Sometimes revolutionary can be familiar too. In recent years, few have put as much emphasis and effort into improving the balance and performance of their wedges than Cleveland Golf. To many on the THP community and well beyond, the RTX4 was the most complete wedge out there, so a refresh would have been more than acceptable.
But that isn’t what Cleveland Golf does.
If you have seen the teasers that the company put up the past week, then you’ve gotten a taste of what’s coming, and believe me, this is impressive. You know what though? When you are willing to take something that’s already great all the way down to its core, literally, then it had better be.
This is the RTX ZipCore.
Taking it to the Core
Cleveland themselves are describing the new RTX ZipCore as “radically new and ultra-familiar”, essentially new, yet classic. From the images of the back of the club, we all see a shape that comes with that familiarity which Cleveland is referring, albeit, with a little more modern aesthetic in how the text is placed on the club and a revamp of the loft font. However, the aesthetics aren’t the story here, Cleveland knows they had a wedge in the RTX4 that was fantastic in that area, but to find improvements they decided to look for an inside to out solution. This meant the change they sought was at the core, and I mean that legitimately.
ZipCore
While not the only story in this release, being the namesake of the new wedge means it definitely gets lead billing. If you saw the teasers, then you know there has clearly been some internal work done on the new RTX wedges, and that is exactly at the core of ZipCore.
What you were seeing there, is a low-density core which has allowed Cleveland to shift the center of gravity even more than they have in the past. Yes, they have gone hard on marketing the CG change before, and they acknowledge that, but they also realize that there was more they could do. To be able to shift both the balance and the shape how they wanted, it was necessary to find a way to alter the core balance, so using a proprietary material which Cleveland only explains as being “extremely lightweight, yet strong” they carved out an internal spoon shaped section from the hosel into the heel and used this compound to fill it.
What this all ends up meaning is better balance, higher moment of inertia, more spin, more control, and more shots likely to strike the sweet spot and thus yield better results. Also, for those of you wondering, Cleveland promised that this new ZipCore and the material they’re using won’t sacrifice or compromise the feel either, which will most definitely be interesting to test out because this is one of the most outside the box design features we have ever seen in wedges.
Beyond the Core
Clearly you can see why so much attention is being given to the ZipCore design feature, but if you know Cleveland Golf, then you know they aren’t going to stop there. Rounding out the evolution of the RTX is the focus on improving spin and durability.
For spin, it’s no surprise that you need to look to the face of things. Cleveland, who have long ridden the wave of ROTEX, have gone back to the design board in a big way. More spin? How about more grooves? How about better grooves? How about UltiZip?
Yes, the name is, well, unique. But, based on what Cleveland is touting, it might not be all that hard to get down with. These grooves have the sharpest edge radius ever, and the deepest, meaning more spin and more control in all conditions. The depth funnels away the debris more efficiently, but the key, according to Cleveland, is that they have also moved the grooves closer together, which allowed them to add two more grooves as well. Why is that important? More grooves mean more of the ball contacting them with each shot, and that means more bite. For the fans of hard numbers, all this comes out to grooves that Cleveland says are 11% sharper, 7.3% deeper, 7.4% closer, and 7.2% more groove contact at impact.
Grooves are great, but grooves that are more durable are even better. The last thing Cleveland has addressed with the RTX ZipCore was just that, durability. How though? The answer they have arrived at is utilizing heat treatment of each and every wedge. By heating the 8620-carbon steel wedge they’ve found the material is altered, in a good way, removing impurities, aligning the grain, and just generating an all around more durable wedge.
Rounding it all out, Cleveland is plugging the all new Tour Issue Dynamic Gold Spinner wedges shaft and finishing it with a Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360, both impressive components. The RTX ZipCore will be available in lofts from 46° to 62° with three specific grind options, Low (C-Grind), Mid (V-Sole), and Full. Additionally, it’s worth noting that upon the initial release the classic Cleveland satin will be the only finish available, but Black Satin and Raw finishes are coming later this year.
The Details
Available: 8/14/20
Price: $149.99
Finish: Tour Satin (Black Satin and Raw later)
Lofts: 46°-62°
Grinds: Low (56°-62°), Mid (46°-60°), Full (54°-60°)
I could not agree with this more. My sand game has been significantly better with the ZC 60*. The amount of spin it generates from wet sand has given me the confidence to really go after it, which is huge for a below average golfer like me that tends to decel when hitting out of tough lies or close to the green.
I have a 54 Tour Rack coming. It will have the heel & toe grind. And it may have a recoil 110 F4 shaft (have recoil 110 F5 in irons). I will find out. I look forward to comparing the grind and, hopefully, shaft.
Very easy and consistent to flight down these were probably only 40 ft high.
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Wind is blowing like
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Also hit a really nice one on 12 from 105yds… 7 ft below the hole, and an RTX4 50* from 120yds to the right about 20 ft. Now that we’ve finally had some rain the bounce is really shining is more normal conditions. At times baked out summer Lies I felt the bounce was a bit more generous than I needed but it still worked well.
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Shaft change, a little lie alteration, and bringing the 48 to its correct loft combined with USING THE BOUNCE in the swing has made for some nifty nippers the past few outings and the most comfort I’ve had with these yet.
That build is sweet. Love the shafts and ferrules.
BB&F for eternity for me! So much fun!
I co-sign this.
That said, I’m pretty enamored with them and the things I’ve been able to do. Now, my HS kids don’t care for them all that much when I’m laying a whooping on them in games of CHIP.
Great performance, excited to see these in person Sunday
One, I’m leaning on it too much around the greens and I know it.
Two, I just keep dropping them STIFF.
Biggest stand out remains imo not their spin from ideal lies, but the amount of spin you retain in non ideal conditions be it rain, dew, rough, sand, mud, muck, more, or whatever. I’ve never hit wedges that spin SO much from crappy lies.
I currently have the RTX-4 in a 56 and 60 mid.
I also have a 51* set GW which is essentially a full grind.
Before I just order the mid grinds again keen to hear about what I may be missing by considering a different grind setup?
I am always curious about what grinds work for different golfers as well. But, the ZipCore doesn’t have different grinds. So, I am thinking you meant bounce for the ZipCore.
For me, I play some course locally that don’t have he greatest upkeep to say and have some very tight lies and hard pan bunkers. So, I generally go with a mix of my 54° wedge has a mid bounce, my 58° has a full bounce, and my 62° has a low bounce.
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I have always used vokeys, I saw the ZipCore and love the shape. Never used the Cleveland wedge but after getting on there site the ZipCore would be about 60 cheaper then the sm8 so I figured I’d try it. Glad to see your results! Was a tough choice between the 2
Cleveland wedges are just really, really good to my eye. The head shape is great, and as much as anything I just love the combo of milling and laser cut micro-grooves on the face. It just feels like all the texture on the face really does the job. It’s amazing the amount of junk that gets caught in the textures and grooves.
I got FILTHY with these today.
The comfort is all in, and the 48 is becoming more and more versatile for me. Biggest thing is ive adapted to the grinds and am trusting them…and they are WORKING.
Consistent as the day is long and even with a ton of rounds on them, the spin from no ideal lies is crazy good.
But James…
RTX4.
Zipcore > RTX4
If for no other reason than the way they channel debris and retain spin from non perfect lies. It’s mind boggling.
These wedges are EXTREMELY impressive, Alex.
They really are. Versatility is there, but the consistency in feel and flight is killer.
I love my MIMs but this feedback isn’t doing my wallet/ponder any favors
let me know how they handle the Wolf this weekend and i may make the ponder a reality
I wish I had a raw set with a tour grind job on them, but there’s not enough of a reason to make that jump right now.
I wish I had rust
That said, my 48 is like your 50, LETHAL.
It replaced the set gap wedge, which I didn’t expect to stick. But the birdie count off that thing is silly for my game.
I’m just not a fan of set gap wedges like some here are, for me, I want too much versatility in that spot.
Following. Have same questions.
I can’t help you on the first part but I’m a big fan of the mid out the sand because it gives me a lot of options off the turf too. But a full grind will be great (and I mean great) out of the bunker if it’s not hard packed sand.
Golf season is over here but I should be able to get some simulator time in coming up. I’m pretty interested to compare the feel of this vs. the previous models.
Best wedge out there, hands down.
These are super legit and I had them right before getting into the Morgan Cup. They haven’t made it back in the bag yet though.
quick summary for a skimmer on what they did better than my gamers?
I think the sole is a touch wider which, to me, helps in softer conditions. Also, for some reason, I hit these further than any other wedge I’ve gamed.
That’s wild. You go stock lengths in both (MiM vs Zip)?
How does feel/touch shots compare?
Stock length on both sets. Touch and feel shots were great. I only had the 58 a short time prior to getting the MiMs but it was solid. I’ve always liked using my 54 for touch shots but that changed when I put MiMs in play.
I felt more comfortable with the higher loft on those, but honestly I didn’t get a ton of time with the 58 Zip to play around.