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Cleveland CBX wedges, for golfers who play cavity-back irons

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Next time you’re at a golf course, take a look in the bag of a fellow golfer. Chances are you’ll see a set of lightweight, cavity-back irons. These are called game-improvement irons in the industry, and according to Cleveland 84 percent of golfers use them. Then look at that same golfer’s wedges. Undoubtedly, you’ll find blade wedges that are heavy and unforgiving. Why do average golfers give up forgiveness on their wedges when they deem forgiveness necessary in their irons?

Solving this conundrum is the crux of Cleveland’s new CBX wedges, which are designed to mesh better with a set of cavity-back irons than other wedges on the market, or at least better than Cleveland wedges in the past.

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To accomplish this, Cleveland’s CBX wedges have a cavity-back design that utilizes perimeter weighting. Seventy-six grams of mass was removed middle of the wedges and spread to their outer edges, according to Cleveland. For golfers, that leads to greater forgiveness on shots impacted off-center, thus reducing the effect of mishits.

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Cleveland also touts “feel-balanced technology” with its CBX wedges, which pushes center of gravity (CG) toward the toe in order to balance in the club heads versus their predecessors. In order to do this, Cleveland has a wider sole and topline on the toe section of the club, as well as a redesigned hosel that removes weight from the heel. Overall, CG has shifted 3 grams more toeward — or more toward the center — than its previous wedge.

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In recent years, wedge makers have emphasized the importance of sole grinds in relation to turf interaction and shotmaking alike. In the CBX wedges, there is front-to-back V-Grind, as well as a heel-to-toe V-Grind (the heel portion of the sole is thinner than toe portion of the sole). The “dual” V-Grind is said to help the club glide better through the turf and prevent digging, as well as provide more versatility. In other words, it allows golfers to adjust the face and lie angle more easily to play different shots.

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As the wedges flow from gap wedge to sand wedge to lob wedge, the shapes and weights also change (see in the graphic above, provided by Cleveland). You’ll notice the lower-lofted CBX wedges have a smaller shape (they also weigh a bit less), mimicking the look and feel of short irons. The higher-lofted wedges are bigger in size and weigh slightly more, which makes them feel more like a traditional wedge. Cleveland says this progressive design will better mesh with the cavity-back or game-improvement irons that most golfers use.

18943550b6576939cea5630b68fc27deAs you’d expect from a Cleveland wedge, the CBX wedges also have the company’s Rotex (RTX) groove technology. That means the faces have deep, U-shaped grooves with sharp radii, “micro-milled” grooves between each bigger groove, and laser-milling. Collectively, these features help “grab” the golf ball at impact and create additional spin.

Stock shafts in the CBX wedges are designed to be lighter than traditional after-market wedge shafts like you’d see on Tour. They include True Temper’s Dynamic Gold 115 (steel), as well as a Rotex Precision graphite wedge shaft that weighs just 90 grams.

Specs and Pricing

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Cleveland CBX wedges will hit stores on September 15, and they will sell for $129.99 apiece with steel shafts, and $139.99 each for graphite.

Discussion: See what GolfWRX Members are saying about Cleveland’s CBX wedges.

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He played on the Hawaii Pacific University Men's Golf team and earned a Masters degree in Communications. He also played college golf at Rutgers University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism.

11 Comments

11 Comments

  1. OB

    Sep 8, 2017 at 3:56 pm

    The club designers are always attempting to design out the average golfer’s swing flaws by shifting mass all over the back of the clubhead.

    Look at the Ping Zing and Zing2 clubhead design and you will see the optimal mass distribution across a clubhead and the club sole.

  2. Bob Bissonette

    Aug 21, 2017 at 6:21 am

    I’ve been a proponent of this concept for years. It’s about time.

  3. BusterG

    Aug 1, 2017 at 2:31 pm

    Wow I love the look of these Clev wedges front and back. They are winners

  4. Doug A

    Aug 1, 2017 at 10:51 am

    Doesn’t Tour Edge already have a CBX line?

  5. Timbleking

    Aug 1, 2017 at 10:10 am

    Many years ago I was one of the first to demo the Ping iWedges in my country, and I really felt a difference from the very first bunker shot. Forgiving, confidence-makers, so easy to hit from any lie for any type of shot.
    Those ones look like them a lot.

  6. Philip

    Jul 31, 2017 at 10:05 pm

    No issue with it, but the most forgiving wedges I have ever played are my current Vokey’s – it is all in the grind/loft/bounce combo … and the golfer swinging the club that creates forgiveness – not just the club design in isolation. But I know a lot of golfers that could use some serious help with wedges so there definitely is a market for easier wedges if indeed having a cavity design helps with those tricky touchy ones around the green. Even if it is just the V-soles and the cavity is mostly marketing – every little bit helps

  7. tom

    Jul 31, 2017 at 7:08 pm

    RTX3 CB wedges are great. Best “full shot” wedge I have played.

  8. RG

    Jul 31, 2017 at 4:21 pm

    I play a Ping Eye 2 l wedge and two Cleveland CG16’s in 56 and 52 which are all cavity back. The great difference is in chipping and pitching. Hitting chips and pitches is sooo much easier and sooo much more precise with a cavity back wedge. Isn’t that what it’s really all about? I make my hay getting up and down and knocking it close on par 5’s. Really want to try these wedges.

  9. Paul

    Jul 31, 2017 at 9:44 am

    Cleveland making cavity back wedges isn’t new, I own 4 of them already! Cleveland 588 Rotex 2.0 CB.

    Now arguably they aren’t truly ‘cavity back’. The new design look like Cleveland much more aggressive with the weight distribution.

    I have to say my current wedges include a 62°, and I’d be lost without it.

    Make a 62° and a 64° for this set please Cleveland!

  10. TexasSnowman

    Jul 31, 2017 at 9:18 am

    Makes total sense to me; always wondered why premium wedges were not offered in a cavity back design; Especially when the Ping Eye2 wedges remained so popular even with lower handicappers.

  11. xjohnx

    Jul 31, 2017 at 8:41 am

    I don’t think this is a bad idea.

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Equipment

Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (4/18/24): TaylorMade BRNR mini driver head

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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 TaylorMade BRNR mini driver head

From the seller: (@lasallen): “For sale is a BRNR mini 11.5 deg head only in brand new condition.  $325 shipped.”

To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: TaylorMade BRNR mini driver head 

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

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Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (4/18/24): Ping PLD Limited Anser – 1988 Open Championship – #2 of only 88 Made

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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 Ping PLD Limited Anser – 1988 Open Championship – #2 of only 88 Made.

From the seller: (@DLong72): “Ping PLD Limited Anser – 1988 Open Championship – #2 of only 88 Made. ?: $1150. ?? 100% milled collectors item from the limited releases commemorating when Ping putters won every major in 1988 (88 putters made). This was the model Seve Ballesteros used to win the 1988 Open Championship. Condition is brand new, never gamed, everything is in the original packaging as it came. Putter features the iconic sound slot.

Specs/ Additional Details

-100% Milled, Aluminum/Bronze Alloy (310g)

-Original Anser Design

-PING PP58 Grip

-Putter is built to standard specs.”

To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: Ping PLD Limited Anser – 1988 Open Championship – #2 of only 88 Made

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

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Inside Collin Morikawa’s recent golf ball, driver, 3-wood, and “Proto” iron changes

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As you probably know by now, Collin Morikawa switched putters after the first round of The Masters, and he ultimately went on to finish T3.

The putter was far from the only change he made last week, however, and his bag is continuing to change this week at the 2024 RBC Heritage.

On the range of The Masters, Morikawa worked closely with Adrian Reitveld, TaylorMade’s Senior Manager of Tour at TaylorMade, to find the perfect driver and 3-wood setups.

Morikawa started off 2024 by switching into TaylorMade’s Qi10 Max driver, but since went back to his faithful TaylorMade SIM – yes, the original SIM from 2020. Somehow, some way, it seems Morikawa always ends up back in that driver, which he used to win the 2020 PGA Championship, and the 2021 Open Championship.

At The Masters, however, Rietveld said the duo found the driver head that allowed “zero compromise” on Morikawa’s preferred fade flight and spin. To match his preferences, they landed on a TaylorMade Qi10 LS 9-degree head, and the lie angle is a touch flatter than his former SIM.

“It’s faster than his gamer, and I think what we found is it fits his desired shot shape, with zero compromise” Rietveld told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday at the RBC Heritage.

Then, to replace his former SIM rocket 3-wood, Morikawa decided to switch into the TaylorMade Qi10 core model 13.5-degree rocket head, with an adjustable hosel.

“He likes the spin characteristics of that head,” Rietveld said. “Now he’s interesting because with Collin, you can turn up at a tournament, and you look at his 3-wood, and he’s changed the setting. One day there’s more loft on it, one day there’s less loft on it. He’s that type of guy. He’s not scared to use the adjustability of the club.

“And I think he felt our titanium head didn’t spin as low as his original SIM. So we did some work with the other head, just because he liked the feel of it. It was a little high launching, so we fit him into something with less loft. It’s a naughty little piece of equipment.” 

In addition to the driver and fairway wood changes, Morikawa also debuted his new “MySymbol” jersey No. 5 TP5x golf ball at The Masters. Morikawa’s choice of symbols is likely tied to his love of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team.

Not enough changes for you? There’s one more.

On Wednesday at the 2024 RBC Heritage, Morikawa was spotted with a new TaylorMade “Proto” 4-iron in the bag. If you recall, it’s the same model that Rory McIlroy debuted at the 2024 Valero Texas Open.

According to Morikawa, the new Proto 4-iron will replace his old P-770 hollow-bodied 4-iron.

“I used to hit my P-770 on a string, but sometimes the distance would be a little unpredictable,” Morikawa told GolfWRX.com. “This one launches a touch higher, and I feel I can predict the distance better. I know Rory replaced his P-760 with it. I’m liking it so far.” 

See Morikawa’s full WITB from the 2024 RBC Heritage here. 

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