Equipment
GolfWRX Spotlight: Tour Edge Exotics EXS Blade wedge review
At GolfWRX, we leave no stone unturned to find the best golf equipment on the market. Although this may come across as an insinuation that some golf equipment can be found under rocks, that is not that case. One of the names that has long intrigued me is Tour Edge. I consider it the next Mizuno (with apologies to anyone who finds fault with that characterization.)
For the longest time, Mizuno flew well under the radar, preferring to spend dollars on research and development, rather than self-promotion and tour sponsorships. Guess what? Same business model at Tour Edge. Those who play TE stand by the equipment as if defending a fortress. That was enough for me to reach out to the company, to find out what is really up with the Illinois firm.
Supplied to me were 54-degree and 58-degree Tour Edge Exotics EXS Blade wedges, with a True Temper Dynamic Gold 115 shaft in each. Over the course of one month, I had the opportunity to put them in play on a variety of golf courses. I decided to not test them in practice circumstances, as that is not the modus operandi of the majority of recreational golfers. Instead, my thinking was, I’ll pull them out of the bag when I need them, and we’ll see how they feel, how they connect, how the ball reacts, and how my confidence wanes or grows. In other words, I gave them a real-world, weekend-golfer assessment.
After my on-course review, I dug into the true technology behind the release of the EXS Blade series. After a thorough inspection, three elements of the clubhead construction stood out, and I feel justified in sharing them with you here. These aspects are: milling, the flared toe, and sole grind. Each is unique to this club, and separates it from wannabe peers.
1. Milling
The first aspect of milling, as related to these wedges, concerns the milling out process of moving weight up and down for distance control. We are fallible swingers of clubs, and our strikes are not always where we anticipate. Tour Edge anticipates this. If we deloft or proloft the club face, weight is there to save us to a degree.
The second aspect of milling is milling for precisely-forged tolerances. The grooves are exact. Their spin communication is exact. Our pitches and chips are more exact, thanks to individually-milled faces.
2. Flared Toe Design
My word of the day is chamfer, which is a cut into a right angle, for transitioning purposes. Like a bevel, it is a carpentry term. There is a chamfer on the rear of the face, directly above the words Milled Forging. What appear to be aesthetic, is actually part of the weight-positioning process. The flared toe allows for continued distribution of weight (see milling out above) to enhance shot values.
I’m an aesthetics guy, and the wedges I used previous to receipt of these (54 and 58 degree) models, had a traditional toe, with more of a gentle pear shape. The Tour Edge flared toe stands out to me, or at least it did, over the rounds I’ve played. Reminding my own self that I had to trust the tech, it wasn’t long before the form took a back seat to the function.
3. Dual Groove Construction
Something I had not encountered in wedge development, is dual groove construction. The grooving for the lower lofts (50 and 52 degree) differs from that found on the higher-loft (54, 56, 58, 60 degree) clubs. According to Jon Claffey, vice president of marketing at Tour Edge Golf,
The dual groove construction optimizes groove edge contact, maximizing the spin needed for the diverse array of shots around the green.
What this means to me, then, is that shots that come in lower (and hotter, even fractionally) will benefit from deeper grooves (more spin.) This will align those wedges with the higher-lofted ones, whose descent into the green will be steeper and softer, and will not require the same bite as their more vertical siblings.
Verdict
These wedges will stay in my bag, replacing the Mizunos that were there before. I’ll look forward to seeing how they wear over time, as five rounds become ten, become twenty, and more. If something magical (or unfortunate) occurs, I’ll speak up below in the comment space, to apprise you of the realization.
If you haven’t heard of Tour Edge before, and also if you have, give them a look. Golf club companies don’t stay in business on pity and charity; they need solid product that emanates from quality research and development. Tour Edge has four golfers on PGA Tour Champions on staff. Consider this for a moment: you’re in the twilight of your career (sad, happens to all of us) so you decide to use inferior equipment? NEVER going to happen. That’s why Lehman, McCarron, Petrovic, and Waldorf opted in on Tour Edge golf for their PGA Tour Champions livelihood.
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Equipment
Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (4/18/24): TaylorMade BRNR mini driver head
At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals that all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.
It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.
Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, there is a listing for a TaylorMade BRNR mini driver head
From the seller: (@lasallen): “For sale is a BRNR mini 11.5 deg head only in brand new condition. $325 shipped.”
To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: TaylorMade BRNR mini driver head
This is the most impressive current listing from the GolfWRX BST, and if you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum you can check them out here: GolfWRX BST Rules
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Equipment
Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (4/18/24): Ping PLD Limited Anser – 1988 Open Championship – #2 of only 88 Made
At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals that all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.
It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.
Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, there is a listing for a Ping PLD Limited Anser – 1988 Open Championship – #2 of only 88 Made.
From the seller: (@DLong72): “Ping PLD Limited Anser – 1988 Open Championship – #2 of only 88 Made. ?: $1150. ?? 100% milled collectors item from the limited releases commemorating when Ping putters won every major in 1988 (88 putters made). This was the model Seve Ballesteros used to win the 1988 Open Championship. Condition is brand new, never gamed, everything is in the original packaging as it came. Putter features the iconic sound slot.
Specs/ Additional Details
-100% Milled, Aluminum/Bronze Alloy (310g)
-Original Anser Design
-PING PP58 Grip
-Putter is built to standard specs.”
To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: Ping PLD Limited Anser – 1988 Open Championship – #2 of only 88 Made
This is the most impressive current listing from the GolfWRX BST, and if you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum you can check them out here: GolfWRX BST Rules
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As you probably know by now, Collin Morikawa switched putters after the first round of The Masters, and he ultimately went on to finish T3.
The putter was far from the only change he made last week, however, and his bag is continuing to change this week at the 2024 RBC Heritage.
On the range of The Masters, Morikawa worked closely with Adrian Reitveld, TaylorMade’s Senior Manager of Tour at TaylorMade, to find the perfect driver and 3-wood setups.
Morikawa started off 2024 by switching into TaylorMade’s Qi10 Max driver, but since went back to his faithful TaylorMade SIM – yes, the original SIM from 2020. Somehow, some way, it seems Morikawa always ends up back in that driver, which he used to win the 2020 PGA Championship, and the 2021 Open Championship.
At The Masters, however, Rietveld said the duo found the driver head that allowed “zero compromise” on Morikawa’s preferred fade flight and spin. To match his preferences, they landed on a TaylorMade Qi10 LS 9-degree head, and the lie angle is a touch flatter than his former SIM.
“It’s faster than his gamer, and I think what we found is it fits his desired shot shape, with zero compromise” Rietveld told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday at the RBC Heritage.
Then, to replace his former SIM rocket 3-wood, Morikawa decided to switch into the TaylorMade Qi10 core model 13.5-degree rocket head, with an adjustable hosel.
“He likes the spin characteristics of that head,” Rietveld said. “Now he’s interesting because with Collin, you can turn up at a tournament, and you look at his 3-wood, and he’s changed the setting. One day there’s more loft on it, one day there’s less loft on it. He’s that type of guy. He’s not scared to use the adjustability of the club.
“And I think he felt our titanium head didn’t spin as low as his original SIM. So we did some work with the other head, just because he liked the feel of it. It was a little high launching, so we fit him into something with less loft. It’s a naughty little piece of equipment.”
In addition to the driver and fairway wood changes, Morikawa also debuted his new “MySymbol” jersey No. 5 TP5x golf ball at The Masters. Morikawa’s choice of symbols is likely tied to his love of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team.
Not enough changes for you? There’s one more.
On Wednesday at the 2024 RBC Heritage, Morikawa was spotted with a new TaylorMade “Proto” 4-iron in the bag. If you recall, it’s the same model that Rory McIlroy debuted at the 2024 Valero Texas Open.
According to Morikawa, the new Proto 4-iron will replace his old P-770 hollow-bodied 4-iron.
“I used to hit my P-770 on a string, but sometimes the distance would be a little unpredictable,” Morikawa told GolfWRX.com. “This one launches a touch higher, and I feel I can predict the distance better. I know Rory replaced his P-760 with it. I’m liking it so far.”
See Morikawa’s full WITB from the 2024 RBC Heritage here.
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Dave Bryce
Nov 20, 2020 at 9:39 pm
Have the 56 degrees bent too 55,love this wedge,looks,feel and spin are great!
boydenit
Oct 17, 2020 at 8:06 pm
A lot of milling, milling, milling for a club that look like it was made in China for a few dollars a head!
Ronald Montesano
Oct 18, 2020 at 7:43 am
Beauty and all things are in the eye of the beholder. Exclamation points should be used sparingly. Here is a link to their description page: https://www.touredge.com/exotics-exs-pro-forged-blade-wedge
They have contact information on site, and would be happy to discuss the process with you. Worth a call, I suspect.
Wedge Guy
Oct 19, 2020 at 8:55 am
Wow. I’m a club fanatic from way back and I’m shocked you would say that. These scream premium to me. I guess beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder.
Ronald Montesano
Oct 23, 2020 at 8:55 am
They play so well. I was invited to a premium course in Buffalo last weekend, and had so many 50-100 yard shots into greens (had to punch out a lot 🙂
I was so darned comfortable with them. Hit the ball inside 15 feet on all of those 3rdies into par 4s. Putter was balky, but wedges were stellar.
Milo
Oct 17, 2020 at 6:54 pm
I’m looking for a 46° to take the place of my PW. Probably end up being a Mizuno. I have a 60° mack daddy • forged raw and a 56° S5 blue ion.
Ronald Montesano
Oct 18, 2020 at 7:46 am
Are you a “looks” player or a “feel” player? As I revealed above, the look matters to me, so I had to get used to a bit different toe on the Tour Edge club. How do the Mack Daddy and Blue Ion toes and top lines compare, or doesn’t that matter? If it doesn’t, awesome…you can pick the best-feeling wedge to fill the 46 degree gap.
If looks do matter psychologically, you’re handcuffed a bit, but there are so many options available. I can’t wait to see how the new Tour Edge lines/toe compare with the one I just reviewed.
ChristianR
Oct 17, 2020 at 2:07 pm
They’re also known for their hybrid and fairway woods, but latest models of drivers have got lot of positive reviews, looks like they have the numbers of the big ones despite a lower price.
Ronald Montesano
Oct 18, 2020 at 7:48 am
I bet that you were waiting for this review. You have a nice understanding of their product. As I posited, they became the company that Mizuno used to be. They have sincere quality and are just not “out there” yet. I can’t wait to read about all the new models, and with luck, will have an opportunity to test them. Good luck with your game.
ChristianR
Oct 18, 2020 at 3:50 pm
It’s not a case my irons are Mizuno!
Thanks for the answer Ronald.