Being a journalist in the golf industry certainly has its perks, and one of those happens to be receiving equipment before it is even launched. The latest club to make its way into my office is the Cleveland 588 Precision Forged golf wedge.
Cleveland is known for its world-class wedges and is, in fact, the No 1 wedge manufacturer in golf. Since it stopped selling the original Cleveland Tour Action 588 wedges, it has created the CG series beginning with the CG 10 in 2006, a golf wedge that I still carry in my bag today.
Cleveland has since introduced the CG 12, 14, 15 and 16 wedges, all of which have been cast wedges. But due to popular demand, especially on the professional tours, the Cleveland 588 golf wedge has been re-launched, and this time it’s forged, meaning its cut from one piece of carbon steel instead of being cast in a mould.
I have managed to get in a few rounds with the 56° wedge that Cleveland sent me and I have really enjoyed it so far. There is definitely a softer feel off the face and the laser milled tour zip grooves have brought back some of the spin that was lost when the new groove laws were introduced last year.
One thing that has always been a regular design feature in Cleveland wedges is the higher bounce angles. This is mostly due to the soles of the wedges being made slightly narrower, and therefore the bounce needs to be higher to create the same turf interaction that you would get with a wider sole with less bounce angle.
I have struggled in the past with this concept as I have a shallow swing path and therefore tend to catch wedges with higher bounce angles a tad thin on the odd occasion. The wedge I received has a 14° bounce, which is higher than most others, but I felt extremely comfortable with it this time.
I am glad to see that there will be lower bounce variations available however.
Look out for the new Cleveland 588 Precision Forged wedges in golf shops around the country this December, and definitely give them a try, especially if you are already playing with forged golf irons. This will give you the same feel and should improve your short game.
