First impressions of the Cleveland RTX-3 wedges
The Cleveland RTX-3 wedges follow on from the hugely successful 588 RTX 2.0 wedges which were very popular among club golfers and tour pros alike.
We’d been waiting a while for RTX-3 and my first impressions after getting them in my hands were that they were well worth the wait.
The Cleveland RTX-3 wedges seem to have some added shelf appeal and are as classic as it gets in the address position.
These are undoubtedly aimed at the better player as they are classic bladed wedges. It’s what Cleveland do best.
They told me they are now pushing all of their R&D resource into short game. Wedges and putters.
New technology in the Cleveland RTX-3 wedges
We’ve got three new key technologies in RTX-3 which Cleveland say will help golfers get closer to the hole. Get up and down more often. So how are the RTX-3 going to help us do this?
Firstly, they have moved the centre of gravity in the wedges closer to where golfers are likely to be impacting the ball. This will improve consistency and dispersion.
Centre of gravity on a wedge is usually quite close to the heel, yet golfers tend to strike it nearer to the toe.
So Cleveland have taken 9g of weight out of the hosel by ustilising a micro-cavity and have redistributed this weight nearer to the toe, making the centre of gravity closer to the middle of the club.
They say this has resulted in much tighter dispersion compared to RTX 2.0. Testing showed it improved by nearly 50 percent – 26 yards compared to 40 yards.
Secondly, the grooves in RTX-3 will get the ball spinning more than RTX 2.0. What Cleveland say sets their grooves apart is the fact they are filled with plastic prior to polishing which results in a sharper edge.
They are also slightly narrower and deeper and they have actually been able to fit two more grooves on the face. The grooves are also more durable, Cleveland say.
