In early February, THP introduced Tour Edge’s new Hot Launch 524 line of golf clubs. This series is expansive, featuring two versions of each club type from driver to wedge. Hot Launch is perhaps one of the most underrated collection of clubs year in and year out. By borrowing technology from the premium Exotics line, Tour Edge is able to deliver top level performance at prices within reach of just about every consumer.
Like the Exotics line, each type of club comes in two versions, C (Competition) and E (Extreme). Both are designed to be forgiving and long, but with different player types in mind. According to Tour Edge, it breaks down like this:
- The E range are Extreme Spec Super-Game-Improvement clubs that boast an extremely low Center of Gravity (CG), super-shallow faces, and offset designs designed to get the ball launching in the air with ease.
- The C range features premium Competition Spec Game-Improvement designs with a higher Moment of Inertia (MOI) in classically shaped clubs that sit square at address, while providing the ability to launch the ball with added forgiveness and power.
To simplify, the C range will appeal more to players looking for a traditional look and neutral directional bias, while the E range will appeal to those needing maximum forgiveness, launch, and directional correction (via weighting and offset).
We will not dive too deep into the individual technology components on the Hot Launch 524 line, since we’ve done that thoroughly already in earlier articles. However, we will touch on how those features impacted our experience during testing.
*Note: In all side-by-side photos, the C524 club is on the left and the E524 is on the right.
C524 and E524 Drivers
One thing that becomes immediately apparent when we first look at the Hot Launch drivers is that they are not just rebranded Exotics drivers. These are built specifically for a purpose, and you can see, hear and feel the differences.
The perfect example of this, and what led us quickly to this conclusion, was just how different both drivers sound and feel when compared to the Exotics line. The E724 in particular was a boisterously loud driver, so we just anticipated something similar from the Hot Launch offerings. We were pleased to find out that both 524 offerings had a much more traditional sound at impact.
It’s easy to see where the Hot Launch 524 diverge when looking at the sole and from the address position. The C524 is a much more traditionally shaped game improvement driver. It’s a bit more pear shaped at address and the sole has a familiar looking, stretched out Sole Rail with the Max MOI weight positioned far towards the back. Conversely, the E524 is noticeably offset, closed with a defined toe, more triangular, and features a prominent keel on the sole that culminates with the Houdini Sole at the very rear. You also get a sense of the E524’s Houdini Sole when looking at a face-on shot.
In general, we saw somewhat better performance from the C524, but that’s very much based on fitting. For example, there was a noticeable increase in launch angle and height with the E524, very likely due to the Houdini Sole, so those players needing more height could find it to be the best performer. Overall, we didn’t see a ton of variance in dispersion between the two. While general convention may hold that the offset E524 would produce more shots to the left (or shots not quite so far right), it just didn’t pop up during testing. Both drivers seemed to be sufficiently forgiving on a variety of misses. Both maintained resasonable spin numbers on off-center shots, though we did notice some loss in ball speed.
| Club Speed | Ball Speed | Launch Angle | Back Spin | Carry | Total | |
| C524 | 92 mph | 137 mph | 15 deg | 2,643 rpm | 220 yards | 229 yards |
| E524 | 92 mph | 134 mph | 17 deg | 2,788 rpm | 215 yards | 222 yards |
Hot Launch 524 Fairway Woods
We see the same themes on the driver carry into the fairway woods. Well, in truth, these span the entire Hot Launch line. The C524 fairway wood is the neutral, more famiilar looking head in just about every way, while the E524 is again offset, closed, and has a large, keeled sole.
While we’re talking about looks, let’s touch on Ridgeback. This is a signature Tour Edge technology that increases rigidity on the frame and power to the entire face. As a secondary benefit, Ridgeback provides great alignment assistance at address.
We have to talk about Houdini Sole a bit more when it comes the E524 fairway woods. The protrusion at the rear is one aspect of this technology, but it’s also very evident when looking at the face. The keel is very noticeable here, and it provides a fantastic amount of help when hitting the ball high off the turf. In fact, Tour Edge believes these are the easiest fairway woods to hit – period. Stretch out faces and keeled soles are known performers and the E524 didn’t disappoint in that regard.
Before we dive into numbers, we want to make note of two things. First, at least in the case of the person testing these clubs, three woods are just difficult clubs to hit. Yes, we saw some better than average performance on the “easy” scale, but three woods are three woods. It’s easy to see the E524 flew much higher than the C524, validating what Tour Edge says about these two clubs. Overall, distance was average at best, but again – fairway woods aren’t for everybody.
| Club Speed | Ball Speed | Launch Angle | Back Spin | Carry | Total | |
| C524 | 88 mph | 126 mph | 12 deg | 2,756 rpm | 192 yards | 217 yards |
| E524 | 86 mph | 125 mph | 16 deg | 3,868 rpm | 193 yards | 212 yards |
Hot Launch 524 Hybrids
Tour Edge knows hybrids. They’ve always known hybrids. So, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that we felt the Hot Launch 524 hybrids were the hidden gems of this release. Again, the same design considerations were very much in play with the C and E versions. Aside from the neutral look at the address position, the C524 had a slightly smaller footprint at address. However, it needs to be noted that neither of these clubs falls into the “compact” category. They are both very much game improvement clubs, with the E524 just taking things to the, wait for it…… extreme.
The C524’s muted, metallic crack was a pleasure to hear, while the E524 had a bit more hollowness to it. Both clubs sat nicely behind the ball and provided a great deal of confidence that solid contact would be easy to come by. Again, although the E524 was noticeably offset and closed in appearance, we didn’t notice an overwhelming tendency to miss the ball left with it. Whether that’s a byproduct of coincidence or subconscious adjustments is hard to say, but we just didn’t see. We did, again, see a fantastic level of performance from the E524’s keeled sole from a variety of lies. If you find yourself hitting hybrid from the rough often, give it a look, especially if you need a little extra height.
On the launch monitor and the course, both clubs seemed to provide different avenues to similar results. The C524 had a flatter flight that tended to roll out a bit more, while the E524 was definitely higher. Though the pure numbers tell their story, we found the C524 a clear winner. It was still easy to hit, sounded amazing, was easy to control, and had great distance both off the tee and off the turf. From the perspective of a person that can put just about any club in the bag, we can tell you it has earned itself a spot long term.
| Club Speed | Ball Speed | Launch Angle | Back Spin | Carry | Total | |
| C524 | 82 mph | 123 mph | 12 deg | 3.134 rpm | 179 yards | 192 yards |
| E524 | 85 mph | 122 mph | 15 deg | 4,336 rpm | 182 yards | 191 yards |
Details
The Hot Launch 524 line will always be touted for its value, but this series performs. It offers a ton of variety for those that are searching for game improvement clubs, making it easy to work with specific swing issues.
- Each club comes stock with Aldila Ascent shafts. Custom orders available.
- Specs and ordering available at www.touredge.com
- Driver: $249.99
- Fairway Woods: $169.99
- Hybrids: $149.99
