Tag: Cleveland Wedges

Gear: Cleveland CBX Full-Face 2 wedges
Price: $169.99 each with True Temper Dynamic Gold 115 Spinner Tour Issue steel shafts and Lamkin Crossline 360 grips.
Specs: Cast stainless steel with face-roughening treatment and vibration-absorbing gel backpiece. Even lofts 50 degrees to 60 degrees

Available: Feb. 3

Who It’s For: Golfers who want more forgiveness than traditional wedges without sacrificing spin.

The Skinny: The CBX Full-Face 2 has the largest face of any Cleveland wedge, and combined with perimeter weighting, tour-level grooves, surface-roughening treatments and a water-repellant treatment, it blends forgiveness and control.

The Deep Dive: Most golfers don’t consider wedges to be the kind of clubs where you will find a lot of technology. Drivers have moveable weights, irons often have exotic materials and putters can be milled and shaped into wild creations, while wedges have looked roughly the same for decades. The Cleveland CBX Full-Face 2 wedges, however, have a lot of technologies designed into them to make them more playable and forgiving while also helping golfers get better, more-consistent results around the greens.

The CBX Full-Face 2 wedges have a high-toe design and the largest hitting area of any Cleveland wedge. It’s 13 percent larger than the RTX Full-Face, and unlike that wedge, the CBX Full-Face 2 has perimeter weighting.

Instead of being made entirely from stainless steel, the heel area and hosel of the CBX Full-Face 2 have a vibration-damping material Cleveland calls ZipCore that is less dense. That shifts more weight toward the toe side and, along with the added mass high in the toe area, pulls the center of gravity more to the middle of the hitting zone.

To help golfers create more spin on chips, pitches and approach shots, Cleveland designers gave the CBX Full-Face 2 wedges UltiZip grooves. They are sharper, deeper and packed more closely together than the ZipGrooves in Cleveland’s CBX Full Face wedge, which allowed designers to add two more grooves to the hitting area.

To help golfers maintain spin on shots hit from wet turf and rough, Cleveland gave the CBX Full-Face 2 wedges HydraZip, a laser-milling pattern added between the main grooves. The design is more open in the 50- and 52-degree models to make those clubs behave more like extensions of a golfer’s irons, and the HydraZip pattern is denser in the 54-, 56-, 58- and 60-degree wedges to allow for more spin on shots hit around the greens.

Cleveland added a vibration-dampening thermoplastic polyurethane insert to the back of each club to enhance the feel. 

Finally, the CBX Full-Face 2 has been made with loft-specific sole designs. The 50- and 52-degree wedges have full soles with extra bounce behind the leading edge, so the club works through the turf and maintains speed on approach shots. The 54- to 60-degree wedges have a C-shaped sole design with material removed from the heel and toe areas, so golfers can open the face and add loft while still getting the leading edge under the ball.

Gear: Cleveland RTX 6 ZipCore wedges
Price: $169.99 each with True Temper Dynamic Gold Spinner shaft and Lamkin Crossline 360 grip.
Specs: Cast stainless steel. Available in four sole grinds and even lofts from 46 to 60 degrees.
Available: Jan. 20

Who It’s For: Golfers who want to maximize spin around the green from a variety of lies.

The Skinny: With different surface-roughening treatments and groove configurations based on each wedge’s loft, Cleveland’s RTX 6 ZipCore wedges aim to increase spin in wet and dry conditions.

The Deep Dive: Developing a solid short game is challenging because there are so many different shots and situations around greens. Most golfers are comfortable with the basics, but what about chips from tight lies, bunker shots from wet sand or flop shots from thick rough, to name just a few awkward shots? 

With the release of the RTX 6 ZipCore wedges, Cleveland is trying to offer a family of wedges that can handle a more comprehensive range of shots and deliver more spin and consistency in both wet and dry conditions.

From the back and in the address position, the RTX 6 ZipCore wedges look like the classic Cleveland “588-inspired” clubs golfers have loved for decades. The most significant difference between the new RTX 6 ZipCore wedges and previous Cleveland wedges is in the hitting area, thanks to a technology the company calls HydraZip.

For several generations of wedges, Cleveland has added surface-roughening treatments in the form of laser-etched microgrooves. Now designers are combining a face-blasting treatment and different laser-etching patterns based on each club’s loft to help create more friction. Between the main grooves in the 46- and 48-degree wedges is an open pattern of lines because these clubs are usually hit from the fairway on full-swing approach shots.

In the 54-, 56-, 58- and 60-degree wedges, the design is tighter to maximize the effect because sand wedges and lob wedges are golfers’ go-to clubs when they need extra spin around the greens.

The gap wedge lofts, with lofts of 50 and 52 degrees, have surface-roughening patterns that are moderately packed for versatility.

Cleveland also updated the main grooves, which it calls UltiZip grooves. There are numerically more grooves on each wedge to get more edges on the ball for increased bite and spin.

Cleveland said the combination of the new HydraZip treatment and UltiZip grooves produces slightly more spin on dry shots, while in wet conditions the new RTX 6 ZipCore wedges can create up to 43 percent more spin for added control.

Control is also enhanced by an update to the ZipCore technology that debuted in 2021 in the RTX5 wedges. Instead of making each wedge using the same stainless steel, Cleveland uses a lightweight material that soaks up excessive vibrations. That enhances the feel and shifts more weight to the perimeter for extra stability. The weight saved using the alternative material is redistributed to the heel area in the form of a piece that extends through the hosel and into the lower portion of the head. The bar helps offset the weight in the toe area and allows designers to shift the center of gravity to the center of the hitting zone.

Finally, the Cleveland RTX 6 ZipCore wedges are made in four sole configurations, with three different grinds available, to help golfers deal with various turf conditions.

 

The Mid grind is available in lofts from 46 to 60 degrees and has 10 degrees of bounce. With moderate relief in the heel and toe areas, it was designed to be a good option in a wide variety of conditions.

The Full grind is available in lofts from 54 to 60 degrees and has 12 degrees of bounce. It has a wider design and excels in softer conditions, and should be a good choice for golfers with a steep attack angle.

The Low grind is only available as a 58- and 60-degree option and has 6 degrees of bounce. It has significant heel and toe relief, allowing it to be opened while allowing golfers to get the leading edge under the ball. It is intended for golfers with a shallow attack angle and those who play in firm, hard conditions. The Low+, which is the fourth configuration, is a new offering for the 54- and 56-degree clubs with the same general shape as the Low but with 8 degrees of bounce.

Gear: Cleveland Smart Sole 4 Black Satin wedges

Specs: Three versions designed in cast stainless steel. Chipper is 42 degrees. Gap wedge is 50 degrees. Sand wedge is 58 degrees.

Who it’s for: Golfers who struggle with chipping, pitching and escaping greenside bunkers.

Available: March 4

Price: $119.99 steel; $129.99, graphite at Dick’s/PGA Tour Superstore

As a brand, Cleveland is best known for making some of the most iconic wedges in golf history. Since 1988, many of the game’s best players have loved the 588 Series and the wedges it inspired, including today’s RTX 4 Series. However, starting in the mid-2000s, Cleveland has offered unique clubs for players who struggle with consistency around the greens. Putter-length chipping clubs and sand wedges with exceptionally wide soles and high bounce angles have proved helpful for golfers who don’t have much time to practice but still want to get better.

The latest version of these clubs, the Smart Sole 4 wedges, was released in 2020, and now Cleveland is making them available in a glare-reducing black finish.

For golfers who shoot in the 60s, 70s and even 80s, the idea of taking a club out of their bag to make room for another club designed to help with a specific shortcoming might not make sense. That’s fine, but Cleveland has made the Smart Sole 4 C, G and S models for players with chipping yips, who often need two or three shots to escape a bunker and who dread hitting pitch shots. For those players, yanking a traditional pitching wedge, gap wedge or sand wedge (or all three) and replacing it with one of these clubs could instantly create confidence and lower scores.

To encourage solid contact, each Smart Sole 4 Black Satin wedge has an extra-wide, three-tiered sole and significant leading-edge bounce to reduce digging. The CNC-milled grooves remove water and sand from the hitting surface more effectively and maximize spin.

If chipping is your issue, you will want the Smart Sole 4 C wedge. It has the loft of a 9-iron, 42 degrees, but the length of a traditional putter, 34 inches. Using this club and making a putting stroke, the ball easily jumps into the air, bounces and rolls out like a well-struck chip shot. 

Golfers who fear the sand will want the 58-degree Smart Sole 4 S wedge. It has an exceptionally wide sole with significant camber (curvature), so even when golfers play bunker shots from a square position, the club can work through the sand easily and help get the ball up into the air fast.

The Smart Sole 4 G has 50 degrees of loft, equivalent to a modern gap wedge. Cleveland designed it to be easy to hit from a variety of places. With the leading edge elevated and a wide, curved sole, it can help golfers who tend to hit fat pitch shots. It can be used to hit chip shots, escape from fairway rough and be used in fairway bunkers.

With practice and some lessons, these are clubs you might grow out of. Still, for new golfers who struggle with some specific short game shots or long-time players who are just tired and frustrated of seeing their scores balloon because of one shortcoming, the dark-finished Cleveland Smart Sole 4 Black Satin wedges might bring a smile to their faces.

Gear: Cleveland CBX ZipCore wedge
Price: $149 each with True Temper Dynamic Gold Spinner Wedge shafts and Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360 grips. $159 each with Project X Catalyst 80 Spinner graphite shaft.
Specs: Multi-material steel wedges with polymer back pieces. Even lofts of 44 to 60 degrees
Available: Feb. 18 

When it comes to irons, only the most consistent, accomplished golfers use muscleback blades because despite their outstanding feel, blades are the least forgiving style of clubs. Yet most wedges could be classified as musclebacks. 

Cleveland’s wedge designers think that is a mistake and that any golfer who typically shoots in the 80s or higher should play a wedge that matches his or her irons. That means a wedge with perimeter weighting and game-improvement features such as those found on the new CBX ZipCore wedges. 

Gear: Cleveland RTX Full-Face wedges
Price: $159.99 each (Tour Satin) with True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue Spinner shaft and Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360 grip. $179.99 each in Tour Rack raw-steel finish
Specs: Cast 8620 carbon steel heads with surface-roughening treatment.
Lofts: 50-60 degrees and 64 degrees (Tour Satin); 56-60 and 64 degrees (Tour Rack)
Available: June 11

With the release of its newest series of wedges, the RTX Full-Face, Cleveland Golf – a company synonymous with high-quality wedges – is bringing several technologies and hot trends together in one club.

For the past few seasons, wedges designed with a high-toe area, like the RTX Full-Face, have grown in popularity among both professionals and amateurs. When you open the face on tricky shots around the green, they present a larger hitting area to the ball.

But as the name implies, the higher toe area is not the only thing that makes these wedges look unique. The entire hitting surface is covered in Cleveland’s UltiZip grooves from the leading edge to the topline. Like the grooves in the original ZipCore wedges released last year, these grooves are deeper with sharper edges, and designers have packed them more tightly in the hitting area. This should ensure that more groove edges grab the ball on chips and pitch shots to help generate more spin. There are also microgrooves between the main grooves to increase surface roughness and friction to help golfers create more spin.

The wedges also undergo a heat treatment that Cleveland said will help prolong the grooves’ sharpness.

From a construction standpoint, the RTX Full-Face has a low-density material inside each head that allowed Cleveland engineers to shift weight to other parts of the head and manipulate the center of gravity. Doing that helped increase the RTX Full-Face’s stability.

The RTX Full-Face is available in a Tour Satin finish in gap wedge, sand wedge and lob wedge lofts. Cleveland also includes the RTX Full-Face in its Tour Rack program for players who want to customize the grind of the wedges. The Tour Rack version features a raw steel finish, and golfers can select from the Relief Edge grind, the Heel grind, Heel and Toe grind, S-Shaped grind or Standard Sole grind. The Tour Rack wedges all have a “T” on the hosel, signifying that they were initially intended for the Tour.

Gear: Cleveland ZipCore wedges
Price: $149.99 each with True Temper Dynamic Gold Spinner shaft and Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360 grips.
Specs: Cast 8620 carbon steel. Even lofts from 46 to 62 degrees.
Available: Aug. 14

Cleveland Golf has been synonymous with well-made wedges for decades, with the venerable 588 wedges having been among the most famous golf equipment ever produced. Those wedges influenced Cleveland’s wedge development for years, especially in the RTX family, with the company aggressively working to refine the clubs to add more spin and help golfers hit a wider variety of shots with each passing iteration.

Today, it is releasing its newest wedges, the RTX ZipCore wedges, and as the name implies, they have been designed to help you generate more green-grabbing spin and control.

When you pick up a new RTX ZipCore wedge, the overall shape will appear familiar, but it’s what you don’t see, what is on the inside, that separates from every other previously-made Cleveland wedge.

Instead of being made from a single material, the inner portion of the ZipCore wedges have been made with a low-density material. That allowed designers to shift more of each head’s overall weight in different directions, and in so doing, shift the center of gravity (CG) location to different spots.

According to Cleveland, the new ZipCore wedges have a nine percent greater vertical moment of inertia (MOI) than the previous generation. That should help golfers flight shots down, for added control, more easily. The sweet spot is also closer to the center of the hitting area, which should enhance feel.

To increase spin, Cleveland has given the RTX ZipCore wedges a new groove design called Ultizip grooves. The company claims these grooves are over seven percent deeper, with 11 percent sharper edges. At the same time, Ultizip grooves are packed in the hitting area slightly closer together, with edge wedge now having two more grooves. That should allow golfers to get more edges on the ball for greater spin.

As in previous generations of RTX wedges, there is a milled, circular pattern that covers the entire hitting area, including the spaces between the grooves. It helps to increase friction, and along with the microgrooves between each Ultizip groove, they aid in spin generation.

Cleveland subjects each wedge to a heat treatment that extends the durability of the grooves, so spin deterioration will be slowed.

The RTX ZipCore wedges come in three different sole styles. The Low Sole is ideally suited for golfers who play in firm conditions and who make shallow, sweeping swings. It is a low-bounce offering that has plenty of heel and toe relief. The Mid Sole offering has a V-shaped sole with moderate trailing edge relief for versatility, while the Full Sole has the broadest sole ideal for golfers who want more help in bunkers and who steeper swings.

[lawrence-related id=778021842,778002512,778001445,778001038]