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.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.