Riddle me this, Batman: Just what is it that makes the new Cleveland Huntington Beach SOFT Premier putters premier?
Is it price? Not really, they’re only a $30 upcharge from the newly revamped non-premier Huntington Beach SOFT line. Is it performance? Not likely. Once you look under the hood, there’s literally no difference in the putter heads themselves.
Could it be value? It would seem that’s where Cleveland is hanging its hat.
You can’t really call Cleveland’s double-barreled release this week an upgrade to the Huntington Beach SOFT line. One barrel is more of a reshuffling while the other barrel is a new line of cosmetics. But still, an OEM giving you 16 milled-face putters made from 304 stainless steel, all for well south of $200?
That, in the words of Buford T. Justice, is an attention-getter.
Two “New” Lines
Cleveland’s Huntington Beach putter line has been a decent performer in MyGolfSpy’s Most Wanted Testing, including a Top-5 finish in 2017. Along with Wilson’s Infinite putter line and the original Tommy Armours, they’ve offered top-notch value.
Since the first Huntington Beach putters hit the shore five years ago, there’s been a constant reshuffling of the lineup. Head shapes have been added, removed and then brought back, and now we have the Premier line added to the mix.
As mentioned earlier, the putter heads themselves in both the standard and premium lines are exactly the same. The most obvious difference is cosmetic.
“For the Premier line, it’s an upgrade gray satin finish,” says Cleveland Marketing Director Brian Schielke. “In our player tests, it’s pretty split between golfers preferring the more classic silver finish and this kind of darker look.”
It’s a PVD finish. Give yourself a birdie clap if you knew PVD stands for Physical Vapor Deposition. PVD often gets a bad rap when used as an iron finish. It’s nowhere near as durable as DBM (Diamond Black Metal) but it’s way better than Black Nickel or Black Oxide. On the other hand, it’s a putter. If you’re worried about wearing the finish off, you probably have other issues.
What Else is Premium?
So, the finish makes the Premium line premium. Anything else?
Well, the shaft is black (the standard line’s shaft is regular old chrome). That’s something.
The premium line also has upgraded grips compared to the standard line. Specifically, we’re talking Cleveland-branded Lamkin Sinkfit pistol and skinny pistol grips.
“Golfers who prefer toe-down weighting with a slight to a strong arc also gravitate towards a thinner grip,” says Schielke. “That helps facilitate clubhead rotation throughout the stroke. Golfers who are trying to quiet their hands and have a straight back-straight through stroke type often prefer a larger, oversized grip.”
The Premium line features three blades and five mallets with varying toe hang and hosel options, each with the appropriate fit-for-stroke grip.
“When golfers are trying the putter at the store, the feel and weighting will go hand in hand,” says Schielke. “It can be hard to evaluate a putter head if the grip is so different from what you’re used to. Having both options at the store for people to try will help golfers appreciate the putter and the technology even more.”
The Huntington Beach SOFT Premium Premium
So how much will premium cost you? As mentioned earlier: $30.
The standard Huntington Beach SOFT line will run $129.99 while the Premium models – essentially the same putter all dressed up – will retail at $159.99. PVD finish, a black shaft and an upgraded grip for $30? I’ve spent more money on dumber things.
“Any golfer wanting a preferred shape, they’ll have a nice-looking putter that should fit their eye,” says Schielke. “From a feel standpoint, these putters have milled faces with pretty deep milling. That really softens the feel at impact, along with the fact they’re made from 304 stainless steel.”
Speaking of soft, the SOFT in Huntington Beach SOFT stands for Speed Optimization Face Technology. We’ve discussed it at length previously but basically each putter head has a unique face-milling pattern. Each pattern is designed to minimize distance loss if you happen to mishit the putt a couple of millimeters towards the toe or heel. The diamond-shaped CNC milling pattern actually has less contact surface area in the center and more as you move toe- or heel-ward. It’s sort of the same thing, only different, as Evnroll’s Sweet Face Technology.
‘As precise as we are with our putting strokes, if we miss a few millimeters on longer puts, it’s the difference between a tap-in or a five-foot knee-knocker to save par,” says Schielke. “It really helps on those longer putts and helps you two-putt those more often.”
Premium and Standard Details
Both the Standard and Premium lines feature the same eight head shapes: three Anser-type blades and five mallets. As mentioned, the Premium line features the more expensive Lamkin Sinkfit grips while the standard line features either a standard-sized pistol grip on the slight- to strong-arc blades and an oversized, non-tapered grip on the straight back-straight through models.
In the past, mallets in the Huntington Beach SOFT line have had names – like Cerro or Elevado – while blades have simply had numbers. The new line does away with names, going entirely with numbers. The Elevado you really liked? Now it’s #11.
“The numbers are simpler to communicate, easier to put on the putter itself and just a little bit clearer,” says Schielke. “Sometimes when we switch around complicated names it can be tougher to switch from an old model to a new one.”
Oddly, the Cleveland Huntington Beach SOFT Premier line shows three putters – blades 3 and 4, along with saber-toothed mallet 11 – in the strong-arc category. The other five models are in the straight back-straight through category. The standard line only shows the two blades in the slight- to strong-arc category. #11 is in the straight back-straight-through category with the other five models. The only difference we can see is in the grip. The #11 Premium version has the Sinkfit Skinny Pistol grip while the standard version has the standard oversized grip.
According to Cleveland, however, any putter can be ordered from its custom department with any available grip.
Speaking of Custom
You can customize any Cleveland putter on the company’s website to your preferred length, lie and loft at no charge. There’s a list of grip options as well, including the WINNPro X ($!0 up-charge) and various colors of Iomic ($21 up-charge).
Cleveland’s Personalization options, however, might be the best deal in golf. For $10, you can get different paint fill colors for the Cleveland logo, sightlines and other branding.
“It’s pretty easy to execute and is pretty cost-effective for golfers,” says Schielke. “Within 30 seconds to a minute, you can personalize your paint-fill colors. It’s a pretty simple way to make the putter more your own.”
Cleveland has been taking the value route with its putters since the Original Huntington Beach lineup. Their approach has been to deliver milled faces with all the head shapes and hosel configurations you might want while keeping the price under – sometimes well under – $200. So the question is: how much better can a Scotty, Bettinardi or any other $400 flatstick really be?
“I’d argue from a performance standpoint, with Speed Optimization Face Technology, these are better,” says Schielke. “I would say our putters are premium in terms of performance; they’re just priced lower. If you put our putters up against any other putter, ours do just as well, if not better. We want to give our golfers performance and save them a little money as well.”
Cleveland Huntington Beach SOFT Premier Price and Availability
The Cleveland Huntington Beach SOFT Premier line retail for $159.99 while the standard Huntington Beach SOFT line retails for $129.99.
They’re available for pre-sale now on Cleveland’s website and will hit retail stores Aug. 21.
For more information, visit Clevelandgolf.com.
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