A few months back, Cleveland introduced RTX ZipCore, their new line of performance wedges and they have been incredibly well received. The one request made by golfers on the THP Forum has been more finish options and today Cleveland is launching Black Satin and Tour Rack.
Rather than go into all of the technology that make ZipCore unique, we will send you here, to our original preview which is filled with everything you need to know, since generally speaking, these are the same wedges…with a caveat. More on Tour Rack below.
Cleveland has been known for their darker finishes for quite some time and the Black Satin offering of RTX ZipCore is no exception. As you can see from the in hand photos, the wedge will completely cut out any glare making the sleek design an optimal choice for those that struggle with reflection. Having the choice between Tour Satin and Black Satin would fill the gamut for most golfers. Both look outstanding and with the custom paint fill options Cleveland offers, can really stand out.
Tour Rack…oh Tour Rack. Before going into the subtle details that need to be covered, Tour Rack is Raw. Before anybody asks, this wedge will rust. Depending on the moisture you play in, it will start gaining a patina rather quickly. There are golfers that swear that raw wedges feel softer, and while I am not one of those, I do love a raw wedge for the purity that it has.
With the Tour Rack option, you are getting all of the technology benefits that come with RTX ZipCore, with some choices. Some pretty amazing choices. Marked with a T on the hosel, these are identical to the wedges found on tour vans and used by the best in the world. Before giving their explanation, I think these sole stickers give you an idea of what we are working with here.
“We’re giving you exclusive access to this special stock of made-for-tour wedges. And we’re offering the deft handiwork of our grind craftsmen so you can customize each sole grind to match your game exactly”.
Wait what? Yes, you read that correctly. Cleveland is upping the ante with Tour Rack. Start with any of the new RTX ZipCore sole options and a master craftsman will hand grind your dream sole for you, just like the best players in the world. What does this do and who is it for? We will have a lot more on sole design coming soon, but it is for everybody. Sole/grind options are subtle and not so subtle differences that can change the way you play the game.
“Tour Rack gives golfers the full tour-level experience,” said Brian Schielke, Marketing Director at Cleveland Golf. “With the raw finish and custom sole and leading edge grinds, now any golfer can get their set of wedges built just like the guys on tour.”
What Cleveland has done with RTX ZipCore is create a line of wedges that is both unique and straight forward at the same time. Their sole options were already plentiful, but adding the customizable Tour Rack, at a price that is extremely palatable, is over the top.
The Details
In Stores: October 2nd, 2020
Cost: Tour and Black Satin $149 and Tour Rack $169
Shaft: True Temper DG Spinner Tour Issue
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360
I’m thinking about the S -shaped in a 54/58 for a sand trap master weapon.
Nice. What lofts?
I picked up a ZipCore 56 going to grab a 60
Fantastic. Can’t wait to see them in action. Let’s golf soon!
The sooner the better
I’m with you, to me rust = neglect, so I hit mine with a little polishing compound every once in a while and that new finish comes right back.
Oh, I’ll fix that when I get mine
Same here. It looks like it has a teenagers patchy 5 o’clock shadow. ?
Love my 54 still. It is my go to. Cleveland crushed it with these.
Agree. I love my 54 and 62. So, good on both full shots and everywhere around the green.
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But when they came in I thought let me give them a try (why not right). So I grabbed the 60* (low bounce, TI DGS400) and chipped and pitched around the practice green. I was impressed, the weight felt good, feedback/feel off the face felt really, they spun from all kinds of lies. So, I took out the 56 (low bounce), and the same thing. So I moved back to some mid range pitches, 40-70 yards with both. Again they felt good, easy to control, good spin, and really good feedback feel off the face. So headed to the range to try out the 50* (same set-up as the others) to hit some full and 3/4 shots. And I really think this is where these wedges separated themselves from the MD5’s. They felt so much better on the full shots in all aspects. Spin was the same, feel was extraordinary. Now I know the honeymoon effect could of been in play, so I did the for the following two days, and got 9 holes in wit them. Still very much the same results. So into the bag they will go.
The Zipcore sure was in fire for you today. It was fun to see the action off those shots from up close!
It all starts with trust, or rust .
But agree the more comfortable you are in knowing what the club and ball can do, the more aggressive and precise you can get.
im getting in quite a little comfort zone with my 54. It’s a lot more versatile than I thought it would be and puts some spin on the ball when needed.
I do, not my cup of tea
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I too live in a pretty dry area, and the rust that has shown up on mine has been very minimal. I personally don’t want to see any rust, not my thing, so I give it a little polish job every once and a while to eliminate what little rust has shown up. It has been very easy to keep it looking like it did when it arrived, which is a really good looking finish.
I have a mix to fix that ?
These seem less prone to rusting than some other raw clubs I have tried. I trashed mine on the first outing which was soggy with granular fertilizer all over the place. Since I cleaned them up, the last few months around the house they haven’t done much.
What is your magical brew?
This looks more like a stealth brag about your wear area being dead center ??
Just for cursing me like that, I will probably shank these to the point that I will have to get rid of them and then they will never rust..
Spray bottle with a cup of peroxide, about an ounce or two of vinegar, and a pinch of salt.
Sounds delicious? ??
You can almost see the rust start to grow.
I felt the same with my 60* today. Greens were rock hard, nothing was holding on approach shots, and I was playing with a couple of guys that hit the ball really high, and even their full wedge shots were bounding off the greens. So we all got lots of fun shots from around the greens, and the Tour Rack was money!
Best of the day was a par-3 that I hit 9-iron pretty close to a back flag, but didn’t stick and ended up in a low area behind the green. I was short-sided, with the green running away towards the front. I hit a little mini-flop shot, landed it on the collar, and it rolled to within a couple of feet. No one thought there was any way I’d be able to keep in on the green, but I did, and made the par put for the best up-and-down of the day.
I would say if you had mids in the RTX3 and they worked then these should as well. They are a bit more, refined, on the sole that the 3s were, so it should be easier to manipulate the face to manufacture more shots than it was with the 3s
Do you take big divots (steep) or minimal (shallow) playing wedges? I like the 54 mid as a great all around, if you are steeper or play wet conditions frequently I would be tempted by a 54 Full with heel & toe relief.
Being excited to swing the new and shiny I grabbed the 52 zipcore and set up for some 45ish yard pitches with five balls out of the shag bag. After a chunk (mulligan) I put the next 4 into a pretty tight circle around the target (a spindly little apple tree) and saw the ball stop quickly.
I went to retrieve them and hit some longer pitches toward my maple tree target. Once I got a feel for how hard to swing I was able to put 3 near the target.
I repeated the exercise with the Glide 52. Both coming and going I wasn’t able to get the shots as close on average as I did with the ZC. Plus the glide had a big hop and a couple of little hops on landing while the ZC had a big hop, small hop, and hit the brakes.
Sound and feel were decidedly different between the two. The glide has a thick polymer insert that gives a softer, thud sensation when struck. The ZC has a noticeably sharper pitch and a firm, solid feel in comparison. Distance control is better with the ZC as well, provides you stay around the center of the face. This is where the Glide has an advantage, shots farther off center weren’t punished as severely as with the ZC. I don’t typically full swing my wedges, so this isn’t as much of an issue for me.
While hacking around the yard is fun to do I’m looking forward to taking some shots out of the sand and off tighter fairway lies when I manage to find them.
The only downside for me is that I’m currently 5 weeks out since order without a shipping notification. So factor that in. But, they will be worth another week or two (I hope), since golf here just started last week.
I got a shipping notice ?
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That’s like gold right there. So good
Thanks! A big reason why I’m stoked, is that my original ZipCore 54 and Tour Rack 58 have been on fire this spring around the green, and in general. They are favorites in the bag, and now I’ve got all three with a grind I love. The Mid with Heel & Toe grind has been perfect for me in the 58 spot.
Alllriiiiiight, I’ll order one. ?
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I can also say that the finish still looks great. I clean my clubs after every round, sometimes a day or two after, but it always gets done. I don’t like rust, so every second or third cleaning I hit this thing with a bit of metal polish, which gets rid of any rust, bringing it right back to the original good looking hand polished finish.
The patina builds fast. After one round in the rain.
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What loft did you get there? Looks great!