Putters

Cleveland Golf – You Got To Be Kidding Me! Right?

BY MyGolfSpy
Oct 7th 2013
Read all comments

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What everyone sees…but nobody thinks. Hmm…such a profound statement. This has to be BIG! Right?

It all started with this post Cleveland Golf published on their Facebook account on October 3rd. Teasers are nothing new in golf. Well, they are for Cleveland (a little late to the buzz building table).

No big secret, Cleveland Golf is allegedly struggling. So, at first glance you see a teaser like this and maybe think to yourself, “Hey this must be something BIG, haven’t heard much at all from Cleveland in the past, I don’t know, 5 years, and even less in the last 3” or “at least they’re trying” or maybe even something like, “I love their wedges, maybe its some game-changing wedge technology, that would make since.”

NOPE! All 3 statements would be incorrect.

Behind the scenes lots of people are talking. Talking about this being a big year for Cleveland (others are saying if its not it might be over), lots of changes, new wave thoughts about how to run a golf company in 2014. Well, a lot of talking, mostly by people from Cleveland. Cleveland insiders are telling me they are turning over a new leaf.

Heard that before. I’ll believe it when I see it and not a second before.

So, What Is The BIG Surprise?

So what IS this big surprise? Well, if you invest some time thinking about it (don’t) you might come to the right conclusion. Yeah, remember that thing called the Odyssey 2-Ball Putter? Well, looks like Cleveland has discovered something ground-breaking…wait for it….wait…SQUARES are better than those damn CIRCLES Odyssey came up with. And in their mind that is what discovery is all about…remember. Something everyone sees…but nobody thinks. Genius!

You Be The Judge

I know what I thought and said to myself when I first saw the two putters side-by-side. But, one persons opinion is just that…an opinion. So, I’ll leave the majority vote up to you guys.

1. What first came to your mind when you saw this new putter design by Cleveland Golf?

2. Do you think the Cleveland Smart Square putter was inspired (some might say ripped off) from the Odyssey 2-Ball putter?

3. Do you believe that even bad press is good press, and this putter will still sell well because it’s piggy-backing off the success of the 2-Ball?

4. Any other thoughts? We would love to hear’em.

Images by: GolfViews

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comments

Join The Discussion

Joe Pierro

10 years ago

Have you hit it? It feels great and the squares work very well for alignment. I wouldnt be so quick to judge it based of it’s looks (Even though it is a great looking putter while in hand).

Roberth hall

10 years ago

HAHAHAHA show all you idiots the smart square was voted as one of the top putters of 2014 in GolfDigest. ANd i agree with Tom i tried thisputer out ant the squares really help square the putter facee through impact…..hmmm whoda thought right ???

Tom

10 years ago

I have tried this putter at a local golf and I like the visual that the squares give. I use the 2 ball putter now so I like the general concept. It is a rip-off of the 2 ball, pretty much. As someone said earlier, I’m looking for these when they hit the sale rack in Dick’s or at the online outlets when Cleveland can’t sell them. I love certain Cleveland drivers and their wedges but have never given them much thought in putters.

rjc

10 years ago

I tried one today and sunk a ton of putts with it. It’s face balanced and I used a very compact straight back straight through stroke I used a few years ago. At that time I gamed a two ball back-strike odysee. I currently game a Wilson 8882 (toe hang) putter and use a traditional arc stroke. I also have a sub 30 type 20 putter. I thought the face on the square putter was slightly firmer than the type 20 though that may be because the square is a mallet and the type 20 is a blade. Anyway, I thought the squares were easy to line up and easy to see if the putter was square at impact. I knew instantly if I pushed or pulled the putt by how the squares looked just past impact. This visual along with the feel of a push or pull was unique. It really made me visually focus on keeping the face square. I’m an 8 hdcp, not a great ball striker but make up for it by being a better than average putter. I like to fiddle with my stroke and different putters. I didn’t buy the square putter. I’ll go back to the shop and use it a bunch over the next few months and if I continue to make more putts than I do with the 8882 I’d buy it. Performance if everything to me. I could care less about reputation, marketting angles or a company’s legacy or loyalty.

SMRT

10 years ago

I went and tried one of these today and I actually liked it. I am not going to run out and buy one because I do not think it would make me putt any better than my David Whitlam putter, but if I needed a putter this would be on the short list if options.

RICHARD SHAW

10 years ago

Its a tough task to put a square peg in a round hole,piggy- back time, Good luck Cleveland. Love the wedge’s . all the best -RICH

egdewrich

10 years ago

Well, I have a pretty extensive putter collection, buying 5 a year for many years, usually those that disappear fast designed by smaller companies. One of my favorites is the old Pelz three ball putter declared illegal, then copied repeatedly and deemed innovative! But I am not a great pool player, and striking round objects with non square objects is difficult for me. I really like the squares and the design. I am a big Stockton putting style fan, and getting the line right is very critical to coming close to the hole! I am off to try this thing out at the local Golfsmith!

Thomas

11 years ago

Thought I would just stop in a read a bit but wanted to comment as I see so much negativity about a brand that is so good. When you consider players who are on tour not under contract, Cleveland ranks #1 and has for 18 out of the last 19 years. Number one forged iron on tour 5 out of last 10 years with a budget about 10% that of Callaway, Taylor, Titleist. The Classic driver tours are the lowest spinners made currently. Deep face retro looks. The retro may have lost some people in the looks category but if you can get your hands on a tour stick they are phenomonal. The 588 design was a big success and probably will fly thru 2014 without a new release, wouldn’t that be a nice trend for Taylormade to follow,,2 releases a year, heck by the time you have a feel for your driver, it is time to get the newest next best thing. Titielst does a 2 year cycle, that is a good thing. the new 588s that DT and Keegan play are off the planet good, very hard to get , but man, they are just great. They are in a bit of a tug of war right now, they had the japanese running things , then Greg stepped down to form his own company so they are dealing with a lot of changes. Will they vanish,, not a chance. #1 wedge for over 25 years with the original 588, that is HUGE… They may be sold off or such, but the last owners before Suboto were surf board makers and they did just fine all that time. Looking forward to seeing what transpires but the word is that they are in a holding pattern as there clubs are doing well,, why change?

Jason

11 years ago

Thank god for the wedges otherwise Cleveland would be dead .

Keith b

11 years ago

The head shape and flanges look a lot like the Reeso putter developed by Sandy Reese a few years ago. ( a lot like it !)

Charlie

11 years ago

Yes, it makes sense that aligning the ball to a square might give a more accurate putt BUT John hit it on the head when he said speed and break (reading the green). A player in my foursome can only see out of one eye and the other eye has some vision impairment. He is the most accurate putter I have seen whether it is a long or short putt. His only problem is speed and reading the green. His putter is not one of the big names and has no alignment markings on it. I also played with a guy who had an old Wilson blade putter (no alignment markings) and he was very accurate as well. My point? Well, I defer to John’s last sentence regarding speed and break not a putter from a big name golf company

John

11 years ago

Well, I did always wonder why seeing two circles behind the ball helped in a situation where it’s all about being able to accurately visualize a right angle. Maybe having 8 right angles to look at (two squares) will drive home the point of just what a right angle looks like. The face must be square (at right angles) to the path of the ball. Unless you’ve mastered slicing or hooking a putt — and some people have done just that without realizing it — ball path is all about seeing what constitutes 90 degrees. Marketing hype aside, Cleveland’s offering may be helpful, just as Nike’s white leading edge was helpful in their old IC series. Anything that helps determine face angle by highlighting or otherwise reminding has to help. The squares show us ball path and face angle. Now if we can just get the break and the speed right . . .

Jimmy

11 years ago

Well maybe you guys don’t know it, but I remember there being two-ball type putters available circa ten years BEFORE odyssey came out with theirs! So back to who copied who….which I think is a total waste of time, btw.

As a concept I think the squares work better in alignment than circles. Always preferred putters with alignment lines as it’s so much easier to read.

This product looks more like a Never Compromise SUB30 Type50 putter with squares instead of lines. So in fact it’s a modification of the same company’s owned brand.

Graphiteti

11 years ago

The early generation CG Gold irons were/are great. I have been trying to get them out of my bag for years…club ho. I always go back to them. Cleveland drivers always feel to heavy and I own a couple that are like brand new because of this. I would buy a Cleveland putter but not for the same price as a Ping.

Ber4niez 40

11 years ago

There was a time when Cleveland Golf dominated the scene. Remember the old Shafted Launcher. At that time they were also making incredible wedges, owned the Zero Compromise Line of putters, and were the innovators in making irons for mid-cappers. Anyone remember the high carbon content line that started d the trend for “Game Improvement Irons” as a new category between Game Improvement Clubs which are what we now call “Super Game Improvement Clubs, and Players Clubs. They literally redefined the game in irons. Oh how the mighty have fallen.
The Launcher was followed by the somewhat disastrous Hi-Bore Line–the Irons started coming out with gummy back inserts (Red for the scratch players and yellow for the game improvement crowd, and Zero Compromise Putters and Cleveland wedges stayed kind of locked in time without enough innovation. I miss the old Cleveland.

Johnny99

11 years ago

There is no question Cleveland Golf has lost their direction and magic. Having repped for them in the VAS era up to a few years ago, it definitely seems the glory days have past for CG. I was the best rep job in golf, always gave you new and exciting products to bring to retail and golf shops and were hungry to get better every day. I could go into a lot of reasons why the change but there were many key losses in all parts of the company and this was a big factor. Unfortunately, I don’t think Cleveland in their current state will ever be anything but an also ran and not the cutting edge company that they were, as seen in this “innovative” putter.

Michael

11 years ago

1. I thought it looks good and makes sense and would likely provide better alignment than the 2-ball
2. Yes
3. Not sure
4. I think it’s a good design and may even be a breakthrough when it comes to alignment. I hope it’s well made and has a milled face or a very good insert.

Mayor of Crazy Town

11 years ago

Hula-Rock… I know this isn’t what this story is about… but from what I understand, club makers no longer can work with BeNi (not BiNi) beryllium nickel or beryllium copper (BeCu) because the compounds are hazardous to those humans who make clubs with it. That is a bummer.

wayne

11 years ago

If you look at this putter then go look at the Never Compromise site you will see the same looking putter. Never Compromise is owned by Cleveland Golf and the putter is a no brainer. I have a Never Compromise 30 belly putter that is the exact copy of the two square putter.
They should have just told people to go that NC site and buy that putter.

Blu

11 years ago

Cleveland golf is on the market from lousy management and lack of what direction they are going. Roger Cleveland is in talks to buy what he started back. Cleveland is a Wedge and Iron company. They need to stick with what the do best and forget the putter market. Lowest margins… 1% of sales is the putter market. Hacks would rather blow $400 on a driver twice a year that goes 300 yard left & right before paying $200 for the most used club in their bag that does the scoring.

Thomas

11 years ago

All of the negative comments can be said of a majority of putters on the market unless they are copies of Ping putters. Why do golfers choose a particular putter? If it looks good to the eye behind a ball it will be successful, otherwise it will die like most other failures. The See More putter isn’t exactly a beauty, yet it works for one tour player. If square works, use it. If not, it goes in the barrel with hundreds of others.

JPSands

11 years ago

Are the squares there just for the look ? Does this putter actually have a full mallet feel ? If this is what they think will save a company name, then i’m surprised the company is still alive today.

flaglfr

11 years ago

Wait…. You can put some dice on the heel and toe, have the putter come in a headcover that turns into a shaker and take the putter with you to Vegas for use at the craps tables…. Sort of the feel I have for this one. Craps.

Kevin

11 years ago

How about triangles?!

egdewrich

10 years ago

Yes makes a triangular putter that looks more like a mallet than a a blade. It is very nice piece of equipment!

Gil B.

11 years ago

The bottom line when it comes to putters, or any other club for that matter, is whether the club works for you. I don’t care if it looks like Fred Flintstones’ club as long as it does what I want it to do. Every golfers eye is different when it comes to likes and dislikes. Just look at the variety of putter types and heads that the pros use and you’ll get my point. If this is pleasing to the eye and the ball goes in the hole who cares what it looks like. I, for one, think it may help in alignment, and that’s half the battle. The other half is whether or not you can roll it to the hole and that is totally on the golfer. I’d be one of the first to try a Cleveland product if they offered as they do make quality products and they’re not trying to rip you off like some other companies.

Eric

11 years ago

Cleveland must have hired interns to design this thing. Looks like a Kmart special.

David W

11 years ago

I don’t know if it will sell really well or not. However, people change putters more than anything in their bags and will go to great lengths to fix their yips which means it will sell (if the price is reasonable).

David W

11 years ago

I think it’s hideous, but for me it would be easier to line up than two circles.

AJ

11 years ago

Would it not be simpler to get a white marker and draw squares around the circles on your Odyssey putter. Oops did not think of that Cleveland!!

Juno

11 years ago

…Mallet users, put some square stickers on top of your putters and let us know how it works.

DB

11 years ago

Eh, whatever. Maybe some people will really like it…

benseattle

11 years ago

Ridiculous! Pathetic! I hate it!

I also hate the movie that Tom Cruise is going to star in two years from now in 2015. What’s more, Stephen King’s 2016 novel is going to SUCK. How do I know, you ask… particularly since I haven’t seen the movie or read the book? Well, if you go along with the thought process involved in this putter discussion, apparently it’s VERY easy to make a conclusive decision on an issue despite having NO first-hand knowledge of the product. So with that in mind, come on everybody… no need to wait until Cleveland makes these available in November — you can make your decision NOW.

David W

11 years ago

The majority of these comments are based on the look, not the function, and for that they have all the info they need.

Con

11 years ago

Hi bore was the last exciting thing they have done, they gave up when they tried to go 469cc. If they had continued to get that 460cc hi bore driver to sound better they would have been near the top. Hibore is where they need to go back to and start on a new road. You have done it before you can do it again.

Hula Rock

11 years ago

I ABSOLUTELY agree, they need to Modernize the Hi-bore and re-release it. That driver was way ahead of its time and I would bag it in a heartbeat.

keith

11 years ago

Hey I have a much superior idea… triangles! Yeah triangles thats the ticket!

Will

11 years ago

You have it all wrong. Triangles are for suckers.

OCTAGONS. Square the Circle.

bill

11 years ago

Dude, Octogons are so 2012. Dodecahedron’s are where it’s at now.

Hellsing

11 years ago

I like it. Most people I’ve seen playing the 2-ball had an extra line drawn in the center of the balls with a sharpie. If it helps my aim and game then I dont care if it looks like the 2-ball.

Westy

11 years ago

Erm its a rebadged Never Compromise Sub 30 by the looks of it with squares on the top….

In fact I’d suggest its a Sub 30 Type 50, or very close.

Same company after all.

Cleveland group make nice putters, but this is desperation. The type 50 has straight lines for alignment and frankly that does the job a square would. I’ve got a type 50 and really like it, nice bit of kit.

Aotearoabrad

11 years ago

lol, that Type 50 was the first thing that I thought of from the picture as well! Only slightly better than my first thought when I saw the Facebook post … initially I thought they were trying to sell the idea that two bogey’s are better than two birdie’s…

Gary McCormick

11 years ago

Just a gimmick, and no better for alignment than the two-ball or those ridiculous two-tone putters from Odyssey. A line on two vertically-separated planes which “breaks” when the putter head is rotated out of line is the only truly effective visual alignment aid.

blstrong (SeeRed)

11 years ago

Honestly…I had to check the date. No, it really is October and not April. Memories of the Versa driver and all. It’s a rip-off, and an ugly one at that. I’m still not convinced this is real…

mygolfspy

11 years ago

Lol…mocking up a driver in photoshop is one thing, building a whole fake website is another.

But a great idea for next April Fool’s ;)

This one is definitely real though: http://www.clevelandgolf.com/smartsquareputter/

Kenny B

11 years ago

Should I wait for the 3-square putter knockoff to come out?

Matthew

11 years ago

Ludicrous. Not just a clear rip-off, but an insulting rip-off in that it will leave golfers with the thought “Did you really think I wasn’t going to see what you did here?”, and it’s made all-the-more insulting by marketing someone else’s tried and true as a “discovery”.

As far as squares being easier to align than circles, I’m going to disagree — speculatively, because I haven’t hit one of Cleveland’s in person, but still — disagree. I actually play an Odyssey 2-Ball, and because the white balls on the Odyssey are the same size as the golf ball, you’re lining up three identically sized and damn near identically spaced balls. It’s very easy to see if all three are in alignment because of their identical size, and I can’t see two squares and a ball being easier than than three identical balls. The squares might be easier to align on your intended path, but not once the actual ball is thrown into the mix.

All that said, when I first got the 2-ball, I gave a lot of credit to the actual two balls. Now, while I still have no intention of replacing the putter, I suspect it’s the mallet as a whole that works for me relative to the traditional putter I was coming off of, and not just the 2-ball alignment aid.

Golfspy Dave

11 years ago

Is there enough “market confusion” in this one to warrant lawsuit? It seems like the “but ours are square” doesn’t hold water. Even the logos look similar in shape and placement.

Overall, it just makes me sad that this is their innovation.

Mike Honcho

11 years ago

1) Doesn’t knock my socks off as some great new innovation
2) COMPLETE rip-off
3) Won’t sell well price or not
4) I consider myself somewhat well ‘versed’ but I had no idea who Albert Szent-Gooberish was. He the designer who came up with the VAS model????

HackerDad

11 years ago

Wow. Just, wow. Its hard to see these guys continue doing this to themselves. C’mon Cleveland. Find your direction and go. This is literally a two-ball knockoff but with squares. Nothing more. There’s nothing genius about changing the shape of an alignment aid from round to square.

Eric

11 years ago

I would try it because I like Mallets and Cleveland.

Kris

11 years ago

I think the squares could legitimately help for alignment, but the putter IMO is butt ugly.

Thesmittyfactor

11 years ago

1. When i first saw the teaser ad i thought, are they really releasing a square driver??? Now that i see its a putter im thinking what the hell are they thinking?

2. I think it was a complete rip off just look at the Ad

3. If its priced well it will sell well

4. Was really hopping cleveland would pull a Callaway and have a 5 year war with themselves and wede start to see some really amazing product.

Jim

11 years ago

Are they kidding? I’ve been a Cleveland person in the past but their latest clubs and innovations are sorely lacking. What they need is better woods and irons along with a better marketing program to promote them. This is borderline ridiculous. Maybe this is why Hopkins left the company and started his own wedge company?

JB

11 years ago

I’d try one…can’t make my putting any worse!

hckymeyer

11 years ago

The first thing I though was the scene in There’s Something About Mary where the hitchhiker decides that 8 minute abs is a terrible idea and his new plan is to make a 7 minute abs video.

Yes it’s a rip off of the 2-ball, but personally I do think the squares would be easier to line up than the circles. That said I don’t think it’s nearly the game changer that Cleveland thinks it will be, and there is no way that this is going to be the hero product that saves Cleveland golf.

It also still looks to be an insert putter. If they would have done a milled face like the classic lineup and priced it under $100 I think it would sell. As it stands I don’t think it’s going to be huge seller

mygolfspy

11 years ago

I too agree, squares with this type of implementation do tend to work better for alignment purposes.

But, why make the designs look so similar.

This looks much more like a clone company than it does a large golf manufacturer who is in direct competition with who they are copying.

hckymeyer

11 years ago

Have they released any info on pricing yet?

mygolfspy

11 years ago

Release Date Info: http://www.clevelandgolf.com/smartsquareputter/

Hula_rock

11 years ago

They spent marketing dollars on that? I see this fast tracked to the dust collection putter displays at your local Dicks Sporting Goods. Here is a thought CG, “Modernize” the Nickel (BiNi) Reg 797 Wedge line !!!! I’d bag those in a HEARTBEAT….

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