Cleveland Frontline Elite Cero Putter Review: Super alignment and pure roll
The new Frontline Elite putter range from Cleveland features a whole host of new tech designed to create a smooth roll and increased forgiveness on off-centre strikes.
Head shape and alignment aids instil confidence at address, nice soft feel off the face
Cons
We prefer a heavier head, but this is amendable with the changeable sole weights.
Cleveland Frontline Elite Cero SB Key Features:
Front loaded CG: designed to minimalise disparity on miss-hits, leading to straighter putts
Tungsten SOFT face insert: varied groove grouping balances energy transfer to ensure rollout on off-centre strikes
Adjustable sole weights: ensuring consistent swing feel no matter the model or shaft length
2135 alignment technology: designed to position the sightline on the exact centre axis of the ball
The new range of Cleveland Frontline Elite putters features eight thoughtfully designed models to suit every golfer. With an improved forward centre of gravity and a Tungsten Soft face insert, the putters are engineered to help golfers hit straighter putts with a smooth, consistent roll-out.
The engineers at Cleveland have been hard at work to deliver a high-performance ultra-forgiving line of putters, and it's fair to say they've done a pretty good job.
The key technological advances on offer from the Frontline Elite series are the forward centre of gravity position, SOFT face insert and a newly designed multi-material construction.
Starting with the forward-placed CG, Cleveland has opted to move it forward to provide more stability at the front of the head. In doing so, the face should remain square at contact, with less rotation, for a smooth and straight roll.
The CG has been moved forward by using a 30-gram face insert made of injection-moulded tungsten. This Tungsten insert is also engineered with Speed Optimised Face Technology (SOFT) that has a unique groove pattern to create consistent ball speeds across the face.
The body of the putter is constructed from a complex multi-material design that incorporates lightweight aluminium, ABS polymer, steel and tungsten to deliver a putter that Cleveland claims gives you optimal feel, performance, fit and finish.
It all sounds very impressive. But as we know here at GolfMagic, the proof is in the putting. With that in mind, we headed out on the course to test out Cleveland's new offering to see how it performed.
Let's get into it.
Player Level
The Cleveland Frontline Elite putter range should appeal to a broad range of playing levels. The soft feel and smooth roll will appeal to players of all handicaps, while the high MOI design and clear alignment will be useful tools for players who may be starting out in the game and looking to improve quickly.
Cleveland Frontline Elite UST Cero SB
Cleveland Frontline Elite Cero SB: Looks and Feel
The premium matte black finish of this putter immediately appealed to us when sat behind the ball. Both sleek and glare resistant, the paint job also contrasts well with the white alignment aid for clear visuals when lining up your putts.
If you prefer a mallet design, then you will love this strong, stable head design that frames the ball really well. The hollowed-out body also makes room for two diagonal lines, which work in tandem with the primary alignment aid to ensure your ball is lined up in the centre of the face.
The generous blade length will suit the eye of golfers looking for increased forgiveness, and the tungsten face insert also pairs well with the subtle Cleveland branding for a clean aesthetic on the face of the putter.
The sole of the putter continues the monochromatic theme with two adjustable weights providing nice metallic detailing.
In terms of feel, the Cero felt nice and soft off the face, producing a quiet, muted sound and a poppy sensation at impact. While we did like the feel of this putter, we did slightly miss the super responsive feel of a premium milled face.
The head feels solid at impact, and thanks to the changeable weight system, you can alter the sole weight to suit your stroke.
Cleveland Frontline Elite UST Cero SB
The slightly oversized Pistol-style Lamkin grip provides a responsive and grippy feel that will appeal to a lot of golfers. The slightly thicker design encourages you to grip the club softly and also promotes good stability in the wrists.
Cleveland Frontline Elite Cero SB: Forgiveness and Performance
We tested the Cero during a number of rounds, and there were a few key performance features that really stood out for us.
The alignment aid is one of the best we've seen, and especially over shorter putts, we felt like we couldn't miss. Thanks to the forward-placed CG, we also noticed the face stayed remarkably stable at impact, which undoubtedly helped us maintain a true straight rollout, even when hit from slightly off-centre.
While this putter excelled on short to mid-range putts, we did struggle to replicate the same performance on longer putts of over 15+ feet. With some slight adjustments to the changeable head weights, though, we think this is an issue that could easily be resolved.
In terms of forgiveness, the Cero performed admirably. There are bound to be inconsistencies in every player's putter stroke, and we felt that the large blade length and high MOI head did a fantastic job at keeping the face square through impact, leading to a reduction in offline dispersion.
It should be noted that this putter is designed to suit golfers with a straight and through putting stroke. There are additional models in the Frontline Elite range that are better suited to players who have a slight arc to their stroke, but this suited us perfectly.
Cleveland Frontline Elite UST Cero SB
Should you buy the Cleveland Frontline Elite Cero SB putter?
If you have a straight and through putting stroke and you're looking for a putter that offers bags of forgiveness and a fantastic alignment aid, then this could be the putter for you.
Packed full of game-improving tech, all rolled into a sleek matte black body, the Cero would be well-suited for golfers looking to improve the consistency of their putting without compromising on looks.
At £249 this putter isn't cheap, but thanks to its good looks and abundance of performance-improving qualities, we think it would be a great addition to a lot of golfer's bags.
