Cleveland Golf Blog

Cleveland Golf is pleased to announce the introduction of the 588 Forged Black Pearl wedge, an extension of its highly-successful 588 Forged wedge line that was released in the fall of 2011. The 588 Forged Black Pearl wedge maintains the popular, tour-proven shape of Cleveland Golf’s original 588 wedge while offering the same technological breakthroughs featured on the 588 Forged line of wedges. It also boasts Cleveland Golf’s highly-popular Black Pearl finish, which helps reduce glare to make it easier to frame the ball at address.

Precision Forged from 1025 carbon steel, the 588 Forged Black Pearl wedge offers golfers an incredibly soft yet solid feel, as well as the highest level of manufacturing consistency for supreme confidence and trust over every shot. The 588 Forged Black Pearl wedge’s Tour Zip Grooves and Laser Milled technology help to maximize spin in accordance with USGA regulations. The 588 Forged Black Pearl wedge comes with a Tour Concept Wedge steel shaft, co-developed and engineered by Cleveland Golf and industry leader True Temper. With a unique stiffness profile that features a less active tip, this shaft promotes a more penetrating ball flight, increased spin and optimal distance control along with superior feel.

“Our latest introduction of the 588 Forged line of wedges has been a huge success for us,” said Todd Harman, President of Cleveland Golf/Srixon – U.S.A. “With Black Pearl historically being our most popular finish in past wedge lines, we’re really excited to bring the unique look and performance of the 588 Forged Black Pearl wedge to golfers.”

To learn more about the 588 Forged Black Pearl, click here.  To shop for the 588 Forged Black Pearl, click here.

What do you think of the new 588 Forged Black Pearl wedge?  Will you be putting one in your bag?

George McNeill only needed to make par on the 72nd hole to secure a win at the 2012 Puerto Rico Open over the weekend, but instead decided to add some style points with a closing birdie en route to his second-career PGA Tour victory. McNeill, who finished the day with three consecutive birdies, won the tournament with rounds of 66-70-67-69 for a four-day score of -18, 272.

McNeill, who won previously at the 2007 Frys.com Open during his rookie year, was the 54-hole leader at Trump International Golf Club in Puerto Rico but still needed to make a Sunday charge since the leaderboard was filled with low scores.

“I was really nervous, but I knew what I had to do, and basically I just had to bear down and get it done,” said McNeill, a 36-year-old Florida State alum. “If not, then somebody else was going to win. I was trying to basically have control of myself, and that’s all I was looking for.”

He earned $630,000 for the triumph, along with 250 FedEx Cup points.

McNeill’s story really is that of a journeyman. He turned professional in 1998 and tried to make a name for himself on the Nationwide Tour and mini-tours. After a few years with varying results, McNeill gave up playing competitive golf completely and returned to Florida to work as a teaching professional. After nine months of working at two different golf courses, McNeill had had enough and made the decision to get back to what he loved – playing golf at the highest level.

In 145 career PGA Tour starts, McNeill now has two wins, six runner-ups and two playoff losses. He’s learned a lot since his first victory.

“I think I was a little dumb, for lack of a better word, in 2007,” McNeill said. “I really didn’t know any better.

“It’s not easy to be the best even if it’s only for one week, and that’s why it’s tough. And you got to take in golf what you can and move on.”

In his bag this week was:

Driver: Launcher Ultralite TL310, 9.5*

Irons: 588 Forged MB, 3-PW

Wedges: 588 Forged 54* & 60*

Ball: Srixon Z-STAR XV

We love these multiple-event weeks on the PGA Tour. It’s an opportunity for some Cleveland Golf/Srixon staffers to compete against the very best at Doral, while others can earn some valuable World Ranking and FedEx Cup points in Puerto Rico.

World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship

This event, reserved for 75 of the best players in the world, takes place at the famous Doral Resort in Miami, Fla. The resort was recently purchased by real estate mogul Donald Trump, who showed up on site this week.
They don’t call this course the Blue Monster for nothing. Weather is almost always a factor at this lengthy, bunker-laden track, and winds have been gusting all week – sometimes up to 30mph. With weather like this, our staffers spent most of their time dialing in their short games and putting, since it’s hard to get much out of full-swing practice in these conditions. As is usually the case at these top-tier events, equipment work was relegated to the normal maintenance of lofts and lies and a few re-grips – this way, players can focus more on practice instead of club-building.

These WGC events also allow us to see some of our European staffers we don’t normally have much time with in the States. This week, Spaniard Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano is back in the U.S. after he was in Arizona a few weeks ago for the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship. Gonzo, as he is called, is a terrific talent and really interesting guy. We always enjoy our time with him and hope he continues to climb the Official World Golf Rankings so everyone will have the opportunity to see more of him (he’s currently 50th).

Check out some photos of Gonzo here.

Puerto Rico Open

As mentioned before, this event is a great opportunity for our staffers to make a big move up the money list. Every dollar is important as players try to position themselves before the next reshuffle. We have some players in the field that have gotten off to solid starts this season and want to continue that momentum, and others that really need to ignite their year.

No real club work is done down in Puerto Rico, since logistically it can’t really happen. However, we did have to tackle one equipment emergency.

At least a few times a year, an airline baggage handler will manage to take out some aggression on one of our staffers’ travel bags – leaving us to put the pieces back together. This week, Ted Potter, Jr. was the unlucky victim. The airline broke his Launcher Ultralite TL310 driver, but we were able to send him a replacement the next day from our tour department in Huntington Beach.

There are always some cool stories that come out of Monday Qualifying for PGA Tour events. This week, two of our CG/Srixon tour players – developmental staffer Derek Tolan and Nationwide Tour member Andy Matthews – both played their way into the field. We certainly wish them the best this week as they look to make their stamp on the PGA Tour.

Next week we are off to the iconic Bay Hill Club & Lodge for the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

‘Til next week…

This week we’re at PGA National’s Champion Course in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., for the beginning of the PGA Tour’s Florida swing. Many of the world’s best players are in the Honda Classic field, and whenever they show up, it creates a special environment.

The story this week is really about holes 15-17 at PGA National, affectionately known as “The Bear Trap” after course designer Jack Nicklaus. This is certainly one of, if not the most difficult trio of holes on any course all year. It was really fun listening to Cleveland Golf/Srixon staffers discuss their various plans of attack for that stretch. Be sure to watch how they perform there, as the holes will get a ton of television coverage (look for our new commercials on both NBC and Golf Channel).

This week is a home game for some of our staffers, such as Keegan Bradley and Robert Allenby, who live in nearby Jupiter and West Palm Beach, respectively. It makes for a fun week for them since they get to hang out with all of their family and friends.

Equipment-wise, we couldn’t be more excited about the start to our year. The Classic driver has been adopted more quickly by our PGA Tour players than any other driver I can remember. It’s received a great deal of attention for its good looks, but it performs as well as anything I have seen. The overwhelming majority of Cleveland wedges in bags now are the new 588 Forged. The most common comment has been, “They just feel better than everything else.” That feel combined with the classic 588 shape has made them a home run on Tour to this point. We’re having more fun working with this current product line than any I can remember.

Check out a quick gallery of pictures from this week’s Honda Classic.

Final Notes:

Again, be sure to tune in to this week’s coverage. Check out our staffers playing this week and our new commercials that will be airing over this weekend.

Also, there is a nice article in this week’s Golf World about Jason Kokrak, his prodigious length, and his Classic driver. It’s a great read. Jason put a Miyazaki Kusala Black 83X shaft in his 15-degree Launcher FL fairway wood this week, and it will be interesting to see how it performs for the bomber.

Srixon staffer Robert Allenby is coming off of a tough finish at last week’s Mayakoba Classic in Mexico, losing in an eight-hole playoff. Allenby is in good spirits this week, and at No. 60 in the Official World Golf Rankings, he’s looking to contend more on the Florida Swing so he can crack the top 50 and earn an invite to the Masters in April.

‘Til next week…

It seems like I say this every week, but yet again, the setting for this week’s PGA Tour event is truly something special. The courses and cities where our Cleveland Golf/Srixon staffers start their season are phenomenal, and Pebble Beach may just be the crown jewel. Golf on the Monterey Peninsula is as visually spectacular as you’ll find anywhere in the world.

This week’s event is played on three courses on the Monterey Peninsula–Pebble Beach, Spyglass Hill, and Monterey Peninsula Country Club’s Shore Course (MPCC). The two latter courses are fantastic in their own right, with Spyglass heralded as a superb test by all the players and MPCC sporting ocean views on 14 of 18 holes.

We usually do a lot of wedge work in the Tour Trailer for this event, and this year was no different. While the courses this week were as firm as we’ve seen them in some time, they’re still softer and just altogether different than anywhere else the guys have played thus far.

This creates an interesting challenge.

With softer turf conditions, players will often want to game a wedge with a bit more overall bounce, making it less prone to digging. But the greens here are also softer this time of year, and the last thing you want with soft greens are super fresh, sharp grooves. We know our Tour Zip Grooves really do spin the golf ball more than any other grooves out there. So we as reps, along with the players, have to weigh the pros and cons of putting a new wedge in the bag this week. If someone does opt for a new wedge, he’ll often hit a lot of practice greenside bunker shots just to take that initial groove sharpness off for the soft greens of Pebble and avoid over-spinning the ball. As you watch this week, keep an eye on who controls their spin the best on wedge and short-iron approaches. The player that does this best will have a great chance to win at week’s end.

The 588 Forged wedges continue to impress CG/Srixon staffers and are drawing more and more interest from players outside our staff. The most common question we get from players is, “So it’s a 588, but it feels way better?” The answer is YES! The classic 588 look, combined with the feel of our advanced Precision Forged process and the best grooves on the market, is making many tour players very happy!

Staffers in this week’s field include: Steve Flesch, Steven Bowditch, Troy Kelly, Russell Knox, Chris Stroud, George McNeill, Vijay Singh, Jason Kokrak, Roland Thatcher, Charlie Beljan, Ted Potter Jr., and Kevin Stadler.

For more pictures from this week, check out this photo gallery!

‘Til next week…

Readers,

Today continues our blog series on the advantages of the 588 Forged Wedge. Last week, we focused on the timeless shape of the wedge, which has won 26 majors and over 330 PGA Tour events since 1988. This week, we want to educate you on the 588 Forged’s grooves, specifically some of the finer points that are often overshadowed or overlooked when discussing wedge grooves.

So, let’s “Face The Facts” about wedge grooves (pun intended!)

Did you know that grooves function like tread on a tire? The purpose of a groove is to channel moisture and debris away from the contact surface to improve friction. With a car, that means better handling on the road, with a wedge it means that optimum groove dimensions allow for optimum control of spin. The 588 Forged Wedge has the maximum groove dimensions allowed by the USGA; if the grooves are too small, moisture and debris (grass, dirt, etc.) won’t be channeled away as effectively, meaning less spin control.

Cleveland Golf has been the leading innovator in groove technology for over a decade.  Since the release of the 900 Wedge in 2000, Cleveland Golf has set the industry standard in wedge face consistency.  Along with that, the Laser Milled face is truly one of a kind.  Laser Milling, originally introduced on the CG15 wedge and later added to other CG wedges, allows for even more spin and control of the wedge thanks to optimal surface roughness, which also improves friction.

Milling is taken to new heights at CG. After our club builders mill the grooves into the wedge, we fill them with a protective, wax-like material. This material insures they maintain their original milled shape throughout the other manufacturing processes such as sandblasting and polishing (this also keeps them shiny… see for yourself next time you’re in a golf shop). Since they aren’t touched at all after milling, we can mill them right at the USGA’s limit without worrying that they will change shape and become non-conforming. No other company can make that claim, so no other company’s grooves are as pristine as ours.

So, readers, when it comes to face technology, Cleveland Golf is truly unmatched.  No other company can do what we do with grooves on the face of a wedge, and at some point we just need to FACE the facts!

Readers,

Today kicks off a four week blog series that will highlight the key features and benefits of the 588 Precision Forged Wedge.  The series will feature write ups covering the subjects of: Shape, Feel, Performance and the Forging Process.  There will be a new post every Wednesday from now until February 22nd.  Today we will focus on the shape of the wedge.

The 588 Wedge, originally introduced in 1988, has long been accepted as the industry benchmark in wedge craftsmanship.  There truly has never been another wedge that has rivaled this one.  A massive part of the success the 588 has had, both commercially and on tour, has come because of the shape of the wedge.  Our researchers here have narrowed down the top features of the shape into five points:

Ideal Face Area – Slightly higher heel and toe sections in the 588 create a larger club face to inspire confidence, yet the wedge’s relatively compact design still maximizes playability and shot-making.

Superior “V” Sole Design – The 588 has an intermediate sole width that narrows at the heel and widens at the toe, a versatile construction that suits full fairway shots and firm turf conditions while also accommodating greenside shots from thick rough and bunkers.

More Effective Bounce – A cambered sole allows the bounce of the 588 wedge to work more effectively. The bounce progressively decreases from the leading edge to the rear of the sole, promoting smoother, more consistent turf interaction and optimal feel.

Precise Flange Size – The flange on every 588 model is crafted specifically to enhance performance. Flanges on 48- and 52-degree wedges are smaller to complement the lower bounce angle that’s ideal for full fairway shots and long pitches, while 56- and 58-degree offerings have a larger flange for optimal playability from sand and rough.

Optimal Leading Edge – The 588’s subtly rounded leading edge promotes a natural visual transition when opening the club face for high, soft shots. Plus, the leading edge is set slightly ahead of the hosel at address to enhance turf interaction out of the rough.

So what does this all mean for you as a player?  It means that the shape of the 588 Precision Forged Wedge is truly about getting the job done.  It means a wedge that will preform more consistently and at a higher level.  It means that you are more likely to have a “watch this” moment with your buddies.  Speaking of that, do you have a “watch this” moment with a 588 Wedge that you want to share with us?  We would love to hear them.

Happy Monday, Readers!

A stop in the Coachella Valley is always an exciting one for the PGA Tour, and this year was no different. With President Bill Clinton serving as host for the first time, there was certainly a vibrant, more exciting atmosphere at the event. Not surprisingly, he was the talk of the tournament from Day One and a fixture on TV sets when he teed it up Saturday. President Clinton was even spotted having a nice chat with David Toms on Friday (presumably about David’s golf equipment!)

Speaking of Toms, the 13-time PGA Tour winner had a solid T6 performance this week thanks to rounds of 63, 65, 72, 68. Toms, who last week said making the World Golf Hall of Fame is his biggest motivating factor in his 40s, finished inside the top 20 in the field in driving accuracy, birdies, strokes gained (putting), greens in regulation and sand saves.

In David’s bag was:

Driver: Classic 10.5°

Irons: CG7 Tour

Wedges: 588 Forged 54° and 60°

Putter: Never Compromise Limited Dinero Tycoon

Other Cleveland Golf/Srixon staffers with solid finishes were George McNeill, Joe Durant and Jeff Overton, finishing at -10, -10 and -9, respectively. McNeill’s performance was highlighted by a Friday round of 65, and he hit 75 percent of the greens in regulation for the week using 588 Forged MB Irons. Ted Potter Jr. was the top CG/Srixon rookie in the field, carding a -9 total.

Readers,

The Classic Driver, one of this winter’s most buzzed about golf clubs, is officially available for pre-order today online! This comes on the heels of a pretty big week for the Classic on the PGA Tour. Rookies Jason Kokrak and Charlie Beljan – a pair of Cleveland Golf staffers making their Tour debuts at the Sony Open in Hawaii – gamed the Classic and finished first and second, respectively, in driving distance! Kokrak averaged 328.0 yards off the tee, while Beljan wasn’t far behind with an average of 324.8 yards.

In case you haven’t seen the Classic Driver yet, here it is:

With the styling of a persimmon wood (the club that Cleveland Golf originally made a name for itself with), it’s sure to turn some heads. Looks aside, this club has serious technology under the hood. In line with the RightWeight fitting system of the 2011 Launcher Ultralite Drivers, the Classic comes in three different models to help every player find the right driver: The Classic 270 is for maximum head speed, the Classic 290 provides a strong combination of distance and accuracy, and the Classic Tour (weighs 310 grams) is for tour-caliber workability and precision.

To optimize each driver with Ultralite Technology, we’ve once again included the premium performance of Miyazaki graphite shafts. The 270 features a C. Kua 39 (the lightest shaft ever played on the PGA Tour), the 290 boasts a C. Kua 43, and the Tour has a Kusala Black 61, a favorite among better players for its feel and stability.

The head of the driver is where this club really comes to life. While the gold-colored trapezoid section on the face brings you back to the days of yesteryear, it also is a phenomenal alignment tool to help keep the ball in the center of the club face. Speaking of the club face, the Classic has the largest and deepest face ever produced by Cleveland Golf, which leads to the largest effective hitting area and promotes a penetrating ball flight.

Needless to say, the Classic is a club that will be coming out of the gates hot. It will hit shelves on February 17, but you can pre-order yours here right now.

What do you think about the Classic Driver?

Cleveland Golf would like to congratulate Keegan Bradley on being named the 2011 PGA Tour Rookie Of The Year! The award was announced Tuesday from PGA Tour Headquarters in Florida by PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem.

Keegan’s rookie campaign is sure to be talked about for years to come. The clear highlight of his season – and of his career to date – was the dramatic come-from-behind PGA Championship win at Atlanta Athletic Club in August. Being five shots down with just three holes to play didn’t rattle the 25-year-old St. John’s University alum, as he made stunning birdies on holes 16 and 17 to hold a share of the lead at the end of regulation. When the dust settled following the ensuing three-hole playoff, Bradley was indeed the PGA Champion, becoming only the third player ever to win in his first major start.

Before the PGA Championship, Keegan broke through with a playoff triumph at the HP Byron Nelson Championship in May for his first career PGA Tour victory. The native of Woodstock, Vt., capped his two-win regular season with a pair of off-season wins, one at the PGA Grand Slam of Golf in Bermuda in October and another this month at the Franklin Templeton Shootout in Florida.

All told, he ranked 13th on the money list with $3,758,600. Not bad for someone who had never competed in a PGA Tour event prior to 2011.

“I’m thrilled to win the Rookie of the Year,” Bradley said “it’s an award you can only win one time, that you only get one chance to win. It’s a huge honor.”

Because of his accolades inside the ropes, Bradley, a devout New England sports fan who now resides in Jupiter, Fla., was selected to throw out the first pitch at Fenway Park prior to a Boston Red Sox game and handle the pre-game coin toss for a New England Patriots game at Gillette Stadium. Keegan even received a congratulatory text from Patriots Super Bowl MVP quarterback and childhood hero Tom Brady, who said he’d like to tee it up with Bradley following the NFL season.

So congrats on a great year, Keegan!  May it be the first of many!