Cleveland's RTZ wedge, crafted with the innovative Z-Alloy material, stands out in the market as a completely unique offering. This specially engineered soft stainless steel provides golfers who favor a blade profile with the enhanced off-center performance typically found in cavity-back designs. Key features include a loft-specific Hydrazip face roughness, low-density ZipCore technology, and sharper Ultizip grooves for optimal performance.
For over 30 years, 8620 carbon steel has been the go-to material for wedges in the industry, offering reliability and solid feel. Despite numerous changes in golf equipment, the core material for many wedges has remained unchanged. While 8620 has served well, Cleveland has taken a bold step forward with Z-Alloy, gaining 6 grams of discretionary mass through its use, plus an additional 21 grams from an aluminum-silicate compound strategically placed in the low heel section of the head. This results in an impressive 27 grams of discretionary mass in a blade wedge profile.
The ZipCore technology, already proven in previous Cleveland wedges, brings a significantly lower density than steel, further enhancing performance.
The Hydrazip face finish on the RTZ wedge is designed to maximize friction at impact, improving spin and carry consistency across various lies and course conditions. Achieving such consistent performance across different situations requires more than a single face finish, which is why Cleveland developed loft-specific face treatments. Using multiple blast media and laser patterns, they tailor the roughness to optimize friction, especially in wet conditions.
The lower lofts (46° to 50°) need less surface roughness to maintain consistent spin compared to the higher lofts (54° to 60°), leading to slight variations in the finish process. This tailored approach ensures balanced spin across all lofts, enhancing overall performance.
While the face finish may seem similar to the RTX 6 series, this new generation of RTZ wedges features a modified face milling on the lower lofts, designed specifically to deliver more predictable dry and wet spin, resulting in greater carry consistency in all playing conditions.