Table of Content
Today in our Cleveland CBX 2 Wedge review for 2020 we get down to the nitty gritty and find out whether this club can help your wedge shots become more accurate enabling you to the hit greens more often.
When you invest time to practice your golf game, how do you spend the time and how much time do you spend at the driving range versus working on your short game? When you hit range balls how many are used on your driver compared to hitting full, three-quarter and half wedge shots?
Most instructors recommend the 50/50 rule…
Spend 50% of your practice time on the range and 50% in the short game area chipping and putting. The average player is closer to 80/20.
LPGA Tour Professional, Paula Creamer said “Practice, work out, proper nutrition, and lots of work on my short game. In golf, that’s really where the strokes come off the scorecard”.
Besides practice, how else can you invest in your short game? Have you given the wedges you use much thought? The new driver technology gets all the headlines each year, but did you know that golf manufacturers focus just as much on building better wedges?
Over the last couple of years, companies have found ways to make wedges easier to hit. Improved technology in the club will make it easier for you to spin the ball like a pro, or get it close from the bunker. The Cleveland CBX 2 is a great example of a game improvement wedge.
Overview: Cleveland CBX 2 Wedge
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Golf Digest recently completed its 2020 Hot List. During this process, they considered 26 different wedge models. The Cleveland CBX 2 was 1 of 8 that received the highest possible award (Gold). The Cleveland CBX 2 wedge was built to help all players improve around the greens.
Leveraging exciting new wedge technology, Cleveland engineers have built a club that is easy to hit and gives you the opportunity to shave strokes off your scorecard.
Even though this club was created as a game-improvement option, lower handicap players should consider giving this wedge a try as well. Consistent distance control with your wedges is the key to making birdies or saving pars.
Technology: Design & Performance
“Say Hello to Short Game Forgiveness” is the tagline/slogan that Cleveland has used to market the CBX 2 wedge and you can see that in action with the technology they leveraged to build this club. This club has taken several steps forward with design and performance.
When looking for forgiveness, the first thing the engineers did was leverage a Hollow-Cavity Design. So, what does that mean? They placed a hollow chamber near the heel of the club and heavyweight in the toe.
This maximizes MOI (moment of inertia) and perimeter weighting to create a larger sweet spot and protect the golfer from bad swings or chips. If you already play cavity back irons, you should give these wedges a try.
Next, they built these clubs with Dynamic Soles. The idea here is that depending on the loft of the wedge, you are mostly using it for different shot types. Cleveland built different lofts with different soles, making those shots easier. Here are the sole details:
- 46-52 degree wedges – V sole: Glides through the turf, so the club won’t get stuck in the ground on full shots.
- 54-56 degree wedges – S sole: Designed to help you out of deep rough or the bunker.
- 58-60 degree wedges – C sole: Makes lob shots easier and more consistent – works great when you need to open the club face for additional loft.
Simply put, this is another way the Cleveland CBX 2 has been built to save you strokes around the green.
Cleveland didn’t stop with hollow cavity design and dynamic soles; they also wanted a club with Amazing Feel. They leveraged Enhanced Feel Balancing technology to achieve this goal.
This provides a toe-bias center of gravity and includes a Gelback TPU Insert that reduces vibrations at impact. Reduced vibrations produce pure-feeling shots that you will love.
And finally, Cleveland added their fourth generation Rotex Face technology. Do you want ultimate spin control? Do you want your wedge shots to zip back like the pros?
The engineers at Cleveland have added 3 different types of grooves to the CBX 2 wedges to help you do just that. Tour Zip Grooves cut through grass and debris, helping you produce spin from the rough and/or the sand. Centered Rotex Milling adds friction between grooves for even more stopping power.
And finally, the Cleveland CBX 2 wedges include Laser Milling which adds more roughness to the face and even more spin.
As you can see, Cleveland has engineered a technologically advanced set of wedges that combine forgiveness with extreme performance and spin control.
Features and Tech Specs
The Cleveland CBX 2 wedge is offered in 8 different lofts, providing you with options to fit your specific golf game.
- 46 degree – V-shaped sole – 9 degrees of bounce – 35.5″ in length.
- 48 degree – V-shaped sole – 9 degrees of bounce – 35.5″ in length.
- 50 degree – V-shaped sole – 11 degrees of bounce – 35.5″ in length.
- 52 degree – V-shaped sole – 11 degrees of bounce – 35.5″ in length.
- 54 degree – S-shaped sole – 12 degrees of bounce – 35.25″ in length.
- 56 degree – S-shaped sole – 12 degrees of bounce – 35.25″ in length.
- 58 degree – C-shaped sole – 10 degrees of bounce – 35″ in length.
- 60 degree – C-shaped sole – 10 degrees of bounce – 35″ in length.
All the CBX 2 wedges are available in right-handed or left-handed and you have a choice of steel or graphite shaft. The steel shaft is a Dynamic Gold 115 Wedge – this shaft was designed to make the CBX wedges feel like your cavity back short irons.
The graphite shaft is a Rotex good quality Precision Graphite Wedge Flex. The majority of players will leverage a steel shaft in their wedges, but the graphite gives you a lower weight option. These wedges come with a Lamkin 360 grip.
Pros of the CBX 2:
- All-around great wedge – technology that allows you to play everything from a full shot, to a flop, to a check-and-run.
- The large sweet spot of the club will help grow your confidence – your score will not suffer from slight mis-hits.
- Easier to hit than blade wedges – transition from a cavity back set of irons to these wedges is easy – Cleveland RBX 2 wedges were designed to feel the same as your other irons – consistent feel, consistent shots.
- Plenty of forgiveness without sacrificing spin – rare combination in wedges.
- All players can leverage – built for all handicaps, not just the elite player.
- Economically priced, compared to other wedges in this category.
Cons of the CBX 2:
FAQs
Question: What does the degree of a wedge do for you?
Answer: The degree is the amount of loft, so the higher the degree the higher the shot will go, with shorter distance.
Most players purchase at least 2 wedges to give them options for distance and chip shots. A 56 degree and a 60 degree is a good combo or a 54 degree and a 58 degree.
Question: What does the bounce of the club do?
Answer: Wedge bounce is the angle created between the leading edge and the lowest point of the sole or trailing edge. This is the area of the club that hits through the ground as it contacts the ball.
Depending on the type of shot, different bounces can be helpful. With some wedges you must pick the bounce, but Cleveland has designed the CBX 2 to have the best possible bounce for each club. You can leave this choice to the engineers.
Question: Is the Cleveland CBX 2 forged?
Answer: This club is not forged, but the TPU insert that is part of the club design does reduce vibrations and gives the wedge the feel of a forged club.
Question: Is this a good club for a high handicapper?
Answer: Yes. Cleveland engineers built this club with a focus on forgiveness and playability. This is a great club for mid-to-high handicapper who is looking to reduce their score with short game improvement.
Question: I like to hit it high! Can I get a 64-degree CBX wedge?
Answer: No. The highest loft offered by Cleveland is a 60-degree. Still plenty of loft to hit a flop shot.
Question: Should I choose a steel or graphite shaft?
Answer: It is all about your preference. A graphite shaft is lighter and can produce more speed but will be more expensive. Typically, the best choice it to be consistent with the rest of your irons. If you have steel in your 8-iron, 9-iron, etc., go with steel in your wedges.
Question: Can I get a 60-degree wedge with 12 degrees of bounce?
Answer: The 60-degree Cleveland CBX 2 wedge is only offered with 10 degrees of bounce. Instead of forcing the golfer to make this choice, the Cleveland engineers designed each wedge with the amount of bounce they felt was appropriate for the types of shots played with that specific loft.
Question: Are there different size of grips and which size should I order?
Answer: The wedges come with the standard size grip. This is perfect for the vast majority of players.
Question: My full set of clubs already has a pitching wedge – why do I need more wedges?
Answer: The Pitching Wedge that came with you set of clubs is typically 45 to 48 degrees of loft. A good “gap” between clubs is four degrees, so adding a couple Cleveland CBX 2 wedges will help you hit full shots when closer to the green and will help you hit chip shots from the rough and the sand.
A 54 degree and a 58 degree would fit perfectly.
Question: Are the CBX 2 wedges available for left-handed players?
Answer: Yes. All 8 clubs (lofts) are available left-handed and right-handed. If you are left-handed, select the left-hand orientation when you purchase.
Is There a Viable Alternative to the Cleveland CBX Wedge?
Do you want to compare the look and feel of the Cleveland CBX 2 wedge to other options in the marketplace? Alternative clubs include the Callaway Mack Daddy or the Callaway Sure Out. Another option is the PING Glide series of clubs.
All golfers have different tastes on how they want a wedge to look and feel.
The Cleveland CBX 2 wedge has created a lot of market buzz for being a club that can truly be played by all player types, but the options mentioned above are also solid choices if you are looking to invest in your short game.
Conclusion
Are you tired of hitting duffs? Flubs? Shanks? Chilly dips? Whatever you call you them, we all know the frustration of throwing away strokes near the green.
The engineers at Cleveland set out to design a cavity back wedge with remarkable forgiveness without losing the playability of a blade option and the CBX 2 is the result.
They leveraged groundbreaking technology to create a large sweet spot and minimize the impact of mishit shots. They used 3 different sole types in this line of wedges to ensure all 8 club offerings (46, 48, 50, 52, 54, 56, 58, 60 degree) are built to help the golfer execute better shots.
Your wedge game is critical to your final score. Getting up-and-down to save a par or bogey or spinning a wedge shot close to setup a nice birdie putt.
Everyone gets excited to invest in the newer Driver technology, but the fact that wedges continue to get better and easier to hit tends to be overlooked. When was the last time you invested in your wedge game?
There is no doubt that Cleveland built the CBX 2 wedges to help the mid to high handicap players, but elite players should also give them a look.
Who among us can’t use a little more forgiveness? Put a couple Cleveland CBX 2 wedges in your bag and start saving shots around the green instead of losing them. Watch your scores and handicap drop.
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