Designed with feedback from tour players, Tour Edge’s latest woods are more compact but still deliver more distance and shot-shaping.
In February, Tour Edge announced the release of two new families of clubs, the Exotics E721 and Exotics C721 woods and irons. The Exotics E721 clubs are max-game-improvement offerings designed to deliver the most distance and forgiveness possible to golfers who struggle to generate clubhead speed. The Exotics C721 clubs are game-improvement clubs for mid-handicap golfers who love the looks of better-player gear but still need more distance and forgiveness.
Now Tour Edge is completing the line with the release of the limited-edition Exotics Pro 721 drivers, fairway woods and hybrids. No new irons have been announced. Only 1,000 of each driver, fairway wood and hybrid are being made. The new clubs will be made available August 13.
The Exotics Pro 721 series was designed with input from tour players and elite golfers, and they were made to appeal to low-handicap players who love classic shapes. At the same time, they have plenty of modern technologies to help improve performance.
Titleist’s TSi1 drivers, fairways and hybrids are designed for moderate-speed golfers, while the TSi4 is an ultra-low-spin driver.
Several Titleist staff players quickly changed into the company’s new TSi2 and TSi3 drivers when they became available last fall. Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Cameron Smith and J.T. Poston all switched because they liked the blend of distance and forgiveness the clubs delivered.
While Titleist believes custom fitters can help most golfers achieve their goals using those two clubs, there are outliers. Some are moderate-speed players who need a club designed to boost spin, carry distance and forgiveness. Others are hard-swinging golfers who need an ultra-low spinning driver to keep the ball from ballooning to maximize distance.
For those players, Titleist is offering the TSi1 woods and the TSi4 driver to complement the TSi2 and TSi3.
Ping’s G425 hybrids have been designed with a new face that broadens the sweet spot and provides more ball speed for increased distance.
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Gear: Ping G425 hybrids Price: $292.50 each with Ping Alta CB, Aldila Rogue or Mitsubishi Tensei Orange shaft and Arccos-enabled Golf Pride Lite 360 Tour Velvet grip Specs: 17-, 19-, 22-, 26-, 30- and 34-degree versions
For years Ping has been known for its focus on fitting and playability, making woods and hybrids that are easy to hit and forgiving. This year, with the release of the G425 hybrids, Ping has used some new features and technologies to give players more distance without sacrificing such forgiveness.
To do that, Ping designed the G425 hybrids with a new maraging steel cup face. Instead of making the hitting surface a flat piece of stainless steel and then welding it to the chassis – as is common with hybrids – the face extends into the crown, around the toe and under the leading edge into the sole. That allows more of the hitting area to flex at impact for ball-speed protection on mis-hits, and it also reduces weight.
Ping also redesigned the curvature that is designed into the face. Every driver, fairway wood and hybrid face curves from top to bottom, which is referred to as roll. To make the G425 hybrids produce a more consistent spin and therefore a more consistent flight, engineers added curvature high in the face because shots hit in that area tend to have less spin. To compensate for shots hit low in the face, which typically creates more spin, Ping made the bottom of the hitting area with less loft. The company said that should normalize spin rates across a larger area, and when combined with the added speed of the cup face, help golfers get more distance on all their shots.
Ping G425 hybrids. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
Compared to last season’s G410 hybrids, Ping said the G425 hybrids have a moment of inertia that is almost 4 percent higher, yet they produce about 3.5 more yards of carry distance. However, on low-struck shots, the G425 hybrids can be about 10 yards longer.
To help golfers and fitters bridge distance gaps more efficiently, the G425 hybrids come standard with an eight-position adjustable hosel that allows the stated loft to be increased or decreased by as many as 1.5 degrees. Three settings enable the lie angle to be flattened, too.
The G425 hybrids have a clean, matte-black finish and three-dot alignment aid. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
At address the G425 features a matte-black finish with three alignment dots behind the topline to provide a clean look that helps golfers position the center of the face directly behind the ball.
Finally, all G425 hybrids come standard with a Golf Pride Lite 360 Tour Velvet grip fitted with an Arccos sensor. Golfers who purchase one or more of the G425 driver, fairway wood, hybrid, iron (up to five) or Crossover are eligible for 14 free Arccos screw-in sensors and a 90-day app free trial for a $19.99 shipping and handling fee.
Callaway’s newest max game-improvement hybrids are loaded with distance-enhancing features and forgiveness.
Gear: Callaway Big Bertha B-21 hybrid Price: $249.99 each with Callaway RCH graphite shaft and Golf Pride Tour Velvet Soft 360 grip Specs: Stainless steel body with carbon-fiber crown, internal tungsten weights and cup-face design. 3-hybrid through 8-hybrid available. Available: Sept. 10
High-handicap golfers have no business carrying a 3-iron and probably would be better off without a 4-iron. Hybrids, with their wider soles, larger faces and more-forgiving nature, are a better alternative.
But some golfers still struggle to hit their hybrids consistently, so Callaway designed a new super-game-improvement hybrid, the Big Bertha B-21, specifically to meet the needs of players who struggle with distance and consistency.
Callaway designers used what they learned in creating last season’s Super Hybrid to create the Big Bertha B-21, then added more game-improvement features. The Big Bertha B-21 has a triaxial carbon-fiber crown that saves weight and a pair of Jailbreak bars positioned inside the head and directly behind the hitting area. The bars connect the sole to the crown and stiffen the chassis at impact to help direct energy back to the ball instead of deforming the head.
Callaway gave the Big Bertha B-21 a cup-face design and internal tungsten weights in the heel and toe. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
To lower the center of gravity and pull it back away from the face, Callaway added 70 grams of tungsten in the form of two internal weights to the Big Bertha B-21. The weights are positioned in the heel and toe areas, boosting stability on off-center hits and encouraging a higher ball launch.
To boost distance, Callaway used artificial intelligence to create unique cup faces for each of the six Big Bertha B-21 hybrids. The edges of the faces are attached behind the leading edge, the topline and the toe to create a trampoline effect across a larger area.
The Big Bertha B-21 has a lot of offset to help golfers square the face more easily. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
To help many recreational golfers hit straighter shots, the Big Bertha B-21 hybrids have significant offset, as do the Big Bertha B-21 irons. Callaway expects many high-handicap golfers to create combo sets of Big Bertha B-21 hybrids and irons, so having a lot of offset in both clubs makes the transition between them more comfortable.
Relying on feedback from tour pros, Tour Edge has adjustable woods, cavity-back and muscleback blade irons for better-players.
Tour Edge in January launched new woods and irons – the Exotics EXS 220 family – that blend unique materials and innovative designs. Now as golfers return to the links and summer begins, the Chicago-based company has announced it is releasing a complementary line of clubs for accomplished players June 1, the Exotics EXS Pro series.
David Glod, Tour Edge’s founder and president, said his company started tinkering with prototypes for tour players as it developed the EXS 220 line.
“With our previous Exotics launch, the EXS 220, we designed our most forgiving and stable clubs we’ve ever produced,” he said in a release. “The EXS Pro line is designed to bring the level up with the more traditional player with a faster swing speed who is looking for anti-left clubs with extremely low spin and penetrating ball flights.”
Tour Edge Exotics EXS Pro driver (Tour Edge)
Exotics EXS Pro driver ($399.99)
This driver is a slightly smaller edition of the EXS 220 driver and offers golfers the ability to shift the center of gravity to encourage different shot shapes.
The 441-cubic-centimeter head has carbon fiber in the crown and toe section of the sole to save weight. Some of that saved weight was repurposed into a 6-gram weight that can slide in a rail system in the back of the head. Tour Edge calls it a Flight Track, and when the weight is in the heel area it creates a draw bias. Sliding the weight to the toe encourages a fade. A kit (sold separately) is available with 3-gram, 9-gram and 15-gram weights.
Tour Edge designed 33 diamond-shaped areas on the inner side of the titanium face, and the company said they act like miniature trampolines when the club strikes the ball, creating more deflection and ball speed.
The EXS Pro driver will be available in 9.5-degree and 10.5-degree editions with an adjustable hosel that allows golfers and fitters to increase or decrease the stated loft by as many as 2 degrees.
Tour Edge Exotics EXS Pro fairway wood (Tour Edge)
Exotics EXS Pro fairway woods ($299.99)
The standard Exotics EXS 220 fairway woods released in January were made for the masses and feature a cup-face design for enhanced ball speed and forgiveness. They also have a weight in the sole to shift the center of gravity back and away from the face to encourage a higher-launching shot.
The Exotics EXS Pro fairway woods are slightly smaller but have the same SlipStream sole design on the bottom of the club for enhanced turf interaction. The biggest difference is the Pro edition comes with 5-gram and 10-gram weights that can be positioned in the heel and toe to create a draw or fade bias. With the weights closer to the Beta titanium face cup than with the EXS 220, the EXS Pro fairway woods have a center of gravity that is more forward to create more ball speed and less spin, which accomplished players should like.
The Exotics EXS Pro fairway woods will be available with 13.5, 15, 16.5 and 18 degrees of loft.
Tour Edge Exotics EXS Pro hybrid (Tour Edge)
Exotics EXS Pro hybrids ($249.99)
Many accomplished players tend to distrust hybrids because they believe utility woods have a draw bias. To overcome that, Tour Edge designed the EXS Pro hybrids with the same duel-weight system found in the fairway woods.
Each club comes with a 20-gram and a 5-gram weight that can be positioned in the toe or the heel. When the heavier weight is in the toe, the EXS Pro has an extreme fade bias.
To help the clubs produce more ball speed and distance, Tour Edge gave them a Beta titanium cup-face design like the hitting areas designed into the drivers and fairway woods. To maintain speed through the hitting area and improve turf interaction, the stainless steel EXS Pro hybrids also have Tour Edge’s SlipStream sole design.
The EXS Pro hybrids do not have an adjustable hosel, but to ensure ideal gapping, they are offered in 16-, 17-, 18-, 19-, 20- and 22-degree versions.
Tour Edge Exotics EXS Pro Forged Cavity-Back and Blade irons (Tour Edge)
EXS Pro Forged Cavity-Back and Blade irons ($149 per club)
Irons for elite golfers have to look good at address, enhance feel at impact and deliver consistency shot after shot. With the EXS Pro Forged Cavity-Back and EXS Pro Blade, Tour Edge believes it checks those boxes.
EXS Pro Forged Cavity-Back is forged from S25 carbon steel for a soft feel and has a classic angled-toe shape. The topline is thin, there is little offset and the sole is narrow, and to enhance playability the 3-iron through 6-iron have an internal tungsten weight in the toe that pulls the center of gravity down and into the center of the hitting area. Tour Edge also milled the face to ensure it is perfectly flat and made the center part a little thinner. This distributes more weight to the heel and toe and creates more perimeter weighting for enhanced stability.
The EXS Pro Blade is a traditional muscleback iron that also is forged from S25C carbon steel. Like the Pro Forged Cavity-Back, it has a thin topline, just a touch of offset and a narrow sole that is rounded slightly to help the clubs get through the turf more easily.
Both clubs have a highly polished satin chrome finish for a premium look.
Tour Edge Exotics EXS Pro Milled Forged wedges (Tour Edge)
EXS Pro Milled Forged wedges ($149.99 per club)
To complement the better-player irons, Tour Edge is offering the EXS Pro Milled Forged wedges. Each club is forged from S25C carbon steel before its face is CNC-milled flat.
Tour Edge milled out the center section in the back of each wedge to elevate the center of gravity and help golfers flight wedge shots lower for better control. The sole was designed for versatility with plenty of heel and toe relief.
The grooves are milled into the hitting area, allowing Tour Edge to make them to tighter manufacturing tolerances, and the grooves vary in each club based on the loft. The grooves in the 50- and 52-degree wedges are deeper and narrower, as are the grooves typically found in irons, because those clubs are usually hit with a full swing on approach shots. The grooves in the 54- to 60-degree clubs are wider and shallower to help remove water, sand and debris from the hitting surface on chips, pitches and bunker shots.
The EXS Pro Milled Forged wedges are available in even lofts from 50 degrees to 60 degrees.
Whether you prefer the look of an iron or a hybrid, the Ben Hogan Golf Equipment Company has a forgiving long-iron alternative for you.
One of the most famous golf photos ever taken shows Ben Hogan hitting a 1-iron to the 18th green at Merion Golf Club during the 1950 U.S. Open. Hy Peskin took the shot, and Hogan’s pose as the ball rocketed toward the green was iconic.
But chances are that you not only don’t carry a 1-iron, you also have not hit too many long-iron shots as well as Hogan did. For that reason, the Ben Hogan Golf Equipment Company has just released two new long-iron alternatives, the UiHi utility irons and VKTR+ hybrids.
For golfers who prefer the look of irons, the UiHi utility irons are available as 3-, 4- and 5-irons (18, 22 and 26 degrees) for $110 each. They have a slightly thicker topline, a longer blade length and more offset than many Hogan irons for a reassuring look and more forgiveness. They also are slightly oversized to make them appear to have more loft, but it is what you don’t see that really delivers the punch.
Ben Hogan UiHi utility iron (Ben Hogan)
The UiHi irons are hollow, which gave designers more room to lower the center of gravity and pull it away from the face, resulting in a higher launch. The hollow-bodied construction also allows the face to flex more easily at impact for increased ball speed and distance.
For golfers who prefer hybrids, Ben Hogan now offers the VKTR+. They are available in 18-, 22- and 26-degree versions for $140 each.
Ben Hogan VKTR+ hybrid (Ben Hogan)
The face of the VKTR+ hybrid is forged from 455 maraging steel, an extremely hard material. Using this material allowed engineers to make the face thinner and lighter without sacrificing durability. The VKTR+ has a weight plug in the back of the sole that pulls the center of gravity down and back to make it easier for golfers to hit higher-flying shots.
A Ben Hogan Players Combo set (Ben Hogan)
With the release of the UiHi utility irons and VKTR+ hybrids, the Ben Hogan Golf Equipment Company is making it easier for golfers to blend different models of clubs to create personalized hybrid sets.
The company is offering a few, such as the Player’s Combo Set with a UiHi 4-iron matched alongside PTx Pro irons (5-7) and Icon blades (8-PW) for $785. There is also a Player’s Combo Set with a VKTR+ 22-degree hybrid, PTx Pro irons (5-7) and Icon blades (8-PW) for $815.
Golfers also can create their own hybrid sets, ensuring they get the ideal amount of forgiveness and control to match their game.
Callaway designed its newest hybrids using artificial intelligence to create clubs that produce more distance and forgiveness.
Gear: Callaway Mavrik, Mavrik Max, Mavrik Pro hybrids Price: $249 each with Project X Catalyst or KBS Tour Hybrid shafts and Golf Pride Tour Velvet Specs: Carpenter steel cup face with internal stiffening bars. Available in 18, 20, 23 and 26 degrees (Standard); 19, 21, 24, 27, 30 and 33 degrees (Max); 18, 20, 23 and 26 degrees (Pro) Available: Feb. 6
Many golfers opt for hybrid clubs instead of long irons because hybrids are more forgiving, produce more distance and typically hit the ball higher. For golfers who want more of each of those traits, Callaway is offering the first hybrid club designed with a hitting area created with the help of supercomputers and artificial intelligence: the Mavrik, Mavrik Max and Mavrik Pro.
Callaway Mavrik Max hybrid (Callaway Golf)
Every Mavrik hybrid has a Carpenter steel cup face that helps broaden the sweet spot, but the hitting area is also thicker in some places and thinner in others to more efficiently turn clubhead speed into ball speed.
Historically, the thicker areas are in the center and the thinnest portions are around the edges, but in the Mavrik hybrids that is not always the case. The computer created and theoretically tested thousands of faces, then revealed to Callaway’s engineers which performed best. As a result, the faces are unique not only to each type of Mavrik hybrid but also to each loft. For example, the hitting area in the 3H Mavrik is different than the 5H Mavrik.
All three Mavrik hybrids have Jailbreak bars that connect the sole of the club to the crown. They stiffen the front of the head at impact so more energy is transferred into the shot instead of being wasted in the deformation of the head.
The standard Mavrik hybrid has a square-toe design. (Callaway Golf)
The standard Mavrik hybrid is a mid-sized club with a square-toe shape and an iron-style design that appeals to a large number of players.
The Mavrik Max hybrids are slightly larger with a center of gravity that is lower and farther back, so golfers can expect them to create a higher launch and be more forgiving.
The face of the Callaway Mavrik Pro hybrid is more rounded. (Callaway Golf)
The Mavrik Pro is not necessarily designed with more accomplished golfers in mind. Callaway said it will appeal to a lot of golfers, but its shape is inspired by some hybrids and fairway wood that members of the company’s tour staff liked over the years. It has a smaller head size, lower profile and a more-rounded look, along with a flatter lie angle to encourage an anti-left ball flight that better players tend to favor.
An updated cup face design and unique sole help the newest Tour Edge hybrids design more distance and forgiveness.
Gear: Tour Edge Exotics EXS 220 hybrid Price: $199.99 with Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black or KBS TGI Tour graphite shaft Specs: 450 stainless steel cup face. Available in 17, 19, 22, 25 and 28 degrees of loft Available: Feb. 1
Golfers usually add hybrids to their bags because they want to replace their tough-to-hit long irons with clubs that are more forgiving and that provide consistent distance. The newest hybrids from Tour Edge, the Exotics EXS 220 hybrids, are designed to deliver precisely that.
By making the heads larger from front to back, as well as taller, and adding a 4-gram weight to the back of the sole, Tour Edge has increased the clubs’ moment of inertia and made these hybrids more stable.
The cup face helps the Tour Edge Exotics EXS 220 hybrids create more ball speed. (Tour Edge)
To increase ball speed and distance, Tour Edge gave the EXS 220 hybrids a thin 450 stainless steel cup face. On the inner-facing side of the face, engineers added 44 diamond-shaped areas that help the hitting area flex efficiently at impact and protect ball speed on mis-hits.
Additionally, by raising pieces of the heel and toe section of the sole, designers shifted the center of gravity slightly higher, which reduces spin.
While an internal Sound Diffusion Bar enhances the acoustics created at impact, a wavy SlipStream sole design helps the head maintain speed through the impact area and skim over grass and sand.
TaylorMade’s newest rescue club has been given a V Steel sole and a massive speed pocket help create more ball speed and distance.
Gear: TaylorMade SIM Max Rescue clubs Price: $249.99 with Fujikura Ventus Blue shaft and Lamkin Crossline 360 grip Specs: Stainless steel construction available in 19, 22, 25, 28 and 31 degrees of lofts. Available: Feb. 7
As more and more players opt to remove multiple long irons from their bags and add hybrid clubs in their places, TaylorMade is trying to ensure its clubs are easy to hit and deliver plenty of distance for both pros and recreational players.
For 2020, the new SIM Max Rescue clubs do that with a combination of improved shaping and unique materials.
For the first time, TaylorMade has incorporated its V Steel sole design into a rescue club. First introduced in fairway woods in the early 2000s and now also back in 2020’s SIM family of fairway woods, it features a curved heel area and elevated toe section. As a result, a smaller portion of the sole comes into contact with the turf so the club can maintain speed more effectively through the hitting zone.
To help golfers hit straighter shots, the SIM Rescues also were given Twist Face, with the hitting area bending back in the high-toe and low-heel areas. Research revealed to TaylorMade that these are the areas where players tend to mis-hit the ball, and changing the face angle in those spots helps reduce sidespin and encourage a straighter ball flight.
Twist Face helps golfers hit straighter shots. (TaylorMade)
The thin face is made from C300 stainless steel and at impact can flex more efficiently to deliver increased ball speed. TaylorMade designers also added a Speed Pocket in the sole, right behind the leading edge. It’s a slot, covered by polymer so debris will not get inside the head, that helps protect ball speed on shots hit low in the hitting area.
At address, the club also has more of a square look because the gray design on the topline is asymmetrical. Many better players think hybrids look shut at address and tend to send the ball to the left, but this subtle trick of the eye is designed to inspire confidence.
The Speedzone hybrids are designed to hit higher-flying shots and help golfers get more distance off the tee, from the turf and in the sand.
Gear: Cobra King Speedzone hybrids Price: $229 with UST Recoil 480 ESX shafts and Lamkin Crossline Connect grips Specs: Stainless steel body with tungsten weight. 2H (17 degrees), 3H (19 degrees), 4H (21 degrees) and 5H (24 degrees) Available: Jan. 17, 2020
To complement the new Cobra King Speedback drivers and fairway woods, the company created a line of hybrids to provide more distance and forgiveness.
The King Speedzone hybrids have the same Hollow Split Rail technology found in the King Speedzone fairway woods. A pair of rails on the sole run from the leading edge to the back of the head, but unlike previously released railed hybrids, the front area was left hollow. Cobra said the advantage is the lower portion of the hitting area can flex more effectively at impact because there is less mass behind the leading edge, so the clubs can create more ball speed on shots struck low in the hitting area.
The look at address is clean, but technologies on the sole will help golfers improve their consistency. (Cobra)
At the same time, the rails encourage the King Speedzone hybrids to skim across the turf, through rough and over sand without digging or slowing down through impact.
A 12-gram tungsten weight in the back of the head helps lower the center of gravity and pull it away from the face, which should encourage shots with higher launch and that come down more vertically to stop faster on the greens.
Cobra King Speedzone One Length hybrids (Cobra)
Cobra also made the King Speedzone hybrids in One Length versions, with 19-, 21- and 24-degree clubs that are 37.25 inches long, the typical length of a 7-iron. That is significantly shorter than most iron-replacing hybrids, which tend to measure between 39 and 41 inches. Cobra said many players improve their quality of strike with shorter clubs, which offsets a slightly slower swing. As a result, many golfers who try One Length clubs find they don’t lose distance, and their consistency and accuracy improve.
