A Shift To The Center: Cleveland RTX-3 Wedges

By: John Barba

On the list of things that give golfers a nervous stomach, picking the right wedge is up there with adjusting the weights on an M1 and telling the wife you’re planning to golf both Saturday and Sunday.

Are you a digger, a picker, a driver or a plucker? Do you need a K grind, M Grind, or an S grind? A Mack Daddy or a PMP? And what kind sorcery is needed to figure out your bounce combinations?

Cleveland is trying to simplify your decision.

Fighting for Its Share

Within the wedge market, Titleist's Vokey brand is a strong number one, while Cleveland and Callaway are currently fighting for second. Callaway leads in dollars despite the fact Cleveland sells more units (a good chunk of Cleveland's wedge sales are for less than $100 a pop). The brand itself has been in decline since its HiBore heyday, and the purchase by Dunlop Sports (parent of Srixon) for a relative song in late 2007 has done little to stem the tide.

Last season Dunlop transformed Cleveland into a short game putter-and-wedge specialty brand. The efficacy of the change is open for debate (the exclusive short game focus is reportedly being reconsidered), but Cleveland remains a force in wedges.

With this week’s announcement of the new-for-2017 RTX-3 wedge series, Cleveland is hoping to be front and center for something other than just LeBron’s victory parade and the RNC.

RTX-3: Gravity, Grinds & Grooves

The new RTX-3 (Cleveland is dropping the 588 branding) brings three new evolutions/innovations to the party, all with the goal of helping you get the ball closer to the hole.

They are, in no particular order:

• Feel Balancing Technology
• New V-Sole grinds
• A new Rotex face

Feel Balancing Technology

Feel Balancing Technology is Cleveland-speak for moving the center of gravity away from the heel and more towards the center of the clubface.

“We did a lot of player impact testing,” says Pat Ripp, Senior Research Engineer for Cleveland/Srixon. “We found players impact the ball more towards to toe as you go up in handicap. We wanted to shift the weight, the sweet spot, closer to where golfers actually hit the ball while still creating a traditional looking wedge.”

Moving a wedge’s center of gravity away from the heel and towards to the center of the clubface isn’t a new idea (Edel has been talking about it for years), but it is new for Cleveland.

To affect that change, Cleveland shortened the hosel by 10 millimeters which saved 7 grams. A mini-cavity inside the hosel saves 2 more grams. 9 grams doesn't sound like much, but it’s enough to slide the CG about 6 millimeters closer to the center of the face.

Cleveland’s technical bulletin shows that the CG of Cleveland's previous generation (2015) RTX 2.0 is closer to the heel than any of the major wedge players. The new RTX-3 CG, however, is significantly closer to center; closer than both Vokey and Callaway.

Moving the CG closer to the center does what you’d think: improved feel with higher ball speeds on center hits compared to traditional heel-biased CG wedges, and about 6% less ball speed loss on toe hits, according to Cleveland. Traditional wedges perform better on heel impact, as you’d expect, but only slightly.

Sole Men

Also new in the RTX-3 is Cleveland’s redesigned V Sole. The V Sole and its variations aren’t particularly revolutionary, but the RTX-3 version has most definitely evolved from its predecessor in terms of both sole thickness, angles and bounce.

“A lot of tour testing went into designing these specific soles,” says Ripp. “From the geometry of the V to the leading edge and trailing edge grinds and all the transition stuff – we had an awful lot of tour validation.”

Cleveland’s 3 Dot bounce system remains: 1 Dot for low bounce, 2 for medium and 3 for high. What’s new is Cleveland has narrowed all three sole grinds compared to RTX 2.0, and has moved the peak of the V in relation to the leading edge in each of the 3 bounce offerings. Ripp says the new configurations improve turf interaction while reducing club head speed loss through impact.

“You want bounce so you don’t get yourself stuck in the dirt," says Ripp. "But how much? Is your swing steep or shallow? What about shaft lean? Are you compressing the ball with  hands ahead of the ball and removing bounce at impact? You’ll need more bounce to get that club in and out of the turf. If you release the club early and kind of pick the ball, you’re adding bounce, you might be a 1 Dot player and don't need much trailing edge bounce."

Here’s a rundown of the new V Sole Grinds:

• V-LG is low bounce for tight, firm conditions and golfers with a shallow Angle of Attack.
• V-MG is mid bounce, with the V-transition in the middle of the sole for maximum versatility.
• V-FG is a full sole with a little trailing edge relief, but for soft, wet conditions and golfers with a steep AoA.

 

“Bounce is your friend,” says Brian Schelke, Senior Golf Club Product Manager for Cleveland/Srixon, “but only to the extent that you’re not sacrificing versatility. Anyone can blindly add bounce to a wedge and it’ll get through the turf quicker. But when you try to open it up and hit different shots? That's when performance completely goes away.”

Sifting through the matrix of FG’s, LG’s and MG’s can be overwhelming, but Cleveland says its Golf Wedge Analyzer can help. Co-designed with Swingbyte, the Wedge Analyzer helps fitters get golfers into the right stuff right away, even if they’re hitting off a mat.

“It’s hard to tell how steep you are and what sole you’ll need in those conditions,” says Schelke. “You can’t see turf interaction, you can’t see a divot, so it’s really a shot in the dark. The Wedge Analyzer measures attack angle, shaft lean at impact and some other delivery metrics. Based on all the testing we’ve done it’ll fit you into a 1, 2 or 3 Dot for each wedge in your bag.”

Spin City

When the USGA changed groove rules several years ago, it was to put limits on spin. The unintended (or perhaps intended) consequence for manufacturers was that it created a significant roadblock to any breakthrough spin technology.

So what’s an OEM to do? Well, for starters, Cleveland is making the RTX-3’s Zip Grooves a wee bit deeper and a wee bit narrower for a little more bite, especially from the rough.

“There are a few different parameters you can play around with within the rules,” says Ripp. “One of the main ones is edge deviation – the relationship between your radius and wall angle. We think we’ve maxed that out – but for this generation we’ve narrowed the width slightly to get a few extra grooves on the face to generate a little more spin when it’s wet, or when you’re in the rough.”

You’ll also notice more aggressive, 2-pass micro-milling on the RTX-3 face that’s actually loft specific. The milling on the lower-lofted wedges is oriented toward the leading edge for better friction on full shots. The higher lofted wedges have different milling, oriented toward the toe.

“We call that our ‘frown-faced’ milling pattern," says Ripp. "It helps when you open up the clubface on higher lofted wedges and swing across the ball. You’re still getting directional friction, creating a little extra spin.”

Nights In Black Satin

The RTX-3 is available in the traditional Tour Satin finish, along with Black Satin and a new Tour Raw. With black satin, the first question anyone has is about durability. Cleveland isn’t saying how or why – it’s a secret – but they do claim that even after 50 bunker shots the sole will still look almost brand new.

Tour Raw is just that, a completely raw non-finish. The brownish-bronze color is the way it looks right after heat treatment. It's then dipped in oil and wrapped in plastic for retail, ready to rust when you put it into play.

The new RTX-3 wedges will be available in lofts ranging from 46 to 64 degrees, in Tour Satin, Black Satin and Tour Raw. The 46 through 52 are available in the V-MG (or 2 dot) bounce only, as are the 62- and 64-degree models. The 54 through 60 are available in all three bounce configurations.

The True Temper Dynamic Gold Wedge flex shaft is standard, as is the Cleveland Blue Cap grip by Lamkin.

The RTX-3 also comes in a cavity back version (larger head, more forgiving), in Tour Satin only. Lofts range from 46 to 60 degrees, with the 46 through 52 available only in the V-MG (2 dot) bounce. The 54 through 60 are available in all three bounces.

Standard shafts include the DG Wedge flex and Cleveland’s Rotex Precision Graphite shaft in Wedge flex.

The cavity back wedge is also available for ladies, 48 through 60 degrees with the Women’s Action Ultralite 50 wedge flex shaft standard.

The RTX-3 line are priced at $129.99 and will be in stores September 16^th.