Cleveland CBX Full-Face 2 wedges: What you need to know

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: The CBX Full-Face 2 wedges are designed for players that typically use cavity-back irons. The large-face, high-toe design has grooves that stretch across the entire face, providing not only more hitting area, but more help for shots struck off center, particularly high on the toe.

PRICE/AVAILABILITY: $170 per wedge (50 to 60 degrees), Available Feb. 3

3 COOL THINGS

1. A wedge for the everyman. In 2017, Cleveland suggested golfers needed to completely rethink the type of wedge they play with. In short, they said that since 84 percent of everyday golfers were playing cavity-back irons, it. Made little sense to play with a wedge that didn’t match the rest of the irons in the bag.

That led to the development of the wider-soled, cavity-back CBX wedge line. Since then, the line has built on the original premise, adding more features along the way. The latest being the introduction of the CBX Full-Face 2 model.

As the name implies, the face is large with a high toe, allowing for mis-hits to be mitigated. “With the biggest face ever on a CBX wedge, you’ll be able to strike the ball anywhere on the face with more forgiveness, while enjoying controlled stopping power in any conditions,” said Dustin Brekke, director of engineering at Cleveland Golf.

With a high-toe profile, the CBX Full-Face 2 has a hitting area that is 13 percent larger than the RTX Full-Face. That’s not only helpful on mis-hits, but assists with better contact on open-faced shots, too, as the grooves stretch across the entire face.

2. Different inside, too. The head shape is a departure from the norm in wedges, but so are some things inside the club as well, namely the hosel area. Like the ZipCore RTX 6, the CBX Full-Face 2 wedges utilize the low-density ZipCore material where mass is removed from the hosel and low heel area of the wedge and replaced with a aluminum silicate compound.

The compound is a quarter of the weight of the steel it replaces, saving weight that can be moved elsewhere to help position the center of gravity more toward the toe while increasing the moment of inertia slightly in both the heel-toe and high-low directions. Additionally, because not all wedges are used for similar shots, Cleveland created three separate versions of ZipCore to help maximize the weight saved by loft.

3. The grooves aren’t just longer, but better. The grooves that stretch across the face catch the eye, but it’s the things that likely will go unnotied that matter. Like grooves that are sharper, deeper, and more tightly spaced together for enhanced spin and consistency.

It’s not just the grooves, however, contributing to spin. A combination of a face blast and laser patterns helps shots from damp conditions or thicker lies in the rough spin closer to what shots from dry conditions would. Because it is easier to engage the grooves on lower lofts (the thought being the 50- and 52-degree models are often used for full-swing shots), the blast and laser patterns offer slightly less friction than those on lofts 54 degrees and higher, which have a finish designed for maximum friction.