Buckeyeduffer
Active member
Now, I wasnt draining 30 foot putts all day long, but I dont think I had a miss that was outside 2 feet the entire day... That includes chutting from off the green, as well.
I fixed that for ya.:wink:
Cleveland Smart-Square Putter Review
I fixed that for ya.:wink:
DevRickus
The Dirty Jerz
We have extremely similar games so when I see something working so well for you it intrigues me. I too am a CS guy so the fact that the heel shafted version is working so well for you is pretty cool.
Squares, no doubt about it. I rolled the T-Frame well, however, it got shown-up today.
Thanks, that makes sense. So the majority of the day you didn't use the line on the ball.
You see more success with either you tried today? Unsure of how much I would question my alignment using the ball line against the outer square lines on the head.
- Moderator
- #231
Having seen you roll that putter really well, that speaks volumes about the squares
I saw no noticeable different with/without the ball.
However, as I stated earlier, when I use a putter that has multiple lines or an alignment aide that frames the ball, I typically go with a "blank" ball...meaning that nothing but white/yellow is showing when I look down on it.
I will snap some pictures for you.
For Cookie;
Cookie- I think either way can work for you, honestly. With the line and without. Both have features that you can utilize to get yourself square to the target. For me, without the line, I took the ball out of the equation and focused on the squares and the target, and just kind of let the ball get in the way after I framed it up at address.
Cookie- I think either way can work for you, honestly. With the line and without. Both have features that you can utilize to get yourself square to the target. For me, without the line, I took the ball out of the equation and focused on the squares and the target, and just kind of let the ball get in the way after I framed it up at address.
Thanks War!
Yep, no way I could use an alignment line with that head. Too much going on and I would go crazy second guessing.
I'm so accustomed to using the ball line I would need to do more spot putting with this one.
Jman needs a TX trip....stat!
Yep, no way I could use an alignment line with that head. Too much going on and I would go crazy second guessing.
I'm so accustomed to using the ball line I would need to do more spot putting with this one.
Jman needs a TX trip....stat!
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War...ever play an Odyssey 2 Ball? Just wondering if you have noticed any differeces.
I have, and did not like the 2 ball. Lining up a putt by placing 2 balls behind another ball just didnt work for my eye.
The lines and the squares make sense, and just give me a nice line to start my putt on.
c0ncept
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This has me so curious. I like the feel of past Cleveland putters but I think this will be a huge step for them. The alignment looks so much better than the two ball did to me.
tap tap taparoo
tap tap taparoo
Nebgolfer
Active member
Glad to hear this works without matching lines. Sometimes I have trouble with the single line on my SeeMore, and don't like having to perfectly align my ball. Hearing your success with this definitely has me intrigued, and I think the squares speak to the logical side of my brain.
That is a freakishly heavy head; does it feel that heavy, or is it offset by a heavier grip or anything?
I'm really excited by that extra weight. I want to try this one.
I got the Cleveland Smart-Square Putter in hand yesterday, and threw it immediately in the bag for a round. No warm up on the practice green, no rolls before the round, just straight in the bag for the round.
The Smart Square putter that I have is at 35" and weighs in with a 400g head. Has a counterbalanced feel to it, and with the heavier grip on this one, gives a nice solid feel to my putting stroke. Many companies have gone to this style of putter, but few do it like Cleveland. Ever since Cleveland first released their "Almost Belly" line 2 years ago, I have been a big fan. It started with the Almost Belly Blade style putter, which I rolled and loved, and then moved to the Cleveland T-Frame Almost Belly for this year in the Morgan Cup, and putted just about lights out with it. Both of those putters played at 39" for me, and with that I became a big fan of the longer almost-belly style putters, and became a big believer in what benefits a heavier putter that is backweighted can do for ones game on the greens.
A look at the design;
Yes, looking at the Smart Square putter, the first thing most will think of is that it's a direct rip-off of the 2-ball style putters. That's obvious. However, I believe Cleveland saw an idea, and found a way to make that idea better. Alignment lines on a putter head is not new. Neither is the 2-ball style. Why not combine them? That's what was done, take two styles that people love, combine them in a way to make alignment on the putting greens easier.
Cleveland calls their alignment system a "Dual Axis Alignment." What Cleveland has done here is give you multiple ways to align your putt and make sure that your putter face is square to the target. The parallel lines extending back on the squares help frame the ball and align it to the target. The two perpendicular lines on the square help you focus on your putter face being square to target at impact. Prior to gaming this, I was thinking about how the multiple ways to align my putts, and if it would be too much to focus on and get me out of my rhythm pre-putt. I can say this for certain, it did not. It was almost second nature feeling, look down, if everything was square, just trust my line and gauge my speed....drop the putt.
In talking design...I think a few people think this is a large mallet style putter, comparable to some of the larger Spider type putters on the market. However, I was pleasantly surprised at the compact size of this one, especially since I have gamed a similar styled NC putter in the Sub 30 Type 50. It's a bit more compact, and quite sleek for what it is. Not overly large when looking down at address, and just has that sleek look to it with the black styling.
Feel;
Feel is such a touchy topic when it comes to putters. Insert vs Milled faces, etc. I am typically a fan of a milled putter, and quite liked what Cleveland had done with their previous putters in the Almost Belly line, so was quite surprised to see an insert placed in to this putter. Having had experience with the NC line of putters and their inserts, I was a bit skeptical, and I often felt those were too soft and did not give me an audible "click" when hitting my putts. A new insert has been made for the Smart Square, and Cleveland states that it has been improved to enhance feel and sound at impact, and promotes a consistent roll for more predictable distance control.
Most noticeable to me was that the insert was a bit firmer than others that I have tried recently, and offered me that audible click at impact that reinforces that feel for me. Feel at impact was good, and I find that it is much improved over other inserts they have had in the past (Never Compromise lines, particularly).
Performance;
I could talk alignment benefits and improved feel all day, and while those aspects of the putter intrigue me, the most important part of this review is this; Performance. Does it work?
Well, having never rolled this putter before, and throwing it in to my bag Ice Cold, I can say that early results impressive. Going back and thinking about my round, a few things stand out in my mind in regards to performance;
So, first round in the book, what were the stats? 26 putts. Some of this was due to my short game and missing a few greens and chipping them close, but there were also a good bit of 1 putts that came at clutch times. For a round where my game off the tee was just not clicking and I was faced with a number of penalty strokes, being able to save my score a bit by rolling the putter well was a life saver. It turned what surely would have been a round in the low 90s, in to a round in the mid 80s.
Performance was there for me in my round. The design is something that immediately caught my eye, as I believe the lines of the squares just flat out work for lining up a putt. Add in a heavier putter head and some backweighting, and I have a putter that should work quite well for what I need.
The Smart Square putter that I have is at 35" and weighs in with a 400g head. Has a counterbalanced feel to it, and with the heavier grip on this one, gives a nice solid feel to my putting stroke. Many companies have gone to this style of putter, but few do it like Cleveland. Ever since Cleveland first released their "Almost Belly" line 2 years ago, I have been a big fan. It started with the Almost Belly Blade style putter, which I rolled and loved, and then moved to the Cleveland T-Frame Almost Belly for this year in the Morgan Cup, and putted just about lights out with it. Both of those putters played at 39" for me, and with that I became a big fan of the longer almost-belly style putters, and became a big believer in what benefits a heavier putter that is backweighted can do for ones game on the greens.
A look at the design;
Yes, looking at the Smart Square putter, the first thing most will think of is that it's a direct rip-off of the 2-ball style putters. That's obvious. However, I believe Cleveland saw an idea, and found a way to make that idea better. Alignment lines on a putter head is not new. Neither is the 2-ball style. Why not combine them? That's what was done, take two styles that people love, combine them in a way to make alignment on the putting greens easier.
Cleveland calls their alignment system a "Dual Axis Alignment." What Cleveland has done here is give you multiple ways to align your putt and make sure that your putter face is square to the target. The parallel lines extending back on the squares help frame the ball and align it to the target. The two perpendicular lines on the square help you focus on your putter face being square to target at impact. Prior to gaming this, I was thinking about how the multiple ways to align my putts, and if it would be too much to focus on and get me out of my rhythm pre-putt. I can say this for certain, it did not. It was almost second nature feeling, look down, if everything was square, just trust my line and gauge my speed....drop the putt.
In talking design...I think a few people think this is a large mallet style putter, comparable to some of the larger Spider type putters on the market. However, I was pleasantly surprised at the compact size of this one, especially since I have gamed a similar styled NC putter in the Sub 30 Type 50. It's a bit more compact, and quite sleek for what it is. Not overly large when looking down at address, and just has that sleek look to it with the black styling.
Feel;
Feel is such a touchy topic when it comes to putters. Insert vs Milled faces, etc. I am typically a fan of a milled putter, and quite liked what Cleveland had done with their previous putters in the Almost Belly line, so was quite surprised to see an insert placed in to this putter. Having had experience with the NC line of putters and their inserts, I was a bit skeptical, and I often felt those were too soft and did not give me an audible "click" when hitting my putts. A new insert has been made for the Smart Square, and Cleveland states that it has been improved to enhance feel and sound at impact, and promotes a consistent roll for more predictable distance control.
Most noticeable to me was that the insert was a bit firmer than others that I have tried recently, and offered me that audible click at impact that reinforces that feel for me. Feel at impact was good, and I find that it is much improved over other inserts they have had in the past (Never Compromise lines, particularly).
Performance;
I could talk alignment benefits and improved feel all day, and while those aspects of the putter intrigue me, the most important part of this review is this; Performance. Does it work?
Well, having never rolled this putter before, and throwing it in to my bag Ice Cold, I can say that early results impressive. Going back and thinking about my round, a few things stand out in my mind in regards to performance;
- No 3-jacks. All 2-putts or less.
- On my 2 putts, I do not recall a 2nd putt that was outside 2-3 feet the entire round.
- Small misses, and just about every putt that I hit with the Smart Square putter, was tracking at the hole and missing small.
- Distance control was spot on. Having long struggled with leaving putts short, there was not a single putt that was missed short the entire day. With that in mind, I did not have a single putt that was blown by the hole either. All in or around the cup.
- Putts were dropped when it was needed; Hole #17, looking to not get the "coin" for a bogey, I was faced with a 40 footer, uphill breaking right to left. Picked my line, lined the squares up, dropped the putt.
So, first round in the book, what were the stats? 26 putts. Some of this was due to my short game and missing a few greens and chipping them close, but there were also a good bit of 1 putts that came at clutch times. For a round where my game off the tee was just not clicking and I was faced with a number of penalty strokes, being able to save my score a bit by rolling the putter well was a life saver. It turned what surely would have been a round in the low 90s, in to a round in the mid 80s.
Performance was there for me in my round. The design is something that immediately caught my eye, as I believe the lines of the squares just flat out work for lining up a putt. Add in a heavier putter head and some backweighting, and I have a putter that should work quite well for what I need.
- Thread starter
- Staff
- #242
Very nicely written Beags.
Also, extremely pleased to get more feedback as it means I'm not crazy, and I like not being crazy. The alignment works, it does, and with the size of the putter not being overly massive it works well and over the ball fits the eye a lot better than most would expect. I truly believe the more that try it, the more that will be surprised.
Also, extremely pleased to get more feedback as it means I'm not crazy, and I like not being crazy. The alignment works, it does, and with the size of the putter not being overly massive it works well and over the ball fits the eye a lot better than most would expect. I truly believe the more that try it, the more that will be surprised.
Nebgolfer
Active member
WE, that is crazy good performance for no warmups and never using it before. Just imagine what you'll be doing once you get a little more acquainted.
Franklin51
On the Verge
This just doesn't excite me. I wasn't a 2ball fan either so that could be why
- Thread starter
- Staff
- #245
I was 100% the same way coming into this review.
I typically putt decent with just about any putter, and I dont judge my round usually on # of putts, but more often than not I pay close attention to my misses. Short? Long? No were near the hole? To me, my misses tell me more about how I am putting more than anything. The fact that I did not labor over any 2 putts out there was quite telling on the performance this one gave me. Get it close, tap it in.
Tadashi70
Well-known member
no three putts and 26 rolls is very impressive to day that least. Seems a little upright, was that comfortable for you?I got the Cleveland Smart-Square Putter in hand yesterday, and threw it immediately in the bag for a round. No warm up on the practice green, no rolls before the round, just straight in the bag for the round.
The Smart Square putter that I have is at 35" and weighs in with a 400g head. Has a counterbalanced feel to it, and with the heavier grip on this one, gives a nice solid feel to my putting stroke. Many companies have gone to this style of putter, but few do it like Cleveland. Ever since Cleveland first released their "Almost Belly" line 2 years ago, I have been a big fan. It started with the Almost Belly Blade style putter, which I rolled and loved, and then moved to the Cleveland T-Frame Almost Belly for this year in the Morgan Cup, and putted just about lights out with it. Both of those putters played at 39" for me, and with that I became a big fan of the longer almost-belly style putters, and became a big believer in what benefits a heavier putter that is backweighted can do for ones game on the greens.
A look at the design;
Yes, looking at the Smart Square putter, the first thing most will think of is that it's a direct rip-off of the 2-ball style putters. That's obvious. However, I believe Cleveland saw an idea, and found a way to make that idea better. Alignment lines on a putter head is not new. Neither is the 2-ball style. Why not combine them? That's what was done, take two styles that people love, combine them in a way to make alignment on the putting greens easier.
Cleveland calls their alignment system a "Dual Axis Alignment." What Cleveland has done here is give you multiple ways to align your putt and make sure that your putter face is square to the target. The parallel lines extending back on the squares help frame the ball and align it to the target. The two perpendicular lines on the square help you focus on your putter face being square to target at impact. Prior to gaming this, I was thinking about how the multiple ways to align my putts, and if it would be too much to focus on and get me out of my rhythm pre-putt. I can say this for certain, it did not. It was almost second nature feeling, look down, if everything was square, just trust my line and gauge my speed....drop the putt.
In talking design...I think a few people think this is a large mallet style putter, comparable to some of the larger Spider type putters on the market. However, I was pleasantly surprised at the compact size of this one, especially since I have gamed a similar styled NC putter in the Sub 30 Type 50. It's a bit more compact, and quite sleek for what it is. Not overly large when looking down at address, and just has that sleek look to it with the black styling.
Feel;
Feel is such a touchy topic when it comes to putters. Insert vs Milled faces, etc. I am typically a fan of a milled putter, and quite liked what Cleveland had done with their previous putters in the Almost Belly line, so was quite surprised to see an insert placed in to this putter. Having had experience with the NC line of putters and their inserts, I was a bit skeptical, and I often felt those were too soft and did not give me an audible "click" when hitting my putts. A new insert has been made for the Smart Square, and Cleveland states that it has been improved to enhance feel and sound at impact, and promotes a consistent roll for more predictable distance control.
Most noticeable to me was that the insert was a bit firmer than others that I have tried recently, and offered me that audible click at impact that reinforces that feel for me. Feel at impact was good, and I find that it is much improved over other inserts they have had in the past (Never Compromise lines, particularly).
Performance;
I could talk alignment benefits and improved feel all day, and while those aspects of the putter intrigue me, the most important part of this review is this; Performance. Does it work?
Well, having never rolled this putter before, and throwing it in to my bag Ice Cold, I can say that early results impressive. Going back and thinking about my round, a few things stand out in my mind in regards to performance;
- No 3-jacks. All 2-putts or less.
- On my 2 putts, I do not recall a 2nd putt that was outside 2-3 feet the entire round.
- Small misses, and just about every putt that I hit with the Smart Square putter, was tracking at the hole and missing small.
- Distance control was spot on. Having long struggled with leaving putts short, there was not a single putt that was missed short the entire day. With that in mind, I did not have a single putt that was blown by the hole either. All in or around the cup.
- Putts were dropped when it was needed; Hole #17, looking to not get the "coin" for a bogey, I was faced with a 40 footer, uphill breaking right to left. Picked my line, lined the squares up, dropped the putt.
So, first round in the book, what were the stats? 26 putts. Some of this was due to my short game and missing a few greens and chipping them close, but there were also a good bit of 1 putts that came at clutch times. For a round where my game off the tee was just not clicking and I was faced with a number of penalty strokes, being able to save my score a bit by rolling the putter well was a life saver. It turned what surely would have been a round in the low 90s, in to a round in the mid 80s.
Performance was there for me in my round. The design is something that immediately caught my eye, as I believe the lines of the squares just flat out work for lining up a putt. Add in a heavier putter head and some backweighting, and I have a putter that should work quite well for what I need.
It didnt bother me at all, actually. And until you said that, it wasnt something that I noticed with it being upright at all.
Having long been a fan of Center Shafted putters, rolling this and the t-frame with the heel shaft has been more than impressive. Could be a bit to do with the heft of the head staying square during my putting stroke as well.
Nice writeup. I was kind of skeptical about the this one, but it seems to be getting some good reviews.
- Admin
- #250
Let me say that I handed War Eagle the putter in the parking lot and we never hit the putting green before the round. His first putt was a 25 foot birdie putt that he darn near made as it burned the edge. He continued to burn the edge for about 7-8 holes and then it happened. He made one 7 footer for a tough par save and then a 6 footer for bogey after a tough tee shot. Everything was burning the hole and everything was dead on line.
Then came 16 where he just missed a birdie putt from about 20 feet and then on 17 he had a par save from close to 40 feet that was dead center and dropped. Im not sure in all my time playing with him, I have ever seen him roll the rock as good as he did in this case.
These greens were fast and true and he made them look rather mundane the way he was rolling it.
Then came 16 where he just missed a birdie putt from about 20 feet and then on 17 he had a par save from close to 40 feet that was dead center and dropped. Im not sure in all my time playing with him, I have ever seen him roll the rock as good as he did in this case.
These greens were fast and true and he made them look rather mundane the way he was rolling it.