Equipment
Cleveland breaks with tradition, aims for more consistency with RTX-3 wedges
- Models: RTX-3 Blade ($129), RTX-3 Cavity Back ($129)
- Availability: September 16, 2016
- Lofts: 46, 48, 50, 52, 54, 56, 58, 60, 62, 64
- Grinds: 1-Dot (54, 56, 58, 60), 2-Dot (All), 3-Dot (54, 56, 58, 60)
- Stock Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold Wedge Flex
- Stock Grip: Cleveland Blue Cap by Lamkin
With its new line of RTX-3 wedges, Cleveland is challenging the notion that its wedges have to look and perform mostly the same to earn the approval of the best players in the world.
“We don’t have a one-sized approach,” says Brian Schielke, Cleveland’s Senior Product Manager for Golf Clubs. “We don’t design a wedge for tour players, and then hope it works for everyone.”
While it’s clear the company’s new RTX-3 wedges were designed with PGA Tour players in mind, it’s the rest of the golfing population that could see the greatest benefits from the clubs.
One reason is the RTX-3’s new Feel-Balancing Technology, which removes 9 grams of weight from the hosel to reposition the center of gravity (CG) closer to the center of the club face. That’s where most golfers aim to make contact, and the closer they contact shots to the CG, the more consistent their results are going to be.
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- Cleveland’s new Black Satin finish is much more durable than previous black finishes.
According to Patrick Ripp, Cleveland’s Senior Research Engineer, the majority of wedges used on the PGA Tour have a CG that’s located closer to the heel of the club – but that’s not much of a problem for them. “The pros naturally find the CG of the wedge, even if it’s a little heel-biased,” Ripp says. Average golfers, on the other hand, tend to contact the majority of their wedge shots on the toe, which leads to inconsistent ball flight, and a twisting of the club head during impact that leads to bad feel.
Moving the CG more toward the center of the club face sounds like a no-brainer, but it wasn’t wasn’t without compromise. On top of creating a “Micro-Cavity” inside the hosels of the RTX-3 wedges – basically hollowing them out — the company was forced to shorten the hosels to achieve the feat, and that changed the way the wedges looked at address.
If you understand how particular golfers can be about the looks of their clubs, you know that even if a club performs better, it might not make it to the first tee of a PGA Tour event, or to the cash register of a golf equipment retailer if it doesn’t look right. To solve the problem, Cleveland designers went to work reshaping the hosels in an attempt to replicate the Cleveland’s signature wedge look at address.
Cleveland’s new Tour Raw finish will be the most popular of the company’s finishes on Tour.
The part of the wedge golfers can’t see at address – the sole – has also changed, and it could make the biggest difference for many golfers. Golf equipment fans might be familiar with Cleveland/Srixon’s Tour V.T. Sole, which is used on Srixon’s Z-Series irons. Cleveland engineers found the technology also had merit in its new wedge line, as the shape of the soles were shown to contribute to reduced turf resistance — a Cleveland study showed 33 percent less club head speed lost.
Cleveland calls its new sole designs “V-Soles,” and they’re used in all three of the RTX-3’s different grinds: 1-Dot, 2-Dot and 3-Dot. The 2-Dot (V-MG Grind) is considered neutral, and most similar to grind used on Srixon’s Z-Series irons. The 1-Dot (V-LG Grind) has a narrower, lower-bounce sole, which is better for golfers who play firmer golf courses or have a shallower angle of attack. The 3-Dot (V-FG Grind) has a wider sole and more effective bounce, which is better for golfers who play golf courses with wetter conditions or have steeper angles of attack.
“The grinds get the sole in and out of the ground faster,” Ripp says. “And because the soles are narrowed, the leading edge still stays low to the turf when you open it up.”
The pursuit of more consistency also extends to the wedge faces of the RTX-3 wedges, which use narrower, deeper grooves that allowed engineers to add two additional grooves to the club face. Like Cleveland’s previous RTX 2.0 wedges, RTX-3 models are made with the company’s two-pass, micro-milling process, but it’s applied slightly differently depending on loft. The 46-52-degree wedges have a circular milling pattern that’s angled toward the leading edge of the wedges. The 54-64-degree wedges use a pattern that’s angled toward the toe, which creates more friction on open-face shots. As in the RTX 2.0, Cleveland also uses laser milling between grooves to reach the USGA’s limit on club face roughness. Together, the technologies helps prevent fliers from the rough, and add more predictability on shots around the green, Ripp says.
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- Cleveland’s RTX-3 Cavity Back wedges offer more forgiveness than Blade models.
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- At address, the RTX-3 Cavity Wedges are larger to improve confidence.
The RTX-3 wedges will be in stores September 16. The RTX-3 Blade wedges are available in three finishes (Tour Satin, Black Satin and Tour Raw finishes). RTX-3 Cavity Back wedges, which have a larger club heads, are offered in the Tour Satin finish only.
With the release of the RTX-3 wedges, Cleveland will update its Wedge Analyzer App, which fits golfers into the correct wedges and sole grinds by calculating angle of attack and pitching wedge loft. Fittings can be done in as few as two swings, and with or without a ball.
See what GolfWRX Members are saying about the new wedges in our forum.
Specs from Cleveland
Cameron Young’s WITB from his win at the 2025 Wyndham Championship. Cameron is a Titleist staff player but his bag is definitely filled with some unique clubs. Here are the clubs he used to secure his first PGA Tour win!
Driver: Titleist GT2 (9 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Orange 70 TX
3-wood: Titleist GT3 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 80 TX
Hybrid: Titleist GT2 (21 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus HB Black VeloCore+ 10 X
Irons: Titleist T200 (4), Titleist T100 (5), Titleist 631.CY Prototype (6-9)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X7 (4-9)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F, 52-12F, 56-14F @57), WedgeWorks (60-K* @62)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X7
Putter: Scotty Cameron Phantom 9.5 Tour Prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Prototype
- Peter Malnati what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Titleist GT3 (10 degrees, C2 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Project X Denali Blue 60 TX
3-wood: Titleist GT3 (15 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 7 X
7-wood: Titleist GT2 (21 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 8 X
Irons: Titleist T150 (4, 5), Titleist T100 (6-9)
Shafts: True Temper AMT Tour White X100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F @47, 52-12F, 56-08M @57, 60-04T @62)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: Scotty Cameron Studio Style Fastback 1.5 Tour Prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Yellow
We’re proud to once again partner with 2nd Swing Golf to bring you GolfWRX Members Choice 2025! 2nd Swing has more than 150,000 new and pre-swung golf clubs available in six store locations and online. Check them out here.
What is the best driver in 2025? At GolfWRX, we take great pride in our online community and the cumulative knowledge and experience of our members. When it comes to the best driver of 2025, we want to know what our forum faithful think.
Since our founding in 2005, the bedrock of GolfWRX.com has been the community of passionate and knowledgeable golfers in our forums, and we put endless trust in the opinions of our GolfWRX members — the most knowledgeable community of golfers on the internet. No other group of golfers in the world tests golf clubs as frequently or as extensively, nor is armed with such in-depth information about the latest technology.
Below are the results of GolfWRX member voting for the 2025 best driver, along with the vote percentage for each club.
Best driver of 2025: The top 5
5. Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond: 6.02%
Callaway’s pitch: “For golfers looking for a fast, forgiving, yet workable driver, the Elyte Triple Diamond features a tour-inspired shape and is the preferred model by most Callaway tour players.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond here.
4. Ping G440 Max: 6.86%
Ping’s pitch: “The most forgiving G440 model, MAX has a hotter face to generate speed and distance, and a lighter overall system weight with a longer shaft (46″) for faster clubhead speed, higher launch and longer carries. The Free Hosel and Carbonfly Wrap crown save weight to create our lowest CG ever and increase forgiveness while contributing to a more muted, pleasing sound.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Ping G440 Max here.
3. Ping G440 LST: 9.53%
Ping’s pitch: “LST is an especially good fit for faster swings, offering less spin and more control with a penetrating trajectory. A hotter face, lighter overall system weight and longer shaft (46″) deliver more speed and distance while maintaining tight dispersion.”
@phizzy30: “Not a fan of Ping drivers in general, but 440 LST takes the cake. It’s super forgiving across the face for a low spin head, looks and sounds good and the ability to make it play neutral or slightly fade biased through the hosel settings is very appealing.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Ping G440 LST here.
2. Titleist GT3: 16.55%
Titleist’s pitch: “The GT3 Driver offers Titleist’s boldest combination of power and personalization through adjustable performance. Dial in the CG Track to your frequent contact location to make your biggest drives even bigger while taking total control over flight and shaping.”
@mrmikeac: “I’ve been Anti-Titleist for years and years and years (outside of Vokey, of course). With that being said, HOLY BEGEEZUS the GT3 driver is an absolute NUCLEAR MONSTER! This thing blew my G430 10K Max out of the water in every single category. Forgiveness is the biggest thing that stands out of me, the 3 model has always been one of the less forgiving models in the past but this GT3 can take bad shot after bad shot and still end up in the fairway, I think a ton of that has to do with the adjustability, it’s actually effective. Feel and sound is perfect, that solid crack is so addicting to hear and when you hit it out the screws this thing can absolutely bomb it. Titleist, I’m sorry for doubting you. You have converted me.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Titleist GT3 here.
1. Titleist GT2: 22.91%
Titleist’s pitch: “Delivering impressive distance from any impact point, the Titleist GT2 Driver extracts maximum performance through a forgiving design. Get the stability and added confidence of a high-MOI driver without sacrificing speed.”
@DTorres: “The Titleist GT2 has proven to be the best driver of the year. Packaged in a classic profile, GT2 perfectly balances performance and forgiveness while consistently being a high performer across all categories.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Titleist GT2 here.
Other drivers receiving >2% of the vote
| Driver | Vote percentage (%) |
|---|---|
| Cobra DS Adapt Max K | 4.85% |
| Ping G430 Max 10K | 3.85% |
| Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond | 3.68% |
| TaylorMade Qi35 | 3.51% |
| Callaway Elyte | 3.18% |
| Cobra DS Adapt X | 2.34% |
| Cobra DS Adapt LS | 2.17% |
| TaylorMade Qi35 LS | 2.17% |
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Peter Malnati WITB 2025 (August)
Peter Malnati what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. More photos from the event here. Driver: Titleist...
Cameron Young’s winning WITB: 2025 Wyndham Championship
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Bert
Jul 26, 2016 at 5:57 pm
Wasn’t there another Cleveland wedge that was supposed to be introduced shortly in another Golf WRX article? I seem to remember a really awesome looking wedge I was waiting on and I don’t think this is it.
Mmmm
Jul 27, 2016 at 2:28 am
I think you’re thinking of the CG17 Forged, which was a JDM release
Brandon
Jul 26, 2016 at 9:33 am
I’m wondering if Terry Koehler’s patent on his V-sole expired, if Cleveland found a way around his patent????
Matt Mitchell
Jul 25, 2016 at 7:34 pm
Cleveland makes the worse wegdes
HL
Jul 25, 2016 at 3:34 pm
Bad Amateurs tend to hit their clubs on the toe because they stand up in the shot so why not just bend the lie 1/2 to 1 degree more upright and leave the hosel length alone
kn
Jul 25, 2016 at 3:23 pm
Apparently, it has been deemed that the “Tour Raw” edition is just too raw for left-handers. #screwedagain
MBU
Jul 25, 2016 at 2:07 pm
The cavity backs look fantastic.
Tom
Jul 25, 2016 at 1:15 pm
Looks like some thing I’ll have to try. I’ve Been looking for a sole that has less turf interaction (on hard surfaces) than what I’m playing now.
Dustdevil
Jul 25, 2016 at 1:02 pm
I wonder how bendable those hosels are with the “micro-cavities”?
Dave C
Jul 25, 2016 at 12:52 pm
I have been a Cleveland wedge guy almost my entire golfing life. As a left-handed golfer, When Cleveland stopped making the RTG wedges I bought two extra 58 one dot, as they worked awesome for me. They continue to totally discount left handed golfers with this new release. I guess I will be forced to look else where, probably Titleist Vokey wedges. They seem happy to make an adequate left handed line-up.
Rev G
Jul 25, 2016 at 12:45 pm
The secret to hitting v-soles out of bunkers is to not open the blade way open – lay it square. There very easy to hit out of bunkers then, especially on shots with green to work with. If you need to get it up quickly and stop it quickly, you need a traditional sand/log wedge.
Mark
Jul 25, 2016 at 12:16 pm
No thanks on the v-soles. They don’t work well out of bunkers or off harder surfaces. I want traditional sand irons with a back edge LOWER than the front.
desmond
Jul 25, 2016 at 10:44 am
So they copied the grind of the Edel (or others) to keep the leading edge closer to the ground for more versatility – good for them to take off on a great idea.
Bob
Jul 25, 2016 at 2:17 pm
Uh No,
They basically brought back a sole design they used in the 588DSG from back in 2006.
Manufacturer:
Cleveland
Year of Introduction:
2006
MSRP (new):
$108.00
Head Material:
Steel
Features & Benefits
• The Tour Action 588 DSG wedge is the latest addition to the Tour Action 588 series of wedges
• Featuring a Dynamic Sole Grind that allows the leading edge to remain closer to the ground when opening the clubface at address
• Constructed of 8620 soft carbon steel and featuring a milled face and grooves for maximum spin and soft feel
cody
Jul 25, 2016 at 9:53 am
so in other words copy the benhogan wedge and call it something different. Good on ya’ guys hope it works.
James Bond
Jul 25, 2016 at 9:46 am
Tour Raw looks amazing! Vokey should take notes and bring back the oil can.
Rev G
Jul 25, 2016 at 9:37 am
Sweet looking wedges. Interesting to see V-soles coming out from one of the big wedge makers. Eidolon/Hogan company must not be able to enforce that patent?
Smitty
Jul 25, 2016 at 9:24 am
Love the new wedges but those CB’s are butt ugly.