Tested & Reviewed: Cleveland Huntington Beach Putter

Today, you can find Cleveland Huntington Beach Soft putters for around $129, and we’re confident in saying that every single one of these 10 putters outperforms its price.

There's no doubt these are high quality putters. With putter pricing skyrocketing across the industry, Cleveland has carved a nice home for this well-priced lineup.

We love that each Huntington Beach Soft putter felt stable at address and through the stroke, some more than others, of course. The CNC milling feels consistent with putters that cost a lot more. If you’re a materials snob, you’ll be impressed by the 304 Stainless Steel, which is not only soft but delivers a nice feel at impact.

The "SOFT" in the Cleveland Huntington Beach Soft name is an acronym for “Speed Optimized Face Technology” and after testing, we agree with Cleveland's marketing claims of consistent distance and accuracy. Here are some of biggest pros and cons of the Cleveland Huntington Beach Soft lineup of putters:

Here is an overview of all 10 Cleveland Huntington Beach Soft putters. We tested each of these models with the stock steel shaft that Cleveland includes. There is an ALL-IN shaft upgrade available, which is a carbon fiber shaft from UST Mamiya, which adds stiffness for better balance and performance for certain players.

The #1 is the traditional blade of the Huntington Beach family and will be most familiar to the average player. It has a plumber’s neck with moderate toe hang, perfect for the player with a slight (or severe) arc in their putting stroke. It’s a classic design that never goes out of style.

Best for: Traditionalists with an arc in their putting stroke.

This half-mallet is a perfect solution for players who don’t like a blade but don’t want to fully jump into full mallet territory. The bonus is that this putter also caters to those with a slight arc in their putting stroke. The slant neck hosel setup also has moderate toe hang.

Best for: Players who want a little extra in head size without a full mallet.

The #8P is the yin to the #8’s yang in the Cleveland Huntington Beach Soft lineup. The #8P has the same great head design but its plumber’s neck and moderate toe hang make this model appeal to a completely different player than its sibling. We preferred the #8 just based on its versatility in arc.

Best for: Slight arc players who like the extended blade look.

The #11S has all the qualities at the #11, but with a slant neck and moderate toe hang. If you have a straight stroke, you’ll find the standard #11 to be a bit more forgiving. If you have a slight arc, try the 11S and you’ll be hooked.

Best for: Players with slight arc strokes who struggle with lag putting.

We were blown away by the overall performance of the Cleveland Huntington Beach Soft line, even before factoring in its price, at about half of what you would pay for many top end putters. Here are more specifics on where certain models tested the best.

Overall, the #11 and #11S stood out to us as the best overall performers. We were impressed by how they felt from close range and from a few yards off of the green. They aligned effortlessly and produced consistent lag distances.

In addition to the #11 and #11S, the #14 felt the best at impact. Perhaps it was because we felt we hit the center of the face with little adjustment, but the #14 was so smooth and had a distinct click sound off of the CNC milled face each and every time.

Accuracy is another area where the #11, #11S, and #14 really stood out. If we weren’t in the hole, we were in tap-in range. The #8, however, pleasantly surprised us in the accuracy category, even on putts we purposely mis-hit on the toe and heel.

Versatility is tet another area where the #11 and #11S took home the gold and silver medals. The #5, however, was also extremely versatile in the situations we tested it. From off the green and event through a couple of inches of rough, the #5 doubles as a reliable Texas Wedge.

We felt every model met or exceeded its price tag, so we’ll give the value award to all 10 models. You'd have a hard time finding a better putter than this series at the $129 priece point. 

Cleveland Golf has always been noted for its superior wedges, but rarely hit the mark with amateur golfers for the other clubs in their lineup. Sure, the Launcher series has had tremendous success over the years, but the brand lacked a home run putter. The Huntington Beach Soft line, in our opinion, is Cleveland’s answer to the industry, and proof that it can produce putters that rival anything else on the market, and do so at a value that makes other manufacturers sweat.