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Review of the Cleveland 588RTX Wedge (Blade Model)

Posted by: user88724 | Wed 23rd Apr 2014 18:51 | Last Reply

PREAMBLE:

Since returning to golf a few years back this is my third 'quality' wedge. My previous ones being Mizuno MP32, and then more recently the Alpha C1Pro.

I have been working hard with my wedge practice believing that any golfer is only as good their wedge play. An ability to get up and down being a major key to really good scoring.

I have always been dissatisfied with the accuracy of the C1 Pro. Whilst my late father quite rightly once told me 'A poor workman blaims his tools' I nevertheless believe that drivers, wedges and putters really do need tailoring to a player, far more so than any other club and anyone who fails to do this pays a price over and over again.

I did not feel the the C1 Pro suited my swing. There is nothing wrong with the club per se. In particular I was taking far too deep a divot. I translated this to mean that I was coming steeply into the ball and the C1 Pro was not ground with enough 'bounce' for me.

What then is bounce?

Bounce, or bounce angle, is the angle of the club's sole against the ground at address. The more bounce an iron has the less likely it will dig in. Whilst this has to be the case my personal belief is that such is a simplistic way of looking the issue - rather like attempting to compare shaft stiffness. Other issues must also relate?

For example the curvature of the sole's leading edge; the sharpness of the leading edge; and the width of the sole? The first two points are obvious. I believe the width of the sole to be relevant because once the head digs into the turf then subsequent 'drag' has to be influenced by this factor?

To put this test into perspective one should know that the C1 Pro is a cavity back 48 degrees with 7 degrees of bounce, and the 55RTX is a blade with with 10 degrees of bounce. (There is another 55RTX model - the 'CB' which is obviously a cavity back. Both models come in either silver or black.) The C1 Pro's leading edge was significantly worn, whilst the new club - obviously sharp and new. I do not have the expertise to technically comment on grooves but both clubs are reputedly legal.

Leading edge curvature on both wedges appeared to be identical. If I was a better player then perhaps I would experiment with increasing curvature by grinding back the sole and heel sections of the leading edge.

Obviously the C1 Pro had weight stripped out of its back in order to provide forgiving peripheral weighting. The C1 Pro had a mid sole measurement of c. 19mm. Whilst the 55RTX came in c. 18mm. The C1 Pro looked much bigger because of its very broad toe - there to help the wild strikers. So. for a fair comparison let's look at toe width / drag - C1 Pro 22mm, 55RTX 19mm.

I'll now reveal how I found the 55RTX and each reader can possibly better adjust my findings because the measurements of both clubs differ. I really only have my old club to significantly compare the 55RTX with.

REVIEW OF 48 DEGREE 588RTX:

PRICE: I secured the best deal on eBay - £57. including postage for a matt black model. For those who choose to buy from a Cleveland outlet then there is a £25. trade in for your old wedge. What a great trick to make golfers work on this model and learn to love it. No going back - your old wedge has been incinerated!

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: The wedge arrived with a number of sophisticated authenticity stickers. Clearly a great effort to foil the counterfeiters. Blades have an elegant simplistic beauty which I personally believe to be unrivaled. This wedge was no exception. A traditional shape, like my Vokeys, but with a longer hosel and a very long ferrule - 30mm, finished with two white bands. This wedge comes in anything from 46d to 64d and each model has three bounce choices. Wow! Heads not only state loft but also bounce which is immensely helpful. Each head carries either one, two or three dots. Mine had two dots signifying a middle of the road bounce angle. This is serious off the shelf kit! The selling point of this wedge is the new unique milling which purports to provide unparalleled ball stopping power. Alas I do not have the words to describe it.

If one had the funds it would be wonderful to have a dozen or so of these wedges for - wet turf, dry turf, wet sand, dry sand etc. This has to be the future of off the shelf wedges? Likely tour pros have new wedges ground for each course, but we mortals need our wedges to last for more than four rounds.

SHAFT: A top quality True Temper 'Dynamic Gold.' Stiffness unknown - S300?

HOSEL: Although the hosel is a 0.355" tapered bore (why on earth are these daft things still being made) it's a simple job to ream a hosel to 0.370" parallel. The hosel is certainly plenty long enough to customise the club with the flexibilty of a parallel tip, which one otherwise does not get because a tapered tip cannot be tip cropped.

GRIP: I immediately replaced the grip with a black Iomic 2.3 sticky jumbo. The jumbo size helps me to keep my hands calm, and not try and turn over an iron like one has to with a driver.

ALL MODELS: Come in both right and left hand.

PLAYABILTY: Problem of turf drag had gone. I was very cleanly hitting the ball. Three more degrees of bounce had clearly worked wonders. The face appeared to be putting a much higher rate of spin on the ball, and balls were buzzing off the face rather than clinking, and seeming to hang in the air longer - even when I slightly closed the face. I was having to hit around 40 per cent harder than usual. It is so easier for me to increase accuracy when one does not have to drop swing speed to next to nothing from fifty yards out.

My accuracy had immediately shot through the roof and I was putting ball after ball within 8 feet (many much closer) of the pin from around fifty yards. I was now really playing, rather than ploughing up turf.

Balls were almost stopping dead. But the ground was damp and I was playing on a practice ground. Even so, ball stopability like this I had not seen with either of my two wedges even when new. I eagerly await playing this club on proper greens.

PROS: Great ball stopability, blade model beauty, enormous (RH / LH) custom variety, great value if bought off eBay with no trade in.

CONS: Poor grip - as on all new clubs - but why fit an expensive one as golfers should always immediately customise the grip, unlabelled shaft stiffness, absence of a parallel 0.370" hosel to allow for further customising. Main dealer price inflated due to trade in system.

IN CONCLUSION: I'm absolutely hooked on this model and I feel that I am now 300% better with a pitching wedge.

P.S. Now also acquired 50, 54, and 64 degree 588RTX wedges! Golf is a game to be taken seriously.


Last edit : Thu 1st May 2014 12:28

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