Cleveland RTZ Wedges

While Cleveland golf has invested a great amount of effort into expanding their reach in the game improvement segment, if you ask consumers what they associate most with the company almost all of them will say wedges. The company has consistently produced iconic wedges over the years, and sometimes it’s hard to imagine how much room for improvement is left. Technologies such as ZipCore, HydraZip, and Tour Rack sole grinds have had tangible impacts on short game performance for many golfers over the years. So, where does Cleveland go next?  Cleveland RTZ Wedges.

Cleveland RTZ Wedges

For 2025, Cleveland took a bold approach in the evolution of their wedge line. Rather than making a few technology tweaks, they set out to completely reimagine how they build wedges. With their 2025 RTZ Wedges, the company chose to not only retire the RTX name, but they also to create an all-new steel, designed specifically for use in golf clubs. They are calling it Z-Alloy and it offers exciting properties that they believe will spur advancements in Cleveland wedge technology for years to come.  

Z-Alloy 

The new alloy used in the Cleveland RTZ Wedges

Cleveland’s origin story for Z-Alloy is somewhat grandiose and spans years of development. The bottom line is that the company didn’t believe they could achieve the improvements in performance they sought with their existing materials. They tell a tale of scouring both the earth and scientific examinations of metallurgy to uncover the raw materials and formulas needed to create Z-Alloy. With this new steel they believe they can produce a superior product today and for years to come.  

So, what benefits does Z-Alloy offer? According to Cleveland, quite a few. Let’s dive in and see how they believe it will create a better product.  

Z-Alloy was designed with one purpose in mind – manufacturing golf clubs. While that may not sound like that big of a deal, it’s one of the few metals built solely with the unique properties that golfers demand. It’s less dense than the steel the company used previously, meaning it’s lighter and affords the ability to manipulate weight distribution better across the club head. Along with ZipCore technology, a low-density material positioned in the heel and hosel area, the company has positioned the center of gravity where impact actually occurs, simultaneously improving feel, launch conditions, and MOI (forgiveness).  

Cleveland RTZ Wedges

In addition to being lighter, Z-Alloy is softer. 10% softer than the steel used in RTX wedges to be exact, according to the industry-standard Vickers hardness test. Softer steel equals softer feel, and we can definitively say that the Cleveland RTZ wedges offer a very noticeable difference in feel over their predecessors. While feel preferences are very unique to the individual, it was not uncommon to hear comments that RTX wedges trended towards the firmer side. Impact location will always have a significant bearing on our perception of feel, and we were wildly impressed with the softness imparted by the new RTZ line on center strikes. Shots that strayed from center were immediately noticeable without being overly harsh, even in cooler winter temperatures.  

Say Goodbye to Rust?

the grooves of the Cleveland RTZ Wedges

Let’s just get the news out of the way first. Z-Alloy isn’t going to rust. Not even on the Tour Rack Raw finish.  

This information is going to be met with some wildly opposing opinions. Rust on wedges is one of those things that people just tend to love or hate without much middle ground. Regardless of your feelings on the matter, we’ll just reiterate the facts – Z-Alloy won’t rust. Yes, you’ll still see some differences in the Tour Rack Raw finish, and with Tour Rack will come expanded grind options, along with added durability and customization.  

Popular opinion has always swayed towards believing that rust positively impacted spin rates, even though there’s really nothing that backs that up. Companies have always approached rust in an interesting manner. They were more than happy to conveniently allow consumers to believe it carried with it some benefits, even though it really didn’t.  

Now, raw finishes do have some real benefits – they can easily be customized and ground, the don’t produce glare outdoors, and some players think they feel better. The rust though? Cleveland is telling us that it not only doesn’t improve performance but actually negatively impacts it by accelerating groove wear. In fact, they say that the grooves on a rusted RTX wedge wear 87% faster than those with Z-Alloy. That’s really a staggering number when you think about it. In addition, RTZ wedges retain an average of 5% more total spin over time, with wet wedge faces retaining an impressive 15% more. 

Carryover Technologies

Close up of the milling pattern of the Cleveland RTZ Wedges

Cleveland wedge fans will be glad to know the company is incorporating their stalwart technologies into the new RTZ line. We mentioned it earlier, but ZipCore is now working with the lighter Z-Alloy material to further redistribute weight behind the true sweet spot on the wedge face, improving everything from feel to spin rates.  

UtiliZip grooves and the Rotex Milling patterns are still there to provide the spin rates golfers desire. In addition, HydraZip lazer face treatment is back. We’ve said for a while now that HydraZip may be the most underrated technology in wedge design. Our testing that used wet wedges both with and without HydraZip showed that it dramatically increased both spin rates and distance control. While we won’t always play in rainy conditions, it’s very rare to find a scenario where moisture isn’t a factor on a golf course. Residual water from sprinklers, morning dew, or just damp grass have a huge impact on our ability to maintain consistent spin performance.  

Stock Sole Grinds – Cleveland RTZ Wedges 

Cleveland is now offering four stock sole grinds, meaning those available on the standard off-the-rack wedges. With each sole grind comes a unique leading edge that is designed to work best with the sole. Back for 2025 are the Low, Mid, and Full grinds. Full is just like it sounds – a full sole without any material removed that works great for full swings and bunker shots. The Mid grind features a V shaped sole that promotes versatility and great turf interaction. The Low grind, available in lob wedge lofts, removes material from the heel, toe, and trailing edge to make finesse shots as easy as possible.  

But, there’s more. New for 2025, Cleveland is giving us a new stock grind that is sure to find its way into many bags. It’s called Adapt with Full Face and we’ve found a ton to love about it so far. It features added leading edge bounce chamfer to go along with heel, toe, and trailing edge relief. It’s made with open-faced shots in mind and also incorporates a high toe and full-face grooves to give you maximum surface area to produce spin from all lies. We anticipate it being a great option both in the sand wedge and lob wedge slots, depending on how you approach the short game.  

Tour Rack Raw

Stock options are great, but nothing really compares to the versatility and playability Cleveland’s Tour Rack line offers. These are the wedges you are seeing in most Tour bags, as the raw finish allows for any type of customization the best of the world demand, whether it be stamping or sole grinds.  

Consumers looking at Tour Rack will be able to customize their wedges from the ground up. First, you’ll choose from 16 loft and bounce combinations ranging from 48 to 60 degrees to fit your gaps. From there, six different sole grind and three leading edge options are available to pick from. The total number of options available is really too many to count when you consider all the mixing and matching that is possible.  

The grinds available for the Cleveland RTZ Wedges

To further personalize your Tour Rack wedges, Cleveland has a great customization program. Three different engraving styles are available, and of course they can be filled with your paint color(s) of choice. There are also seven different “skins” to choose from, resembling a transparent silkscreen of fun designs like the US Flag, $100 bill, or Camouflage. Lastly, there are seven different multicolored ferrules to pick from.  

Each Tour Rack Raw wedge will come stock with the Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 shaft, though Cleveland offers wedge shafts from many other companies with custom orders.   

Specs and Details – Cleveland RTZ Wedges

Off-the-rack Cleveland RTZ wedges will be available in two finishes, Tour Satin and Black Satin in lofts ranging from 46 degrees to 64 degrees. Both are classic Cleveland finishes that manage to exude cool class and are quite durable. They will come with the Dynamic Gold Spinner Tour Issue wedge shafts and Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360 grips. Retail price is $169.99. 

As we discussed, there are 16 loft and sole options available in the Tour Rack Raw finish. Priced starting at $189.99, RTZ Tour Rack wedges come with Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 shafts and Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360 grips.  

RTZ wedges will be available online and in stores January 17th, 2025.  

For more information, including custom orders, visit Cleveland Golf’s website at us.dunlopsports.com/cleveland-golf

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Editor and writer Ryan Hawk lives in northwestern Illinois with his fiance and son. He's been a writer for The Hackers Paradise for two years and has been involved with a number of THP events.