Cleveland RTX ZipCore Tour Rack and Black Satin Wedges

Great write-up.

The price point is fantastic for the customization. The Raw finish will look amazing. Looking forward to seeing these after a few months.

Love the spinner shaft pairing too
 
Zipcore 54 mid (the dirty one :)) and a stunning Zipcore Tour Rack 54 mid with heel & toe grind (white RTX). I am going to head out and spend some time hitting shots in a practice area with 3 greens. On tighter lies and against the grain, in particular, I want to see how the grind performs versus the standard. I like to open up the face on most chip and shorter pitch shots. 25 mpg winds with 40+ gusts, but here I go for the sake of science! :cool:

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Hey, my Cleveland RTX ZipCore Tour Rack wedge showed up today, thanks THP and Cleveland Golf! It came with stock shaft and grip, I'll hit it like this a bit for initial impressions, but will be putting a Recoil 95 F3 in it with a GP MCC+4 midsize grip, so it will be set up like my other wedges for comparison. I have a Cleveland RTX 2.0 60* Low Bounce, and a Cleveland RTX4 60* Low Bounce to compare it to, and also a CBX2 55* that has a similar S-Shaped grind, and 12* bounce.

Reviewing this beauty is going to be fun, just got to get away from the house for a while and hit some balls.

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60* Full (12* Bounce), S-Shaped Grind, Rounded Leading edge.

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Poor attempt to show the S-Shaped grind and Rounded leading edge in these next two.

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Standard shaft and grip, good stuff, but I'll be changing them.

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First off thank you THP and Cleveland for the testing opportunity.

Making its way to Texas is the RTX ZipCore Tour Rack Raw 54/12 Full with Heel & Toe relief. I went back and forth with the Full or Mid and settled on the Full as that was the closest to my current 54* wedge that is in my bag. I am currently playing the MD5 Jaws 54/12 W and it is my work horse inside of 100yds. I am not a player who full swings my wedges. The 48* will be the highest lofted club that I full swing. I have used anything from a 7i to a 54* inside of 100 yds, but a majority of the time it's my 54* that gets the call.

At the moment I really like what the Jaws 54* is doing for me. I went with the W grind as it helps me when I need to open it up and hit a more delicate shot when I need to.

Ok now onto the star of this show, The RTX ZipCore 54/12 Full with Heel and Toe relief. It has been a while since I have played a Cleveland wedge. Performance wise they have always stacked up with whatever is out there on the market and I didn't feel like I was leaving anything on the table. This one is paired with the DG Spinner wedge and based on early feedback from others, it definitely helps create spin with the proper strike.

Like I said this one will get a heavy work out inside of 100yds. I will put it through an initial range session and compare it to the MD5, but after that is 100% commitment and it will be in my bag to give it a thorough review. The plan is to get out tomorrow or Sunday and report back. Until then here are some pictures of the wedge and comparing it to my MD5. If I have missed anything, ask away and I will be happy to answer what I can.

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Thank you again Cleveland Golf and THP for the opportunity to test this wedge. First little session with the 54 mid Tour Rack with heel & toe grind.

Hit a bucket into a 25-30 mph winds. Stock spinner shaft is solid. Easy to flight down. Nice weight. Plenty of control. Sound at impact really is a soft thunk-zip. Weather was deteriorating fast, so instead of heading to the practice greens, I jumped on the empty course and played 3 holes targeting some on course testing.
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Par 3, about 120 yards to pin. Big wind from right. I know I can't get the 54 there, but that's OK. I will have some nice little chips.
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Full swings felt great, and the feel with the Srixon ZStar is lovely. Distance control was good, right at what I would expect. These were all within a couple of yards. Left right spread had as much to do with the wind as anything.
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Grass is short and grippy. We've had hard freezes each night, and the ground is firm. I have to open up the face and slide through to catch the ball on each chip. Too steep or overplay the bounce, and the result will be thin. Squashed deer duds on the lower right. :D
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No problems. Chip outcomes were pretty good. I made solid contact with each. I am liking the heel grind. I can feel the club slide through the grass and turf with the face open. Nearly holed one.
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Overall, very nice. Zipcore Tour Rack in stock form exceeds expectations. The bounce and grind is a good choice for my needs. I have pictures and can go through similar for the next two holes. I'm not clear if that's a good idea or not. There were some really fun shots with severe slopes and into massive winds, including a thin over a green. :p I'll ponder it.
 
Wedges look great! Oh, and @GoldenBuff those landscapes are absolutely incredible.
 
Well I got the ZipCore Tour Rack 60* out for a nice practice session this morning, and my first impressions of this wedge are really positive. The practice area at my local course is really good, with a short game practice area that you can hit wedge shots from as much as 60 yds or so, and new sand in the practice bunker making it one of the best anywhere around here.

The new Tour Rack wedge is compliments of THP and Cleveland Golf, thanks again for this great opportunity to test and review, and is 60* / Full / 12*, with S-Shaped Sole, Rounded leading edge, stock TT Dynamic Gold Spinner Wedge shaft, and GP Tour Velvet 360 standard grip. This first time out with it I took along my RTX4 60* / Low / 6* which I believe is a C grind sole, and my CBX2 55* / 12*, which has a similar S-Shaped sole, to get some comparisons.

First stop was the practice bunker, with the new sand this is a rare opportunity to hit bunker shots that aren't from the hard-pan bunkers with minimal sand that are so common around here. This Tour Rack wedge excelled here, easily lofting nice soft landing shots from a normal open-face setup. My RTX4 really struggles in this kind of sand, as expected, since the low bounce is really made to order for harder bunkers. The CBX2 did well here too, as it has a similar sole grind and the same amount of bounce.

Next I went out to hit some 50+ yard shots from tight lies, and the conditions were a bit soft. Here again I was really pleased with the Tour Rack, the Full / 12* S-Shaped sole, and the rounded leading edge, gave me the forgiveness I need to hit near full swing shots in these conditions. With my low bounce RTX4 I pretty much have to make a perfect swing to get good results here, and often end up knifing into the soft turf with terrible results (which is why I pretty much never use my 60* from soft tight lies).

I finished up chipping from various lies, and had good success from most, especially having fun hitting some towering flop shots from fluffy lies.

I can't really speak to how well this club spins the ball from the various shots today, I was hitting range balls, but I know the Cleveland grooves in all their wedges provide exceptional spin, so no worries there. The standard shaft feels fine, but I am a graphite shaft guy, and have Recoil 95s in my other wedges, so will be making that change to this one too. The stock grip is probably fine for most, but I've been using mid-size grips for so long this was one area that I really couldn't get used to, but again, a real easy fix. I'm hoping to get out on the course in the next few days, and will definitely be taking this wedge along.

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Some GCQuad data: Zipcore 54 mid, Zipcore Tour Rack 54 mid with toe & heel grind, and JAWS 54S. Spin wasn't showing up. From top to bottom the average spin numbers were: 10,002, 10,435, and 10,523. Minimal differences, pretty much all attributable to my swing variance. I also hit a bunch of ~3/4 shots with the zipcore TR, targeting 75 yards. Spin there was 8500-9000.

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I just got back from the course and this session was to get a feel for the wedge and the weight. For me the Cleveland wedges have always presented a more elongated hosel at address and had me either adjusting my swing or thinking I needed to alter how I traditionally like to use my wedges. Comparing to my MD5 I can see material wise the hose is the same length but the ferrule is longer in the ZipCore and that’s what is giving it that “illusion” to me.

Again this wasn’t a heavy short game session for me. I had my daughter with me so the day was more for her and to work on her swing, but I brought my ZipCore and my MD5 to get some initial feedback for the forum. Some thoughts

1. the weight feels a touch heavier with the ZipCore. Not a bad thing at all as I like a heavier wedge and it helps me not decelerate with delicate shots. I can use the weight to help me commit to the shot at hand.
2.The DG Spinner shaft is new for me. I’ve always tried to match my wedge shafts with my irons for nothing more than consistency. I’m still trying to get my thoughts together on the shaft. Nothing bad, just different than what I’m used to.
3. Keep in mind I’m using range balls here. I had two targets to aim at. One at roughly 48yds and another at 83yds. I don’t full swing my wedges. So I use my 54* a lot inside of 100yds. The first thing I noticed is the ball stopping fairly quickly once it landed. I wasn’t trying to swing hard and generate spin, just nice easy 3/4 wedges and pay attention to the results. I controlled distance by adding speed and kept the ball middle of my stance. Could be fresh grooves at play or the shaft, but hitting 20 balls the ZipCore had more check than my MD5.
4. Aiming at that 48yd pin I put the ball in the back of my stance to hit some mid to low pitches and see how the ball reacts. This is my go to shot when I need to get the ball one the green or close to a flag. I’m looking at roll out here and trying to gauge where I need to land the ball while paying attention to spin control. I really liked how the ZipCore played and compared to the MD5 is didn’t roll out as much. In fact a few times it hit the spot and didn’t move forward. Again not sure if fresh grooves or the shaft or the combination of both, but something that stood out.

Overall I like the wedge more than I anticipated. It sets up nicely behind the ball and the weight of the club really promotes a smooth swing. I’m anxious to get it out on the course and I’m looking forward to putting this one through a good session in the short game area to test out spin control on touch shots around the green.

If I missed something ask away and I’ll answer as best I can.
 
Something about these zipcore wedges gives them a nudge above other wedges. With full and partial swings, I can get similar numbers and outcomes using a multitude of wedge options out there. It is around the green where I find differences the better suit my game. Zipcore wedges just plain feel balanced in my hands and provide a visual setup that gives me confidence to hit difference shots. The three bounce options of low, mid, and full simplify selection. I like low in a lob wedge and mid in sand and gap wedges for the conditions around here. I could also see times where a full bounce would be helpful in the sand wedge. The stock DG spinner shaft is an excellent option. These work well and are worth a consideration for anyone.

Now with additional grinds with the Tour Rack, zipcore becomes even more interesting. So far I find the toe & heel grind to be very subtle. It doesn't change the wedge. But across shots that open the face, I see a little more flow through turf while still having the support of the wedge bounce. For me, this is perfect. I love to open up the face in my 54 sand wedge. That's my go to club around greens. I haven't played yet with how I might use the toe grind. I'll have to spend some time trying the Michelson fringe toe down chip. IDK if that is something I would use or. not. I'm not Phil. ;)

Sold base wedges. Custom grinds. Check and check. With the test wedges we didn't get to play with personalization or customizations beyond grinds. But I did go through that on the website to see what the options were like. For one, they have a very nice shaft selection. And then the personalization looks fun with the ability to add some text and colors. For wedges this good, I 100% recommend spending the time to customize and personalize. It is an easy system to navigate. Once I sort out my next iron set, I will get a customized and personalized gap wedge. And, I suppose I'll have to follow through for consistency and do the same with sand and lob wedges. :love:

Winter is currently here. I can get these on GCQuad a few times a week. Hopefully we get a nice window of playable weather before the final season curtain call. Either way, I will keep updating. I also look forward to seeing what the other testers learn and share. (y)
 
Here are some first pictures of the 58 Mid with Heel & Toe relief, standard leading edge grind. There is a gorgeously ground heel and toe relief, more generous than the standard 54 Mid shown For comparison in the last photo. The finish is impeccable.

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Here are a couple more of the 58 Mid w/ heel & toe relief next to RTX4 58 Mid.

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Received my wedges today. I have 70 pitches in with the 60° and so far so good.

Went with a 60/10 with heel/toe relief and rounded leading edge.

Left is the above mentioned Tour Rack, right is a RTX4 60/6.
 

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These are looking great, guys. Can’t wait for mine to come in! Patiently waiting to get that thing some work.
 
:unsure::unsure::unsure:

Seems like a good afternoon to ditch work and go take the 58* for a shakedown lap. :D
 
Are people who use these new RTX ZIpCore wedges seeing a tangible improvement in forgiveness? After the last few rounds of my year, I'm starting to question my match to my current wedges. Help isn't a bad thing, right?
 
Very first shot was solid as could be. Dropped a ball at 80 yds on the first hole and made a 7 footer for birdie (y)

EDIT: The ball further from the flag in this photo was a 54* Mid ZipCoe (Satin) from 105. (1st of 2.... gamer ball)
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Halfway through the First round... patina

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Are people who use these new RTX ZIpCore wedges seeing a tangible improvement in forgiveness? After the last few rounds of my year, I'm starting to question my match to my current wedges. Help isn't a bad thing, right?

In terms of forgiveness I think they are similar to JAWS MD5 and Vokey SM8.
 
In terms of forgiveness I think they are similar to JAWS MD5 and Vokey SM8.

So still very traditional and not moving towards the CBX line then.
 
I had a ton of fun with the 58* Mid today. I was very, very comfortable from the first shot. I think it fell right into my expectations being easy to hit and how it sets up. The RTX4 58* Mid was a favorite of mine last season due to very crisp turf interaction in mixed conditions and the fact the I could really keep the leading edge low on hardpan and when opened up.

When ordering the heel-toe grind with standard leading edge, I was trying to get the Mid to sit a little closer to the ground when opened up while keeping plenty of available bounce. I didn't want the leading edge too sharp as I play in quite mixed conditions. It was medium-soft today with lots of recent rain still moistening the turf. I once again had tons of spin available from the fairway, rough, and greenside. The bounce was instantly my friend and it played just as I hoped today... plenty forgiving in softer ground but still sits nice on hard lies and very playable from just about anywhere.

I forgot my towel and the course was wet with new granular fertilizer applied... I had to go shopping, cook dinner, etc. before just now wiping it down and the face is pretty trashed out from the fertilizer. Whoopsie. The main point, is that the club was wet during the whole round and covered with gunk... I was using the wet turf with half dissolved fertilizer to wipe down mud and grass after shots having forgot my towel. Not the cleanest of contact conditions by a long shot. Fresh UltiZip grooves don't care - I was leaving shredded urethane in the grooves on approaches from the wet rough and fairways.

It was hop and sit tight conditions in general at the course today. Greenside I was not the sharpest but I got out exactly what I put in, and the club played fantastic. I hit a few open shots and it sits great opened up. The bounce is general is exactly what I was expecting and hoping for, a bit more generous the the prior gen RTX4 in my mind, but when opened and off tighter lies the leading edge is plenty close. I think the relief grind really adds something to this wedge. I like a close leading edge... just not low bounce for our softer periods on course. I even played a crazy little toe-down chip just to see ho it played and it worked out. I never play those, was impressed.

My one omission is I forgot to hit out of the sand all day... did a good job stayed out of bunkers 😇 and forgot that I was supposed to be testing from them! Next time... a little sandblasting is needed to clean up the fertilizer rash.

Overall it was a great first outing and TBH I expect great things from here. I love the ZipCore lineup and the raw, hand-polished finish and hand ground options are just outstanding.
 
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