Roger Cleveland’s influence is once again influencing the Masters.
Cleveland has returned to the company he founded last year, and his designs are starting to trickle down to bags for Srixon/Cleveland staff and non-staff alike.
advertisement
Take JJ Spaun, for example, who won his third PGA Tour win last week at the Valero Texas Open and his first since his breakthrough at the U.S. Open. Spaun still uses the previous generation RTX 6 Zipcore lob wedge platform, but his lobber features a unique wide sole grind with relief on both the leading and trail edges.
The wide sole originates from the original shape of Cleveland’s late 1990s 588 wide wedge design, one of the most famous in club manufacturing.
“We were putting in a lot of effort to get to what he wanted,” Srixon Tour President Michael Jolly told GOLF. “It’s a lot of trial and error with him hitting different shots and trying to find the right combination of open faces, bunkers (versatility) and all of that.”
advertisement
But Spawn’s wedge isn’t the only Cleveland wedge prototype that took inspiration from the original 588’s shape.
Several pros this year, including Gary Woodland, who won with this wedge in Houston two weeks ago, are using a prototype offset lob wedge built with Cleveland’s updated RTZ platform and 588 wide sole.
“It started with the soles,” Jolie said. “More and more players are realizing the benefits of a wide sole. The 588 Wide dates back to 1998. It’s something we’ve always had. We wanted to reintroduce it with our new RTZ material, and it worked out really well.”
Address view of the offset wedge and JJ Spawn’s lob wedge. Johnny Wonder/Golf
“With Roger coming back, Roger talked a lot about offsets and the benefits of offsetting. It’s not something that young players are used to seeing, but there are a lot of benefits to offset.”
advertisement
An offset, where the leading edge of the club is set behind the hosel, tends to square the face and bias the club to the left, which often scares good players away.
But with a wedge, the offset helps give you the feeling of trapping the ball. It naturally adds a bit of dynamic loft, but most players instinctively add shaft lean to lower flight and add spin.
In addition to Woodland, Rickie Fowler has been using an offset RTZ wedge this season, and Justin Rose just added an RTZ with a 588 wide sole to his Masters-specific bag.
Cleveland RTZ Custom Wedge
Cleveland RTZ Custom Wedge
The all-new RTZ wedge is made from Z Alloy, an all-new steel formulation that allows for a no-compromise design approach, delivering incredible feel, superior durability, and the consistency of our best-performing tour wedge to date. Additionally, there’s an all-new ADAPT grind with full-face grooves, giving the RTZ wedge more versatility than ever before. Z-Alloy Z-Alloy is a new steel with a better feel. Softer, lighter, and incredibly durable. Delivers superior feel, forgiveness, and stability in RTZ wedges. RTZ Tour Rack Wedges provide long-lasting, like-new performance thanks to Z Alloy’s anti-corrosion properties. HydraZip HydraZip is a unique system of face blast and laser milled lines formulated to maximize spin performance in wet conditions. This technology is dynamically configured with loft groupings that help balance spin across lofts while maximizing spin in adverse conditions. ZipCore This low-density core technology replaces heavy material in the heel and hosel areas with lightweight, low-density vibration-damping material. This unique core allows you to move the center of gravity closer to where you strike the ball while adding MOI. UltiZip The UltiZip’s sharper grooves cut through grass and debris on contact, while the deeper grooves help leave room for grass, sand, dirt, or water to clear the impact zone, giving the RTZ wedge a stronger, more consistent spin out of the fairway, rough, or bunker.
advertisement
$199.99 from Fairway Jockey
View Product
Also available: PGA Tour Superstore, Srixon
Jolly added that players like Spahn prefer grinds with leading and trailing edge relief because they like to manipulate the face, but players who prefer a full sole typically keep things more square.
SRIXON ZXi irons offer incredible stability
Srixon Iron had a great year last season, winning eight races including the U.S. Open at Spaun. They have already picked up two more wins this season from their 15 staff players.
Eight of the 10 Srixon staff players competing in this week’s Masters are using the company’s latest platform, the ZXi, with all eight employing some combination of the ZXi5 and ZXi7.
advertisement
Jolly also noted that the staff performed incredibly well throughout last season.
“After the first event of the year, we had zero iron shaft changes across our staff,” Jolly said. “That speaks to the consistency our guys feel with our irons week in and week out. The irons just do what they want them to do and there’s no reason to fish that river at all.”
Irons and wedges used by Cleveland/SRIXON staff at the Masters
keegan bradley
Iron: SRIXON ZXi5 (4-5), ZXi7 (6-9), Z-Forged II (PW)
Loft: 25/27/31/36/39/43/47
Lie: 62/62/62.5/63/64/65/65
Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold X100
Length: 37.25 inches 7 iron
advertisement
Wedge: Cleveland RTZ
Loft/Grind: 52 Mid, 56 Mid, 58 Low (C)
Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold S400
Golf ball: SRIXON Z-Star Diamond
Nico Echavarria
Iron: SRIXON ZXi5 (4-5), ZXi7 (6-PW)
Loft: 24/26/31/35/39/43/47
Rai: 62/62.25/62/61.5/62.25/62.5/63.5
Shaft: Nippon Modus3 Tour 120 X (4-5), Nippon Modus3 Tour 125 X (6-PW)
Length: 37 inches 7 iron
Wedge: Cleveland RTZ
Loft/grind: 50 mid, 54 mid, 60 low
Shaft: Nippon Modus3 Tour 125 X (50), True Temper Dynamic Gold S400 (54, 60)
Golf ball: SRIXON Z-Star Diamond
ryan fox
Iron: SRIXON ZXi (2 pieces), ZXi5 (4 pieces), ZXi7 (5 to PW)
Loft: 19/24/26/31/35/39/43/47
Lies: 60/60.5/61/61.5/62/62.5/63/63.5
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue+ HB 10-X (2), True Temper Dynamic Gold X100
Length: 36.75″ 7 iron
advertisement
Wedge: Cleveland RTX 6
Loft/grind: 50 mid, 56 mid, 60 full LB
Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold X100 (50, 56), True Temper Dynamic Gold S400 (60)
Golf ball: SRIXON Z-Star XV
Naoyuki Kataoka
Iron: Srixon ZXi5 (4-5), ZXi7 (6-7), Z-Forged II (8-9)
Wedge: Cleveland RTZ
Loft/grind: 52 mid, 58 mid
Golf ball: SRIXON Z-Star XV
Brooks Koepka
Iron: ZX7 Mk II (4-PW)
Loft: 23.5/26.5/31/45/38.5/42/46
Rai: 60.5/61/61.5/62/62.5/63/63.5/64
Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold X100
Length: 36.75″ 7 iron
Brooks Koepka’s lob wedge. Jack Hirsch/Golf
Wedge: Cleveland RTZ
Loft/grind: 50 mid, 56 mid, 60 full C
Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold S400
Shane Lowry
Iron: SRIXON ZXi (3), ZXi5 (4-5), ZXi7 (6-PW)
Loft: 21/24/27/30/34/38/43/47
Rye: 61.5/63/64/64.5/65/65.5/66.5/66.5
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue HB 9-X (3), Nippon Modus3 Tour 120 X (4), KBS Tour X (5-PW)
Length: 37 inches 7 iron
advertisement
Wedge: Cleveland RTZ
Loft/grind: 50 mid, 56 mid, 60 low C
Shaft: KBS Tour X
Golf ball: SRIXON Z-Star XV
Hideki Matsuyama
Iron: Srixon Z-Forged II (4-9)
Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold S400
Hideki Matsuyama’s 7-iron. Jack Hirsch/Golf
Wedge: Cleveland RTX4
Loft/grind: 48, 52, 56, 60
Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold S400
Golf ball: SRIXON Z-Star XV
andrew novak
Iron: ZXi5 (4 pieces), ZXi7 (5 to PW)
Loft: 23/26/30/34/38/42/46
Rai: 61.5/62/62.5/63/64/65/65
Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold X100
Length: 37 inches 7 iron
Wedge: Cleveland RTZ
Loft/grind: 50 mid, 54 high, 60 full LB
Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold S400
Golf ball: SRIXON Z-Star Diamond
JJ Spahn
iron: Sarxon ZXi5 (4), ZXi7 (5-PW)
Loft: 23/26/30/34/38/42/46
Lie: 60/60.5/61/62/63/63.5/64
Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Length: 37 inches 7 iron
JJ Spawn 6 iron. Jack Hirsch/Golf
Wedges: Cleveland RTX Zipcore Tour Rack (50), RTZ Tour Rack (54), RTX 6 Tour Rack (60)
Loft/grind: 50 mid, 54 full, 60 low C
Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold S400
advertisement
Golf ball: SRIXON Z-Star Diamond
Sepp Straka
iron: Sarxon ZXi5 (4-5), ZXi7 (6-PW)
Loft: 24/27/30/34/38/42/47
Lie: 61/61.5/62/63/64/65/65
Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Length: 37 inches 7 iron
Wedge: Cleveland RTZ
Loft/grind: 52 mid, 56 full, 60 full HB
Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold S400
Golf ball: SRIXON Z-Star XV
Want to find the best irons and wedges for the 2026 game? Find a club fitting location near you at True Spec Golf.
The post Cleveland/Srixon winds back the clock on Masters wedges appeared first on Golf.

