Take a poll on what is the quickest way to drop your handicap, and quite often, the number one response will be to improve one’s short game. Cleveland Golf has been one of the most prominent wedge manufacturers for decades, so golfers tend to pay close attention when releasing a new wedge lineup. When Cleveland Golf released the RTX 6 ZipCore wedges earlier this year, they did so believing they had created a wedge that would offer exceptional performance to golfers regardless of the playing conditions. While the back of these RTX 6 wedges doesn’t necessarily scream technology, there is more packed into these than meets the eye. Let’s dive in, shall we?
With the new RTX 6 ZipCore, Cleveland Golf set forth on a path to make these wedges the most versatile and consistent they’ve ever made. To accomplish this, they needed to take on a common element that tends to wreak havoc on spin, and that is moisture. Enter HyraZip, a combination of laser lines and a face blast that increases the roughness of the face. Thanks to this rougher surface, the spin will remain high regardless of whether one plays in dry or wet conditions. According to Cleveland, this new HyrdaZip blast, combined with their UltiZip grooves, helps these wedges produce 43% more spin in those wet conditions than was achieved with the previous RTX ZipCore wedge.
ZipCore was a massive part of the story in the previous generation of RTX wedges, and while HyrdaZip slides into the spotlight for this release, it doesn’t mean that ZipCore has exactly taken a backseat. Instead, Cleveland R&D more than doubled the amount of this low-density material inserted into the head, allowing more mass to be strategically positioned. With more weight pushed toward the toe, the center of gravity moves away from the heel and closer to the face’s center. As we have seen throughout time, most wedges have a CG location closer to the hosel, which isn’t optimal for us amateur golfers. A centralized CG will help make the RTX 6 a more forgiving wedge than those without this ZipCore design.
As a previous user of the RTX Zipcore, it’s comforting that Cleveland didn’t do anything drastically different with the shaping on the RTX 6, opting to maintain that classic teardrop shape. Visually the most noticeable change is the more aggressive milling on the toe. It’s not anything that will help performance-wise, but it helps make these wedges look mean. Count me as a fan.
Cleveland offers three different finishes on the RTX 6 Zipcore, Tour Satin, Black Satin, and Tour Rack (Raw), which will gloriously rust over time. Tour Rack wedges have exclusive options allowing golfers to customize the standard grinds and leading edge, giving the consumer more of that “off the tour van” experience. Do note that some additional costs come into play when altering the sole grind or leading edge. Suppose that extent of customization isn’t exactly your cup of tea. In that case, all three finishes can be personalized, allowing for custom paint fills, stamping, or even a skin on the back, exclusive to the black satin finish. Once again, there is a small upcharge for these options.
As for the standard offerings, RTX 6 ZipCore wedges are available in eight lofts ranging from 46° up to 60°. Within those lofts are four grinds: Low, Low +, Mid, and Full. All these combinations add up to 16 different loft and grind models. Those familiar with Cleveland wedges of the past will recognize the low, mid, and full offerings. Low+ is the new grind on the block this year and is only available in the 54° and 56° wedge. This new grind adds 2° of bounce while maintaining that C-shaped sole found in the Low. Since the Low grind is only offered in the 58° and 60° heads, having the Low+ in the two traditional sand wedge lofts affords golfers a single-digit bounce option.
For testing purposes, I had both a 52° and 60° wedge with the stock True Temper Dynamic Gold Spinner Tour Issue shaft. These two lofts allowed for a good mix of testing inside 115 yards.
Whether it was a full or partial shot, these wedges produced plenty of feedback to let me know how solid of a strike just took place. On center strikes, the feel is relatively soft. If we want to split hairs, it feels slightly softer than the previous generation. RTX 6 becomes firm on thin and toe-side contact, which is the type of feedback that makes sense, considering this is Cleveland’s “better player” wedge.
Both wedges in play featured the Mid grind, which equated to 10° of bounce for each loft. Bounce didn’t come into effect too much on the 52°, which was primarily for full swings, but on the 60°, it proved to be an excellent pairing for my style of play and current course conditions. Early in the season, bunkers and even greenside rough can be a bit inconsistent, but this wedge held up great to the varying ground conditions.
With such a big emphasis on the consistent spin from all conditions, it only seemed right to compare some data points by collecting dry and wet ball data. In what should be credited as a highly innovative scientific test, we had to incorporate a very sophisticated piece of equipment, a spray bottle. During this test, we hit a 65-yard pitch shot using an RTX 6 60° with both a dry and wet ball, with data collected on a Foresight launch monitor. When looking at the data, the wet ball launched just over 2° higher while producing spin that dropped barely over 1,200 RPM. Both of which I would call a success because when factoring in the extra moisture and my non-robotic swing, to see numbers that close shows that Cleveland is definitely on to something here.
More information on the RTX 6 ZipCore line can be found at us.dunlopsports.com.
The Details
Price: $169, $189 (Tour Satin)
Finish: Tour Satin, Black Satin, Tour Rack (Raw)
Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold Spinner Tour Issue
Grinds: Low, Low+, Mid, Full
Lofts: 46°, 48°, 50°, 52°, 54°, 56°, 58°, 60°
