Product: Tour Edge Exotics EXS 220 driver

Pitch from Tour Edge: “The Tour Edge Exotics EXS 220 driver is a substantial leap forward in design and innovation. This driver is packed with the latest technology that Tour Edge has to offer like Diamond Face Technology where behind the face there are diamond shapes in different thicknesses to produce a massive sweet spot. This Diamond Face Technology produces a hotter face, faster ball speeds, better performance on off-center hits, as well as spin reduction.”

“The Ultra-Premium 8-1-1 titanium and Triple Carbon tech allow for more weight repositioning to the back of the head. This weight repositioning, along with the elongated shape help create an extremely high MOI, one of the highest in a driver. Finally, the EXS 220 features an adjustable hosel that gives +/- 2 degrees of loft adjustment, combined with the three offered loft heads, to fit any golfer.”

Our take on the Tour Edge Exotics EXS 220 driver

The Tour Edge Exotics line tends to only get a lot of focus on the fairway woods, but those aren’t the only ones that deserve some attention. Last year’s Exotics EXS driver was a lower-launching driver that really performed great and not enough people noticed or gave it a try. So this year, Tour Edge decided to pull out all the stops and really load up the Exotics EXS 220 with all the technology that they currently have!

Open the box, and the Exotics EXS 220 greets you with a white-and-black headcover with a nice leather feel to it. Take that off, and underneath is a driver head with a whole lot of carbon fiber staring back at you. The top of the head is a nice gloss black that fades into the carbon fiber and the sole features a section of the toe and heel with a blue-tinted version of the same carbon. The fit and finish are really high-quality, and you can tell that the folks at Tour Edge took the time to make sure everything went together seamlessly. Fit and finish are what you would expect from a $500-plus driver, and the Exotics EXS 220 costs only $350!

Out on the course, the Exotics EXS 220’s elongated shape will turn some of you away, but those of you who stay will be impressed. Setting the driver down gives you a square, if not slightly open, face angle in the neutral setting. Adding loft will close the face, so if face angle is important to you, buy the next loft up.

The first ball impression was really good, the ball jumps off the face and goes straight! That shape and deep weighting really do make the Exotics EXS 220 a straight driving machine. The stability of the head is easily shown off: balls hit off the toe and heel still go left and right, but the amount of movement is greatly reduced. My (main) miss is low heel and those shots still got higher up in the air and held off from going farther right than I usually expect. Same experience on toe contact as well: the ball just didn’t have the same drastic movement and direction as you would expect. Shots hit in the center of the face are going to give you a nice high, low-spinning, shot that bores you the entire time.

Launch is effortless and definitely higher than the previous EXS driver. The Exotics EXS 220 has an internal Sound Diffusion Bar to engineer the sound profile, and the noise it makes is actually pretty good. A nice solid crack is created at impact, but if I allow myself to nitpick, I would prefer the sound to be a few decibels lower.

Overall, the Tour Edge Exotics EXS 220 driver is a real contender with the more expensive offerings this year. If you are looking for a driver that is going to help you hit it higher and straighter, the Exotics EXS 220 has to be on your list this year.