Cleveland CBX ZipCore Wedges
For decades, Cleveland has been famous for making some of the preeminent wedges in golf, favored by Tour pros and elite amateurs around the world.
Top players love the exceptional feel, precision and control of Cleveland wedges.
Of course, these gifted players also have exceptional short-game skills, amazing touch and deadly aim from 120 yards and in.
They can easily take advantage of Cleveland’s high performance wedge line up.
But what about the rest of us—the regular amateurs who could use a little help with our short games?
Well, now Cleveland has an excellent answer for us as well.
With the introduction of the Cleveland CBX ZipCore wedges, the renowned wedge maker has delivered a fantastic game improvement wedge for the average golfer.
And it’s on track to have a resounding impact on a lot of players’ golf games.
Let’s take a look at what makes the new Cleveland CBX ZipCore wedges so appealing to the vast majority of us who are not short game wizards.
The Amateur Answer
“The new CBX ZipCore Wedges are built for amateurs,” says Jeff Brunksi, Cleveland’s VP of R & D.
“The sole is more forgiving, the head is more stable, the sweet spot is closer to your impact location, and the entire club is lighter weight.”
All of which sounds ideal, doesn’t it?
Cavity Back Wedges
The CBX ZipCore wedges are both dramatically different than, and remarkably similar to, their predecessor—the two-year old Cleveland CBX 2 wedges.
The new CBX ZipCores are large, forgiving, cavity-back wedges for those of us with less than perfect ball striking skills and who already favor large, forgiving cavity-back irons.
In other words, they’re perfect for the vast majority of us who play golf.
ZipCore Technology
Cleveland introduced the key technology in the new CBX ZipCore wedges in last year’s RTX ZipCore wedges.
ZipCore is an aluminum-silicate compound with an extremely high melting point that’s four times less dense than steel.
Cleveland forms the ZipCore into a hosel core and then casts the rest of the wedge around it.
This lighter core removes 16g of material from the hosel, which, in turn, moves the center of gravity close to the center of the face.
The CG Moved & The MOI Increased
Added to this, the new CBX ZipCore wedges feature a hollow cavity near the heel and added weight in the toe.
These changes push the CG and the sweet spot out where average golfers tend to hit it.
Increased heel-toe MOI means that if (or, more likely, when) you ever so slightly miss the sweet spot on a 100-yard approach shot, you may just wind up in the front left fringe, instead of the front left bunker.
Increased high-low MOI is especially useful for golfers who miss their strikes higher on the face.
It provides better spin control as well as distance control and a similar trajectory.
Gelback Insert
The original CBX wedge featured a hollow cavity. Then Cleveland added a TPU insert it called Gelback in the CBX 2 wedges.
Now, Gelback has returned in the new CBX ZipCore wedges, and Cleveland calls it ‘the bad vibe police’.
According to the R&D maestro, Brunski: “The footprint of the insert is a little larger, which allows us to design a larger cavity beneath it to move more mass to the CG and MOI.”
In layman’s terms, this means greater forgiveness and better ball flight—both of which can translate into lower scores.
How sweet is that!
Rotex Face Milling & UltiZip Grooves
The new Cleveland CBX ZipCore wedges also feature the company’s signature circular Rotex face milling that whisks away moisture.
And they have Cleveland’s UltiZip grooves.
These grooves are 11 percent sharper, 7.3 deeper and 7.4 percent closer together than previous models.
That means Cleveland can add two more grooves to each face for a little more zip (and greater margin for error!).
Grinds for the Grinders
CBX ZipCore comes in three basic sole grinds for three basic types of wedges.
The 44- through 52-degree wedges—most commonly used for full shots—have a V-sole for full swings and other square-faced shots.
The S-shaped sole in the 54- and 56-degree wedges is optimized for bunker shots and other open-faced shots from the rough or the fairway.
Finally, the lob wedge options of 58- and 60-degrees feature a C-shaped sole that allows you to open the face even more.
The Pitching Wedge Question
ZipCore technology creates a much higher MOI compared to set-matching wedges.
The spin performance is also not even close between the CBX ZipCore and a set-matching wedge, especially from the rough.
As a result, Cleveland offers a 44-degree CBX ZipCore model—so you can maximize all the wedges in your bag with the ultimate game improvement benefits of the CBX ZipCore design.
Bottom line: you may very well decide you’ll be better off with a CBX ZipCore pitching wedge in your bag.
Standard Gaps
As far as gapping is concerned, the CBX ZipCore lineup allows for four-degree increments no matter what your pitching wedge loft may be.
The CBX Zipcore is available in every two degrees from 44 to 60. For lefties, its every two degrees from 50 to 60.
Swing By & Swing Away
Come try the exceptionally forgiving, short-game improving Cleveland CBX ZipCore wedges in our state-of-the-art indoor fitting bays.
Our stores feature TrackMan 4 and GCQuad indoor simulators to provide invaluable high-tech feedback as a key part of our expert custom club fitting process.
You‘ll see all the performance data on the screen as we provide you with an expert custom fit. It’s the best way to improve your short game this year with the new Cleveland CBX ZipCore wedges.