FIRST LOOK: Cleveland Golf’s 2023 Frontline Elite putters

The Cleveland Frontline Elite putters start at $249.00 with a standard steel shaft and are $299.99 with the upgraded All-In graphite shaft from UST. The full line of Cleveland’s Frontline Elite putter series will be available at retail starting February 22, 2023.

With the introduction of the new Frontline Elite putters, Cleveland is delivering a higher-performance line of flat sticks packed with technology, performance, and options to fit any golfer looking to gain an advantage on the greens.

How it works

At the heart of the Frontline Elite series are high MOI designs featuring a forward center of gravity location made possible by using more than 30 grams of injection-molded tungsten to create the actual insert on the face. This places a greater amount of mass at the impact area to get the ball rolling online and stay online.

By having a center of gravity closer to the face it produces less rotation at impact compared to a putter with a much deeper center of gravity.

This is counter-intuitive to something like driver design where a deeper center of gravity helps boost MOI but works well in putters because impact happens at much lower speeds and face angle at impact represents a huge percentage of the golf ball launch direction at impact.

“For the Frontline Elite Putters, we used more than 30g of metal injection molded tungsten across the striking area to move weight as far forward as possible,” said Casey Shultz, product manager at Cleveland Golf. “In a forward-weighted putter design, face rotation is significantly reduced on off-center strikes. So, even if you miss-hit your putt, your ball will stay more online, head toward the hole as intended, and at the desired speed for more scoring chances.”

Key technologies

Beyond being made of tungsten, the inserts in the Frontline Elite series are equipped with Speed Optimized Face Technology (a.k.a. SOFT) which are individualized groove patterns specific to each putter style.

What this does is normalize the ball speed across the face to help create better distance control on putts hit away from the center.

Beyond the specific inserts each Frontline Elite putter has been stroke optimized for either a slight arc or straight stroke type with a grip, hosel configuration and alignment system to help golfers match to their best fit. Straight-stroke style putters use an oversize pistol grip, while slight arc designs use a thinner pistol design to help promote that stroke type.

The final part of the technology package is the multi-material All-In putter shaft from UST Mamiya which features a steel tip and graphite midsection to promote a balanced stroke and offer extra stability.

Want to overhaul your bag for 2023? Find a fitting location near you at GOLF’s affiliate company True Spec Golf.