Equipment

Cleveland breaks with tradition, aims for more consistency with RTX-3 wedges

Published

10 years ago

Jul 25, 2016

Models: RTX-3 Blade ($129), RTX-3 Cavity Back ($129)
Availability: September 16, 2016
Lofts: 46, 48, 50, 52, 54, 56, 58, 60, 62, 64
Grinds: 1-Dot (54, 56, 58, 60), 2-Dot (All), 3-Dot (54, 56, 58, 60)
Stock Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold Wedge Flex
Stock Grip: Cleveland Blue Cap by Lamkin

With its new line of RTX-3 wedges, Cleveland is challenging the notion that its wedges have to look and perform mostly the same to earn the approval of the best players in the world.

“We don’t have a one-sized approach,” says Brian Schielke, Cleveland’s Senior Product Manager for Golf Clubs. “We don’t design a wedge for tour players, and then hope it works for everyone.”

While it’s clear the company’s new RTX-3 wedges were designed with PGA Tour players in mind, it’s the rest of the golfing population that could see the greatest benefits from the clubs.

One reason is the RTX-3’s new Feel-Balancing Technology, which removes 9 grams of weight from the hosel to reposition the center of gravity (CG) closer to the center of the club face. That’s where most golfers aim to make contact, and the closer they contact shots to the CG, the more consistent their results are going to be.

: Cleveland’s new Black Satin finish is much more durable than previous black finishes.

According to Patrick Ripp, Cleveland’s Senior Research Engineer, the majority of wedges used on the PGA Tour have a CG that’s located closer to the heel of the club – but that’s not much of a problem for them. “The pros naturally find the CG of the wedge, even if it’s a little heel-biased,” Ripp says. Average golfers, on the other hand, tend to contact the majority of their wedge shots on the toe, which leads to inconsistent ball flight, and a twisting of the club head during impact that leads to bad feel.

Moving the CG more toward the center of the club face sounds like a no-brainer, but it wasn’t wasn’t without compromise. On top of creating a “Micro-Cavity” inside the hosels of the RTX-3 wedges – basically hollowing them out — the company was forced to shorten the hosels to achieve the feat, and that changed the way the wedges looked at address.

If you understand how particular golfers can be about the looks of their clubs, you know that even if a club performs better, it might not make it to the first tee of a PGA Tour event, or to the cash register of a golf equipment retailer if it doesn’t look right. To solve the problem, Cleveland designers went to work reshaping the hosels in an attempt to replicate the Cleveland’s signature wedge look at address.

Cleveland’s new Tour Raw finish will be the most popular of the company’s finishes on Tour.

The part of the wedge golfers can’t see at address – the sole – has also changed, and it could make the biggest difference for many golfers. Golf equipment fans might be familiar with Cleveland/Srixon’s Tour V.T. Sole, which is used on Srixon’s Z-Series irons. Cleveland engineers found the technology also had merit in its new wedge line, as the shape of the soles were shown to contribute to reduced turf resistance — a Cleveland study showed 33 percent less club head speed lost.

Cleveland calls its new sole designs “V-Soles,” and they’re used in all three of the RTX-3’s different grinds: 1-Dot, 2-Dot and 3-Dot. The 2-Dot (V-MG Grind) is considered neutral, and most similar to grind used on Srixon’s Z-Series irons. The 1-Dot (V-LG Grind) has a narrower, lower-bounce sole, which is better for golfers who play firmer golf courses or have a shallower angle of attack. The 3-Dot (V-FG Grind) has a wider sole and more effective bounce, which is better for golfers who play golf courses with wetter conditions or have steeper angles of attack.

“The grinds get the sole in and out of the ground faster,” Ripp says. “And because the soles are narrowed, the leading edge still stays low to the turf when you open it up.”

The pursuit of more consistency also extends to the wedge faces of the RTX-3 wedges, which use narrower, deeper grooves that allowed engineers to add two additional grooves to the club face. Like Cleveland’s previous RTX 2.0 wedges, RTX-3 models are made with the company’s two-pass, micro-milling process, but it’s applied slightly differently depending on loft. The 46-52-degree wedges have a circular milling pattern that’s angled toward the leading edge of the wedges. The 54-64-degree wedges use a pattern that’s angled toward the toe, which creates more friction on open-face shots. As in the RTX 2.0, Cleveland also uses laser milling between grooves to reach the USGA’s limit on club face roughness. Together, the technologies helps prevent fliers from the rough, and add more predictability on shots around the green, Ripp says.

: Cleveland’s RTX-3 Cavity Back wedges offer more forgiveness than Blade models.

: At address, the RTX-3 Cavity Wedges are larger to improve confidence.

The RTX-3 wedges will be in stores September 16. The RTX-3 Blade wedges are available in three finishes (Tour Satin, Black Satin and Tour Raw finishes). RTX-3 Cavity Back wedges, which have a larger club heads, are offered in the Tour Satin finish only.

With the release of the RTX-3 wedges, Cleveland will update its Wedge Analyzer App, which fits golfers into the correct wedges and sole grinds by calculating angle of attack and pitching wedge loft. Fittings can be done in as few as two swings, and with or without a ball.

See what GolfWRX Members are saying about the new wedges in our forum.

Specs from Cleveland

Related Topics:Cleveland wedges

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18 Comments

Bert

Jul 26, 2016 at 5:57 pm

Wasn’t there another Cleveland wedge that was supposed to be introduced shortly in another Golf WRX article? I seem to remember a really awesome looking wedge I was waiting on and I don’t think this is it.

Reply Report comment
- Mmmm
  
  Jul 27, 2016 at 2:28 am
  
  I think you’re thinking of the CG17 Forged, which was a JDM release
  
  Reply Report comment
Brandon

Jul 26, 2016 at 9:33 am

I’m wondering if Terry Koehler’s patent on his V-sole expired, if Cleveland found a way around his patent????

Reply Report comment
Matt Mitchell

Jul 25, 2016 at 7:34 pm

Cleveland makes the worse wegdes

Reply Report comment
HL

Jul 25, 2016 at 3:34 pm

Bad Amateurs tend to hit their clubs on the toe because they stand up in the shot so why not just bend the lie 1/2 to 1 degree more upright and leave the hosel length alone

Reply Report comment
kn

Jul 25, 2016 at 3:23 pm

Apparently, it has been deemed that the “Tour Raw” edition is just too raw for left-handers. #screwedagain

Reply Report comment
MBU

Jul 25, 2016 at 2:07 pm

The cavity backs look fantastic.

Reply Report comment
Tom

Jul 25, 2016 at 1:15 pm

Looks like some thing I’ll have to try. I’ve Been looking for a sole that has less turf interaction (on hard surfaces) than what I’m playing now.

Reply Report comment
Dustdevil

Jul 25, 2016 at 1:02 pm

I wonder how bendable those hosels are with the “micro-cavities”?

Reply Report comment
Dave C

Jul 25, 2016 at 12:52 pm

I have been a Cleveland wedge guy almost my entire golfing life. As a left-handed golfer, When Cleveland stopped making the RTG wedges I bought two extra 58 one dot, as they worked awesome for me. They continue to totally discount left handed golfers with this new release. I guess I will be forced to look else where, probably Titleist Vokey wedges. They seem happy to make an adequate left handed line-up.

Reply Report comment
Rev G

Jul 25, 2016 at 12:45 pm

The secret to hitting v-soles out of bunkers is to not open the blade way open – lay it square. There very easy to hit out of bunkers then, especially on shots with green to work with. If you need to get it up quickly and stop it quickly, you need a traditional sand/log wedge.

Reply Report comment
Mark

Jul 25, 2016 at 12:16 pm

No thanks on the v-soles. They don’t work well out of bunkers or off harder surfaces. I want traditional sand irons with a back edge LOWER than the front.

Reply Report comment
desmond

Jul 25, 2016 at 10:44 am

So they copied the grind of the Edel (or others) to keep the leading edge closer to the ground for more versatility – good for them to take off on a great idea.

Reply Report comment
- Bob
  
  Jul 25, 2016 at 2:17 pm
  
  Uh No,
  They basically brought back a sole design they used in the 588DSG from back in 2006.
  
  Manufacturer:
  Cleveland
  Year of Introduction:
  2006
  MSRP (new):
  $108.00
  Head Material:
  Steel
  Features & Benefits
  • The Tour Action 588 DSG wedge is the latest addition to the Tour Action 588 series of wedges
  • Featuring a Dynamic Sole Grind that allows the leading edge to remain closer to the ground when opening the clubface at address
  • Constructed of 8620 soft carbon steel and featuring a milled face and grooves for maximum spin and soft feel
  
  Reply Report comment
cody

Jul 25, 2016 at 9:53 am

so in other words copy the benhogan wedge and call it something different. Good on ya’ guys hope it works.

Reply Report comment
James Bond

Jul 25, 2016 at 9:46 am

Tour Raw looks amazing! Vokey should take notes and bring back the oil can.

Reply Report comment
Rev G

Jul 25, 2016 at 9:37 am

Sweet looking wedges. Interesting to see V-soles coming out from one of the big wedge makers. Eidolon/Hogan company must not be able to enforce that patent?

Reply Report comment
Smitty

Jul 25, 2016 at 9:24 am

Love the new wedges but those CB’s are butt ugly.

Reply Report comment

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Equipment

Slab city on the Korn Ferry Tour — Lead Tape Report

Published

7 hours ago

Jun 10, 2026

Andrew Von Lossow

This week, we have our Tour Photographer, Greg Moore, on the ground at the OccuNet Classic at Tascosa Golf Club in Amarillo, Texas, for the 14th event of the 2026 Korn Ferry Tour season. With that, we see some great things in the Lead Tape Report as we roll into Amarillo.

Joel Thelen

Monday Qualifier, Joel Thelen is in the field this week. He has played on the Korn Ferry Tour for a full season in 2023, and he is back in action this week. A couple of clubs caught my eye this week in his bag.

First off: His trusted Titleist 816 H2 hybrid. This club came out in October of 2015, and it still remains strong in the bag. Also, take a look at this Odyssey White Hot OG 7, putting a capital S in the 7S model. This custom neck has some impressive lean for an arm-lock-style putter. The bottom of the putter is covered in tape for optimal weighting.

Mitchell Meissner

Taking a look at Mitchell Meissner’s bag this week, we have some great lead tape coverage. Top to bottom working from fairway metals, irons, and wedges. We can see on the short irons and wedges that there is tape at the base of the grip, adding a little counterbalance. Along with that, some tape on the short irons and wedges as well. Moving to his putter, he rolls the Odyssey 7 Bird putter. Meissner putts left-handed and strikes the ball right-handed.

Whats in the Bag

Bud Cauley WITB 2026 (June)

Published

7 hours ago

Jun 10, 2026

Will Schube

Bud Cauley had >14 clubs in his bag when photographed prior to the Memorial Tournament.

Driver: Titleist GTS2 (8 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X

3-wood: Titleist GTS3 (15 degrees, B1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Chemical Tensei 1K Pro Red 70 TX

7-wood: Titleist GTS3 (21 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Chemical Tensei 1K Pro Red 80 TX

Irons: Titleist U505 (3), Titleist 620 MB (4-9)
Shafts: Fujikura Ventus Black HB 8 X, True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM11 (48-10F, 52-12F, 56-14F), WedgeWorks (60-K*)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putters: Scotty Cameron Tour Prototype, Scotty Cameron GOLO 6.3 Prototype

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Align

Ball: Titleist Pro V1

See more in-hand photos of Bud Cauley’s clubs here.

Equipment

Name every set of irons you’ve owned – GolfWRXers discuss

Published

7 hours ago

Jun 10, 2026

Will Schube

In our forums, one user has offered up a prompt for the true sickos, inviting fellow forum members to share every set of irons they’ve ever owned. As to be expected, this is a lengthy forum topic.

@Lamosteve began:

Can you name every set of irons you’ve owned? Here’s mine

Spalding Dots
Spalding Eclipse
Ram Lazer FX
Lynx Parallax
Mizuno EZ Comp
Ben Hogans
Cleveland CG Red
Taylor Made R9s
PING i20
PING iE1
Taylor Made M6

Our members in the forum have been offering up their own collections. Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.

macedan: “Started with a hand-me-down Golden Bear set from my brother when I was in high school, never really played more than once a year or got into the game until about summer of 2017. First purchased a set of Cleveland CG4’s (I actually really miss this set sometimes, soft & not terribly large for a GI iron), moved into Nike Vapor Fly’s by the end of the year. Those lasted until spring of 18 when I decided I wanted new, so I traded them in for TM Rbladez. Honestly, although I liked the Rbladez, poor decision on my part, I think this was really about the only time so far that after a week or two I was kicking myself for not staying with what I had. Rbladez stayed with me until late last summer when I switched to P790’s and (knock on wood) I am hoping this will be my longest lasting set.”
JimmyC59: “MacGregor Jack Nicklaus Triple Crown. Palmer The Standard. Still play these.”
jgrzask: “Tommy Armour 845u
Mizuno MP-32
Mizuno MP-33 (2 sets)
Bridgestone J33cb – still own
Srixon i-302 (2 sets) – still own
Tourstage X-Blades – still own
Mizuno Hot Metal – still own
Nike Forged Blades – still own
Titleist 714 AP1 – still own
Cobra Forged SS – still own”

Entire Thread: “Name every set of irons you’ve owned.”