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Cleveland Smart-Square Putter Review

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Wicked Cool Bearded Man said:
It is the putter I am most excited to roll this year.
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Nice, will hopefully down there today or tomorrow!

I'm taking the the CB down to Houston with me today , hoping to find time to get out there and "putt" it to the test
 
The SS putter I bought on ebay last week arrived today. I've been on my 13' Tour Links putting green putting it through it's paces. I've rolled about 250 putts with more to follow. I took a break to give you my initial thoughts. Spoiler alert - it is very easy to align and gives me confidence that if I miss it's due to the stroke and not where I'm aimed. The one I got came with the 400 gram head and is cut at 36.5". As I said last week, whoever owned it must have been following this thread as that's just a bit coincidental otherwise. It also came with the Winn jumbo grip, which is a fair amount bigger than I'm used to. Granted, the extra weight of the grip helps to counter the heft of the head because this is one heavy mo fo. I really notice the weight of the head when I switch out and roll my Seemore Si3. My lower hand is almost gripping at the shaft so the grip doesn't feel nearly as fat as it is so we'll see if it stays or if I get a midsize. I find the head a little softer than the Seemore insert but not anything that I notice after about two putts. Jury won't come back on this putter for another month and a half when I can get out on real greens but for now it is very promising. Did I mention it's insanely easy to line-up square to the hole?
 
One other point to note is the guy I bought it from had ordered it 2 degrees flat (68 degrees) which is the lie angle I perform best with. Lie angle for me makes a difference in a putter performing adequately to having the potential to be great. Just one more variable removed to help to ensure that set-up is consistent every time. Funny thing is the putter is stamped 72 degrees on the bottom.
 
Haggis said:
One other point to note is the guy I bought it from had ordered it 2 degrees flat (68 degrees) which is the lie angle I perform best with. Lie angle for me makes a difference in a putter performing adequately to having the potential to be great. Just one more variable removed to help to ensure that set-up is consistent every time. Funny thing is the putter is stamped 72 degrees on the bottom.
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Thats huge dude, IMO lie angle is crazy overlooked in putters. Proper sole-ing of the club is key!
 
Jman said:
Thats huge dude, IMO lie angle is crazy overlooked in putters. Proper sole-ing of the club is key!
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THIS^ ! This is why I could never get comfortable with the CB version at 72*
 
Jman said:
Thats huge dude, IMO lie angle is crazy overlooked in putters. Proper sole-ing of the club is key!
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Agreed. The tough thing is finding retailers with a machine to adjust lie angle on putters as I think they are either different from what is used on irons or else they require a different attachment that most around here don't have. I found a dealer who has one and I take putters to him to bend when I get them.
 
Nice first round with the CS Smart square model today. Had 29 total putts--only 13 on front 9. Love this thing so far. This CS model really fits me better. Only one 3 putt today down a very large slope where gravity would not allow the putt to stop unless you ran into the hole.
 
WardF said:
Nice first round with the CS Smart square model today. Had 29 total putts--only 13 on front 9. Love this thing so far. This CS model really fits me better. Only one 3 putt today down a very large slope where gravity would not allow the putt to stop unless you ran into the hole.
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Sweet, glad you enjoyed it!

Was hoping to play in Houston this week, but I couldn't make it happen!
 
WardF said:
Nice first round with the CS Smart square model today. Had 29 total putts--only 13 on front 9. Love this thing so far. This CS model really fits me better. Only one 3 putt today down a very large slope where gravity would not allow the putt to stop unless you ran into the hole.
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Sounds good teammate. I'll be picking one of these up the second the snow melts here.
 
O'Carroll said:
Sounds good teammate. I'll be picking one of these up the second the snow melts here.
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Will have it out at Cowboys for you to test too!
 
had 30 putts with the smart square yesterday. my average putts per round last year was 30.45 so I'm right on pace. Considering it was the first real round of 2014 and considering I had 2 dumb 3 putts on the front 9 (both speed issues) I am happy with that number. I rolled in quite a few 6-8 foot putts and other than the 3 putts I didn't have any "terrible" misses. I did miss one 4 footer for par but I didn't have the focus I should have had and honestly took it for granted.

Anyway, I'm rolling the ball on the line I pick. Alignment is gravy. I'd say my biggest road block with the smart square would be lag putts and judging distance. Looks like I know what to work on moving forward. Overall I am still pleased with this putter and my scotty cameron is still in the closet.
 
Here's my one-week update with this putter. Since I live in the Arctic the only option I have is putting in my basement on my Tour Links. I have the 13' training one that I have marked off in 1 foot increments from 1-11 feet. I roll 5 putts from each distance before moving back to the next one. Basically that means I hit 55 putts each rotation through. I am dorky enough to keep track of how many putts I make at each increment. (I shine at the 1' distance). Anyways, I've gone through 17 rotations in the last week with the Smart Square, which equates to 935 putts I have under my belt (plus probably another 50 from just hitting putts when done). A perfect score is 55. With prior putters my average has always been 42-44. With the Smart Square my average is right at 46-47, so that's a plus. Now there is one caveat I have to put on my science experiment. A couple of days before this putter arrived I decided to give left hand low putting a try this year. I have never done it and since I'm a lefty playing righty, left low makes sense to me. So on the one hand, the improved numbers could be because of the change to left hand low. However, the numbers I'm putting up are being done as I'm learning the new grip and feeling uncomfortable with it so that's impressive. More importantly, I have also been rolling my Si3 left hand low and my numbers with it are averaging 44 so even with the same set-up I'm seeing better numbers out of the Smart Square. Sorry for prattling on.
 
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Eagerly waiting to try out the CS one.
 
NICKYz said:
Eagerly waiting to try out the CS one.
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Having played the Long version, tested the regular in the store, and now having played the CS, the CS is by far my favorite. I do alternate between this putter and a different milled putter. If I could build the perfect version of this for me, it would be CS and milled.
 
First 9 holes with the CB version was not good.

However, it was 35 degrees and I didn't warm up and had never used it before.

Still going to give it a real shot!
 
I want one of these bad boys and I want to put a SS 2.0 or 3.0 on it, haven't decided yet. Any ideas on good places to get it and get it regripped in one stop?
 
hokiebuc91 said:
I want one of these bad boys and I want to put a SS 2.0 or 3.0 on it, haven't decided yet. Any ideas on good places to get it and get it regripped in one stop?
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Possibly a custom order from one of the online sellers would do. Any good local shop could order this and do it for you as well--just call and see who is ready to earn the business. I have always done my own grips so I never asked, but this a pretty common request as many don't like stock grips on putters.
 
rushamania said:
First 9 holes with the CB version was not good.

However, it was 35 degrees and I didn't warm up and had never used it before.

Still going to give it a real shot!
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Have you rolled it since?
 
After giving the Smart Square a time out the last couple of weeks, I pulled it back out with some work on mechanics (rock shoulders--closer to the ball and better eye line just inside the target line) Took it out for 9 holes today and had 14 putts with no 3 putts--which is a major improvement from its last showing. I really do think I was sloppy on my setup before having the ball way out in front of me where I was way inside the target line and had to have a perfect arc to stay on line. Getting closer has allowed me to deliver the stroke on the good alignment the squares give me.
 
WardF said:
After giving the Smart Square a time out the last couple of weeks, I pulled it back out with some work on mechanics (rock shoulders--closer to the ball and better eye line just inside the target line) Took it out for 9 holes today and had 14 putts with no 3 putts--which is a major improvement from its last showing. I really do think I was sloppy on my setup before having the ball way out in front of me where I was way inside the target line and had to have a perfect arc to stay on line. Getting closer has allowed me to deliver the stroke on the good alignment the squares give me.
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Doing some work there Captain, I like it! Putting is so finicky, but when you can get your eyes over the ball, the stroke usually falls into place for me. Keep it up! Looks like my first full round of the year will be the 23rd, can't wait to get my Smart Square back out on the course. Putting and swinging a lot in the basement is just not the same.
 
I did some more putting with this at lunch yesterday. I am not sure how much switching to the B330 has an effect but I have not noticed the "ting" sound that initially bothered me in quite some time.

Oh, and putts are dropping as well!
 
Update to progress: Using 35" Center Shafted SS putter.

Had 31 putts today and only one 3 putt. These are some very tough greens out here on dormant winter greens--the good news is it making me focus more and get better. Sticking to this and not bailing at the first sign of trouble has allowed me more confidence in the putter and in turn I am performing better.
 
WardF said:
Update to progress: Using 35" Center Shafted SS putter.

Had 31 putts today and only one 3 putt. These are some very tough greens out here on dormant winter greens--the good news is it making me focus more and get better. Sticking to this and not bailing at the first sign of trouble has allowed me more confidence in the putter and in turn I am performing better.
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So you are digging the shorter length with the heavier head weight?

Exactly what I was a big fan of. The 35-36" putters of the heavier variety are quickly becoming a must have for me.
 
I have played a few rounds with this putter and I have to say it really fits my eye and my stroke, Mikeg loaned it to me for a while and so far I am really enjoying the feel.
 
War Eagle said:
So you are digging the shorter length with the heavier head weight?

Exactly what I was a big fan of. The 35-36" putters of the heavier variety are quickly becoming a must have for me.
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Just so I understand what you are saying here. You took a 38" or 39" almost belly, with additional head weight, and cut it down to 35"? So you are playing a more traditional length putter with the additional head weight of an almost belly? Or do I have that mixed up?
 
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