Cleveland CBZ Wedge

The new Cleveland CBZ Wedge is the latest edition of Cleveland’s cavity back wedge lineup, designed to help higher handicaps with their short game. Club manufactures keep finding ways to make irons and woods more forgiving, but why not your wedges? So if you want to add some help to your short game too, look no further than the Cleveland CBZ wedges.

The Looks

The Cleveland CBZ wedge is built with Cleveland’s new Z-Alloy metal (same as the RTZ Wedges) in a nice satin chrome finish. The wedges themselves feature nice, crisp lines, in a slightly oversized club head. Since this is a game improvement wedge, that is to be expected. The CBZ features a larger sole, mixed with a longer and taller club head compared to a player’s wedge, giving you a feel of more confidence looking down at the ball. Now, while it’s larger than what you might be used to, it’s not distracting by any means. Think of it like a game improvement iron vs a blade – it’s going to look larger, but still sets up nicely behind the ball.

The Tour Satin finish is fantastic as well. I think Cleveland does a great job of giving that steel color look while not producing a ton of reflection from sunlight, which is the WORST. While the sole is large, the club still sits well in the turf, and the cavity isn’t noticeable at address. The rounded leading edge of the club face also makes the club look flush against the turf, again, providing more confidence for those that need it in their wedge game. Cleveland is also keeping up with the full milling across the face, which looks FANTASTIC. I love this in their other wedges, and the CBZ is no different. Overall, Cleveland took a club that should be hard to make look good in a game improvement wedge, and made it look simple, sleek, and stunning.

How Does it Feel?

As with most game improvement clubs, the feel was the thing I was most skeptical about in the Cleveland CBZ wedges. To me, a lot of game improvement clubs feel dead and dull off of the face. This is not the case with the CBZ. Now, it doesn’t have that crispy, clicky feel with tons of feedback like a tour wedge, but it’s definitely not dead either. You get nice, moderate feedback in the hands that I would definitely say is on the softer side. Feedback on mishits isn’t nearly as harsh as a tour type wedge, but they still maintain feel to let you know that you missed the center.  I think the CBZ does give you a much softer, “forgiving” feeling than a traditional tour-profile wedge.

How Does it Sound?

Similar to the feel, Cleveland did a great job of delivering a solid sounding wedge, despite being labeled as game improvement. Well struck shots have a nice, moderate pitched “tock” sound, which becomes a louder “click” as you move away from the center of the face. Again, not the higher-pitched click of a tour wedge, but that’s because it’s not a tour wedge. It gives you good sound to let you know you struck it well and made solid contact, and that’s what matters.

On-Course Performance

Previous lines of game improvement wedges from Cleveland have all gotten rave reviews from the DRH team, and elsewhere. The Cleveland CBZ wedges are no different. The most noticeable thing for me is how easily they glide through the turf. A larger sole makes getting through the ball effortless, regardless of whether I’m in the fairway (not usually), the rough (usually), or around the greens.

Spin numbers were also impressive with the CBZ. While I have to admit that I couldn’t necessarily do all of the face manipulation and ball-cover ripping with the CBZ as the RTZ, that’s not what it’s designed for. It’s designed for golfers who need help with their wedge game, and therefore need to simplify it in the process. For most every shot, the Cleveland CBZ will provide mid handicaps with great spin around the greens and on approaches. The CBZ also has the same Ultizip grooves and Hydrazip finish that allows them to maintain high spin levels.

The forgiveness is also fantastic, as expected. Particularly on those half and full wedge shots from 50+ yards. The ball gets in the air super easily, and toe misses didn’t just die mid air. If you need some help in simplifying your wedge game, the Cleveland CBZ wedges are the way to go.

Final Thoughts – Cleveland CBZ Wedge

The Cleveland CBZ wedge is exactly what it’s supposed to be – a forgiving, confidence-boosting short game tool built for golfers who need a little help. It looks great behind the ball, feels solid through impact, and makes it easy to get consistent results without overthinking technique. Players who want all the spin, control, and feedback of a tour wedge will likely still prefer the RTZ line, but for mid to high handicaps who just want to hit better wedges more often, the CBZ is a fantastic option. Cleveland continues to prove that game improvement doesn’t have to mean sacrificing style or performance.

Stock Cleveland CBZ Wedge Specs

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