Cleveland Golf is launching a sweet set of Limited Edition 588 Tour Action wedges and I, for one, couldn’t be happier.
You knew these were coming, didn’t you? I mean, the minute Cleveland announced last year that founder Roger Cleveland was returning to the company, you knew.
How could you not know?
And, friends, Cleveland did this one beyond right. It’s a David Ortiz game-winning grand slam, a Bobby Orr end-to-end lamplighter, a Larry Bird trey to wrap up another banner and a Brady-to-Moss bomb for the go-ahead TD.
(OK, so you know where my hometown sympathies lie.)
With that, let’s take a closer look at this special limited-edition drop and discuss just why the original Cleveland 588 Tour Action wedge redefined what a wedge could and should be.
What are the Cleveland limited-edition 588 Tour Action wedges all about?
Simply stated, these limited-edition sticks are reproductions of Roger Cleveland’s original 588 Tour Action wedges. They have the same iconic shaping, the same (for the day) unique sole grinds and the same shiny chrome finish.
Under the hood, however, Cleveland has packed in all of its latest wedge technology. There’s ZipCore for improved feel and optimized center-of-gravity placement and HydraZip to help channel away moisture for improved performance in wet conditions. The new 588 wedges also include UltiZip and Rotex Face Milling which Cleveland uses to optimize spin consistency throughout its wedge lineup.
Unlike the original 588 wedges, however, these limited-edition models are not forged. Instead, they’re cast from Cleveland’s proprietary Z-Alloy material. Z-Alloy was invented by Srixon-Cleveland-XXIO and is softer than the 8620 steel commonly used in wedges and is also, oddly enough, more durable than 8620.
It’s also rustproof.
The Cleveland limited-edition 588 Tour Action wedges are sold in a set. It includes a 53-degree gap wedge (with 10 degrees of bounce), a 56-degree sand wedge (with 12 degrees of bounce) and a 60-degree lob wedge (with eight degrees of bounce).
What made the original 588 wedges such a game-changer?
The original Cleveland 588 wedges were launched with a companion set of irons (the wedges launched first) in 1988. They were also the fifth generation of clubs Cleveland released, hence the 588. To understand why the wedges were so influential, however, you have to remember what wedges were like in 1987.
“When I started, the best wedges on Tour were Wilsons,” Roger Cleveland tells MyGolfSpy. “Guys were using Dynapower wedges from 1958 or 1959. They had a beautiful shape, silhouette and offset, but they were 20 years old.”
Cleveland knew he couldn’t compete with the likes of Wilson, MacGregor or Spalding with irons but wedges at the time were treated more like 10-, 11- and 12-irons as opposed to short-game specialty tools.
“There just wasn’t much interest in wedges on Tour,” Cleveland says. “So I took advantage of that and started working with players and getting some advice from them.”
Cleveland had some ideas and added Tour players’ input. He soon started studying sole geometries and soon realized how important added heel relief could be.
“At the time, the highest-lofted wedge most players were using was a 56. They learned how to open it up and that’s when you increase the bounce and expose the heel much more. When the face is open, the first turf interaction is with the heel.
“You have to address that so you take some off the heel.”
The original 588 wedges had that extra heel relief as well as a sharper leading edge. They also featured multiple loft and bounce options.
The Cleveland 588 wedges were an immediate hit
The original 588 Tour Action wedges put Cleveland Golf on the map as a premier short-game company and it’s not an exaggeration to say they redefined what wedges could and should be. The 588 became the template for modern wedge design, combining a large teardrop shape, a high toe profile and a versatile sole. It was playable by Tour pros as well as regular golfers which was rare for the time.
It’s not unreasonable to suggest the 588 did for wedges what the PING Anser did for putters.
“The original 588 was not done in a vacuum,” says Cleveland. “I had a lot of great people. We had guys working at the college level. Someone did a survey at the NCAA championships back then and something like 95 percent of the guys were playing 588 wedges.”
As mentioned, the 588 wedges came out first in 1988, followed by the 588 irons. Those irons, however, didn’t have nearly the same impact. They were forged muscle-back blades but were more of an in-line update to the previous 485 irons. Additionally, they were competing directly with three of the most category-defining iron sets in history: the PING Eye 2, the Tommy Armour 845s and the Hogan Edge.
Cleveland limited-edition 588 Tour Action wedges: Specs, price and availability
As mentioned, these limited-edition 588 Tour Action wedges are being sold in a three-wedge set only. The set includes a 52, 56 and 60, and comes with Limited Edition True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 shafts and very retro limited-edition Golf Pride Victory grips.
They are available in right-handed only. The wedge set will come in a premium collector’s box and a brushed brass plaque.
When Cleveland says, “limited edition,” they mean limited edition. As of this writing, only 588 sets are being made. Despite its limited status, the wedges are priced pretty well at, you guessed it, $588 for the set. There are no plans to sell the wedges individually.
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