Key Takeaways:
- Cleveland adds Black Satin and Tour Rack (raw) finishes.
- Tour Rack offers additional custom sole and leading-edge grinds.
- Black Satin $169.99; Tour Rack $189.99 (custom grinds included)
- At retail March 1
The two new finishes for the new Cleveland RTX 6 ZipCore wedges aren’t really new. And they aren’t really a surprise, either.
We knew they were coming back in January. We just didn’t know when. Now we do.
The two new-not-really-new finishes are Tour Rack and Black Satin. Cleveland added both finishes to the original ZipCore lineup in the fall of 2020. And, if you want to get technical, it’s really only one finish since Tour Rack is unplated and, well, raw.
Of the two, the Tour Rack is definitely the most interesting. Since it’s raw, Cleveland is giving you the ability to custom grind the sole and leading edge to your exact specifications. Just like that, it came the, ahem, Tour Rack.
If you’re a sole grind geek, it’ll give you plenty to geek out about.
Cleveland RTX 6 ZipCore Tour Rack – Options Galore
We covered the new Cleveland RTX 6 ZipCore golf wedges inside and out last month (you can check it out here) so we won’t rehash all the techy stuff. What is important to today’s story are Cleveland’s four off-the-shelf sole grinds.
The LOW and LOW+ are C-shaped grinds with heel and toe relief for versatility in firmer conditions. You can get the LOW in 58- and 60-degree lob wedges and LOW+ in 54- and 56-degree sand wedges. MID is available in the entire lineup. It’s a versatile V-shaped grind while FULL is a high-bounce bunker- and rough-specific grind. It’s available in the 54- through 60-degree models.
These grinds are available in all three finishes. But since Tour Rack is raw, Cleveland lets you custom-order additional sole-grinding to fit your specific needs.
Specifically, you can add additional trailing-edge relief on the FULL, LOW and LOW+ models which lowers the leading edge when opening the face. You can also get additional heel or heel-and-toe relief on the FULL and MID soles to increase versatility. And lastly, you can get a full-on S-shaped grind on the FULL sole for bunker play and versatility.
To cap it off, you can also get custom-crafted leading-edge grinds. Choose the rounded leading edge if you have a steep angle of attack and play in medium to soft conditions. The sharpened leading-edge option is for a shallower angle of attack and firm conditions. The standard leading edge also remains an option if you have a neutral angle of attack and play in all kinds of conditions.
Standardized Customization
As long as you’re OK with raw, you can customize the Cleveland RTX 6 ZipCore to your heart’s content.
It’s fair to call Cleveland’s offering “standardized” customization but it’s still a level of customization you don’t get with most wedges. Vokey WedgeWorks custom grinding remains the gold standard but a raw wedge starts at $225 and any additional custom grinding starts at an extra $75.
Cleveland is charging $25 for additional sole grinding and $15 for the leading edge grind.
Vokey, TaylorMade and Callaway all offer additional personalization at a price but Cleveland’s personalization might be the best deal in golf. With all three finishes, you can get three sections of the club head custom paint-filled from a 20-color palette for $15. Another $15 will get you up to five characters of custom engraving.
Cleveland also says you can have one of seven “skins” laser etched into a Black Satin wedge. That feature, however, doesn’t appear to be available on Cleveland’s website just yet.
And speaking of Black Satin …
Cleveland uses the oft-maligned Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) for its black finish. PVD is not as durable as, say, Diamond Black Metal (DBM) or Quench-Polish-Quench (QPQ) but it’s not going to wear off after five rounds. Or even 10. A two-year-old 50-degree ZipCore in Black Satin used mainly from turf is still in excellent condition. A 58-degree model which saw lots of bunker duty, however, does have noticeable sole wear.
Price and Availability
The entire Cleveland RTX 6 ZipCore loft, bounce and standard grind lineup will be available in the Tour Rack option—for righties, that is. There’s no Tour Rack left-handed option. Only the MID grinds will be available in Black Satin for lefties.
As with the Tour Satin models, the Dynamic Gold Spinner Tour issue shaft and Lamkin Crossline 360 grip are stock.
The Cleveland RTX 6 ZipCore in Black Satin will retail for $169.99 while the Tour Rack model lists at $189.99. As mentioned, sole and leading-edge custom grinds are extra.
The Tour Rack and Black Satin models will be available at retail and online starting March 1.
You can, however, preorder starting today. Visit the Cleveland website for more information.
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