Cleveland Golf RTX Full-Face Wedges Review

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The Cleveland RTX FULL-FACE wedge lineup has added full face grooves and milling for maximum forgiveness and extra spin around the greens.

Introduction

Cleveland Golf has long been a major player in the wedge game.  They were the first company to market wedges with multiple bounce options and mill individual grooves into wedge faces.  They are also consistently one of most popular wedge companies both on tour and in amateurs bags everywhere.  While they weren’t the first company to extend milling out to the toe, they have designed a fully milled face with the average player in mind.

Want a ZipCore wedge with more forgiveness?  Check out the CBX ZipCore HERE

Looks

If you like the looks of the original RTX Zipcore [review HERE], you’re going to love the full-face version.  The RTX Full-Face is an extension of the original RTX line from a looks perspective.  The biggest difference being the milled grooves that extend out to the toe.

In the lower lofted wedges, the shaping is a more similar to the RTX Zipcore.  In the higher lofted lob wedges, the toe height is slightly extended and a bit more rounded which expands the size of the club face.

The sole and back of the club is blanketed in a brushed chrome which resembles stainless steel.  It’s a very clean style overall and could blend right in with a combo set of the original RTX Zipcore wedges.

Sound & Feel

The RTX Full-Face has a firm feel to it.  It’s definitely not as soft as other wedges in this category.  Full shots have a low pitched “click” to them.

The difference in feedback on mishits with the RTX Full-Face wedges was hardly noticeable.   It was almost as if the face had a very wide hot spot.  It was hard to feel like you missed a shot, most notably on toe, as every ball felt like solid contact.

Performance

I am huge fan of the flop shot.  Despite watching many a ball airmail the green, I still often attempt it because pulling it off successfully impresses even the toughest playing partners.  This club truly piqued my interest for this very reason.  As I took the RTX Full-Face wedges through the paces, I hit both full and partial wedge shots.  However, I spent most of the time pointing the face to the sky to focus on exactly what Cleveland had marketed these clubs for – the flop shot.

Although I did not have an original RTX ZipCore wedge to compare the Full-Face with, I employed both a Titleist SM7 and a Fourteen RM4 with the same loft and similar grinds to see the differences.  I will start with full shots.   Overall, distance was within a few yards of each other on solid strikes.   Mishits with the RTX Full-Face flew further than the others which kept distance consistent.  Spin on full shots was plentiful but there wasn’t enough difference between the three clubs to draw any significant conclusions.

Around the green, and especially as I started to open the club up more, the RTX Full-Face separated itself from the other two wedges.  The full faced milling helped get as much spin on the ball as possible no matter where on the face I made contact.  The face grooves and micro-milling was especially useful in the deeper rough where it’s harder to get spin.   As I got more comfortable, I started moving the ball out towards the toe when I opened the face up.  Balls landed with plenty of stopping power as if they dropped in sand rather a green.   Plus, I enjoyed looking down and seeing a grassy ball mark out on the toe where there typically aren’t any grooves.  The RTX Full-Face performs exactly as advertised, and I promise there are more flop shots to come with this club in the bag.

Get full face grooves + a cavity back in the new CBX Full-Face 2 wedge HERE

Conclusion

Cleveland is not the first manufacturer to add grooves on the toe of a wedge, but they might have done it the best.  The Cleveland RTX Full-Face wedges are forgiving on toe-side misses and shine around the green.  If flop shots are a key part of your arsenal or you just tend to miss out on the toe, give the Full-Face wedges a shot.

Visit Cleveland Golf HERE

Cleveland RTX Full Face Wedge Price & Specs

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Zack Buechner

Zack has been a contributor at Plugged In Golf since 2018. Zack has worked in healthcare for over 12 years and currently works from home in health care technology. His previous work experience includes stints in the NFL, NCAA D-1 athletics, and PGA Tour Champions. Zack lives in southern Connecticut with his wife Ashley and their 2 children (Beau (5) & Lunden (1)) and their dog. Although he only started playing golf after college, Zack is passionate for the game and the journey to getting better while regularly participating in state and national amateur events all across the northeast.

5 Comments

  1. Nico
    September 7, 2021 at 11:05 am  ·  Reply

    I bought the 52, 56 and 60. They are just amazing, the feeling when you shot that flop is super soft and the ball goes up like easy. Since i bought them i head once a week to the range with those 3 wedges to have some fun. I really recomend them.

  2. Greg Volsky
    September 9, 2021 at 8:23 am  ·  Reply

    I have these Zipcore full face in 54.10 and 60.06 …. prior had RTX 4 however these are Excellent clubs and really standout on any missed shot … Cleveland continues to be number 1 in my books !!

  3. Jay
    September 9, 2021 at 12:38 pm  ·  Reply

    Thanks for that review Zack.

    I have become a full believer in the Cleveland wedge line. I use the more forgiving CBX full face when my game is a little wonky, or when the ground is really wet or soft, but when my game is settled down, the ground is harder, and I’m more consistent, then the Zipcores come out and then my game is bulletproof. I will wait to wear out my current Zipcore lineup so that I can play these new full face versions. I had wondered why they hadn’t done full face Zipcores sooner, since the CBX full face is an excellent design.

    Depending on my bag setup I play either 3 or 4 wedges, and with lofts of 46, 50, 52, 54, 58 and 60 degrees, I can cover just about every type of course, course condition and agronomy that I play.

    I have mostly played the Cleveland wedges, but from time to time experimented with other top brands, including: Vokey, Honma, Edison, Taylormade, Hogan and PXG, but I keep going back to the Cleveland’s and when I do it seems silly to work so much harder with the other clubs.

    Having a solid, confident wedge game requires great wedges. That alone will quickly bring scores down more significantly than any other part of the game. They’re called scoring clubs for a reason. Keep those grooves sharp and clean and practice, practice, practice.

    And yes, I own way too many clubs. Or…Is there such thing as too many clubs?

  4. Michael Romaner
    November 9, 2022 at 8:16 pm  ·  Reply

    I would love your thoughts friends about how the RTX full face wedges compared to the CBX full face wedges. I lean toward the RTX, but only because I can get one in a 54° set up. The closest you can get in the CBX full face is 56°

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