Gear: Cleveland CBX 2 wedges
Price: $139.99 with True Temper Dynamic Gold 115 wedge shaft and Lamkin 360 grip; $149.99 with Rotex Precision 90 graphite shaft
Specs: 46 to 60 degrees
Available: August 30
Only elite golfers should use muscleback blade irons, but for years most wedges have followed that style of design. Cleveland, the makers of one of the most iconic wedges ever, the 588, started offering cavity-back wedges a few years ago and now has updated them with the release of the CBX 2. They are for players who use cavity-back and game-improvement irons and who need forgiveness around the greens.
Unlike most wedges, the CBX 2 was designed with a hollow chamber in the heel section and extra weight in the toe area. That creates significant perimeter weighting to boost the moment of inertia, so the club twists less on off-center hits and is more forgiving. It also moves the sweet spot to the toe-side of the club, where mid- and higher-handicap golfers tend to hit their wedges.
To enhance feel, Cleveland designed the CBX 2 wedges with a thermoplastic polyurethane insert in the back of the head. Cleveland said it soaks up excessive vibrations and creates a crisper feel at impact.
To help golfers generate more spin, the CBX 2 wedges were given Cleveland’s Rotex face technology, combining Tour Zip grooves with a circular milling pattern that covers the entire hitting area. There are also 96 laser-etched microgrooves between the main grooves. Working together, the various grooves create more surface roughness and friction at the moment of impact.
The soles of the CBX 2 wedges vary based on each club’s loft. The pitching wedges and gap wedges (46 to 52 degrees) have a V-shaped sole that helps the club work through the turf like an iron. Sand wedges (54 and 56 degrees) have an S-shaped sole with a wide profile and is ideal in bunkers. The lob wedges (58 and 60 degrees) have a C-grind with significant heel and toe relief to make it easier to open the face and hit creative shots around the green.
