Cleveland Golf CBX Full Face 2 Wedge Review: "Extremely forgiving"

GolfMagic tests out the brand new Cleveland Golf CBX Full Face 2 Wedge designed to give you controlled stopping power. 

Andy Roberts's picture
Andy Roberts
Tue, 28 Feb 2023
Cleveland Golf CBX Full Face 2 Wedge: "Get creative around the greens"

Need To Know

Extreme forgiveness; one of the most accurate wedges on the market from outside of 100 yards; terrific feel and sound at impact; unlimited spin; Full Face unlocks performance benefits once you get familiar with it
Not the sexiest looking wedge out there; RTX wedges offer more versatility; Full Face takes some getting used to
Our score:
PRICE: £149.00 YEAR: from 2023

Cleveland Golf CBX Full Face 2 Wedges - Key Features

  • HydraZip: new laser-milled line pattern designed to friction for improved spin consistency in wet or dry conditions. 
  • ZipCore: boosts MOI for increased feel, control, consistency, and forgiveness.
  • UltiZip: deep, tightly spaced grooves help maximize spin performance and cut through debris at impact. 
  • Larger Full-Face Profile: more face equals more grooves, offering heel to toe forgiveness and versatility
  • Forgiving Sole Design: C-Shape Sole featured on 54-60 degree lofts adds bounce in the center.
  • New Bounce Chamfer: All lofts feature a new bounce chamfer near the leading edge, designed to reduce chunking around the green. 

Cleveland Golf is a master when it comes to wedges, and the new CBX Full Face 2 Wedges from the brand are their most forgiving yet. 

The extremely versatile Cleveland RTX ZipCore Full Face Wedges had already made it into our Best Golf Wedges Guide at the end of last season, and their latest CBX wedges follow them straight in for 2023, too. 

Now before we go any further, let's break down the key performance benefits of both CBX and RTX wedges. 

The CBX wedges are designed for your average golfer, such as myself, who seeks a bit more forgiveness from a traditional looking wedge.

The RTX wedges, on the other hand, are designed for your better players who seek not only forgiveness but a bit more versatility from their shots. 

RTX is arguably a better looking wedge. 

But the added benefit of Full Face to Cleveland Golf's successful wedge line, is that you essentially have a much larger face to strike your golf ball.

If you need a bit of help with your ball striking, then look no further than these CBX Full Face 2 wedges that are also packed with a range of key technologies including HydraZip, ZipCore and UltiZip. 

Player Level

Golfers seeking bundles of forgiveness with their wedge will definitely want to take a closer look at these. 

Cleveland Golf CBX Full Face 2 Wedges - Looks and Feel

Let's start with Full Face first, as it will take some getting used to if you have never experienced grooves splashed all over a wedge.

We have used Full Face for a while now, so we've got used to it, but just bear that in mind if you do take the plunge here. 

It will look different to you. 

The full face design on all wedges in 2023, not just Cleveland, is a tremendous introduction to the industry in our view as it dramatically improves both forgiveness and performance. 

Now as we've already touched on with the looks of the CBX wedge itself, it's not quite as sexy looking at address or in the bag as the RTX wedge, which just appears much more sleeker as a better-player wedge. 

But to be fair, neither of them rival the unbelivable Titleist Vokey SM9 Wedge when it comes to looks. 

However, we still really like the look of these, and we think average players will do, too. When you see the performance, which we will come on to shortly, you certainly won't mind a minor drop off in the appearance stakes. 

One thing to note is that these CBX Full Face 2 Wedges have a much higher toe profile than the RTX wedges with a 13% larger contact area. That potentially scuppers it in the looks department, but as we say, it's been done for a reason and that is to improve performance. 

This particular tweak to the wedge helped us to feel much more confident around the greens, especially when playing delicate flop shots where we wanted to open up the club a bit more. 

At impact, the feel and sound was once again superb, very similar to the RTX wedges that we tested out last season. 

Cleveland Golf really does excel when it comes to the looks and feel of its wedges, and its latest line continues that trend. 

You receive a soft, buttery feel on full wedge shots, and plenty of controlled feel and stopping power from those delicate shots around the green out of a fairway lie, intermediate, bunker or deep rough. 

While the looks of the RTX are certainly a little sexier, the feel of the CBX rivals it. 

Cleveland Golf CBX Full Face 2 Wedges - Forgiveness and Performance

As you can probably already tell in this review, forgiveness is really where this wedge excels, and then some. 

We will go as far to say this is up there with one of the most forgiving wedges we have ever tested here at GolfMagic.

The addition of Full Face grooves makes it so much easier for you to strike this ball cleanly and on your desired target line. 

It also gives you zip on dial. If you struggle to spin the ball, you will want to give this one a very close look. 

Forgiveness and extra spin, I mean, what more could an amateur hack really want?! 

While it won't completely save you on a squiffy hit from outside of 100 yards, it will straighten you up considerably. 

On the whole from wedge shots between 120 and 100 yards, we noted a really tight offline dispersion. 

This is all down to the ZipCore packed into this wedge, which is a lightweight, low-density technology that optimizes the centre of gravity (CG) and boosts the moment of inertia (MOI) to give you that increased forgiveness. 

These wedges also possess extremely forgiving sole designs to assist you further, especially with the C-Shape Sole in the 54 to 60-degree models that add bounce in the centre.

You can learn more about all the wedge lingo you need to know in our best golf wedges guide. 

There is still an element of versatility with these wedges, simply as a result of the Full Face grooves, but we would have to say the RTX Full Face wedges give you a little bit more on that front. 

But as we say, these golf wedges just offer you that little bit more forgiveness than any other Cleveland wedge out there. 

If sending in your wedges closer to the flag is more important to you than having an array of different shots to play out on the golf course, then we think you need to try the CBX Full Face 2 Wedges this season. 

For the chunkers among you, we are pleased to report the club's new bounce chamfer near the leading edge ensures you will highly reduce your chances of duffing a wedge shot. 

Sadly we cannot guarantee you will never chunk a wedge shot again though. 

Should you buy the Cleveland Golf CBX Full Face 2 Wedges?

Game improvers or golf beginners will definitely want to take a closer look at these exciting new CBX Full Face 2 Wedges from Cleveland. 

They are some of the most forgiving Cleveland wedges we have ever tested, and they more than deserve their place in our latest best golf wedges guide for 2023. 

If you want something a little sexier or you class yourself a better player who needs as much versatility from your wedges as possible, then we would have to recommend the RTX Full Face wedges for you. 

Full Face does take some getting used to with grooves emblazoned all over the face, but the performance benefits are clear for all to see once you get comfortable. 

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