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Cleveland Club Naming Explained: RTZ, RTX, CBX, ZipCore and Full-Face

Decoding the names so you can specify a wedge properly.

2 min read·Cleveland Golf Clubs
Cleveland Club Naming Explained: RTZ, RTX, CBX, ZipCore and Full-Face illustration

RTX and RTZ

RTX is Cleveland’s long-running tour wedge family. RTX 6 ZipCore is the sixth generation of it and remains available and well regarded.

RTZ is the current flagship, built with Z-Alloy construction. It sits above RTX 6 in the range.

Both are tour-shaped wedges for golfers who want shot-making control.

CBX

CB for cavity back. These are wedges with perimeter weighting and a wider sole, built to follow on from cavity-back irons rather than to contrast with them.

CBX4 ZipCore is the current generation. CBZ Full-Face is the related model with grooves across the whole face.

ZipCore

A construction technology rather than a model. It repositions mass inside the head — moving weight away from the hosel and into more useful places — which raises MOI and shifts the centre of gravity.

The practical effect is more forgiveness on off-centre wedge strikes, which for most golfers is the majority of them.

Full-Face

Grooves across the entire face rather than only in the centre portion.

The reasoning is straightforward: amateurs strike wedges toward the toe far more often than they realise, particularly on open-faced shots around the green. Grooves out there mean those strikes still generate spin instead of coming off dead.

RTX Full-Face 2, CBZ Full-Face, Smart Sole Full Face and Halo XL Full-Face all use this idea at different points in the range.

The grind names

RTZ grinds include FULL, MID, LOW and ADAPT.

  • FULL — the most bounce and the widest sole. Soft turf, steep swings.
  • MID — the versatile default. Most conditions, most golfers.
  • LOW — least bounce, most sole relief. Firm turf, tight lies, shallow swings.
  • ADAPT — the full-face grind, built for versatility on open-faced shots.

Smart Sole and Halo XL

The maximum-forgiveness family. Smart Sole Full Face has a very wide, heavily contoured sole. Halo XL Full-Face applies hybrid design thinking to a wedge.

Both are aimed at golfers who dig, chunk and fear bunkers. Both work.

Launcher XL

The long-game family — drivers, fairway woods, hybrids and irons, including the Launcher XL Halo models. Forgiveness-focused and aimed at moderate swing speeds.

Reading a full specification

A Cleveland wedge is described by loft, bounce and grind — for example RTZ 56.12 MID. That is 56° of loft, 12° of bounce, and the MID grind.

Buying tip: The grind and bounce decide how the wedge performs. The model name mostly decides how forgiving it is. Get all three right and the finish is irrelevant.

Model names current as of September 2026.