TSR3 driver and T100 irons, but his longtime Odyssey White Hot No. 2 putter is still going strong. It’s the most recognizable unrecognizable putter ever.

Here’s a better look at Stricker’s flatstick, which he started using back in 2007.

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Patrick Cantlay has opened the equipment-switching floodgates

Over on the PGA Tour’s Equipment Report this week, we covered Cantlay’s recent switch into Ping Blueprint S irons, and a Titleist TSR2 driver.

Cantlay hadn’t switched irons for about seven years, so the iron switch he made at The 2024 Masters came as a shock to the norm. He simply isn’t one to change gear very often, so anytime Cantlay makes a switch, it’s news.

It seems the floodgates of equipment testing have opened up a bit for Cantlay, who was also spotted testing a custom Scotty Cameron blade putter on Tuesday this week. By Wednesday, Cantlay was back practicing with his familiar Scotty Cameron T5 Proto mallet, but it’s certainly something to keep an eye on going forward.

Daniel Berger’s custom Jailbird site lines

Berger, who’s currently using Odyssey’s Ai-One Mini Jailbird mallet putter, has a unique 3-dot, 2-line alignment on the crown of his navy-white-navy-white mallet putter. Looking down at the putter, it’s easy to see why this alignment system would help; it just seems impossible to set up to the ball off-center, or misaligned to the target.

Also, for anyone worried, you can rest easy. Yes, he’s still playing the 2013 TaylorMade TP MC irons, which we highlighted in our recent “Modern Classics: Old vs. New” video testing series.

FitzMagic teams back up

Brothers Matthew and Alex Fitzpatrick are teaming up once again at the Zurich this year, and Bettinardi Golf hooked them up with some festive “FitzMagic” headcovers to match this week.

See what else is in Alex Fitzpatrick’s WITB here

And, with that, we say goodbye to the Zurich Classic in New Orleans. Don’t forget to check out all of our photos from this week, including 30 unique photo galleries full of equipment photos.

We’ll see you next week in Texas for the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson!

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