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°)
Definitely on the ponder list.
We really are in a serious groove. (Get it) with the wealth of good wedges available lately. Tough to go wrong regardless of manufacturer right now.
And I share this again because I’m in love with how this pic came out.
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When is the grass test coming?
Monday. Weekends are for the twins and Lotte ?
Ok. Until then, I’m just going to look at those photos. And drool a bit
Hahahaha!
This one is WILD too!
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The inclusion of groves on the extreme toe will be useful when my game Goes sideways
To be fair, those have been there for the past couple iterations. RTX4 and CBX2 most definitely had them.
But the milling def looks badass.
I’m happy to see them continue with it.
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Saw this one today and started to drool…
It’s in this thread too
Appreciate the kind words though, I take pride in my photos!
But you need to know i love thp forums and social and that time stamp was 748 am…
PS: two things you don’t need to know and don’t care about.
And those pics were put in this thread last night
Going to try and nab some data tomorrow morning or super late though. Then course time Monday!
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Looking forward to your thoughts.
Hit a few high on the face, see if they’re any better than in previous generations please
Great pictures and that milling is awesome!
Just a “few” ????
Lord knows I can do that
Not been out yet. Rain got me this morning unfortunately so tomorrow will have to be the day. I’ll be able to get the 54 4 vs the 54 ZC for you tomorrow though!
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mezmorizing!
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Now i cant unsee it
Hahaha that is attention to detail.
Still thinking its in line with the type font.
I think it matches character design since O in low looks square. Looks industrial looking and gives little toughness to the look. I don’t dislike or like. It’s what it is. lol
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I don’t know about you, but i’m ready to get that face a little dirty!! Looks great nice and clean, but looks even better once it gets a little character to it!
The feel is excellent on full and mid swing shots. Very solid and you can almost feel the grooves gripping at the ball as you swing through. The top line is a little thicker at address than my MD Forged which gives just a bit more confidence before my swing. The spin seems very good, but it’s hard to tell with range balls. That being said, I did try to shape a few shots and I swear I saw one ball land and leap a few feet to the spin-side. It must’ve been really spinning fast. Can’t wait to get it on the course tomorrow.
I want to get some outside data to compare, but my curiosity is now more amped up.
12 clean shots with the 54 Mid ZipCore and 12 with the RTX 54 Mid, RTX with DG Tour Issue, ZC the DG TI spinner.
I saw slightly more spin with the RTX4 on average. But, I saw a much more toned down right to left flight from the ZC, notably so as a matter of fact, which now draws me more into the intrigue of the new core design and getting more weight away from the heel. Launches were close to spot on, as were launch angles.
Lots to think on.
Yah, I noticed that also, but it may have more to do with my alignment which I need to work on.
That’s a big part of why I did my first session on my indoor setup. With alignment rods I was able to ensure setup was as consistent as possible for me. The numbers tell quite the story, I even hit the SM8 and MG2 for some wanting a comparison in my head numbers, and spin rates are in a curious spot for me right now, like I said though I’m hoping to get some outdoor numbers tomorrow to see if the trend is real before I post up all of the data.
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Short Chips < 10 yards: The Zipcore felt like a wedge should feel on the short shots around the green. I think someone else said it, but on these shots it felt like the club was grabbing the ball. I believe once I get it on a real green, I will see some of that spin come into play. It had a nice balanced weight, and I was able to find solid contact and put it where I wanted it. Exactly what you would expect feel wise, for shots around the green.
Intermediate 30-40 yards: Found my groove, and was able to put my shots very close to my landing target. Feel is good, and the balance on this club made finding the center of the face fairly easy on these 1/2 swing shots. Consistency is the key for me in this yardage range, and I found the Zipcore to perform well in that regard.
Full Swings up to 80 yards: Want to note that I never hit a full 58* wedge, mainly because I don’t like the feel, and I can’t seem to get solid contact while swinging a wedge that hard. More often than not, it was a bladed shot when I tried in the past, so I abandoned this approach. I decided to give the Zipcore a full work out though, and wow, I was impressed. On these full shots, it had a solid feel, but the flight stayed on line, and the turf interaction was so good that I could get aggressive and not worry about the bladed shot, nor a chunk. Next time on the course, I’m going to use this for some full swings, to see if I have the same comfort level trying to attack a pin with a full swing.
Turf Interaction: For me, one of the most important aspects of wedge play is the turf interaction I get. I am a huge fan of the V-sole that Cleveland and Srixon put in their irons and wedges. I have the Mid grind in the 58*, which gives you the V-sole design. On short chips I noticed how much better my wedge traveled through the tall grass than my current gamer, an old Taylormade RAC. I cut my grass at about 3 1/2", so when I was hitting some of these less than 10 yard shots, that’s what I was hitting it out of. It was easy for me to get through the tall stuff and get good contact. On the intermediate and full swing shots, the same from the rough, just got through the tall stuff without much issue. Having confidence in the club to not grab in these difficult lies will benefit my wedge game. I can worry about my swing, and less about the tall grass.
Update and a cleaning hopefully
Great write up. Launch good for you? What is your typical flight of a wedge, draw/,fade? Any notes of easy draw?
Launch was great, exactly what I wanted to see. Short shots I can keep it low, or get under it if need be, without much issue. Same for the 1/2 and full shots. The launch is exactly what I would expect from a 58* wedge.
My typical flight is usually pretty straight to a little fade. I noticed a little fade on my full shots, but the deviation from center, over 80 yard shots, was no more than 10 yards. I’ll measure next time, but I’m willing to bet it was inside of 10, I’m just being conservative with what I observed while picking up the balls. In the past, I didn’t have too many full wedge shots, so I just wanted to see a straight shot. This is what I got on most shots last night with the Zipcore. I’ll be messing around more tonight, so I’ll see what I can do to try to work the ball, but working from left to right isn’t a strong suit of mine. I’d much prefer just to be able to hit a straight shot to a distance, so that’s what my wedge practice consists of.
It got a full cleaning after the photo!
Testers received whatever they requested in the signup thread.
I am not sure anybody ordered Full, but we did have both Low and Mid in there.
I got the low, it slices through everything like butter. The c grind is just incredible when it come to turf interaction. The biggest area I notice this is with the crab grass, that stuff tends to grab and stop a club, not the ZipCore wedge.