What’s Up With The New Cleveland HB SOFT 2 Black Putters?

We’re one full week into Launch Season. Is your head spinning? I bet it’s spinning.

After all, drivers are pushing $600. Irons are over $1,000. Balls? Fuhgeddaboudit…

For all the moaning, wailing and gnashing of teeth about the price of golf equipment, you must sit up and recognize anything that brings value. We’ve been testing putters for a long time and one thing we know for sure is this:

Cleveland putters deliver value.

Cleveland is launching its “new” HB SOFT 2 Black putters today. We put “new” in quotes because they’re not exactly new but Cleveland has given the year-old line a new look and a new shaft.

The best part? They’re still under $200.

Cleveland HB SOFT 2 in black

For the last decade, Cleveland has released solid, if not outstanding, putters. Starting with the Huntington Beach line in 2016, Cleveland has released one winner after another, all at attention-getter pricing. No, they’re not exactly unique or original (although Frontline might challenge that statement) but most are under $200.

Cleveland released the HB SOFT 2 line last January and its lineup included some all-stars. The Anser-style #1 blade was MyGolfSpy’s best-performing putter from 20 feet last year and was named Best Value Blade. In mallet testing, the RETREVE and the #11 performed well from 10 and 20 feet. The RETREVE also won Best Value.

The existing HB SOFT 2 lineup isn’t going away or being replaced. It’s simply getting a second-year spruce-up if you will. There are two major updates. The first is in the name: HB SOFT 2 Black. The second is an upgrade: the UST Mamiya ALL-IN carbon fiber/steel shaft.

That might be the bigger deal.

A new paint job

The new Cleveland HC Soft 2 lineup is getting a Black Satin PVD finish. The heads are the same as the Satin Chrome models released last year. They’re just, you know, black.

The lineup features five face-balanced models for straight-back/straight-through strokes. There’s one wide-bodied, center-shafted blade and four mallets including the top-performing RETREVE and #11. These models feature an oversized, Cleveland-branded pistol group designed to keep your hands quiet during the stroke.

There are also four models for slight-arc strokes: one standard blade, one wide-body blade and two mallets. These models feature a standard-sized pistol grip to encourage hand turn during a slightly arcing stroke.

The SOFT element of the HB SOFT 2 line has nothing to do with feel, although they do have a very nice, muted feel to them. SOFT, in this case, stands for Speed Optimization Face Technology. Cleveland has used this face-milling concept for years. It’s designed to normalize ball speed even if you miss the center just a smidge.

To normalize speed, the milling pattern creates more groove space and less actual face material in the center of the face. As you move incrementally away from the center, there’s more face material and fewer grooves. If you miss the center even by a few millimeters, there’s more face material to impact the ball. That imparts more ball speed to keep putts from coming up short.

Each putter model has its own unique milling pattern based on that model’s MOI characteristics.

Cleveland HB SOFT 2 Black putters are ALL-IN

The new finish is nice but the real big deal here is the UST Mamiya ALL-IN shaft.

If you think a shaft does nothing more than connect the grip to the putter head, you might want to try one of these first.

The ALL-IN shaft is half carbon and half steel, similar in construction and technology to Odyssey’s Stroke Lab shafts. MyGolfSpy tested Stroke Lab against standard putters and found the technology does have its benefits.

Regardless of the manufacturer, the idea is to create a more balanced and solid-feeling shaft. In theory, that leads to a much more stable shaft. The ALL-IN used high-tensile strength carbon fiber with proprietary nanoalloys to add stiffness, strength and stability. Cleveland says the All-IN has a 26-percent stiffer profile compared to a traditional stepless chrome putter shaft.

Now, you’re probably thinking that the putter isn’t moving all that fast so what the hell do I need 26 percent more stiffness for?

A fair question.

According to Cleveland’s SAM PuttLab player testing on 15-foot puts, the ALL-IN shaft created a 10-percent more consistent face angle at impact compared to a stepless chrome shaft. That may not sound like much but it’s the difference between left edge and left out. Additionally, ALL-In led to seven-percent better face rotation consistency and six-percent better impact location consistency.

Take those numbers for what they’re worth. We’ve tried the ALL-IN shaft and, if our opinion means anything to you, it’s worth checking them out. You might be surprised.

Cleveland HB SOFT 2 Black putters: Price and availability

Let’s take a minute to reset Cleveland’s putter line for 2025. There are three lines under the Cleveland brand banner. There’s the Frontline Elite, which features a forward center of gravity, adjustable sole weights and a tungsten SOFT face insert. We’ve already discussed the HB SOFT 2 and SOFT 2 Black so that leaves the HB SOFT Milled line. The heads are similar to the HB SOFT 2 line (with a couple of exceptions) but where the HB SOFT 2 are cast heads, the SOFT Milled heads are precision-milled for a cleaner look.

Then there’s Cleveland’s Never Compromise line, which debuted last year with a unique, in-store fitting system.

As for the HB SOFT 2 Black, Cleveland is putting a $50 premium on the new finish and the ALL-IN shaft. The Satin Chrome HB SOFT 2 models retail for $149.99 but the new Black Satin models with the ALL-IN shaft will hit the streets for $199.99.

For what it’s worth, Cleveland offers the ALL-IN as a $50 upgrade in its HB SOFT Milled putter line.

They’ll be in stores starting Jan. 17.

For more information, visit the Cleveland website.