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Tour Edge Hot Launch C521 iron, E521 Iron-Woods, wedges

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Tour Edge’s new Hot Launch 521 line of clubs gives golfers two distinct options when it comes to game improvement technologies. The C521 series designed to “Competition Spec” to offer more traditional-looking clubs packed with technology and the E521 series packed with “Extreme forgiveness” to help golfers looking for maximum game improvement.

Along with the drivers, fairway woods, and hybrids, the lines are rounded out with the C521 irons along with the E521 IronWoods and wedges. When you put it all together, the entire line offers 46 different lofts of clubs in right-handed and 20 lofts in left-handed, making it the single biggest launch of clubs it Tour Edge’s history.

“We see these two series as being the best value available in the custom fitting market and that’s exactly why we created our 48-hour custom fitting delivery guarantee. We want to open up the flood gates to custom fitting to golfers who are looking for the latest in innovation and extremely high performance at logical prices.” – David Glod, founder of Tour Edge

Tour Edge C521 Irons

The Hot Launch C521 irons come packed with everything you would expect from a game-improvement set of irons along with a few extras. They are made from extremely soft 431 stainless steel to provide tour-level feel as well as the ability to be adjusted for lie and loft easily. This means greater opportunity for custom fitting.

Now speaking to custom fitting and additional options, the C521 irons will also be available in a stock combo set configuration that includes two Hot Launch C521 hybrids.

Technology and design characteristics

Undercut Cavity: Undercut cavities are a staple in the game improvement iron category and the C Series expanded undercut design helps generate better ball speeds around the face, especially on mishits. The deep undercut cavity also allows for the face to be made thinner which gives designers the ability to move more weight to the sole and help boost the MOI. According to Tour Edge, the MOI of the C521 irons has increased 10 percent compared to the previous model resulting in better dispersion.

Wide Sole Design: The sole is 15-percent wider than the previous Hot Launch irons for a lower center of gravity. The wide yet newly cambered sole offers improved turf interaction for more consistent shot-making from good lies and bad.

Chamfered Face: Don’t feel bad, I had to look this up too. To “chamfer” is to ease/reduce sharp edges—in other words, it’s a different way of saying bevel or rounding, which are more common terms in golf club design. The chamfered face around the topline and leading edge give designers the ability to create a bigger clubface for added forgiveness without compromising the looks of the irons.

Power Lofts: To help golfers gain extra distance and achieve a more desirable trajectory, the C Series irons have been power-lofted, but thanks to the lower center of gravity afforded by the wide soles, the C521’s still maintain higher launch angles. These higher-launching, lower-spinning shots result in steeper angles of descent to help hold greens from longer distances.

Specs, price, and availability

Stock Shafts: Graphite – Aldila Rogue 55g L-Flex, A-Flex, and 65g regular, stiff, and x-Flex. Steel – KBS Max 80 regular and stiff

Stock Grip: Lamkin Z5 Rubber in undersize, Standard, and Midsize.

The C521 irons will retail for $69.99 each and will be available November 1, 2020.

E521 Iron-woods

For those not familiar, Tour Edge and its hollow body iron-woods have been helping golfers get the most out of their game since 1999. They combine fairway wood and hybrid technology into a controllable and forgiving iron design.

By using the same strong 17-4 stainless steel as the Hot Launch E521 fairway woods and hybrids, designers are able to achieve extremely low centers of gravity to make them some of the most forgiving clubs on the market—and compete with clubs more than twice their price.

Technology and design

Houdini Sole Technology: The Hot Launch E521 Iron-Woods offer the same Houdini Sole design as the driver, fairway metals, and hybrids to improve turf interaction by 35 percent and boost forgiveness. According to Tour Edge, the center of gravity is 10-percent lower and 15-percent further back compared to the previous HL4 iron-woods, which makes the E521’s the highest launching and easiest-to-hit Iron-Woods they have ever made.

The key element of the Houdini design is its sharply curved leading edge which has proven to be extremely effective in helping get shots into the air, even from the toughest lies.

“The Houdini Sole becomes a complete life-saver from tight and tough lies,”- David Glod, Tour Edge founder and lead designer

Hollow-Body: The hollow-body design brings with it the ability to create metal wood properties in a small and more compact iron shape. The achieved perimeter weighting creates an extremely low center of gravity and really helps golfers on the medium to lower end of the speed spectrum the opportunity to achieve a powerful ball flight.

Cup Forged Face: The super-thin forged face helps increase overall ball speed around the clubface resulting in higher peak heights, and distance to make it easy to hold greens from longer distances.

Slice-Fighting Offset: When it works it works and offset is a proven way to help golfers reduce or eliminate the dreaded slice. When paired with the heel bias weighting of the head, you can expect to see less of the right side of the course—or the left side for you lefties out there.

Specs, price, and availability

Stock Shafts: Graphite – Fubuki HD 50g L-Flex, 55g A-Flex, and regular flex, 60g stiff. Steel – KBS Max 80 regular and stiff

Stock Grip: Lamkin Z5 Rubber in undersize, Standard, and Midsize.

The E521 irons will retail for $89.99 each and will be available November 1, 2020.

E521 Wedges

The Hot Launch E521 Wedge features a super-wide sole that pushes as much weight low in the head as possible to make it easy to get the ball up in the air and stop shots faster around the greens.

The dual-flange Houdini sole offers an abundance of bounce (14 degrees) to allow the wedge to get through almost any lie without the fear of digging or chunking shots. The E521 wedges are available individually or as part of the Hot Launch E521 Iron-Wood set and come in a gap, sand, and lob wedge.

Technology and design characteristics

Houdini Sole: The Houdini Sole with its aggressively curved leading edge reduces turf interaction by 35 percent. This helps the wedges glide through even the toughest lies and significantly reduces “duffs and chunks,” per Tour Edge.

Extra Large Face Design: Thanks to a deep undercut cavity that increases forgiveness, the wedge faces are able to be made oversized to create an overall larger striking area. This means that shots missed further around the face maintain more ball speed and end up on the green instead of coming up short.

Maximized Grooves: The grooves of the E521 wedges are maximized to USGA depth and sharpness to provide maximum spin and control.

Specs, price, and availability

Stock Shafts: Graphite – Fubuki HD 50g L-Flex, 55g A-Flex and regular flex, 60g stiff. Steel – KBS Max 80 regular and stiff

Stock Grip: Lamkin Z5 rubber in undersize, standard, and midsize.

The E521 wedge will retail for $89.99 each and will be available November 1, 2020.

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Ryan Barath is a club-fitter & master club builder with more than 17 years of experience working with golfers of all skill levels, including PGA Tour players. He is the former Build Shop Manager & Social Media Coordinator for Modern Golf. He now works independently from his home shop and is a member of advisory panels to a select number of golf equipment manufacturers. You can find Ryan on Twitter and Instagram where he's always willing to chat golf, and share his passion for club building, course architecture and wedge grinding.

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  1. Phil B

    Oct 16, 2020 at 8:51 pm

    Just ordered the irons 7- SW. looking forward to hitting them.

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Whats in the Bag

Kevin Tway WITB 2024 (May)

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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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Did Rory McIlroy inspire Shane Lowry’s putter switch?

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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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Webb Simpson equipment Q&A: Titleist’s new 2-wood, 680 blade irons, and switching to a broomstick Jailbird

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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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A post shared by GolfWRX (@golfwrx)

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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