Equipment
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.
Cameron Young’s WITB from his win at the 2025 Wyndham Championship. Cameron is a Titleist staff player but his bag is definitely filled with some unique clubs. Here are the clubs he used to secure his first PGA Tour win!
Driver: Titleist GT2 (9 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Orange 70 TX
3-wood: Titleist GT3 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 80 TX
Hybrid: Titleist GT2 (21 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus HB Black VeloCore+ 10 X
Irons: Titleist T200 (4), Titleist T100 (5), Titleist 631.CY Prototype (6-9)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X7 (4-9)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F, 52-12F, 56-14F @57), WedgeWorks (60-K* @62)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X7
Putter: Scotty Cameron Phantom 9.5 Tour Prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Prototype
- Peter Malnati what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Titleist GT3 (10 degrees, C2 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Project X Denali Blue 60 TX
3-wood: Titleist GT3 (15 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 7 X
7-wood: Titleist GT2 (21 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 8 X
Irons: Titleist T150 (4, 5), Titleist T100 (6-9)
Shafts: True Temper AMT Tour White X100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F @47, 52-12F, 56-08M @57, 60-04T @62)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: Scotty Cameron Studio Style Fastback 1.5 Tour Prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Yellow
We’re proud to once again partner with 2nd Swing Golf to bring you GolfWRX Members Choice 2025! 2nd Swing has more than 150,000 new and pre-swung golf clubs available in six store locations and online. Check them out here.
What is the best driver in 2025? At GolfWRX, we take great pride in our online community and the cumulative knowledge and experience of our members. When it comes to the best driver of 2025, we want to know what our forum faithful think.
Since our founding in 2005, the bedrock of GolfWRX.com has been the community of passionate and knowledgeable golfers in our forums, and we put endless trust in the opinions of our GolfWRX members — the most knowledgeable community of golfers on the internet. No other group of golfers in the world tests golf clubs as frequently or as extensively, nor is armed with such in-depth information about the latest technology.
Below are the results of GolfWRX member voting for the 2025 best driver, along with the vote percentage for each club.
Best driver of 2025: The top 5
5. Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond: 6.02%
Callaway’s pitch: “For golfers looking for a fast, forgiving, yet workable driver, the Elyte Triple Diamond features a tour-inspired shape and is the preferred model by most Callaway tour players.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond here.
4. Ping G440 Max: 6.86%
Ping’s pitch: “The most forgiving G440 model, MAX has a hotter face to generate speed and distance, and a lighter overall system weight with a longer shaft (46″) for faster clubhead speed, higher launch and longer carries. The Free Hosel and Carbonfly Wrap crown save weight to create our lowest CG ever and increase forgiveness while contributing to a more muted, pleasing sound.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Ping G440 Max here.
3. Ping G440 LST: 9.53%
Ping’s pitch: “LST is an especially good fit for faster swings, offering less spin and more control with a penetrating trajectory. A hotter face, lighter overall system weight and longer shaft (46″) deliver more speed and distance while maintaining tight dispersion.”
@phizzy30: “Not a fan of Ping drivers in general, but 440 LST takes the cake. It’s super forgiving across the face for a low spin head, looks and sounds good and the ability to make it play neutral or slightly fade biased through the hosel settings is very appealing.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Ping G440 LST here.
2. Titleist GT3: 16.55%
Titleist’s pitch: “The GT3 Driver offers Titleist’s boldest combination of power and personalization through adjustable performance. Dial in the CG Track to your frequent contact location to make your biggest drives even bigger while taking total control over flight and shaping.”
@mrmikeac: “I’ve been Anti-Titleist for years and years and years (outside of Vokey, of course). With that being said, HOLY BEGEEZUS the GT3 driver is an absolute NUCLEAR MONSTER! This thing blew my G430 10K Max out of the water in every single category. Forgiveness is the biggest thing that stands out of me, the 3 model has always been one of the less forgiving models in the past but this GT3 can take bad shot after bad shot and still end up in the fairway, I think a ton of that has to do with the adjustability, it’s actually effective. Feel and sound is perfect, that solid crack is so addicting to hear and when you hit it out the screws this thing can absolutely bomb it. Titleist, I’m sorry for doubting you. You have converted me.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Titleist GT3 here.
1. Titleist GT2: 22.91%
Titleist’s pitch: “Delivering impressive distance from any impact point, the Titleist GT2 Driver extracts maximum performance through a forgiving design. Get the stability and added confidence of a high-MOI driver without sacrificing speed.”
@DTorres: “The Titleist GT2 has proven to be the best driver of the year. Packaged in a classic profile, GT2 perfectly balances performance and forgiveness while consistently being a high performer across all categories.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Titleist GT2 here.
Other drivers receiving >2% of the vote
| Driver | Vote percentage (%) |
|---|---|
| Cobra DS Adapt Max K | 4.85% |
| Ping G430 Max 10K | 3.85% |
| Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond | 3.68% |
| TaylorMade Qi35 | 3.51% |
| Callaway Elyte | 3.18% |
| Cobra DS Adapt X | 2.34% |
| Cobra DS Adapt LS | 2.17% |
| TaylorMade Qi35 LS | 2.17% |
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Peter Malnati WITB 2025 (August)
Peter Malnati what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. More photos from the event here. Driver: Titleist...
Cameron Young’s winning WITB: 2025 Wyndham Championship
Driver: Titleist GT2 (9 degrees, A1 SureFit setting) Buy here. Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Orange 70 TX 3-wood: Titleist...
Camilo Villegas WITB 2025 (July)
Camilo Villegas WITB accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. Villegas was undecided on a 3-wood when we shot his bag. ...
WITB Time Machine: Brandt Snedeker’s winning WITB, 2018 Wyndham Championship
Brandt Snedeker fired a final-round 65 at the 2018 Wyndham Championship to outlast Webb Simpson and C.T. Pan. His 5-under...
JP
Feb 12, 2019 at 9:28 pm
Final Score:
.
Cleveland – 1 / Cameron – 0
Tiger Noods
Feb 12, 2019 at 5:04 pm
Nice “True Roll” tech. Theft from the Solheims continues…
Tom
Feb 12, 2019 at 4:31 pm
If you have a soft putter, you need the blue pill!
Tom
Feb 12, 2019 at 2:52 pm
Having a soft putter isn’t going to make you very popular with the ladies….
Iutodd
Feb 12, 2019 at 1:14 pm
Looking forward to trying this one. I have all Srixon/Cleveland in my irons and wedges so I might as well make it official with the putter.