Connect with us

Equipment

Cleveland breaks with tradition, aims for more consistency with RTX-3 wedges

Published

on

  • Models: RTX-3 Blade ($129), RTX-3 Cavity Back ($129)
  • Availability: September 16, 2016
  • Lofts: 46, 48, 50, 52, 54, 56, 58, 60, 62, 64
  • Grinds: 1-Dot (54, 56, 58, 60), 2-Dot (All), 3-Dot (54, 56, 58, 60)
  • Stock Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold Wedge Flex
  • Stock Grip: Cleveland Blue Cap by Lamkin

With its new line of RTX-3 wedges, Cleveland is challenging the notion that its wedges have to look and perform mostly the same to earn the approval of the best players in the world.

“We don’t have a one-sized approach,” says Brian Schielke, Cleveland’s Senior Product Manager for Golf Clubs. “We don’t design a wedge for tour players, and then hope it works for everyone.”

While it’s clear the company’s new RTX-3 wedges were designed with PGA Tour players in mind, it’s the rest of the golfing population that could see the greatest benefits from the clubs.

One reason is the RTX-3’s new Feel-Balancing Technology, which removes 9 grams of weight from the hosel to reposition the center of gravity (CG) closer to the center of the club face. That’s where most golfers aim to make contact, and the closer they contact shots to the CG, the more consistent their results are going to be.

According to Patrick Ripp, Cleveland’s Senior Research Engineer, the majority of wedges used on the PGA Tour have a CG that’s located closer to the heel of the club – but that’s not much of a problem for them. “The pros naturally find the CG of the wedge, even if it’s a little heel-biased,” Ripp says. Average golfers, on the other hand, tend to contact the majority of their wedge shots on the toe, which leads to inconsistent ball flight, and a twisting of the club head during impact that leads to bad feel.

RTX3_Micro_Milling_56

Moving the CG more toward the center of the club face sounds like a no-brainer, but it wasn’t wasn’t without compromise. On top of creating a “Micro-Cavity” inside the hosels of the RTX-3 wedges – basically hollowing them out — the company was forced to shorten the hosels to achieve the feat, and that changed the way the wedges looked at address.

If you understand how particular golfers can be about the looks of their clubs, you know that even if a club performs better, it might not make it to the first tee of a PGA Tour event, or to the cash register of a golf equipment retailer if it doesn’t look right. To solve the problem, Cleveland designers went to work reshaping the hosels in an attempt to replicate the Cleveland’s signature wedge look at address.

Cleveland's new Tour Raw finish will be the most popular of the company's finishes on Tour.

Cleveland’s new Tour Raw finish will be the most popular of the company’s finishes on Tour.

The part of the wedge golfers can’t see at address – the sole – has also changed, and it could make the biggest difference for many golfers. Golf equipment fans might be familiar with Cleveland/Srixon’s Tour V.T. Sole, which is used on Srixon’s Z-Series irons. Cleveland engineers found the technology also had merit in its new wedge line, as the shape of the soles were shown to contribute to reduced turf resistance — a Cleveland study showed 33 percent less club head speed lost.

Cleveland calls its new sole designs “V-Soles,” and they’re used in all three of the RTX-3’s different grinds: 1-Dot, 2-Dot and 3-Dot. The 2-Dot (V-MG Grind) is considered neutral, and most similar to grind used on Srixon’s Z-Series irons. The 1-Dot (V-LG Grind) has a narrower, lower-bounce sole, which is better for golfers who play firmer golf courses or have a shallower angle of attack. The 3-Dot (V-FG Grind) has a wider sole and more effective bounce, which is better for golfers who play golf courses with wetter conditions or have steeper angles of attack.

“The grinds get the sole in and out of the ground faster,” Ripp says. “And because the soles are narrowed, the leading edge still stays low to the turf when you open it up.”

The pursuit of more consistency also extends to the wedge faces of the RTX-3 wedges, which use narrower, deeper grooves that allowed engineers to add two additional grooves to the club face. Like Cleveland’s previous RTX 2.0 wedges, RTX-3 models are made with the company’s two-pass, micro-milling process, but it’s applied slightly differently depending on loft. The 46-52-degree wedges have a circular milling pattern that’s angled toward the leading edge of the wedges. The 54-64-degree wedges use a pattern that’s angled toward the toe, which creates more friction on open-face shots. As in the RTX 2.0, Cleveland also uses laser milling between grooves to reach the USGA’s limit on club face roughness. Together, the technologies helps prevent fliers from the rough, and add more predictability on shots around the green, Ripp says.

The RTX-3 wedges will be in stores September 16. The RTX-3 Blade wedges are available in three finishes (Tour Satin, Black Satin and Tour Raw finishes). RTX-3 Cavity Back wedges, which have a larger club heads, are offered in the Tour Satin finish only.

With the release of the RTX-3 wedges, Cleveland will update its Wedge Analyzer App, which fits golfers into the correct wedges and sole grinds by calculating angle of attack and pitching wedge loft. Fittings can be done in as few as two swings, and with or without a ball.

See what GolfWRX Members are saying about the new wedges in our forum. 

Specs from Cleveland

Cleveland_RTX3_Specs

Your Reaction?
  • 207
  • LEGIT23
  • WOW19
  • LOL3
  • IDHT5
  • FLOP3
  • OB3
  • SHANK19

18 Comments

18 Comments

  1. Bert

    Jul 26, 2016 at 5:57 pm

    Wasn’t there another Cleveland wedge that was supposed to be introduced shortly in another Golf WRX article? I seem to remember a really awesome looking wedge I was waiting on and I don’t think this is it.

    • Mmmm

      Jul 27, 2016 at 2:28 am

      I think you’re thinking of the CG17 Forged, which was a JDM release

  2. Brandon

    Jul 26, 2016 at 9:33 am

    I’m wondering if Terry Koehler’s patent on his V-sole expired, if Cleveland found a way around his patent????

  3. Matt Mitchell

    Jul 25, 2016 at 7:34 pm

    Cleveland makes the worse wegdes

  4. HL

    Jul 25, 2016 at 3:34 pm

    Bad Amateurs tend to hit their clubs on the toe because they stand up in the shot so why not just bend the lie 1/2 to 1 degree more upright and leave the hosel length alone

  5. kn

    Jul 25, 2016 at 3:23 pm

    Apparently, it has been deemed that the “Tour Raw” edition is just too raw for left-handers. #screwedagain

  6. MBU

    Jul 25, 2016 at 2:07 pm

    The cavity backs look fantastic.

  7. Tom

    Jul 25, 2016 at 1:15 pm

    Looks like some thing I’ll have to try. I’ve Been looking for a sole that has less turf interaction (on hard surfaces) than what I’m playing now.

  8. Dustdevil

    Jul 25, 2016 at 1:02 pm

    I wonder how bendable those hosels are with the “micro-cavities”?

  9. Dave C

    Jul 25, 2016 at 12:52 pm

    I have been a Cleveland wedge guy almost my entire golfing life. As a left-handed golfer, When Cleveland stopped making the RTG wedges I bought two extra 58 one dot, as they worked awesome for me. They continue to totally discount left handed golfers with this new release. I guess I will be forced to look else where, probably Titleist Vokey wedges. They seem happy to make an adequate left handed line-up.

  10. Rev G

    Jul 25, 2016 at 12:45 pm

    The secret to hitting v-soles out of bunkers is to not open the blade way open – lay it square. There very easy to hit out of bunkers then, especially on shots with green to work with. If you need to get it up quickly and stop it quickly, you need a traditional sand/log wedge.

  11. Mark

    Jul 25, 2016 at 12:16 pm

    No thanks on the v-soles. They don’t work well out of bunkers or off harder surfaces. I want traditional sand irons with a back edge LOWER than the front.

  12. desmond

    Jul 25, 2016 at 10:44 am

    So they copied the grind of the Edel (or others) to keep the leading edge closer to the ground for more versatility – good for them to take off on a great idea.

    • Bob

      Jul 25, 2016 at 2:17 pm

      Uh No,
      They basically brought back a sole design they used in the 588DSG from back in 2006.

      Manufacturer:
      Cleveland
      Year of Introduction:
      2006
      MSRP (new):
      $108.00
      Head Material:
      Steel
      Features & Benefits
      • The Tour Action 588 DSG wedge is the latest addition to the Tour Action 588 series of wedges
      • Featuring a Dynamic Sole Grind that allows the leading edge to remain closer to the ground when opening the clubface at address
      • Constructed of 8620 soft carbon steel and featuring a milled face and grooves for maximum spin and soft feel

  13. cody

    Jul 25, 2016 at 9:53 am

    so in other words copy the benhogan wedge and call it something different. Good on ya’ guys hope it works.

  14. James Bond

    Jul 25, 2016 at 9:46 am

    Tour Raw looks amazing! Vokey should take notes and bring back the oil can.

  15. Rev G

    Jul 25, 2016 at 9:37 am

    Sweet looking wedges. Interesting to see V-soles coming out from one of the big wedge makers. Eidolon/Hogan company must not be able to enforce that patent?

  16. Smitty

    Jul 25, 2016 at 9:24 am

    Love the new wedges but those CB’s are butt ugly.

Leave a Reply

Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Equipment

Q&A: Martin Trainer on his Bobby Grace “Greg Chalmers” putter, 6.5-degree driver, and “butter knife” 2-iron

Published

on

As unbiasedly as I can put it, Martin Trainer has one of the coolest club setups in professional golf. (At some point soon, I’ll put together a top-10 list of “coolest club setups on Tour,” but I know that Trainer will be in the top-10)

What a lineup. He plays a 6.5-degree Wilson prototype driver, a 13-degree Wilson prototype 3-wood, a true blade Wilson Staff Model 2-iron, and a Bobby Grace “Greg Chalmers Commemorative” putter!

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by GolfWRX (@golfwrx)

I mean, look at this 2-iron from address…

To quote the great author R.L. Stine: “Goosebumps.”

On Wednesday at the 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open, I caught up with Trainer to learn more about his bag setup.

Here’s what he had to say:

You have the Internet going crazy over your bag setup, and your putter. Where’d you pick the Bobby Grace-Greg Chalmers putter up? How long have you had it?

MT: This was from when Bobby Grace came to my course in California: Cal Club. And for whatever reason, they just started having them in the shop. So then I took my buddy’s, started using it, and made, like, a million putts in a row, which is how every putter story begins, I guess.

And then, I bought a couple of my own, used it for years, got to the Tour with it, won on Tour with it (the 2019 Puerto Rico Open). Then, about a year later, started using another putter, did that for a couple years, but now it’s back in the bag.

When did it come back in the bag?

MT: December of this past year. So a few months ago.

What year would you say was the first time you threw that in the bag, or, like, when you bought it?

MT: God…Probably, 2016, maybe? 2018?

Do you remember how much you paid for it?

MT: I don’t know, actually. Maybe $100-150 bucks or something. I think that’s the only golf club I’ve bought between high school and now. Well, two, since I bought two of them.

The driver is interesting, too. What went into the prototyping process?

MT: That was a version of the current driver, but it was the prototype that they first came out with for Tour guys to try. And for whatever reason, I just never switched out to the new one.

It’s just 6.5 degrees, right?

MT: Yeah. Very low loft, yeah.

What kind of ball speed do you have with that these days?

MT: Like high 170’s.

Yeah, that’ll work. And then a 2-iron blade? We’re seeing fewer and fewer of those out here.

MT: Yeah. The butter knife.

Very cool thing to have in the bag. Have you done any testing with driving irons? 

MT: Yeah, I used to have a thicker one, but it was a little offset, and I never hit it that well. And then finally, I started messing around with the butter knife. And I remember the first time I looked down at it, I was terrified. And then I ended up getting used to it, putting it in play, and it’s been in place since. It’s a pretty good club for me.

How far do you carry that? 

MT: Like 235.

A good little wind club, I’m sure.

MTL Yeah, exactly. I can hit it very low. It’s great.

I love it. You have people shook looking at that. Thanks for the time, man. 

MT: Absolutely.

To see more photos and discussion of Trainer’s bag, click here.

Your Reaction?
  • 5
  • LEGIT2
  • WOW1
  • LOL0
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP0
  • OB0
  • SHANK0

Continue Reading

Equipment

Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (3/28/24): L.A.B. Golf Mezz.1 Max Broomstick with LA Golf Paige Spiranac shaft

Published

on

At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals that all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.

It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.

Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, there is a listing for a L.A.B. Golf Mezz.1 Max Broomstick putter with LA Golf Paige Spiranac shaft.

From the seller: (@hibcam): “L.A.B. GOLF Mezz.1 Max Broomstick- LA Golf Paige Spiranac Shaft- 44″/79.5. Brand new, never used brown leather cover. The head was professionally anodized from Orange to Blue (Orange looked bad with the Pink shaft so I had it changed). Only a few rounds on this combo. Please see last pic- slight ding on back corner. 8.5-10 condition. THE SHAFT COST $475/ THE PUTTER $625. $799 shipped in the US. ONLY $699 SHIPPED.”

To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: L.A.B. Golf Mezz.1 Max Broomstick with LA Golf Paige Spiranac shaft

This is the most impressive current listing from the GolfWRX BST, and if you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum you can check them out here: GolfWRX BST Rules

Your Reaction?
  • 0
  • LEGIT0
  • WOW0
  • LOL0
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP0
  • OB0
  • SHANK0

Continue Reading

Equipment

Spotted: Tony Finau’s driver shaft change at the 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open

Published

on

Tony Finau has always been known as one of the longest players on the PGA Tour, but he has recently been working on adding a little more distance. Last year, Finau averaged 118.3 mph club head speed and 178.08 mph ball speed, all while playing a Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 70 TX driver shaft. This year, he has increased his club head speed to 123.93 mph and his ball speed to 183.32 mph.

However, Finau’s overall distance has decreased by two yards in that time. From a fitting perspective, something was amiss. We asked Tony about the shaft change at the Texas Children’s Hospital Open.

“[I’m seeing] better numbers with the spin. My driver’s been a little high spin for me over the last month or so, and so I just figured it was time to probably check out the equipment,” Finau said. “And it definitely showed me that I was using a shaft that’s maybe a little too tip-stiff for me, the way I load the club now. [I’m seeing] better numbers with the spin.”

Finau switched from the Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 70 TX into the Diamana GT 70 TX. The newer Diamana GT has a slightly different profile than the D+ Limited with the stiffest handle section in the Diamana lineup. The mid sections between the two are similar stiffness but the tip is just slightly stiffer in the Diamana GT. Both shafts are within one gram of each other in the 70 TX. The torque rating on the GT is 0.1 higher than the D+Limited’s 2.7 measurement.

Mitsubishi lists the Diamana GT as a shaft between the mid-launching Diamana TB and the new low-launch Diamana WB shafts. For most players, it would be considered a mid/low launch and low-spin shaft option. Mitsubishi’s Xlink Tech Resin System makes sure the maximum carbon fiber content is there for smooth feel without reducing the strength of the shaft. MR70 carbon fiber is used for reinforcing the shaft and boron is used in the tip for its high strength and compression properties.

Finau is still using his trusty Ping G430 LST driver in 9 degrees and has the adjustable hosel set to -1 degree of loft (standard lie angle). Finau’s long-time favorite Lamkin UTX Green grip is installed. He definitely has a few extra wraps of tape under that grip as you can see the bulge down where the grip meets the shaft.

One final note: Per Ping’s PGA Tour rep Kenton Oates, Finau’s driver is also adjusted to play with an additional degree of loft to help dial in his desired launch.

We’ll see how he fares with the new setup this week in Houston!

Your Reaction?
  • 18
  • LEGIT4
  • WOW4
  • LOL0
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP0
  • OB0
  • SHANK0

Continue Reading

WITB

Facebook

Trending