Cleveland RTX Zipcore - Sooo Much Better!

[paztormike]

I am going to be accused of being a Srixon/Cleveland fanboy because I just posted a rave review of the Zx5 Driver. (I may well rave about the Zx Fw and Hybrids later too!) I am not a fanboy and will always play with whatever equipment I like the most. But I do need to say something about these RTX Zipcores. I know. I'm late to the party. These wedges have been out for some time now, but I am just starting to play again after some injuries and a wet wet winter.

 

I'll give you a little background and then some of my thoughts on the looks, the sound and feel, the features, and the performance as well as a little overall assessment.

 

First off, for most of this century, I have favored Vokey wedges. With the exception of the Callaway PM Grind Wedge, I have been fairly faithful to the Vokey wedges. The reason being: They have always had the standard classic look, the best meaty and soft feel, a wide range of standard sole grinds, and they always just seem to sole perfectly behind the ball. I have had some on and off chipping yip struggles during the past 5ish years. I am finally moving past the yips and was excited to find some new wedges as a reward for working through that awkward and embarrassing problem.

 

I goofed around with a few of the wedges from other companies and found myself between the Vokeys and the Zipcores and the PM grind as well as the Cleveland CBX Full-Face in the 60 degree models.

 

The reason I am sharing my thoughts is because I am so impressed with this particular set of Cleveland Wedges.

 

Looks and Features

Let's face it. Besides Ping and all of the High-Toe wedges, every company has been influenced by the look of the Vokeys and has manufactured wedges more and more similar to the Vokeys and to each other. I love that the lower lofted wedges, the gap wedges, have a straighter and flatter leading edge. They blend really well with most sets of irons. Pitching wedges normally have that flatter edge and these blend nicely. I looked at the Raw and the Satin as well as the Black. I've never been a huge fan of black wedges, but when I first saw the black Zipcores I thought to myself that they might be the coolest looking wedges that I've seen straight from the manufacturer. 

 

Cleveland claims that they were able to use a material in the heel/hosel area of the club that is lighter than the usual steel. They claim that this allows them to move a lot of weight where it is more beneficial for feel and performance. They claim to have moved the center of gravity into the middle of the wedge. They also have a ridge farther up the back of the club, moving the weight higher. This is not noticeable when you are standing over the ball. Moving the weight higher theoretically allows the player to hit lower trajectory shots with the wedge when needed.

 

They also claim sharper grooves and lots of laser milled grooves. The face looks great. While I chose the black finish, the laser milling on the satin wedge makes it shine a lot less. This is definitely a benefit over a shiny chrome wedge in my opinion.

 

The black finish has kind of a pearl look to it. It looks great to me.

 

Feel

Here's the deal with feel. It has always seemed to me that Vokeys have always felt more solid, soft, and pleasing to hit. They always have felt like there is more mass hitting the ball. I have hit the RTX3 and RTX 4 wedges from Cleveland, and while they look good, they just feel "clacky" compared to the solid feel of a vokey. 

These Zipcores have changed that trend. These feel as solid as any wedge I can ever remember hitting. If you can grab one in a pro shop and bounce a ball on the face to compare to other wedges, you will feel the difference immediately. Try bouncing it toward the toe, still pretty darned solid. 

 

Whether full shots or chips, these wedges just have that soft, solid feel. I seriously was shocked by the feel of these wedges. I can't think of a wedge that felt better to me than these.

 

Performance

While wedges are always "you get out of them what you put in". Some wedges make it a lot easier on me. I have noticed this as I have struggled on and off with yips for a while. 

What I do notice is that these wedges sole on the ground much more neutral that many companies wedges. These sit nice and flat/neutral with the shaft straight up. I really can't tell you if these are flying straighter or higher than other brands with similar specs. I can tell you that they seem to spin more on half shots than a Vokey. In fact, I think I can give you a pretty clear (non launch monitor spin numbers) proof.

 

Last week, I took an almost new Vokey and hit it side by side with an almost new Zipcore. I thought I was noticing more spin from the Zipcore, but I certainly could not quantify it or tell if the strikes were identical between the two. However, after I finished hitting some shots from some longer grass, I went to wipe the faces of both clubs. Interestingly, when I looked at the Cleveland wedge, the blades of grass that were vertical that must have been impacted by the ball were cut into several tiny pieces where it was between the face and ball. The vertical grass on the Vokey was not cut into pieces, rather it remained in one long smushed piece. This along with a little more noticeable check on the greens were my evidence that there was more spin.

 

Overall

I am very impressed by these wedges. While there are a few sole options, I think the website allows to you put some pretty custom grinds on them for a small upcharge too. 

My overall impression is that these might be the best feeling wedges that I can remember hitting. I have the DG Spinner shafts in them which come stock from Cleveland. I also had mine set up 2 degrees flatter than standard, which seems to be a recent trend that I hear from a lot of players. This is also the first set of wedges that I can think of that I would say just feel and look higher quality than the Vokeys, in my opinion. I know most of that is subjective, but I definitely think these are fantastic and a big step up from the previous Cleveland wedges.

[BassCatchr77]

I think these look fantastic as well, great review and write up. I don’t know what to think about these dg spinner shafts on full swings though. Do you have any thoughts on these shafts?

[BallerNate]

Well written write up and perspective! I’m in love with the Zipcores too and have them in 52* @ 50*, 54*, 58*.
 

The feel and control on these wedges is off the charts, and the design is gorgeous in my opinion! Will be gaming these as long as the grooves are good, without a doubt.

 

My previous wedges were TM Milled Grind, and they weren’t even close.

[kkennedy]

Would you say that they might produce too much spin on full shots? Thinking of getting a lower lofted one (48 or 50*) and worried about shots ripping off

[sadclevelandsports]

Someone correct me on my history here, but wasn't Cleveland making wedges before Vokey?

[paztormike]

26 minutes ago, BassCatchr77 said:

I think these look fantastic as well, great review and write up. I don’t know what to think about these dg spinner shafts on full swings though. Do you have any thoughts on these shafts?

I am not sure about the Spinner shaft specs, but I am assuming that it is less heavy and less stout than some traditional wedge shafts. The last few shafts that I have tried were KBS Tour V wedge shaft, the old standard Dynamic Gold wedge flex shaft, the dynamic gold s200 that was accidentally put into my PM grind wedge, and the KBS hi-rev (this was in a friend's set.) I have always thought that the lighter the shaft, the less control I have of trajectory. However, I can flight this spinner shaft low or high pretty easily. 

 

I honestly think that the weight has more to do with spin for me than the flex. (although admittedly I have never tested the flex of wedge shafts.) The only time I have ever demo'd a wedge that spun too much on the course was a Callaway Mackdaddy wedge with a Dynamic Gold Tour issue S200 shaft. I spun a few balls right off of the green. 

 

Yesterday, I hit a shot from about 100 yards with the 56 degree Zipcore wedge.  When I hit it, I knew it was going to spin pretty well and remember thinking as the ball was in the air; "I hope that doesn't spin too much, it will come off of the false front on the green."  I had flighted it low, it pitched forward a few feet and jerked back right next to the ball mark. Just what I would want. Especially when I worried that it might be too much.

 

My only thought on the Spinner shaft at this point is: I currently would not change anything on the wedges in my bag. They are going the distance I would expect, spinning just fine, and perhaps spinning a little more than I had thought on my chips and pitches, but full swing, they seem to perform much like I'd expect the Dynamic Gold shaft in a vokey would.

[mjwidell]

2 hours ago, sadclevelandsports said:

Someone correct me on my history here, but wasn't Cleveland making wedges before Vokey?

That is the only correction to @paztormike's post. I would amend his review to say that every manufacturer has built wedges based off the all time best selling Cleveland 588 shape. 🙂 Other than that, the Zipcore love is spot on!

[paztormike]

20 minutes ago, mjwidell said:

That is the only correction to @paztormike's post. I would amend his review to say that every manufacturer has built wedges based off the all time best selling Cleveland 588 shape. 🙂 Other than that, the Zipcore love is spot on!

My mistake. You are correct.

 

Although, I do feel that everyone is chasing Vokey at this point and has been for the past 15-20ish years. Cleveland really faded into the background for a while for some reason. I, for one, am really happy that they are back in a big way.

[BassCatchr77]

3 hours ago, paztormike said:

I am not sure about the Spinner shaft specs, but I am assuming that it is less heavy and less stout than some traditional wedge shafts. The last few shafts that I have tried were KBS Tour V wedge shaft, the old standard Dynamic Gold wedge flex shaft, the dynamic gold s200 that was accidentally put into my PM grind wedge, and the KBS hi-rev (this was in a friend's set.) I have always thought that the lighter the shaft, the less control I have of trajectory. However, I can flight this spinner shaft low or high pretty easily. 

 

I honestly think that the weight has more to do with spin for me than the flex. (although admittedly I have never tested the flex of wedge shafts.) The only time I have ever demo'd a wedge that spun too much on the course was a Callaway Mackdaddy wedge with a Dynamic Gold Tour issue S200 shaft. I spun a few balls right off of the green. 

 

Yesterday, I hit a shot from about 100 yards with the 56 degree Zipcore wedge.  When I hit it, I knew it was going to spin pretty well and remember thinking as the ball was in the air; "I hope that doesn't spin too much, it will come off of the false front on the green."  I had flighted it low, it pitched forward a few feet and jerked back right next to the ball mark. Just what I would want. Especially when I worried that it might be too much.

 

My only thought on the Spinner shaft at this point is: I currently would not change anything on the wedges in my bag. They are going the distance I would expect, spinning just fine, and perhaps spinning a little more than I had thought on my chips and pitches, but full swing, they seem to perform much like I'd expect the Dynamic Gold shaft in a vokey would.

Ok awesome! Thanks for this write up these wedges with these shafts seem perfect now.

[hammergolf]

18 hours ago, sadclevelandsports said:

Someone correct me on my history here, but wasn't Cleveland making wedges before Vokey?

Yes, pretty much the Cleveland 588 is what became the "go to" look for most wedges. Well before Vokey began designing wedges for Titleist.

[hammergolf]

18 hours ago, paztormike said:

I am not sure about the Spinner shaft specs, but I am assuming that it is less heavy and less stout than some traditional wedge shafts. The last few shafts that I have tried were KBS Tour V wedge shaft, the old standard Dynamic Gold wedge flex shaft, the dynamic gold s200 that was accidentally put into my PM grind wedge, and the KBS hi-rev (this was in a friend's set.) I have always thought that the lighter the shaft, the less control I have of trajectory. However, I can flight this spinner shaft low or high pretty easily. 

 

I honestly think that the weight has more to do with spin for me than the flex. (although admittedly I have never tested the flex of wedge shafts.) The only time I have ever demo'd a wedge that spun too much on the course was a Callaway Mackdaddy wedge with a Dynamic Gold Tour issue S200 shaft. I spun a few balls right off of the green. 

 

Yesterday, I hit a shot from about 100 yards with the 56 degree Zipcore wedge.  When I hit it, I knew it was going to spin pretty well and remember thinking as the ball was in the air; "I hope that doesn't spin too much, it will come off of the false front on the green."  I had flighted it low, it pitched forward a few feet and jerked back right next to the ball mark. Just what I would want. Especially when I worried that it might be too much.

 

My only thought on the Spinner shaft at this point is: I currently would not change anything on the wedges in my bag. They are going the distance I would expect, spinning just fine, and perhaps spinning a little more than I had thought on my chips and pitches, but full swing, they seem to perform much like I'd expect the Dynamic Gold shaft in a vokey would.

From what I understand talking to my buddy who works for True Temper the Spinner is basically a softer stepped DG. I played DG S400 8 iron shafts in my wedges for years. Just gave me a little more feel and more touch on the softer shots. 

[CDM]

15 hours ago, paztormike said:

My mistake. You are correct.

 

Although, I do feel that everyone is chasing Vokey at this point and has been for the past 15-20ish years. Cleveland really faded into the background for a while for some reason. I, for one, am really happy that they are back in a big way.

 

I had Vokey's for years now and honestly I have never really liked them, not as much as I did the 588's.    As noted it did seem Cleveland was "fading" on wedges.  I picked up the new ZX7 irons and while doing the fitting hit the new RTX zipcores messing around and I am pretty sure I will be changing out my wedges this year.   

 

I started this year thinking I would not change out much of the bag but at the current pace only the 3 wood and putter are safe.....  😃 

[CDM]

I just looked at Cleveland's website. It says stock shaft for zipcore is Dynamic Gold Tour issue.   

 

https://www.clevelandgolf.com/en/wedges-/rtx-zipcore-black-satin-wedge/MRTXZCBS.html

 

Is there a reason to get the DG Spinner. I seem to spin the ball plenty and the DG is what is in my old ones.

 

*Probably need to do a fitting LOL

[BirdieBob]

6 hours ago, CDM said:

I just looked at Cleveland's website. It says stock shaft for zipcore is Dynamic Gold Tour issue.   

 

https://www.clevelandgolf.com/en/wedges-/rtx-zipcore-black-satin-wedge/MRTXZCBS.html

 

Is there a reason to get the DG Spinner. I seem to spin the ball plenty and the DG is what is in my old ones.

 

*Probably need to do a fitting LOL

The chrome says dynamic gold spinner tour issue...?

[mantan]

15 minutes ago, BirdieBob said:

The chrome says dynamic gold spinner tour issue...?

 

Yep, I was in the PGA Tour SS just a few hours ago and they all had DG Spinner shafts...

[cardoustie]

If they have a sole grind as crafty as the zx7 irons i will test one for sure

[hammergolf]

3 hours ago, cardoustie said:

If they have a sole grind as crafty as the zx7 irons i will test one for sure

The mid grind is a v sole similar to those.

[Orange Hog]

Just placed an order today for 54* and 58* raw wedges sight unseen based on feedback I heard and witnessed while playing with a buddy in FL a couple weeks ago.  He needed new wedges and picked up some off the rack at PGA SS and proceeded to chip/pitch better than I've ever seen him before.  Can't wait to get these in the bag and get them rusted up nicely.

[sniper]

Is there a 58 mid Tour Rack?  I never see it come up. May just be out of stock but that is my preferred loft. I’d like to try one with heel/toe grind

[BostonWRX]

1 hour ago, sniper said:

Is there a 58 mid Tour Rack?  I never see it come up. May just be out of stock but that is my preferred loft. I’d like to try one with heel/toe grind

I ordered that exact wedge 58 Mid with heel and toe grind. Should arrive in about 3 more weeks 

[Russ757]

On 3/5/2021 at 3:06 PM, Orange Hog said:

Just placed an order today for 54* and 58* raw wedges sight unseen based on feedback I heard and witnessed while playing with a buddy in FL a couple weeks ago.  He needed new wedges and picked up some off the rack at PGA SS and proceeded to chip/pitch better than I've ever seen him before.  Can't wait to get these in the bag and get them rusted up nicely.

 

Did you ever get them? If so pics 

[SollyinGA]

I bought a 50, 54, and 58 when they came out. I kept them in the bag for a bout a month.

 

I ended up putting my old virtually frictionless Vokeys back in the bag. 
 

I just didn’t get along with the new Cleveland wedges.

 

I’ve  since went to TaylorMade MG3 and love them. They feel more like my Vokeys, but with a little more forgiveness.

 

The new Zipcores we’re okay, but I could never tell where on the face I was hitting them other looking down for the grass stains on the groves. They were forgiving though, but we just didn’t get along.

[zeebot]

On 3/3/2021 at 5:38 PM, BassCatchr77 said:

I think these look fantastic as well, great review and write up. I don’t know what to think about these dg spinner shafts on full swings though. Do you have any thoughts on these shafts?

I think the DG spinner is a fine wedge shaft. I have tried em all and they are just fine. Very consistent. 

[2Down]

I’ve had the rtx in the bag for about a year now.   Love em. 
over in the club tech section they have described the spinner shaft as an x100 8 iron shaft soft stepped.  Not sure that’s what these are but I ended up really liking them. 

[Orange Hog]

12 hours ago, Russ757 said:

 

Did you ever get them? If so pics 

 

Yup.  Sadly I got them, gamed them for a few rounds and sold them.  I continue my streak of not getting along great with Cleveland wedges for some reason.

[Striker Ace]

Too much to read for me so I skipped to the feel of the club. I'm a higher handicap  cavity back player but I prefer these type of wedges 48 degree on in. I'll have to give it a go tomorrow at the pro shop.

[Glock917]

Previously had a tour rack rtx zipcore 60* low bounce and on a whim got rid of it and got the tour rack rtx zipcore full face 60*. I did notice the leading edge sticking up more than I liked compared to the normal low bounce 60* so I just scotchbright the trailing edge and heel for more relief and now that leading edge sits pretty flush when I open her up. 

always been a Cleveland wedge guy from the start. Just used to the profile even after Roger Cleveland left for callaway 

[ob1soccer]

I have a 50,54 and 58 with Spinner shafts and they are the best wedges cleveland has made since the 588 and tour 900 series.

They look great, feel so nice and spin the right amount. I have tried all the other wedges and they cannot compare

[Dmartica]

Rtx are very nice wedges, I wish tho they would have more grind options/bounce, like titleist.

[tigerfan23]

played them last year - they were awesome.

Using SM9 this year cause Im using T100S ... need my irons wedges to match! But I would have no problem playing the Zip Core again.