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

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  • 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

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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.

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Whats in the Bag

Chesson Hadley WITB 2024 (March)

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Driver: Titleist TSR3 (10 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 70 TX

3-wood: Titleist TSR2+ (14.5 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 80 TX

Irons: Titleist T200 (3), Titleist 620 CB (4, 5), Titleist 620 MB (6-PW)
Shafts: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 105 X (3), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (4-PW)

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (52-12F, 56-14F), WedgeWorks (60-K)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putter: Odyssey White Hot OG 2-Ball
Grip: Odyssey

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Check out more in-hand photos Chesson Hadley’s clubs here.

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Whats in the Bag

Gary Woodland WITB 2024 (March)

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Driver: Cobra Darkspeed X (8 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TZ5 70 M5

  • The white circle that appears at the top of the face a removable sticker that’s used for launch monitor tracking, and Woodland removes it for competition!

3-wood: Cobra Darkspeed X (14 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TZ5 GW100 Prototype

7-wood: Cobra LTDx LS prototype (20 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TZ5 GW100 Prototype

Irons: Wilson Staff (18 degrees), Cobra King MB (4-PW)
Shafts: KBS Tour C-Taper Limited X

Wedges: Cobra SB (48), Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (52-08F, 56-14F), Cobra King (60)
Shafts: KBS Tour C-Taper Limited X (48 degrees), KBS Tour V-Ten 125

Putter: Scotty Cameron T-5 Proto
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Tour 3.0P

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord

See more in-hand photos of Gary Woodland’s WITB in the forums.

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Equipment

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

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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!

 

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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.

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