The Club Report: Cleveland Huntington Beach Collection and TFi 2135 Mallets

New Had Better Be Better

Some folks argue that innovation in putter design is not possible, saying that Karsten Solheim developed the Anser back in the 60’s and that all other putters are just copies of that design. While I agree that the Anser really did set the standard for many modern putters, to assume that putter design has not evolved in the past fifty years is a bit silly.

Let’s take a detour to the auto world for a moment. I view the 1966 Mustang as a true classic, but I’d probably be happier daily driving a more modern 2016 model. The new Mustang has improved features that were un-engineerable back in 1966, ones such as airbags and Bluetooth that enhance the capabilities of the Mustang. You may not like the style of the modern Mustang as much (I’m with you), but you can’t really argue that performance has not improved in five decades.

Cleveland Golf Gets It

Today, I have seven new putters to share with you from Cleveland Golf. As you have likely already figured out, these new models are being promoted as being superior to previous models. Sure, we hear that all of the time, but this time it’s a little different.

This time, Cleveland has data to support their claims.

That’s right, not only is Cleveland saying that these putters are better, but they are also willing to support that claim with cold hard numbers. As one who follows the #datacratic model, data-supported claims makes me a bit excited.

Huntington Beach Collection: 304 Steel & Deep Milling Improve Feel

Let’s first take a look at the new Huntington Beach Collection putters. There are two significant design changes with this incarnation of the HB putters, both aimed at improving the sound and feel of the putters. First, the new putters are manufactured from softer 304 stainless steel rather than the 17-4 steel used in previously. Secondly, the face milling is four times deeper, deepening to 0.012” compared to the previous model’s 0.003” face grooves.

Both of these design tweaks make the face softer. Cleveland reports that the smash factor for the new Huntington Beach Collection 1 putter is 4% less than the previous HB 1.0.

That’s right…putters have a smash factor too.

Dropping smash factor with a putter translates to a less explosive feel off of the face, or in other words, a softer impact experience.

People Not Robots

Cleveland put the sound and feel claim to the test using real people at their testing facility. First, they explored the impact of the switch to 304 stainless.

As you can see, the tester approval rating was higher in both categories for the putters made from 304 steel, with sound approval jumping 15%, and feel improving 10%.

Cleveland also compared their new putters to those from other manufacturers.

Compared to the cohort, the scores for the Cleveland putters were excellent. 95% of the testers liked the sound of the HBC 4. It’s tough for me to imagine 95% of golfers agreeing about anything.

Remaining objective, I don’t know who made up Cleveland’s “consumer testing panel”. The cynic says that these panels can be manipulated to produce skewed numbers, but I think that’s unlikely to have happened. It would be too easy for someone else to repeat these experiments, and should the data turn out different, Cleveland’s testing would lose credibility.

Here’s a closer look at the individual models that make up the new Huntington Beach Collection.

Model 1

Here is your classic anser head. If you like your head a little more compact, and thoroughly rounded, this is the one for you.

I’m going to go out on a limb with this one, predicting that it will be in the top 5 for next year’s Most Wanted Blade test. Of the three models, I found this one to be darn near automatic. Now my experiences may be unique to me, but remember that a Cleveland Model 1 scored in the top 10 in 2015 and in the top 5 in 2014.  

Model 4

The HBC 4 is the blockier of the blades. Lots of squareness and straight lines. It looks much longer heel to toe than the HBC 1, but really it’s about a quarter inch longer. The larger cavity and thinner face  give it a leaner profile at address when compared to the HBC 1.

Check out the address photo in the gallery above and you can see how the HBC 4 (right) is much more squared off than the HBC 1.

Model 6

The compact mallet HBC 6 rounds out the Huntington Beach Collection. Get it? Rounds out the Huntington Beach Collection. Honestly that happened totally on accident…

Anyway, the rounded-mallet shape of the HBC 6 can also be placed in the “Classic” category. With the Huntington Beach Collection, Cleveland is not trying to invent new classics; instead, they are improving them by tweaking the metal and the milling.

The 360g weight of this one does give it a bit of a hefty swing compared to the 345g blades, but I know that many mallet players will appreciate the bit of extra weight.

Expanding the TFI 2135 Line

If you looked at the Huntington Beach Collection and said, “I wish there were more mallets”, don’t despair, Cleveland is bringing mallet-palooza to your shop with the TFI 2135 line. OK, so I don’t know if adding four new mallet models is “palooza” worthy, but that makes 100% of the new additions to the TFi 2135 line mallets. Sounds like a mallet-fest to me.

If you were all “same old, same old” with the Huntington Beach Collection, then you will clap your hands like a circus seal when you see these new mallets. The Elevado, Mezzo, and Cero ain’t your every-corral putter heads. These steel big boys are different.

2135 and TFi Tech

It was about a year ago when Cleveland let us know what 2135 was all about. We explored 2135 at depth here. Rehashing, the 2135 number reflected the 21.35 mm height to the center of the golf ball, which then corresponded to the height of the 2135 putter’s elevated sight line.

The purpose of elevating the line was to improve the relationship between the golfer’s eye and putter alignment at address. In Cleveland’s testing, only 16% of their test group actually had their eyes over the ball at address, with most testers’ eyes lining up well inside of the ball.

Elevating the line to match the middle of the ball allows the golfer to line up the putt correctly, even if eye position is inside, or outside of the actual target line.

The initial 2135 offering was only three putters: the 1.0 blade, the 6.5 mallet, and the 8.0 counterbalanced mega blade. Obviously this time around, Gene Frenkle was in the Cleveland design studio and Cleveland had a fever, and the only prescription was more mallet!

Elevado

The Elevado and the beefier Elevado CB sport a very fang-like profile. The weight is pushed wide, like the somewhat similar Odyssey #7, but the blockier nature of the Elevado results in a pretty unique design take.

Pushing the weight to the edges boosts the MOI and should help keep the head stable. The square internal geometry, and the elevated 2135 sight line set up very easily behind the ball.

Elevado CB

If the Elevado’s head weight of 370g can be considered heavy, then the 405g of the Elevado CB qualifies as downright obese. Don’t worry though, the longer shaft and heavier grip will take some of the huskiness out of its play. I’m curious to see how this one performs, as I am a huge fan of the counterbalanced 8.0 model.

Mezzo

Did you know that “mezzo” in Italian translates to “middle” in English? This mallet likely gets its name from the central location of the shaft. There are not a ton of center-shafted putters out there these days, so I know that some of you will be very interested in trying this one out.

Actually, I was a bit surprised to see that the Mezzo only was offered as center-shafted. I’d be interested in seeing this one as a heel-shafted version as well. For my eye, the position of the shaft interferes with the 2135 alignment line system, but I suppose that is the case with every center-shafted putter’s relationship with a central alignment line. Just curious, I suppose, about a heel vs. center performance comparison…

Cero

How many of you see another Cleveland putter’s genes in the Cero? Though the Cero has the TFi insert and a long 2135 alignment line, it also has shared geometry with the Cleveland T-Frame, and that’s a good thing.

T-Frame users are a loyal bunch. Though the putters were released in 2010 or so, don’t be surprised if you still find them heading to the course in loyalists’ bags. I have had more than one person tell me that they will never need another putter after owning the T-Frame. One of those guys even has two T-Frame back ups in a closet.

I’m bringing this up for two reasons. First, if you are a T-Frame guy, or you know a T-Frame guy, then check out the Cero. You could be in for an upgrade. Second, I believe that the T-Frame’s cult-like following gives it a bit of “classic” credentials. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Cero ends up being the must have mallet out of this new batch.

Solid, Inexpensive Sticks

In the current golf-is-expensive landscape, it’s critical to mention that the Huntington Beach Collection putters and the TFi 2135 mallets are reasonably priced.

Cleveland has done a nice job of making these inexpensive, without making them seem cheaply produced. I’ve always believed that the Cleveland Classics line represented one of the best deals in the golf shop. The $99.99 price of the Huntington Beach Collection further supports my belief. You are getting a lot of putter for a hundred bucks.

The standard weight TFi 2135 models will go for $159.99 and the counterbalanced Elevado will cost $199.99. If you are looking for a larger grip on any of these putters, you can add a WinnPro X grip (1.32″) for just a $10 upcharge. For those of you keeping score, that’s about half of the retail price for that grip.

With the Huntington Beach Collection and the expanded TFi 2135 lines, Cleveland Golf continues to give golfers solid putter options that will not empty the wallet. Look for these in shops on 09/16/2016.