RECAP: Tour Edge EXS Lineup! With Designer David Glod!

[Official Tour Edge]

With the price point on this Driver being where it is, are you going to emphasize that the lower price will allow golfers to get an in depth fitting outside of stock shafts without going too far outside the realm of the price of one of the competitors new drivers?

 

That’s a good question. We think that it could be a bit overkill based on how good the match is to the Tensei shaft it comes standard with, but were happy to make more custom shafts available at no upcharge. If someone wants to add on more dollars at custom fitting level to some other new shaft, by all means, they will definitely have those extra dollars due to the price point of EXS, but we think we can get you out the door with the best of what you need for your game at $299.

[Official Tour Edge]

Thanks for taking our questions...

 

In what ways will the new driver benefit moderate swing speed but low handicap golfers ?

 

That’s exactly who this driver is for! This is most forgiving face on a driver I have ever designed. The Roll Face is modified bulge and roll on the toe of the club. Miss-hits on the toe will be straightened out by this technology, so you will have less dispersion on miss-hits. The Tensei Red and Blue in the 50 gram range are winners for moderate swing speeds.

 

Would this driver be a fit for someone with a higher swing speed? Or, would you expect to see spin and launch creep up as the speed increases?

 

For extreme spin-killing, we have seen amazing results with the 9.5 degree head in a Tensei Blue 70 gram Stiff of X. If you really want to get spin down from there, we have seen even lower spin rates with the Tensei White!

[Official Tour Edge]

I have personally only hit a few TEE clubs in my life. Availability around me is next to none so there has never been anywhere to test.

 

Picked up a CBX Fairway last week with a shaft I knew would work with my swing and out of the gate, this club has delivered. As someone who struggles to keep spin down with higher club head speed, How does the EXS line improve on the CBX line in terms of Fairways for someone that wants to hit long, low bullets off the tee with a fairway.

 

The same question applies to the Driver line as well. Do you feel that these heads can hang with the Low Spin Drivers of the Big OEM's in terms of keeping the spin down, and keeping up with the ball speed? I know the CBX seems to come off the face like a rocket (no Launch monitor data yet), but it has blown my other options out of the water in terms of just being a pure distance club, and surprisingly very easy to launch off the deck as well.

 

Thanks for taking the time!

 

This is a very low spin driver, so you are in luck there, plus anyone can adjust so that is fits their needs. The fairway and hybrid actually have a more forward CG like CBX to help reduce spin, so while EXS will be easier to hit for the majority of golfers, it still provides lower spin rates than you’ll see with some other products. I think it really comes down to just how fast your swing speed is. I would be my guess that anyone over 95MPH would benefit with less spin and a lower ball flight with CBX but any player can benefit and gain distance with the EXS driver. Its all about starting with the right loft head, finding the best suited shaft and then dialing in the hosel and FTS weights to maximize launch characteristics.

[Official Tour Edge]

I currently (still) play an XCG7 Beta 3-wood and love it. How does Tour Edge go about trying to take the success and reputation of its fairways and spread that to the other clubs?

 

Our tagline for Exotics EXS is Pound for Pound, Nothing Else Comes Close. This is a boxing motif reference to technology, performance and price all wrapped up in one. No one is offering this much tech at this price. With a $140 shaft included as well. Our testing shows the EXS performs as well or better than any other driver on the market. Further to this, the recent increase in retail prices across the ultra-premium market has left a hole in the market for discerning golfers who are seeking high-performing product. Our research shows golfers like these are deferring product purchases as a consequence of higher prices and this latent demand is costing the industry sales. Exotics EXS services this latent demand by delivering a high-technology, great-performing solution at a price that allows savvy golfers access to the latest technology.

[Official Tour Edge]

Do you adjust for swing weight and lie on your petite ladies sets?

 

We certainly do.

 

Will there be Beta versions of the driver and fairways, and if so do you expect them to be as easy to hit as the EX10 Beta 3W?

 

No, this is it for EXS, they are definitely as easy to hit as the EX10 Beta and any other product we’ve ever released.

 

Always want to try Tour Edge products, especially the Exotics line but have yet to pull the trigger. What's is it that makes them so good (in many PGA and Senior bags) that I need to demo one and fall in love??

 

Love the question, I like to think as the designer that we just have more to offer in terms of advanced materials and putting as much into a golf club as we can to make it the best it can be for every player type. I am not really bogged down by red tape and bottom lines, I really make a golf club the best it can be in terms of technology, materials and design and see where the pieces fall after I have produced what I think will help certain types of golfers. With the EXS, we threw the kitchen sink at this thing in terms of tech and shaft and then decided later that we had to have a lower price point in order to make it a volume play. I sacrificed margin to bring the best product we could to the table at a price that no one else could dream of providing the golf market.

[Official Tour Edge]

With the popularity of the new cbx fairway and hybrid line why no cbx driver fairways and hybrids were such a success would have thought for sure that a driver was on its way does the new line compare with the cbx line

 

In the works. I love the three materials of Titanium, Carbon and Steel coming together in the CBX fairways and hybrids and I’ve been looking at how to incorporate these extreme low spin ideas into a tour-preferred driver. We will see how it shakes out; in the meantime, EXS driver is already in play on tour and has had the best reaction we have ever seen from tour players with one of our drivers.

[Official Tour Edge]

I have used nothing in the fairway wood dept since the inception of Exotics. I simply can't find anything better. But I've always been underwhelmed with your Driver offerings. What can you tell me about the new EXS line that will get me to try it? The fw's have always felt much hotter than other company's to me and I'm wondering if the EXS will finally have that "hotter" feel that the exotics fw's have always given me?

 

Thank you for your support over the last decade plus! Here's my pitch: This is the best driver I’ve designed. I think the biggest things you will notice are the improved acoustics and feel, the forgiving face (so yes, it will feel more like our hot fw’s) and the really beautiful 460 CC head that doesn’t really seem all that large. Did I win you over yet? How about $299 for a driver with 16 loft and lie flight settings and a $140 after market tour-premium stock shaft?

[Official Tour Edge]

What's the diference between exs line and cbx?

 

Thanks

 

I think I nailed this one earlier above but the biggest thing can probably be shown by what we are seeing on the PGA Tour Champions: both clubs are clubs that will be in play on Champions.

 

CBX will be in the bag of a heavy swinger like Scott McCarron who needs lower spin/ball flight, while a player like the 13-time winner who put EXS hybrid into play already and got a Top 10 struggles to get the ball up and loved how EXS provided a bit more spin and how consistently easy it was for him to it hit long and high.

 

How have you continued to innovate/improve the Slipstream sole on a model by model basis?

 

Yes sir! Every iteration and I believe this is our 5^th model featuring SlipStream technology, has changed. It has changed pretty dramatically over the past few years, mostly just by learning that wider channels equals better aerodynamics. That’s what we have done with EXS. I love the SlipStream technology as a visible tech that helps make for faster club head speed especially through the turf. We are the only ones to ever utilize it and I think it is a great looking and effective technology that we will continue to improve on.

[Official Tour Edge]

Why no left handed love? Will this change in the future?

 

We do have the 15 degree 3 wood available in lefty in EXS. I am sure you’ve heard this before, but with an estimated 10% of the population being lefty, it makes it hard to make a profit after tooling and USGA approval etc. The demand always seems to be there by the requests, but when you come out to market, it’s like that demand just disappeared. It’s hard. We watch the numbers very closely and pick out the extreme best sellers. Right now, the 15 degree 3-wood makes the most sense.

[Official Tour Edge]

Kind of a random question but what's the thought process behind deciding the color scheme of a new launch. What sort of input and research do you use to determine that part of the shelf appeal?

 

Great question, but no science to this one...it was just time to freshen things up!

[Official Tour Edge]

Does the EXS line mostly benefit those looking to straighten their slice? Can it be setup to be an anti-left club?

 

It is more of a neutral set up rather than anti-left but yes, by switching the 3 gram weight with the 9 gram weight from the stock setting the driver comes in, you fight left tendencies rather than slice tendencies. You increase launch and spin a bit with that weight change, which can easily be combated if you want with a hosel setting change.

[Official Tour Edge]

What shafts will be offered with these new offerings?

 

The no-charge shafts for EXS driver and fw are Tensei White 70, Tensei Red 50, HZRDUS Black,Yellow or Red, Bassara E, GD Tour AD 50, Rouge Silver and Black and for the hybrid is Recoil, GD Tour AD 50 and HZRDUS Black.

[Oaks]

Forgiveness wise - how do the EXS compare with the CBX?

[Official Tour Edge]

Phew! I think I've answered all posted questions! Thank you so much for your support of Tour Edge everybody. We are a growing force in the industry thanks to your support. It all starts with word of mouth...the more influencers like you all tell more golfers about what we do, the more we will grow!

 

I truly believe we have something special here with Exotics EXS that every golfer can benefit from while bringing some sanity back to ultra-premium price points. Plus we have a lifetime warranty on all of our products and all Exotics products are hand-built in the USA and support American employment.

 

Thank you for participating and again, thank you for your support! It means the world to us here out of our World HQ in Batavia, Illinois.

[Official Tour Edge]

Forgiveness wise - how do the EXS compare with the CBX?

 

EXS will win the forgiveness battle, but it really comes down to swing speed. CBX is plenty forgiving, it just may seem not to be for someone who needs more height or spin from their metalwoods.

[Davidv]

Ping G400 Max forgiveness and distance, TM Twist face, Callaway Epic and Rogue all 3 manufacturers fighting for the top spot in the marketplace. All in one form or another promising distance, accuracy and forgiveness.

What will the new Tour Edge Exotic EXS Driver offer to get consumers to think twice before going with one of the others.

 

Kind of missed my question hoping for a response.

[m_alco]

My Dad is right in the wheel house for the HL3 line. I doubt he would be interested in the iron-wood clubs though. He's pretty stubborn and prefers traditional clubs. Does the EXS line carry over any of the playability features to that the HL3 has? Would these be a decent starting point for a guy in his mid 70's and needs a lot of help getting the ball in the air?

 

On that note, we are in a pretty non-golfcentric area. There are no great fitting options. It's hard enough to convince him to go out and try new clubs. To get him there and have no options available is a waste of time. Does Tour Edge have any sort of fitting program we could utilize? An online questionnaire? A network of certified fitting centers that will actually have different options available to try?

 

In regards to the driver no how do you approach going up against the big boys I'm the industry? Your fairways have been successful as you were the first to market with an ultra long fairway wood (at least that I can think of). Drivers are a different animal that seems to be driven by marketing $$ to a large extent. Will I be able to find a fitting cart with EXS drivers in different lofts and shafts to test?

 

The biggest tie-in to HL3 would be playability. The EXS line was designed for ease of use for every golfer. They are spectacularly easy to hit and to get air born. Both HL3 and EXS provide more bang for your buck than any of their competitors, so you can bet paying more for EXS will get you in the ultra-premium market and all that comes with that i.e. more advanced , higher performing components and materials and adjustability options.

 

As far as the fitting, yes, we have a network of over 500 fitting locations, but if there isn’t a location or one of our many demo days near you, you can simply give us a call and we can discuss his fitting needs and options over the phone to lead him down the right path or possibly even set a time for the local rep to meet up with you guys if it makes sense to do.

 

The Driver market is tough. But we found a great demand creation formula that includes heavy advertising on Golf Channel (hopefully you have already seen the EXS spot, we have been pre-seeding it for the past 3 weeks!) The TV advertising gets golfers walking into stores and asking for Exotics EXS by name and that wins a lot of battles right out of the gate.

 

Yes, there will be fitting bags of EXS in select locations across the country, probably around 500 different locations.

 

Thank you for taking the time to do the Q&A and for the detailed answer. I currently game a EX10 Beta 3 wood and absolutely love it! I hardly every used my prior 3 woods because I just couldn't hit them and had no confidence in them, always driver or hybrid off the tee and never going for the green on a par 5. But, with the EX10 Beta, I have all the confidence in it and it is my go to fairway finder off the tee, or when my driver has a mind of its own, and I almost always go for it on par 5s when in range.

[Official Tour Edge]

Ping G400 Max forgiveness and distance, TM Twist face, Callaway Epic and Rogue all 3 manufacturers fighting for the top spot in the marketplace. All in one form or another promising distance, accuracy and forgiveness.

What will the new Tour Edge Exotic EXS Driver offer to get consumers to think twice before going with one of the others.

 

Kind of missed my question hoping for a response.

 

Not sure if you just missed this below or looking for another answer, but below was the response David made your question, he doesn't ever really talk directly about other competitors so I think this was his way of saying that we believe we offer the same tech and similar or better performance to anybody out there and we are doing it at lower price points..:

 

Our tagline for Exotics EXS is Pound for Pound, Nothing Else Comes Close. This is a boxing motif reference to technology, performance and price all wrapped up in one. No one is offering this much tech at this price. With a $140 shaft included as well. Our testing shows the EXS performs as well or better than any other driver on the market. Further to this, the recent increase in retail prices across the ultra-premium market has left a hole in the market for discerning golfers who are seeking high-performing product. Our research shows golfers like these are deferring product purchases as a consequence of higher prices and this latent demand is costing the industry sales. Exotics EXS services this latent demand by delivering a high-technology, great-performing solution at a price that allows savvy golfers access to the latest technology.

[Davidv]

Ping G400 Max forgiveness and distance, TM Twist face, Callaway Epic and Rogue all 3 manufacturers fighting for the top spot in the marketplace. All in one form or another promising distance, accuracy and forgiveness.

What will the new Tour Edge Exotic EXS Driver offer to get consumers to think twice before going with one of the others.

 

Kind of missed my question hoping for a response.

 

Not sure if you just missed this below or looking for another answer, but below was the response David made your question, he doesn't ever really talk directly about other competitors so I think this was his way of saying that we believe we offer the same tech and similar or better performance to anybody out there and we are doing it at lower price points..:

 

Our tagline for Exotics EXS is Pound for Pound, Nothing Else Comes Close. This is a boxing motif reference to technology, performance and price all wrapped up in one. No one is offering this much tech at this price. With a $140 shaft included as well. Our testing shows the EXS performs as well or better than any other driver on the market. Further to this, the recent increase in retail prices across the ultra-premium market has left a hole in the market for discerning golfers who are seeking high-performing product. Our research shows golfers like these are deferring product purchases as a consequence of higher prices and this latent demand is costing the industry sales. Exotics EXS services this latent demand by delivering a high-technology, great-performing solution at a price that allows savvy golfers access to the latest technology.

Thank you.

[gprubes]

Do you adjust for swing weight and lie on your petite ladies sets?

 

We certainly do.

 

Will there be Beta versions of the driver and fairways, and if so do you expect them to be as easy to hit as the EX10 Beta 3W?

 

No, this is it for EXS, they are definitely as easy to hit as the EX10 Beta and any other product we’ve ever released.

 

Always want to try Tour Edge products, especially the Exotics line but have yet to pull the trigger. What's is it that makes them so good (in many PGA and Senior bags) that I need to demo one and fall in love??

 

Love the question, I like to think as the designer that we just have more to offer in terms of advanced materials and putting as much into a golf club as we can to make it the best it can be for every player type. I am not really bogged down by red tape and bottom lines, I really make a golf club the best it can be in terms of technology, materials and design and see where the pieces fall after I have produced what I think will help certain types of golfers. With the EXS, we threw the kitchen sink at this thing in terms of tech and shaft and then decided later that we had to have a lower price point in order to make it a volume play. I sacrificed margin to bring the best product we could to the table at a price that no one else could dream of providing the golf market.

 

Thanks for the response, your commitment to the brand seems very contagious. Cant wait to find a local demo day, or nearby fitter that will have some products to try!!

[kiw1982]

Any plan on bladed irons?

[TinkerGolfMan]

Never played exotics clubs. Are the rails below the woods actually for performance or aesthetics?

[MKPAPA]

Never played exotics clubs. Are the rails below the woods actually for performance or aesthetics?

 

The rails help glide through turf. Doy

[p3ga]

Anyone sample the EXS driver yet?

 

If so, what's your thoughts / impression & how does it compare to your current ___________ driver?

[03trdblack]

Was a winner ever selected from the giveaway?

[Wardonation]

Drover is solid but the fairway and hybrid are the gems of this line IMO. I struggle hitting 3 woods of the deck even thought I am a +2. The 15 degree was the easiest fw I have ever hit. My good friend is a rep for them and keeps telling me how this company just keeps growing. I wish they would make a low offset, low bounce blade though....

[vartanick]

Was a winner ever selected from the giveaway?

 

I was the lucky one this time, I’ll post my impresions as soon as I’ll get it

 

Thanks for the opportunity!

[pegleg]

Any plan on bladed irons?

 

Since these were part of their 2018 line, it's hard to imagine they'd release another new MB in 2019.

 

https://www.touredge.com/products/cbxblades.asp

[rexwrx]

Looks great. 9.5 with Tensei White 70 X

 

 

[Nixhex524]

Anyone sample the EXS driver yet?

 

If so, what's your thoughts / impression & how does it compare to your current ___________ driver?

 

I hit this in the store today, Tensei blue stiff 10.5* head... I always hate going by what the GC2 is saying but if it's any indication of reality this driver was really impressive. Spin numbers were a little higher in the 2700-3200 area, but ball speeds were good for me, 152-155 mph carrying 260-265 ish on the best ones. I was most impressed with the feel and sound... I still have some GC money so I am tempted to try out the 9.5 with a stiff or the 10.5 with an X in the Tensei blue. Hit one out of the heel that spun around 3300 but found its way down the center and still carried about 245 with BS around 148. Love the look as well... top notch offering I am considering buying!!!

 

Edit... bought one today, blue 60 stiff, 9.5. Will get it out this friday for some real world experience but after hitting it again today, if the numbers translate it will be a top performer.