Tour Edge considers themselves the pound-for-pound leader in golf equipment innovation and performance, and it’s hard to argue with that position. They are consistently able to offer unique, proprietary designs while maintaining prices that make advanced technology accessible to almost every budget. Unlike several other lower-cost options, DTC (Direct to Consumer) equipment brands for example, Tour Edge handles all their own research, development, and testing in their home state of Illinois. Dan Edwards, host of the Off Course podcast, spent an hour talking to designer Matt Neeley in the fall of 2022, and Neeley’s experience and passion clearly illustrate what the company can offer consumers.
In a quest to appeal to almost every type of player out there, Tour Edge is bringing their Exotics 723 series of irons to market this coming Spring. Featuring four (maybe three-and-a-half is more accurate) sets of irons, consumers should be able to match their specific needs when it comes to looks, feel, playability, and distance.
Exotics E723 Irons
The “E” or Extreme line is all about maximizing distance and forgiveness, and it’s loaded with technologies to make these things a reality. As should be expected, this is the largest, most offset club in the 723 series. At first glance, this iron clearly communicates to consumers what it’s been designed to do.
While the E723 may first appear to be a hollow body iron, it’s not and we will discuss exactly how that shakes out later. That appearance, along with Tour Edge’s clean styling, should make the backside of the iron quite attractive to the eye, especially in the bag. Even with the added size, the E723’s lightly cambered bottom line will make it playable from less-than-desirable lies. Another shaping decision, the softened and slightly wider sole, should also enhance forgiveness when it comes to heavy contact. In addition to the styling features, the E723 has a great deal of technology that isn’t as immediately visible.
360 Undercut Design
As noted above, even though the E723 iron has the appearance of being a hollow-body, it has an expanded undercut cavity. This allows for a great deal of weight manipulation, which is exactly what Tour Edge has done with the design.
It’s plainly evident in the picture above that the expansive cavity enabled Tour Edge to move a huge portion of the club’s mass low and far behind the face. Most of us are aware of the benefits that type of positioning offers, but in case you aren’t, this will aid in delivering a high launch angle at impact. To bolster that high launch, the face can more freely flex and provide maximum ball speeds.
VIBRCOR Technology
VIBRCOR is Tour Edge’s answer to always present issues of feel and sound when it comes to cavity back irons. It’s a high-grade TPU (Thermoplastic Polyurethane) material they inject deep into the cavity. TPU is an interesting material in that it shares attributes of both plastic and rubber, so it’s flexible but also very durable.
Tour Edge believes VIBRCOR significantly alters the feel of the E723 while producing more stability (because it enables more weight manipulation) and ball speed, especially off center. Their claims go as far as to say VIBRCOR offers a sound and feel like a forged iron, which isn’t an easy task to accomplish with such an aggressive cavity.
Diamond Face VFT
Diamond Face VFT (Variable Face Thickness) is featured on almost every club in the 723 line, aside for the forged iron offerings. This technology, which used to be mostly exclusive to metalwoods, is a way to increase the club face’s efficiency when creating ball speed, especially with off-center contact.
Tour Edge tells us there are 103 diamond shapes across the entire face of the E723 iron that function as mini-trampolines to create faster ball speeds. There are three different thickness profiles across the face, with a thickness reduction on the heel and toe to promote the highest possible efficiency for balls struck in either location.
Extreme Toe Weighting
Tour Edge has taken more of the weight made available by the 360 Undercut Cavity and positioned it on the high toe in the rear portion of the club along with a new toe weighting pocket. This not only increases stability on shots hit on the toe, but it also moves the center of gravity right behind the center of the face. This will provide the best possible feel on center impacts while giving maximum forgiveness to those of us with the very common toe miss.
Details
- Stock Shafts: KBS TGI Tour Graphite 50 L, Tensei AV Blue 65 A/R/S/X, Project X HZRDUS Black Gen 4 80 R/S/X, True Temper Elevate 95 MPH R/S, KBS Tour Steel R/S/X
- Available Lofts in Right-Handed – #4 iron/19°, #5 iron/21.5°, #6 iron/24°, #7 iron/27.5°, #8 iron/32°, #9 iron/37°, PW/42°, AW/46°, GW/51° SW/56°
- Retail Price:
- $114.99 each in graphite /$799.99 for 7-piece set in graphite
- $99.99 each in steel /$699.99 for 7-piece set in steel
- Additional no-upcharge shaft options available
- Available worldwide on March 1, 2023
- Pre-orders start February 8, 2023
Exotics C723 Irons
C stands for Competition, but Tour Edge typically refers to the C723 as a “player’s distance” iron. Though categories of irons can be ambiguous, it’s not hard to see what the company is doing here. With less offset and blade-length, the hollow-body C723 should appeal to the player that wants a slightly smaller head that provides as much distance and forgiveness as possible.
Tour Edge’s clean company branding and the hollow-body design combine to create a sleek look from the rear, though it’s not quite in the realm of the “faux-blade” some companies are producing. As with the E723 irons, we see some slight camber on the bottom line and a gentle softening of the sole’s leading and trailing edges.
Hollow-body Design with Player Preferred Shaping
The C723 is 5% smaller, has a shorter blade length, and thinner topline, which should all serve to appeal to players looking for a more compact look in the bag and at address. The hollow-body design gives Tour Edge the flexibility to provide this look to consumers while packing the iron with game-improving technology.
By removing so much of the weight from the center portion of the iron, it can be situated in a manner that delivers the forgiveness that only perimeter weighting can provide. In addition, it’s evident in the design photos that there is a great deal of weight low behind the face. While not as extreme as in the E723, this will work well with the slightly-more-traditional loft gapping of the iron set. Finally, and probably most exciting to those looking for high ball speeds, the face is extremely thin and able to flex at impact.
Military Grade Maraging Steel L-Cup Face
With its high strength-to-weight ratio, the steel used for the C723 iron’s face is also used in the aerospace industry for things like landing gear and rocket motor cases. It is plasma welded to the 17-4 stainless steel body, forming the hollow body head.
The C723’s face is Tour Edge’s thinnest to date, allowing it to flex along the entire surface. The L-Cup acts as a hinge and is designed to provide accuracy and the highest possible efficiency on off-center impact.
VIBRCOR Technology and Diamond Face VFT
While C723 has unique head and face designs, it shares both VIBRCOR Technology and Diamond Face VFT with the E723, albeit in slightly different configurations. The face has 92 Diamond shapes due to the smaller head size.
Though the TPU material serves the same purposes (primarily feel enhancement), the C723’s hollow-body design means that Tour Edge was able to inject it into the entire pocket instead of just one area. This is designed to create optimal feel that should immediately be noticeable.
Details
- Stock Shafts: KBS TGI Tour Graphite 50 L, Tensei AV Blue 65 A/R/S/X, Project X HZRDUS Black Gen 4 80 R/S/X, True Temper Elevate 95 MPH R/S, KBS Tour Steel R/S/X
- Available Lofts in Right-Handed – #3 iron/19, #4 iron/21°, #5 iron/23°, #6 iron/26.5°, #7 iron/30°, #8 iron/34°, #9 iron/39° PW/44°, AW/49°
- Retail Price:
- $144.99 each in graphite /$999.99 for 7-piece set in graphite
- $129.99 each in steel /$899.99 for 7-piece set in steel
- Additional no-upcharge shaft options available
- Available worldwide on March 1, 2023
- Pre-orders start February 8, 2023
Exotics Pro 723 Irons
The Pro 732 iron is a true player’s cavity that was designed based on feedback from Tour Edge’s Tour staff. Forging and precision milling work together to offer top-level control and feedback, while added technologies enhance the iron’s forgiveness and playability.
Though the Pro 723 is a player’s forging, it’s slightly larger than some others in the segment and has a fairly aggressive loft structure. While this may not be the tiniest player’s cavity on the market, it seems to be in a great middle ground that will meet the needs of a wider swath of players. Maybe there’s a lesson to learned here, as these design features were requested by some of the world’s best players.
Player Shaped Forgiveness
It should be easy to find things to love about the shaping and technology in the Pro 723 series. Yes, the most discerning eyes out there may not love the “slightly larger” label, but this does afford Tour Edge the opportunity to pack in more playability. The CNC milled cavity is also a bit larger in size, but rather than move weight to the perimeter, it’s been positioned low and in the center of the club face.
Aside from offering some added forgiveness, this weight positioning is going to improve feel and control. In addition, the slightly more aggressive loft structure will benefit from the added launch a lower CG position encourages. Still, the design here doesn’t affect the top line or look at address negatively. It could be a true best-of-both-worlds scenario for many consumers.
Meticulous Machining Process
Tour Edge is proud of the fact that each Pro 723 iron head undergoes over an hour of CNC milling to precise tolerances. The milling occurs post-forging and starts with the face, carving out the grooves with the goal of maintaining consistent spin for each iron.
The cavity is then milled, along with heel and toe pockets. This process creates the thinnest possible face for better off-center efficiency while retaining all the great feel we expect from a head of this type.
VIBRCOR Filled Cavity and Center Cavity Pad
Interestingly, Tour Edge does incorporate their TPU VIBRCOR into the Pro 723 irons. While the cavity is much, much smaller than the one on the E723, it is still a cavity. Inserting the VIBRCOR into this space means that players will have the forgiveness benefits without sacrificing feel.
Unlike the rest of the Pro 723 iron face, not to mention the faces of both the C and E series irons, the center of the Pro is bolstered with a thick slug of steel directly behind the hitting area. This design will reward center impacts with better feel, along with added power and control.
Details
- Stock Shafts: TrueTemper Dynamic Gold 105 R/S/X
- Available Lofts in Right-Handed – #3 iron/20°, #4 iron/22°, #5 iron/25°, #6 iron/28°, #7 iron/32°, #8 iron/36°, #9 iron/40° PW/44°, AW/48°
- Retail Price:
- $169.99 each in steel /$1189.99 for 7-piece set in steel
- Available worldwide on March 1, 2023
- Pre-orders start February 8, 2023
Exotics BL Proto Iron
Though there’s a good chance many readers will never see them in person, the BL Proto iron is an exciting, albeit limited, addition to Tour Edge’s 2023 line. This is a forged, precision milled blade that is unlike anything else on the market, thanks to the unique preferences of Tour legend Bernhard Langer. With only around 100 sets available, finding one will be a challenge, but Tour Edge chief designer, David Gold, believes they will fill a niche in the marketplace.
Langer put the first prototypes into play at the 2022 Masters and Tour Edge took his feedback into mind when tweaking the original design. Details on the Proto’s design are sparse, but we do know the long irons have tungsten plugs directly behind the face. Most interestingly is that, per Langer’s request, the BL Protos feature a substantial amount of offset. The company recommends keeping your eye on their social media channels for information on how and when they will be available.
