Product: Tour Edge Exotics EXS driver

Pitch: Per Tour Edge: “The tech-loaded EXS driver features a Flight Tuning System (FTS) that includes 9-gram and 3-gram interchangeable weights, an adjustable hosel that allows for plus two or minus two degrees in loft, RollFace Technology for an expanded sweet spot, Dual Carbon Fiber placement for ideal weight distribution and a new and improved SlipStream Sole for faster clubhead speed.” All for $299!

Our take

At the end of last year, Tour Edge introduced the Exotics EXS driver with all the latest technology but at a lower price point. I finally got some time on the range and course with this new $299 offering from Tour Edge Exotics. I went with the 9.50-degree head and stock Mitsubishi Chemical Tensei CK Blue 60g X-Stiff.

Out of the box the EXS is a good looking driver with everything you would expect like an adjustable hosel, movable weights, and a healthy amount of visible carbon fiber. Driver shape is traditional and compact, with a smaller footprint and deeper face that better players should appreciate. The crown is black near the face and then fades into carbon fiber, with a small Exotics logo as an alignment aid.

The sole of the club has two movable weights, nine and three grams, to help influence ball flight. Movable weights are great, but the issue is that neither are visibly marked. The only way to tell how heavy the weights are is to remove them. A minor complaint, but for a WRXer who likes to tinker, I don’t always remember what setting I left the driver in.

The simplicity and amount of adjustment in the hosel makes switching settings for any type of ball flight simple and fast. I could adjust the 9.5-degree head all the way down to 7.5 degrees and up to 11.5, with the lie angle ranging from 57 to 60 degrees! That is a wide range of options again to fit just about every swing. After messing around with the adjustments, I settled on the standard 9.5 degree because the higher loft options seem to visually close the face more than I liked.

First shots on the range were met by a very pleasant sound and feel. The sound at impact was a low, muted thwack sound. Not loud and high pitched like some multi material heads can sound. The feel was also very solid with very little unneeded vibration. The club head is very responsive and easy to feel those shots that aren’t struck in the center of the face. I could routinely feel my heel miss, but I wasn’t punished with excess sound or harsh vibration. I didn’t have a launch monitor out there and the ball seemed to really jump off the face with a lower, flat trajectory.

I didn’t expect the stock shaft to provide as flat as a ball flight as it did. Much lower than my gamer driver, even with a heavier, lower launching shaft. EXS shined hitting balls into the wind, where that flat trajectory pierced through the wind with ease. Mishits were right or left, providing very straight misses with very little curve.  Spin looked to be low as well with zero ballooning, even into a pretty strong wind. I only noticed a slight rise in trajectory when the wind gusted at me.

On the course the EXS was fun to hit and very predictable. Good swings were met with great results, long and straight drives. I had to adjust a little bit with aim as my typical draw didn’t move as much from right to left. On truly poor swings, for me this is a snap hook, the EXS provided a little less help. I think simply going with the 10.5-degree head would  help with that miss as a little higher trajectory and added backspin could straighten out that shot a touch. The EXS was a solid all day and I never lacked confidence in it, even with my limited experience hitting it.

Overall the Tour Edge Exotics EXS is going to shock a lot of people. I really hope the price doesn’t make people think it is a second-rate driver, because it isn’t. Properly fit, or just off the rack, it will perform right up there with drivers costing more than twice its price. The EXS can also offer a flatter trajectory for those of you out there who struggle with finding a driver that keeps the ball down and offers forgiveness on those mishit shots. At $299, I don’t know how you don’t give the EXS a try.

See more photos of the Tour Edge Exotics EXS, and what WRXers are saying about the club, in the forums.