Cleveland 588 RTX CB Wedges Review - Forum Testing

[Jman]

Well, I had a really REALLY good day out with the RTX on Saturday, even in spite of the 25-35 MPH winds (Hawk can vouch, he called me when I was on course and it sounded like I was in a wind tunnel). Being that I was a pretty big CG14 fan (and even felt the CG16 was a bit of a let down and they didn't last long in the ole bag) and that I kept hearing comparisons of the RTX to that old favorite I was really excited to get one IN HAND and see for myself.

Without a doubt, I love the "new" Black Pearl. Every wedge I've ever had from Cleveland was in this finish, but looking back through it old photos it really has changed, to me it really is BLACK now in hand, not that slate/gunmetal like darker grey:

Old Black Pearl:

New Black Pearl:

Um, yes please! These are without a doubt lookers and the design was incredibly well done. Gotta love a little added perimeter weighting in a wedge when the cavity is as well done as this one. It doesn't stick out like a sore thumb, it actually just flows with the overall look and the medallion in the cavity is much better looking than the bright gold one of the CG14. As to the grooves, just LOOK at all of these pictures, what more needs to be said that they don't already convey, eh?

I got out with the 588 RTX CB 56* on Saturday and played it as the only wedge in my bag after my i20 PW so there was a large gap but I wanted to see what I could do from full swings all the way down. Honestly, I didn't even care if I came up short in the wind I was playing in, I just looked at it as another opportunity to hit the wedge. As to the spin, in the wind it was hard to see it for me as I was battling either being into it or with the wind at my back. I can safely say though that the ball certainly does seem to get UP in a hurry off the face of the wedge both on full swings and on fractional swings as well. I know there has been alot said about sound on here, maybe I just couldn't hear it because of the wind but it didn't draw my attention in any way whatsoever to be honest.

The added weight in the head feels really good in my hands as well, I've always been a heavier keeps me smoother guy and this seemed to back that fact up out there. Also, I know it isn't for everyone, but I forgot how much I love the freaking leading edge on Cleveland wedges. For some reason the rounded/curved leading edge just works really well for me from all lies. I didn't have any issues out of the thick stuff or off the hardpan on the round so it was pleasant. Although, I did skull the snot out of one chip, not unusual for me. I was actually 2/2 on sand saves included one from 15 yards out of a trap over a 3 foot lip and I dunked it, that will obviously make you feel good about a club.

All in all, I want to get out with no wind. I'd be lying though if I said I wasn't curious about the 50* and even maybe a 60* (which I haven't played in a long while). Its early and it sounds cliche...but I like what I'm seeing.

 

[#Cookie]

Great write up, Cook! This is exactly why I joined this site. Whenever I'm torn between clubs, you fellas always have reviews that everyone can relate to! Love it! Can't wait until I get to test something!
I finally got the chance to hit these on Saturday at my nearest Edwin Watts. Of course, due to the white $**T on the ground I wasn't able to try them on the green. But man did they feel great. I just have one question, I read in your review that you are used to a sharp lead edge and tend to hit some chunky shots. I tend to do the opposite and like to take a med. sized divot. Are you saying the RTX does not have a very sharp lead edge so this would be hard to take a divot with? Or are you saying you tried to avoid taking the divots on purpose? Thanks for your time!

Thanks for the compliment and the question!

I would say that the leading edge is not as sharp as my J40's which will tend to dig a bit quicker IMO. I am typically not much of a divot taker, but rather a picker of the ball. When I tried to come down and really compress the ball on the range yesterday, I did create some decent divots with solid results. It is definitely not hard to take a divot with, but just not as easy or likely to as wedges with more aggressive edges....hopefully that makes sense!

 

[SW]

Cookie, are these a little to upright for you out of the box? Just thinking back to my 588's and I had to bend them down quite a bit.

 

[IceyShanks]

Great write up Cookie, weather took a turn for the worse yesterday, but it looks like this week will warm up a little bit. Stupid winter!!!

 

[#Cookie]

Cookie, are these a little to upright for you out of the box? Just thinking back to my 588's and I had to bend them down quite a bit.

Dude. that is a great question. It is not relegated to just these wedges though as I have seen the toe shots throughout my irons & hybrids for quite some time yet last time I was fitted (Nike VR Pro Combo testing in summer 2011) they said I was regular across the board. This definitely has me questioning that.

 

[INgolfer]

What I am finding in the sand (only hit 10 balls out of the sand) is that they are similar, but a little more sole relief in the RTX than the original 588. It will help some that struggle out of the bunkers with thins in my opinion. Opening the wedge up because far easier with the RTX and you will have less of an issue with leading edge being high on the ball causing the thin.

Then add to that the spin I saw out of the bunker and it was as if you could take dead aim anytime you wanted.

That is great to hear, that is my problem out of the bunker. So far the characteristics of this wedge (heavy, sole relief) seem like something that would help me in the worst area of my game...the bunkers.

Cookie, in your write-up you mentioned a lot about how much roll-out you were getting from different shots, but when you want to check it up are you able to get it to stop very quickly? Do you feel it checks up well if you don't have much green to work with?

 

[#Cookie]

That is great to hear, that is my problem out of the bunker. So far the characteristics of this wedge (heavy, sole relief) seem like something that would help me in the worst area of my game...the bunkers.

Cookie, in your write-up you mentioned a lot about how much roll-out you were getting from different shots, but when you want to check it up are you able to get it to stop very quickly? Do you feel it checks up well if you don't have much green to work with?

I really think it would with a short sided flag, etc. I have not encountered that shot yet but with what I am seeing from the shots I have hit and them only releasing up to 5 feet from 25-50 yards, I definitely think the short sided lob shot is doable with the 56*. Can imagine it even gets better with the 60*. In all honesty, I would love to fire with full swings at some 80-100 yard shots to a short sided flag and see what kind of reaction I get from the ball. More to come!!

 

[JonD]

PREVIOUS POSTS

Spoiler

Bio - http://www.thehackersparadise.com/f...orum-Testing&p=1756112&viewfull=1#post1756112Initial thoughts - http://www.thehackersparadise.com/f...orum-Testing&p=1759349&viewfull=1#post1759349
Range session 1 - http://www.thehackersparadise.com/f...orum-Testing&p=1762596&viewfull=1#post1762596

So finally got out for my first round with the new wedge and ended up struggling quite a bit, so you are not alone SW!

Was playing a new iron set, so I'm still learning my distances. This led to a number of misses around the green and ample opportunities to hit some touch & short shots. I was also crushing my driver and FWs so I had a good number of full & almost full swing chances with this wedge.

Let's start with the good. Chipping. This is where this wedge shined for me. I had more close chips yesterday than I've had in a while. Thanks to a frost delay, I had extra time to practice some chipping. I was able to mess around with ball position a bit, per Thain's comments, and found a nice chip that would check and roll out very predictably. This carried over the course quite well.

Moving on to the not so good, let's talk about pitching. I struggle with pitches sometimes, so I expected possible issues here. I hit a few good ones today. When well struck this wedge performs admirably. I don't get a lot of spin on my pitches so I always try to play for roll out. On the good ones, I was spot on. Very similar to my previous wedge. Unfortunately there were more bad ones. I have never skulled so many balls in my life. It wasn't just the pitching, but that's where it started.

Partial and full shots are where the really bad officially starts. I think I hit one good shot yesterday from distance. Thin city. Then I tried to adjust and ended up fat. Any sane person would take this into account and try to avoid these shots until they get more practice. Apparently I don't fit that bill, and I stubbornly kept putting myself in said places because I wanted to figure it out. Unfortunately was not able to do so, and my scores showed it.

Finally sand. Found a few bunkers yesterday. Sadly, a couple were on flubbed pitch shots. The sand was not in great shape and you never really know what you were going to get. It was also very wet in places. So I don't want to be too critical. However, I struggled mightily out of the sand when I did find it. By the last hole, my confidence was shot. Went for a par 5 in 2 and pushed it a bit right. flubbed my pitch shot into the bunker I had to shoot over. Was so frustrated that I actually played out with my 50. Left myself some work, but at least it was on with a chance to save par. Saving judgement on sand as I need to have some more time with it.

So in looking back, I really can't tell you exactly what caused my issues. I think on full shots I would be better suited to have this wedge extended like the rest of my clubs. I'm still trying to figure out the pitching. I think that as the round went on I started to lose confidence, which only made things worse. Like I said, I'm saving judgement on sand until I get some more time. Needless to say, I've got some solid practice time ahead of me. So certainly more to follow. I've played Cleveland wedges in the past and I know they work for me. Just need to find it again. I still fully intend to grab a RTX 50 when they're released at the end of the week.

One final note on the grip. I'm not traditionally a huge TV fan. However, this grip seemed to perform well. I could see it getting a little slick on hot sweaty days in the summer, but I had no issues whatsoever with it. Compared pretty well to the Lamkin on my 50.

 

[lt4ryan]

That is great to hear, that is my problem out of the bunker. So far the characteristics of this wedge (heavy, sole relief) seem like something that would help me in the worst area of my game...the bunkers.

Cookie, in your write-up you mentioned a lot about how much roll-out you were getting from different shots, but when you want to check it up are you able to get it to stop very quickly? Do you feel it checks up well if you don't have much green to work with?

I've got a 56.14 RTX right now, and I also have a 56.14 588 forged I've been playing the last few months. The Rotex is amazing out of the sand, but to me, the 588 seems to be a little more precise. I just don't get the same 'throw darts' feeling from the Rotex that I do the 588. Also, my Rotex seems to gnaw up balls. Great wedge overall, I love how they're dealing with the groove rules.

 

[Zeff]

Great pics and write-ups guys, these look awesome!

 

[Dance_Business]

THP has sent out the new Cleveland wedge to the forum testers that were selected after signup and they will be providing feedback in this thread. Feel free to join in the conversation with your own reviews as well as ask questions to those that are doing the hard work of testing these out.

After I got home Sunday I realized that the wedge Cleveland Golf sent to me is identical to the tester's wedges. It even has my name on it! I look forward to joining this conversation as an unofficial tester. First swings are tomorrow!

 

[IceyShanks]

After I got home Sunday I realized that the wedge Cleveland Golf sent to me is identical to the tester's wedges. It even has my name on it! I look forward to joining this conversation as an unofficial tester. First swings are tomorrow!

It does look identical. It does have your last name though, while our testing versions have only first.

 

[Kmac]

Cleveland 588 RTX CB 56* Initial testing

Cleveland 588 RTX CB 56* Initial testing

Initial Testing Thoughts of Cleveland 588 RTX 56* Wedge

On Saturday after getting all my chores for the day done I quickly stopped by my closest putting green for my initial run with the 588 RTX. I always like to begin in close to the green and on the fringe. I didnt spend much time here because I think with these types of shots its more about technique then anything else. I really didnt see anything different for the bump and run type shots from any other wedge. Roll out was as expected and sound was maybe a little clicky. This wedge is definitely audible.

Unfortunately there is nothing but weeds/rough around this green so I couldn't get a feel for it off any type of fairway or even just nice grass. So I spent the next bit of time practicing shots from varying distances in this rough type of grass. Hitting from this type of lie I didn't see tons of spin or back any shots up but what I did see was very good turf interaction. For me the gold standard of rough interaction for a wedge was the ATV. This is not ATV easy from the rough but it is still pretty good. I had zero issues getting the ball up and landing it soft. Actually by the time I left I could go right at the hole and get very predictable roll out but under control.

No sand here to practice from so that did not get touched. And the only other thing I could hit from besides the rough was a mat and that wasn't happening. Once I started practicing I did not even notice the weight of the club. I think it even helped with shots from the rough as long as you dont decelerate any. And wanted to make a note that I used 2 TM Penta ball and 2 Srixon Soft Feel balls. Both performed almost exactly the same in these conditions.

Took a picture of the face after and one after cleaning it up.

Dirty!

Clean!

As you can see it cleaned up like well and looks brand new again.

First on course testing

Sunday saw its first action on the golf course. This was a new course to me and judging from the price and looks of the place it would be quite the challenge. After warming up on the range where I struggled mightily with the irons I moved over to the short game area they have set up. I did not want to take full swings on the range because I wanted to see some wicked action on the ball and hitting on the range would not let me see that. We set up what Id say was probably 60 yards away or so from a green with two flags and protected by a big bunker. Well, lets just say I struggled to even hit the dang thing. When I didnt hit a fatty I came up short in the bunker. I did hit my last two shots but they barely made it. Never got to see that wicked action on the ball.

Out on the course it more of a mixed bag of results. I had some really good chips and some not so good. I never found myself in range for a good 3/4 or full swing to spin one back into the hole. I was all around greens most of the day and in some gnarly spots. I caught a few thin, caught even more heavy and had one really good sand save. For my very first try out of the sand to hit it out cleanly actually past the hole I was ecstatic with the results. These were not receptive greens and they were hard to read but it still held giving me the chance to save the par.

At this point I definitely need more practice time with it but I think it was a decent start. I was worried about weight in the beginning but forgot all about it rather quickly as I got used to it. One shot I remember that stood out was green side with a bunker in my way. Took a nice smooth swing popped the ball out but a little to the right. And I felt it too. Missed on the toe so bad I didnt even hit a groove. Ball still landed soft and held. Not bad.

 

[TC]

Nice write up Kmac.

 

[JB]

Kmac that is good stuff. Fats and thins were a problem for me a few years back with wedges when I changed to a new set. Looking forward to following the progress and seeing how it goes when you get some more work in with it.

 

[Jersey Nate]

Great writeups everyone!

 

[Dance_Business]

It does look identical. It does have your last name though, while our testing versions have only first.

I did not order it. CLEVELAND GOLF tweeted me that it was coming. Out of no where. I would have ordered Dance_Business on there.

Movember in progress

 

[SW]

Good writeups yall. Sucks that kmac and Jon had bad days, but it happens.

 

[IceyShanks]

Kmac, that cleaning is exactly what I saw. I was amazed how it looked after wiping it down. The wear should be great for sure.


Tapatalking on my iPhone!

 

[ddec]

Working on a write up after getting a couple of rounds in this weekend with this wedge. But since there was a lot of talk earlier in the thread about these being similar in many ways to the CG14 I thought I would snap a few side by side comparison pics since the wife uses a cg14.

 

[JB]

Good pictures ddec. Nice to see some comparison pictures.

 

[ddec]

Good pictures ddec. Nice to see some comparison pictures.

I didn't know the answer to this but it was something that Nerfny asked when we were doing this. When Cleveland designs a wedge, like the CG14 or these RTX, do they make anything different for the ladies version? I wasn't sure if these were a complete apples to apples type of comparison.

 

[JB]

I didn't know the answer to this but it was something that Nerfny asked when we were doing this. When Cleveland designs a wedge, like the CG14 or these RTX, do they make anything different for the ladies version? I wasn't sure if these were a complete apples to apples type of comparison.

It depends on the wedge. As it relates to the CG14, no, they are the same as the mens version.

 

[ddec]

It depends on the wedge. As it relates to the CG14, no, they are the same as the mens version.

excellent thanks

 

[Kmac]

Ive never seen the CG14 in that attire. I assume that is a ladies version? ddec you got some serious wear going on already, did you play 30 rounds last weekend?