Cleveland CBX 4 Zipcore Wedge

The new Cleveland CBX 4 Zipcore Wedge is the latest in Cleveland’s lineup of “game-improvement” wedges. These wedges blend versatility with forgiveness to create Cleveland’s best cavity back wedge yet. It takes all of the new technology Tour players love from the RTX wedges, and brings it to the game improvement CBX line.

The Looks

With game improvement wedges, it’s always a tradeoff between having a large cavity and sole, without looking down at a massive shovel. With the Cleveland CBX 4 Zipcore, this is not the case. Now, I won’t say it’s going to be a compact, tour style wedge, and it’s not supposed to be. But it does a great job of not looking overly chunky, while inspiring confidence.

The club head is a traditional teardrop shape synonymous with Cleveland wedges, but a little large than, say, the RTX 6. This, along with the way the larger sole is ground, helps hide the cavity at address. The cavity design fairly intricate, with similar badging to the previous CBX wedges, but with all black paintfill. And, just like the RTX 6 and other Cleveland wedges of late, feature the deep milling all across the face, not just the grooves. The one thing I loved about it was, despite its size, the slightly rounded leading edge appears flush and clean against the turf.

How Does it Feel?

In the past, most game improvement wedges have felt overly soft, or “dead” off of the face to me. The Cleveland CBX 4 Zipcore adds a little more feel than its predecessor, which was a welcomed improvement. Center strikes gave a little bit more “crispy” feel, which managed to stay consistent across the face. It’s not quite the feel of a forged or Tour wedge, but moving from a Tour wedge to a CBX 4, you may be pleasantly surprised.

How Does it Sound?

Sound is where the Cleveland CBX 4 Zipcore seemed to differ a lot from a Tour or player’s wedge. Center strikes have a more loud, yet deeper click to it. It’s not that higher-pitched click you may be used to with, you guessed it, an RTX 6. The volume is louder, but it’s also deeper, if that makes sense? With that said, it’s not a deal breaker for the performance you get.

On-Course Performance

Now, my wedge game is awful these days. Atrocious. Abysmal. But the first time I took the Cleveland CBX 4 Zipcore on the course, the first ball I hit was clipped perfectly. I thought to myself “wow, that was….easy?”. I normally play a low bounce wedge. The CBX 4 Zipcore 60 comes with 12° of bounce, so I didn’t think it would work. But man, the ball just slid right underneath the club. “A fluke”, I thought. I thought wrong. I proceeded to hit perfect wedge after wedge for ten more shots.

The forgiveness and design is real. On mishits, the distance control stayed consistent, further proving my initial impressions. Now, I’m not going to say that this wedge is going to allow a bad wedge player to hit flops, spinners, and create spin out of nowhere. But, they can definitely help you become more consistent, if you’re, well, inconsistent with a wedge in hand.

The CBX4 Zipcore is also now bringing in the technology from the RTX and Zipcore lines into the CBX lineup. Their Hydrazip face maintains fierce and consistent spin, even in wet conditions, which is huge for struggling wedge players. The sharper, Ultizip grooves add to that spin generation with sharper, deeper, and more tightly spaced groove patterns. And depending on the loft you choose, Cleveland has three different pre-selected grinds with the CBX 4 wedges, taking the confusion and uncertainty out of picking between a multitude of grind options. Overall, the CBX 4 Zipcore packs a ton of tech with a ton of forgiveness, into a wedge that flat out performs.

Final Thoughts – Cleveland CBX 4 Zipcore Wedges

The Cleveland CBX 4 Zipcore Wedge is another huge step forward in the game improvement wedge department by the industry leader. They continue to find ways to “hide” the cavity and large soles at address, while providing the control, forgiveness, and spin that “struggling” wedge players need. So, if you’re like me and need some help around the greens, it’s definitely worth looking at the CBX 4 Zipcore wedges. You won’t be disappointed that you did.

Stock Cleveland CBX 4 Zipcore Specs

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