Tour Edge Hot Launch E524 Irons Review

Earlier this year, THP highlighted the release of Tour Edge’s Hot Launch 524 iron. Like their Exotics lineup, the Hot Launch irons are separated into two categories. The C524 represents the competition line, with a more traditional and streamlined game improvement iron look. On the other hand, the E524 irons are known for their extreme style, placing more emphasis on forgiveness and launch to help golfers improve their game. 

Today, we are focusing on the Hot Launch E524 irons, which Tour Edge CEO and Master Club Designer refers to as “the easiest iron you will ever hit.” This is quite a statement coming from a designer known for delivering forgiving clubs. This quote stuck in our minds as we tested the E524 irons. Let’s find out how easy they really are to use.

Hot Launch E524 Irons

With the goal of the Hot Launch E524 irons set to deliver effortless launch and increased forgiveness, every piece of technology inside this release plays an important role in helping golfers achieve more consistency throughout the set.

Tour Edge refers to the irons as iron-woods. When you add a set of these to your bag, they even come with headcovers, but there’s no requirement to use them. These irons are classified as such because of their hollow-body design. Golfers have come to understand that hollow body irons provide more perimeter weighting, which improves forgiveness. They also generate more ball speed due to more room for the face to flex. Inside the hollow head, more mass is positioned low and deep, with additional internal heel weighting to help golfers reduce their slice and achieve a straighter ball flight.

Hot Launch E524 Irons

Tour Edge has also made several shaping improvements that not only help make these iron-woods more appealing to the eye but also play a role in achieving the goal of the E524 line. While there might be other things to catch one’s eye, the topline of these irons has been thinned out compared to previous generations. While the topline shrunk, the sole has been widened from front to back. Combining these elements helps push the center of gravity lower, and adding the new shallower face produces a higher initial launch angle. 

One of Tour Edge’s signature technologies is the Houdini Sole, which stands out for its visual tech element on the club’s sole. This design combines a raised steel mass area at the rear of the sole with a rounded leading edge. While the keel design may not seem as aggressive as in previous releases, the Houdini Sole still reduces the sole area, decreasing drag and turf interaction by 35%.

The sole of the Hot Launch E524 Irons

Out on the course, the E524 irons represent a vastly different type of iron than what is typically in my bag, which excited me to see what they could bring to my game. For this review, our set of E524 irons came with True Temper Elevate 95 MPH steel shafts as stock.

Despite all the discussion about redesigning the E524 irons, there are still some appearance factors to consider. The black cavity is quite noticeable when using the mid-to-long irons, although it becomes less prominent with the scoring clubs. There is also a noticeable offset, which could be off-putting to some, but it serves the greater purpose of these irons. Personal preferences will determine how quickly these aesthetic concerns fade into the background. During our review period, they became less noticeable midway through the first round. After that point, looks became a non-factor, and the focus shifted to performance, which did not disappoint.

Hot Launch E524 Irons at setup

From the very first swing, the E524 irons delivered on their promise of increased launch. When hitting a six iron from the middle of the fairway, the ball shot up into the air with a touch of draw and landed on the green. Thanks to a towering ball flight, the ball came down, hit, and remained within a couple of paces of its pitch mark. After dropping extra balls and replaying that shot, the results were very repeatable. It was certainly an eye-opening moment. 

Throughout the bag, club distances were on par with expectations. Tour Edge designed these irons with slightly weaker lofts than the Hot Launch C524 irons because the golfer who gravitates toward this design doesn’t always generate a lot of speed. As a golfer with an above-average swing speed, this meant these irons produced towering shots that carried into my normal distance range. A concern going into this was that the extra loft and height might be detrimental to distance, but that just was not the case.

The forgiveness level impressed me the most because no matter where I hit the ball on the face, the ball flight was remarkably similar to one that came off the center contact. There was some distance loss, which should be expected, but in terms of ball flight and reaction when landing on the green, even subpar contact was still producing solid results. Often, it felt like these clubs were cheating because we were getting away with something we shouldn’t be.

Tour Edge offers a set AW on their site, although it was not in the bag for testing, which provided an excellent opportunity to test partial shots with the nine iron and PW. Some may think that a club of this style loses the ability to effectively execute partial shots. However, during our rounds, we found no reason to believe that golfers could not hit long pitch shots or flight the ball slightly lower with the PW. Additionally, the Houdini Sole works really well around the greens when it comes to chipping because it helps keep the leading edge from digging into the ground.

As a hollow body design, there was an expectation that these clubs would be on the louder side. With no mention of using their VIBRCOR technology, the expectation was that these would not produce a mild tone. Surprisingly, the sound profile is more restrained than anticipated. Scoring and mid-irons produced a duller sound that translated to a soft yet solid feel. When moving towards the longer irons, there was a more distinguishable higher-pitched sound at impact, making those long irons feel powerful, which paired perfectly with the higher ball flight we were seeing. 

After some impressive outings on the course and range, it was time to capture some data with the SkyTrak+. When our dry ball data sessions started, we were very comfortable with the level of performance we would see out of these irons. As you can see from the data below, each of these clubs launched on the high end, reached a consistent peak height, and had descent angles, highlighting the stopping power witnessed during play. Of all the numbers captured during testing, the one thing that surprised me was the spin numbers, which were higher on the spectrum than anticipated. Another aspect confirmed on the SkyTrak+, especially in the mid and scoring irons, was that the heel weighting worked well at keeping my shot shape neutral or with a bit of a draw.

E524Ball SpeedLaunch AngleSpinCarryHeightDescent
5121 MPH21°484618034 yards48°
7113 MPH23°563215832 yards49°
PW100 MPH29°827212434 yards53°

After spending considerable time with the Hot Launch E524 irons, it’s clear why they are so popular. They deliver on their promise of excellent forgiveness and help golfers launch the ball high into the air. In addition to their performance, they are priced perfectly at just $99.99 per club or $699 for a set. It’s also important to note that when ordering from Tour Edge, the entire Hot Launch 524 series is included in their 48-hour custom ship program, meaning all orders will be shipped within 48 hours.

Is David Glod right when he says these will be the easiest irons you will ever hit? After our experience, it’s hard to argue against that point. One thing is for sure, from now on, whenever a golfer talks about looking for a “point and shoot” iron, the Hot Launch E524 has reserved its spot near the top of the list.

More information on the entire Hot Launch 524 series is available at www.touredge.com

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Dean DeCrescenzo is a THP staff writer that currently resides in upstate New York. He has been a member of The Hackers Paradise for over 7 years and been involved with a number of THP events.