Cleveland Smart Sole C Wedge Review (Updated 2023)

 

Cleveland Smart Sole C Wedge Review

The Cleveland Smart Sole C Wedge is a tool designed to help the mid to higher handicap improve their golf game.

The Cleveland Smart Sole C Wedge is very similar to what some players call a chipper.

When using a club like this, you will use a little bit of a different stroke and technique than you may be used to in your golf game.

In our Cleveland Smart Sole C Wedge Review, we will fill you in on all the details of the Smart Sole C and who should be putting this club in their golf bag.

 

Specifications

Loft: 42 Degrees

Lie Angle: 66 degrees

Length: 34 Inches

Swingweight: D3.5 Steel, D2 Graphite

Shaft: Cleveland Wedge Flex Graphite or Steel

Grip: Lamkin Blue Cap

Availability: Men’s and Women’s Models

Manufacturer: Cleveland

Hand: Available in Left and Right Hand

 

Technology

The Cleveland Smart Sole C 3 Wedge has quite a bit of technology to help golfers improve their game.

You should know that this is a club for players who want to make chipping more simple.

This is not the club for a scratch golfer looking for the best on the market as far as feel and precision or shot control.

The majority of mid to high handicap golfers struggle with blading or “skulling” shots around the green.

When you hit a shot thin like this, it is going to run across the green and past the hole.

It is a very frustrating thing to get close to the hole and then have the ball run entirely through the golf green.

The Smart Sole C 3 moves weight around, away from the hosel to help improve feel and improve shot dispersion.

It would help if you thought of this as being a very simple choice for a wedge.

You will not need to manipulate your golf swing to learn how to play with this club.

Using a swing very similar to a putting stroke, the Smart Sole C 3 will give you a little bit of air time and then a nice reliable roll to the hole.

The three-tiered sole design on the Smart Sole C 3 helps to improve turf interaction.

If you feel as though you hit behind the ball on one swing and then thin it on the next, you need a club with better turf interaction.

Even if you don’t strike the ball exactly where you need to, the Smart Sole C3 helps to adjust and make sure that you get a solid shot.

The lie angle on the Smart Sole C 3 is very upright.

This upright lie angle helps improve contact and make sure that the technique is perfect.

 

Finish

You may notice that many golf wedges are available in several different finishes.

If you look at the Cleveland RTX wedges, you will have your choice in what finish you would like on the club.

The RTX wedge is a bit of a different type of club than the Smart Sole C 3.

The RTX is a club with much more loft and spin than the C 3.

It takes much more precision, and it is more about feel than the Smart Sole C 3.

The Cleveland Smart Sole C 3 is only available in the standard finish with no options to change it.

 

Loft

The loft on the Smart Sole C 3 is 42 degrees.

Most people have between 43-46 degrees of loft on their pitching wedge.

The Smart Sole will end up being a club that fits somewhere between the pitching wedge and the nine iron.

Although you could technically use this same type of stroke using your pitching wedge or sand wedge, you will miss out on a few of the key benefits.

The Smart Sole is made shorter; it is closer to the size of a putter than it is the size of a wedge.

This allows players to get closer to the golf ball and keep the motions more compact.

If you were to use your pitching wedge or nine iron, you would have to choke down on the club, and the feel would not be the same.

The other main difference between the Smart Sole and your other irons is the sole.

The sole on the Smart Sole C 3 is a three-tiered design that helps the club slide through impact and make a great connection with the ball.

If you look at the bottom of your nine iron or pitching wedge, you will not see this same technology.

Finally, the weighting on the Smart Sole C 3 is designed for chipping.

This is not a club that you would use for a full swing type shot.

Even though it has 42 degrees of loft and could technically fly a long way, it is used as a chipping tool around the greens.

 

Forgiveness

One of the main reasons to add a Smart Sole C 3 wedge to your golf bag is forgiveness.

Anytime you can take a part of your game and simplify it, you should take the opportunity.

When golf clubs are more forgiving, they are also more consistent.

The weighting of the Smart Sole C 3 is what makes it so forgiving.

The weight was moved from the hosel to the toe of the club.

When this was done, the center of gravity was moved closer to the center of the clubface.

When these weights were moved around, the shots started landing closer and closer together.

This is known as shot dispersion.

The Smart Sole C 3 has some of the tighter shot dispersion numbers of any other wedge on the market.

 

Shaft

The Cleveland Smart Sole C 3 wedge is available in both graphite and a steel shaft.

Traditionally wedges come with a steel shaft because the extra weight helps golfers hit down and through their shots.

The graphite in the Cleveland Smart Sole is for players that have a little less clubhead speed.

If you are already playing with graphite shafts in all of your irons, it makes sense to stick with graphite in the wedges.

If you are playing with steel in your irons, then you probably don’t want to switch to graphite in the wedges.

Since this club is not used for full swing type shots, you do not need to worry quite as much about the shaft.

You probably won’t end up with the wrong option as far as the shaft is concerned.

The Cleveland Smart Sole C 3 is available in a women’s golf shaft as well.

The women’s shaft will be a bit more flexible than the standard graphite men’s shaft.

Cleveland has all of its shafts explicitly made to fit in their wedges.

The shafts are manufactured so that they are an exact match for the technology of the club head itself.

 

Who Is The Cleveland Smart Sole 3 C Wedge For?

The Cleveland Smart Sole 3 C Wedge is for a mid to high handicapper or a beginner.

This club will most help the player that struggles with chips around the green.

If your chips are inconsistent and cause you to run a ball through a green and then stub one on the next, the C 3 can help.

You will not be using this particular wedge out of the bunkers or when you need a high lofted shot out of the rough.

If you don’t have a golf club with more than 52 degrees of loft in your bag, you will need to add something to cover those areas of the game.

The ideal location to hit a Smart Sole 3 C wedge is from the approach area of the green to a pin that is in the middle or back of the green.

The wedge is going to travel in the air for a short period and then roll towards the target.

You won’t get much spin as you are going to get plenty of roll with the wedge, only being 42 degrees.

Another player that will love this wedge is those that feel as though their wedges are too long for them.

The Smart Sole is about the length of a putter and allows you to feel very close to the golf ball.

This promotes better feel and accuracy as well.

 

Is The Cleveland Smart Sole 4 C Wedge Better?

Since the release of the Smart Sole 3 C, Cleveland has released the Smart Sole 4 C.

The Smart Sole 4 is very similar to the Smart Sole 3.

The technology was only changed slightly, and there are a few enhancements.

The pricing on the Smart Sole 4 is going to be quite a bit higher than the three so you will have to account for that.

The sole is a bit more forgiving on the new model, and it almost seems to have flattened out even more.

Players are saying that the Smart Sole 4 C is looking more and more like a putter than a wedge.

The styling is a bit sleeker with more silver and less black on the clubhead.

Both wedges are new enough in their technology that they are going to give very similar results.

IF you are already playing with a Smart Sole 3 C, you don’t need to switch to the 4.

If you have the budget to switch to the Smart Sole 4, then go for it, but we doubt you will see a very significant difference.

 

What Is the Difference Between The Smart Sole 3 C for Women and The Smart Sole 3 C for Men?

The men’s and women’s Smart sole wedges have a few subtle differences.

Overall the performance of this club is going to be very similar.

The two main differences will be the shaft and the length of the club.

The women’s wedge is always going to come in graphite.

The graphite shaft is very lightweight and very flexible as well.

The length of the club is going to be about an inch shorter than the men’s standard length.

You may see some differences in the coloring of the women’s wedge compared to the men’s, but this is purely for aesthetics.

There will be no performance difference because of the change in color.

 

Is The Smart Sole C Wedge Good?

The Cleveland Smart Sole 3 C Wedge is excellent.

If you are a player that needs the extra help around the greens, you will enjoy the benefits that this club has to offer.

Since the 3 is not the latest release, you will also pay a very fair price to add this golf club to your bag.

Golfers that are new to the game and just trying to figure out the proper ways to chip and hit shots around the green will find great success with this club.