Equipment
Exotics XJ1 Fairway Woods: What you need to know
Tour Edge is best known for its fairway woods, so it makes sense that its new launch makes forward strides in the world of fairway woods. Its new Exotics XJ1 line uses a new titanium material, a surprisingly sole-heavy design for a higher launch and more forgiveness, and debuts a new shaft from Fujikura.
The entire body of the XJ1 woods is constructed from 9-1-1 titanium, which Tour Edge calls “Supermetal” due to its combination of strength and light weight (it’s 10 percent lighter than 6A4v, a popular titanium used in golf club manufacturing). With the salvaged weight from the body, Tour Edge was able to create a heavier sole, which now holds 124 grams of tungsten, or two-thirds of the heads total weight.
Specs
The tungsten sole is applied to the body using a process called combo brazing, and the face, made with SP-700 Beta titanium, is laser bonded to the body. The face uses variable thickness across its surface to maximize ball speeds, even on off-center hits.
To help slicers turn the ball over, there is also a 12-gram tungsten screw in the heel that can be interchanged with 10-, 14- or 16-gram weights.
Exotics XJ1 woods will come stock with Fujikura’s Air Speeder shaft, which weighs in at 45 grams. According to Tour Edge, it’s the first company to put that shaft into a retail launch. The fairway woods will sell for $449.99 starting on November 15 in right-hand only, and will be available in the following lofts; 3-wood (15 degrees), 4-wood (17 degrees), 5-wood (18 degrees), and 7-wood (21 degrees).
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Whats in the Bag
Kevin Tway WITB 2024 (May)
- Kevin Tway what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wells Fargo Championship. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 80 TX
5-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (18 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 90 TX
Irons: Wilson Staff Utility (2), Titleist T100 (4-9)
Shafts: Mitsubishi MMT 100 TX (2), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (4-9)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F @47, 52-12F @51, 56-14F), SM7 (60-10S)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (48-56), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 (60)
Putter: Scotty Cameron T-5 Proto
Grip: Scotty Cameron Black Baby T
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Plus4
More photos of Kevin Tway’s WITB in the forums.
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Equipment
Did Rory McIlroy inspire Shane Lowry’s putter switch?
Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from a piece our Andrew Tursky originally wrote for PGATour.com’s Equipment Report. Head over there for the full article.
The timing of Lowry’s putter changeup was curious: Was he just using a Spider putter because he was paired with McIlroy, who’s been using a Spider Tour X head throughout 2024? Was Lowry just being festive because it’s the Zurich Classic, and he wanted to match his teammate? Did McIlroy let Lowry try his putter, and he liked it so much he actually switched into it?
Well, as it turns out, McIlroy’s only influence was inspiring Lowry to make more putts.
When asked if McIlroy had an influence on the putter switch, Lowry had this to say: “No, it’s actually a different putter than what he uses. Maybe there was more pressure there because I needed to hole some more putts if we wanted to win,” he said with a laugh.
To Lowry’s point, McIlroy plays the Tour X model, whereas Lowry switched into the Tour Z model, which has a sleeker shape in comparison, and the two sole weights of the club are more towards the face.
Lowry’s Spider Tour Z has a white True Path Alignment channel on the crown of his putter, which is reminiscent of Lowry’s former 2-ball designs, thus helping to provide a comfort factor despite the departure from his norm. Instead of a double-bend hosel, which Lowry used in his 2-ball putters, his new Spider Tour Z is designed with a short slant neck.
“I’ve been struggling on the greens, and I just needed something with a fresh look,” Lowry told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship. “It has a different neck on it, as well, so it moves a bit differently, but it’s similar. It has a white line on the back of it [like my 2-ball], and it’s a mallet style. So it’s not too drastic of a change.
“I just picked it up on the putting green and I liked the look of it, so I was like, ‘Let’s give it a go.’”
Read the rest of the piece over at PGATour.com.
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Equipment
Webb Simpson equipment Q&A: Titleist’s new 2-wood, 680 blade irons, and switching to a broomstick Jailbird
With seven career wins on the PGA Tour, including a U.S. Open victory, Webb Simpson is a certified veteran on the course. But he’s also a certified veteran in the equipment world, too. He’s a gearhead who truly knows his stuff, and he’s even worked closely with Titleist on making his own custom 682.WS irons.
On Wednesday at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship, I caught up with Simpson to hear about his experience with Titleist’s new prototype 2-wood, how Titleist’s 680 Forged irons from 2003 ended up back in his bag, and why he’s switching into an Odyssey Ai-One Jailbird Cruiser broomstick putter this week for the first time.
Click here to read our full story about Simpson’s putter switch on PGATOUR.com’s Equipment Report, or continue reading below for my full Q&A with Simpson at Quail Hollow Club on Wednesday.
See Webb Simpson’s full WITB from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship here
GolfWRX: It seems like you’ve been a little all over the place with your irons in the past six months or so, and now going back to the 680’s. Is that just a comfort thing? What’s been going on with the irons?
Webb Simpson: Titleist has been so great at working with me, and R&D, on trying to get an iron that kind of modernizes the 680. And so the 682.WS took the T100 grooves, but kinda took the look and the bulk and the build of the 680’s into one club. They’re beautiful, and awesome looking. I just never hit them that well for a consistent period of time. It was probably me, but then I went to T100’s and loved them. I loved the spin, the trajectory, the yardage, but again, I never went on good runs. Going through the ground, I couldn’t feel the club as well as with the blade. So last week, I’m like, ‘Alright. I’m gonna go back more for…comfort, and see if I can get on a nice little run of ball striking.’
So that’s why I went back.
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OK, that makes sense. I know you had done some 2-wood testing recently. Is that in the bag right now?
It’s like day-by-day. I used it at Hilton Head every day. Valero, I used it one round. And this week, me and my caddie will do the book every morning, and if it’s a day where we think we need it, we’ll just put it in and take the 3-wood out. I love it because it’s a super simple swap. Like, it doesn’t really change much.
Yeah, can you tell me about that club? I mean, we don’t really know anything about it yet. You know? I haven’t hit it or anything, obviously.
It has grooves like a 3-wood. Spin is perfect. And it’s honestly, like, everything is in the middle of a 3-wood and driver number. Trajectory, spin, carry, all of it. So, a Hilton Head golf course is almost too easy to talk about because, you know, there, so many holes are driver 3-wood.
Valero, our thinking was we had two par-5’s into the wind, and we knew that it would take two great shots to get there in two. So instead of hitting driver-driver, we just put it in. And I used it on those holes.
Hilton was a little easier because it was off-the-tee kind of questions. But Colonial will be a golf course where, you know, there’s a lot of driver or 3-woods. It’s kind of like a backup putter or driver for me now. I’ll bring it to every tournament.
So it’s, like, in your locker right now, probably?
Well, it would be. It’s in my house [because Webb lives near by Quail Hollow Club, and is a member at the course.] It’s in the garage.
Oh, yeah, that’s right. Do you know what holes you might use it out here if it goes in play?
Potentially 15, depending on the wind. Second shot on 10. Could be 14 off the tee. The chances here are pretty low (that he’ll use the 2-wood). But, like, Greensboro would be an awesome club all day. I’m trying to think of any other golf courses.
There’s plenty that it’ll be a nice weapon to have.
It’s interesting, the wave of 2-woods and mini drivers. Like, it’s just really taken off on Tour, and all the companies have seemed to embrace it.
Yeah. The thing I had to learn, it took me, like, at least a week to learn about it is you gotta tee it up lower than you think. I kept teeing it up too high. You need it low, like barely higher than a 3-wood. And that was where I got optimal spin and carry. If you tee it up too high, you just don’t get as much spin and lose distance, I don’t know if that’s just a mini driver thing.
And you obviously have a Jailbird putter this week. What spurred that on?
Inconsistent putting. I’m stubborn in a lot of ways when it comes to my equipment, but I have to be open minded – I just hadn’t putted consistently well in a while. And I’m like, ‘Man, I feel my ball-striking coming along. Like I feel better; for real, better.’
If I can just get something in my hands that I’m consistent with. Being on Tour, you see it every year, guys get on little runs. I can put together four to five tournaments where I’m all the sudden back in the majors, or in the FedExCup Playoffs. You can turn things around quick out here. I’m like, ‘Man, whatever’s going to get me there, great.’
My caddie, David Cook, caddied for Akshay at the Houston Open and he putted beautifully. Then, I watched Akshay on TV at Valero, and he putted beautifully. And, I’m like, ‘I’m just going to try it.’
I’ve never tried it for more than a putt or two, and I just ordered what Akshay uses. It was pretty awkward at first, but the more I used it, the more I’m like, ‘Man, it’s pretty easy.’ And a buddy of mine who’s a rep out here, John Tyler Griffin, he helped me with some setup stuff. And he said at Hilton Head, he wasn’t putting well, then tried it, and now he makes everything. He was very confident. So I’m like, ‘Alright, I’ll try it.’”
And you’re going with it this week?
Hundred percent.
Alright, I love it. Thank you, I always love talking gear with you. Play well this week.
Thanks, man.
See Webb Simpson’s full WITB from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship here
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BK24BK
Dec 14, 2016 at 11:58 am
Anybody hit any of the XJ1 clubs?
Matt
Oct 29, 2016 at 4:16 pm
45 gram shaft, no thanks
HEBERT
Nov 1, 2016 at 4:56 am
Well … you may chosse among 180 shafts available .. No worry !
Doug A
Oct 28, 2016 at 12:57 pm
Looks pretty good. Gonna have to try it at a demo day
John
Oct 28, 2016 at 12:38 pm
Right hand only. What a shame. They should at least have custom order options for left hand so they wouldn’t get stuck with excess inventory. I really don’t think there is a huge difficulty flipping a right handed club around & producing a left handed model.
gw
Oct 28, 2016 at 12:28 pm
Seems like a really heavy head for the lightweight shaft.
RCM
Oct 29, 2016 at 11:19 am
The table provides total club weight, not head weight. They’re actually quite light for total club weight.
Rimjob
Oct 29, 2016 at 11:33 am
He said, FOR the lightweight shaft. Duh. Could’ve been a lighter head. But look at the size of the thing!
Desmond
Oct 28, 2016 at 11:33 am
The Fuji air speed shaft is a great idea – I am using a 45g shaft in a 4 wd, and it launches mid, and even when hit on the face a bit low or from the rough, it still gets air and ball go far.
AC
Oct 28, 2016 at 10:49 am
those are big, the 5 wood is almost identical in size to the F6 3 wood. For the off the deck, that’s just too big for player of my skill level.
Jon
Oct 28, 2016 at 10:16 am
As a matter of fact, Exotics is releasing XJ1 driver for $699.99.
http://golfweek.com/2016/09/20/tour-edge-exotics-xj1-driver/
SV
Oct 28, 2016 at 8:07 am
$450 for a fairway wood? Are you kidding me! If they make a similar driver will it cost $800? TourEdge used to be known for goods clubs at a reasonable price. I guess that is over. Seriously, with prices like this and PXG, clubs it is a wonder anyone buys clubs anymore.
Desmond
Oct 28, 2016 at 9:03 am
It is a Tour Edge Exotics – that line is premium with a premium price – has always been that way. I demoed its EX9 4wd with a Grand Bassara 39, and it was almost as long as my driver , and I hit it off the deck- and that is a steel head. Ti may go as far as your driver.
Johnjohn
Oct 28, 2016 at 10:37 am
Give it 3-4 months and price will plummet