One of two new Exotics driver offerings for Tour Edge in 2017, the EX10, is putting a heavy emphasis on providing new design breakthroughs in improved aerodynamics and Titanium applications. THP was able to get a closer look at the new EX10 driver and put it through a full workout for review.
Information and Specifications from Tour Edge:
The new EX10 adjustable driver is available in 10 and 12 degree adjustable heads. The driver features a new hosel system that doubles the adjustability options, allowing players to raise or lower the loft as +/- 2 degrees.
The 460cc head features new 8-1-1 Titanium chassis with a new TSP 910 Beta Ti face plate. This exceptional material allows for a larger face plate. The larger face increases the sweet spot and combined with hexagonal VFT, offers multiple levels of thickness that maximize launch speed from more points on the face, especially in the heel and toe areas. The new, more tapered head profile reduces aerodynamic drag generating faster club speed for maximum distance off the tee. The sloping crown also saves weight which is redistributed in the sole of the club to aid in achieving optimal ball flight.
The redesigned sole adds speed channels to further enhance the aerodynamics of the club head. The increased heel weight and the aerodynamic design all adds up to faster speed, higher MOI, less spin and more distance.
The EX10 driver includes a 10-gram sole screw housed in a 9-gram weight pad for deep sole weighting. The weight screw is also adjustable and additional weights can be purchased as a kit or individually. The kit includes 6-gram, 12-gram and 14-gram weights to increase or decrease the swing weight.
STD. LOFT | HOSEL SETTING | ADJUSTED LOFT | LIE | LENGTH | FLEX |
10° | N | 10.0° | 57° | 45″ | L,A,R,S,X |
10° | N- | 9.0° | 57.5° | 45″ | L,A,R,S,X |
10° | — | 8.0° | 58° | 45″ | L,A,R,S,X |
10° | U- | 9.0° | 59° | 45″ | L,A,R,S,X |
10° | UN | 10.0° | 60° | 45″ | L,A,R,S,X |
10° | U+ | 11.0° | 59.5° | 45″ | L,A,R,S,X |
10° | ++ | 12.0° | 58.5° | 45″ | L,A,R,S,X |
10° | N+ | 11.0° | 57.5° | 45″ | L,A,R,S,X |
Aesthetics:
From a shape perspective, Tour Edge has always done a great job of providing a clean look that will appeal to practically any golfer. At the same time, with their Exotics line of clubs, they have never been afraid to push boundaries of looks when it could aid performance. The EX10 at initial glance is likely the cleanest driver to come from Tour Edge at this point with its deep gloss black metal flake crown, as well as the mixture of polished chrome and red sole accents, provide a continuity with the other Exotics offerings.
It is when you take a closer look that two things stand out. On the sole, the focus that the faux SlipStream section draws makes it easy to miss the Speed Channel which Tour Edge actually managed to blend with the whole of the driver in stark contrast to the awkwardness that has come from most other companies using a channel. Additionally, when looking at the club from the side, the aerodynamics put into the EX10 design becomes clear as the head has a much more accentuated taper from the face to the rear of the club with the single intent of increasing speed by reducing drag.
Key Technology:
With the EX10, Tour Edge is continuing to flex their design muscles in materials, but doing so in a way that differs from other companies. While the trend seems to be carbon applications, Tour Edge is instead continuing to utilize Titanium, but they are turning to versions of the metal which they have not used in drivers before. The big story here with the EX10 is the use of 8-1-1 Titanium for the chassis and TSP 910 Beta Ti for the face.
While the push to carbon fiber by others is in order to save weight while keeping strength, Tour Edge is doing the same thing, they are just not using carbon. By taking the Exotics EX10 to an 8-11 Titanium body, they have made a frame which can be much thinner and stronger. Because of that, Tour Edge was able to move saved mass elsewhere in the head to impact the ball flight. Similarly, the TSP 910 Beta Ti face, which was imported from Japan, also maintains more strength at a lighter weight. This also allowed for a larger face piece, resulting in more potential ball speed creation and retention on misses.
Performance:
The EX10 which THP received for review was the 10° model paired with the Aldila Rogue M-AX 75 Red, which is one of multiple shafts and weights available. Being that the club only comes in a 10° and 12° the initial thought might be about limited options, but the adapter Tour Edge is using offers a +/- 2° with multiple upright (U) and neutral (N) settings. The nice thing here is the adapter is not cumbersome in size/weight, it adjusts easily, and the +/- system is easy to digest without need for any booklet. Moreover, the adjustments do change the face angle as expected, but testing also showed that the launch numbers change accordingly to the setting selected.
With everything that Tour Edge did to make the EX10 lighter and stronger the expectation was to see some solid club and ball speed numbers and that was indeed the case. While clearly such data will vary from user to user, the driver managed to create similar ball-speeds on well struck shots to any other driver out there. Much of this can likely be credited to the fact that, though the EX10 is not a “superlight” driver like other options, the added emphasis on lighter materials and aerodynamics had an absolute impact of making it less cumbersome than the EX9, and this meant more potential distance generation.
While still not the longest driver on the market for this particular reviewer, it is an improvement on the EX9 in distance, and data throughout the review made it clear there is a segment of golfers who could potentially unlock a lot more from the head. On average, at the standard 10° setting a 13.1° launch angle was seen with spin numbers hovering around 2800 RPM’s. Based on all of this, the EX10 certainly seems to fall into the mid-high launch and low-mid spin realm. Something to remember here, because Tour Edge saved so much weight with the frame and face materials, they were able to shift it and one location is the weight port to help lower the CG while keeping it somewhat back. This is important because that port itself has 9g of mass in the head and the driver comes with a 10g weight stock with a weight kit (6g, 12g, 14g) available for purchase for fine tuning that could further tweak performance for the user.
Thanks to all of that weight manipulation, the EX10 has indeed upped the forgiveness factor compared to the EX9. Aerodynamically though, the shape is a bit extreme from the side view, it maintains plenty of stability and feedback on strikes all over the face. There is still a noticeable “gear effect” which occurs on heel and toe side strikes that do accentuate those misses at times depending on just how extreme the location was. However, evidence during testing does show that the hexagonal face thickness design that Tour Edge uses has been improved thanks to the bigger TSP 910 Beta Ti face piece. Within that realm, spin drops and jumps vertically on the face were mellowed out from what was anticipated and with that ball speeds stayed more constant too. The high miss was punished most for this reviewer, the playability factor is certainly improved here, and the re-designed sole channel was likely behind the low miss maintaining a shocking amount of launch compared to many other drivers out there.
It does bear mentioning being that the EX10 is a Titanium based driver design, it is more boisterous in the sound department than a lot of clubs coming out today. Now, that sound while metallic and somewhat tinny, is not among the “loud” drivers out there. If one is coming from a carbon fiber driver it will definitely be more noticeable, but overall it is an improved sound from past Exotics offerings, and that is a move in the correct direction.
Parting Thoughts:
Tour Edge has long been known for producing some of the longest fairway woods on the market, which has typically been the extent of people’s knowledge of the brand. As a company though, they appear to be out to try and change that by not only producing drivers like the EX10 and XJ1 which take aim at a broad spectrum of players, but a complete club lineup that offer performance and tech on par with anything out there. For the EX10 driver, there is a lot of technology and design pride that has gone into creating an appealing head at a $349.00 price that will certainly turn heads next to the price points being seen elsewhere on the market.
For more information on the EX10 and all that Tour Edge offers in their Exotics line and beyond, check out their site at www.TourEdge.com.
Good review James!
Interesting they are sticking with titanium, while others move to carbon composites. The finish on the head is awesome. So shiny.
Great review James! Looks like Tour Edge really upped their game in the EX10 Driver. I’ll look to demo this spring.
Good read James. I personally like what they have done with the design. Allowing for different weight in the weight port is a big plus.
As always, your stellar attention to detail stands out James. Another excellent review! I have not hit this driver yet but am looking forward to doing so. This one just sounds like a great fit for me. Good on TEE designers to free up so much discretionary weight in an all titanium offering.
Thanks for the review Jman. The EX10 sounds like a great all around driver that will fit a wide variety of players.
That’s a nice looking driver. While it’s for aesthetics only, I like the “faux slipstream” on the sole. I always associate TEE with metalwoods and hybrids, but need to get some swings in with a driver one of these days.
Great review James.
Fascinating that they are still using Titanium vs other OEMs going to Carbon.
I really like that because it will still be thinner but stronger.
I’m a huge TE fan and I’m looking forward to hitting this driver soon.
As always great review Jman. I wish TEE had more of a presence here locally. Don’t see many of their products around to give them a try.
Love the talk about all of the different materials they used when constructing this head. While it only comes in two lofts, the adapter and additional weights should make it easier for someone to tune to their game.
All this sounds nice but it is all hot air.
I’m looking for a new driver at the moment. I used to believe Exotics were a new contender on the market but they are only talked about and NEVER hit.
Nobody on the net tests the exotics drivers out against other drivers. They are certainly not in the top 10 drivers as judged by any tester on the net.
The ONLY reason I can imagine for this is that they are just a supermarket club meant for beginners or kids otherwise I would be able to find an independent review of the drivers somewhere.
Shame the heads not a Matt finish, less Sun glare .
Still have to wait, haven’t seen it available yet here in the U.K.
Great review. I just bought the EX10 ovee the Epic and Epic sub zero. I hit the EX10 further and the spinn was 1000 less with the EX10. As for other reviews, the company pays NO players on the tour and puts the monay back into R&D. However, there are many players that hit these clubs on tour.
In reply to Ashley’s comment that this is all hot air, you should try it out before saying it’s all hot air. This is no supermarket club. I tested it last week at a demo day, and this driver rocks! Just because they don’t pay sponsorship fees and don’t spend on marketing doesn’t mean they’re not used on tour. But as the author stated, if marketing is your thing, then this club isn’t for you. But, to each their own… In any case, I too had been searching for a new driver, and was pretty set on a 917 D2, but after testing this driver, I’m reconsidering. I’m going to do head to head test between the two. If I get at least similar performance numbers, I will probably go with the EX10. At $150 less, why not?
I am also responding to the hot air comment. I just bought this driver and it is seriously good. I loved my exotics xcg7 but when I saw this I knew I had to have it. These are extremely well made and match or for some people beat anything out there. Like the review said its a little but not overly loud and I’m not a fan of the sound but the performance is better that anything else I’ve tried. If your considering getting one go for it you can’t lose with this club
Just put the TEE EX10 driver in my bag, after extended head-to-head testing versus the incumbent Titleist 917 D2, which is a great driver in so many ways.
EX10 is just plain longer, every bit as straight, and the sound rocks. Throw in the adjustability to deal with varying course conditions, and the combination just works.
Should point out, re previous post, that my early experience with TEE was with the CB2 fairway wood, one of the best of its generation. Having put the TEE EX10 Beta 3-wood in the bag a month ago, after another extended audition vs Titleist 917 F2, it just made sense to try the driver.
I’m delighted with the pair of them.
Tour Edge Ex10 Driver moved in my bag right next my EX10 three and five fairway woods in 2017 and they are staying. Just purchased my new C722 irons, hoping for a better golf season this year. I did have to replace the factory grips, they were too agressive to my hands.