Tour Edge expands Exotics 722 Series with E722 and C722 drivers, fairway woods and hybrids
Equipment

Tour Edge expands Exotics 722 Series with E722 and C722 drivers, fairway woods and hybrids

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Tour Edge Golf continues to make inroads with golfers each and every year. One of the big reasons, in my estimation, is because they make it easy. They offer easy access to fitting, and their custom-order turnaround is a huge strength. The equipment itself has plenty of technology to keep up with bigger OEMs, but they don't make it so hard to understand what you're getting as a consumer.

K.I.S.S. Two more letters matter with the new Exotics 722 series: E and C.

Tour Edge has created two full-bag lineups with the new Exotics 722 series, and they boil down to whether you're an E (for extreme) or a C (for compact). The E lineup is for the bigger part of the bell curve, with that player looking for all the performance benefits -- more speed, more forgiveness, better launch conditions -- that they can stomach. The C lineup is for a player who needs equipment that augments and enhances what they already do well.

The drivers, fairway woods and hybrids -- all available in E and C models -- share common features, regardless of letter. The differences are what makes them a fit for certain types of players.

Drivers

In the drivers, the Exotics 722 series marks the second generation of the Ridgeback chassis system. It's a T-shaped chassis that is actually 20 percent thinner than the first generation, meaning there's more discretionary weight to use. The second-gen Ridgeback features a weighted pad in the back-sole area of the head, which has become a prominent feature in many drivers designed to enhance forgiveness and aerodynamic performance at the back end of the swing.

Carbon fiber -- in two pieces -- wraps around the Ridgeback chassis to make the head. In the E722 driver, there's 34 percent more carbon fiber, while the C722 leverages 26 percent more than the 722 Series.

Diamond Face variable-face technology continues in these drivers, as it has been a winner for Tour Edge. In total, 61 individual diamond shapes with seven different thicknesses are used in shaping of the area behind the part of the face that impacts the ball, making up for any ball speed losses on off-center hits.

Sound- and vibration-dampening internal ribbing is key to feel, and the adjustable hosel can move the loft up or down 2 degrees and the lie angle a total of 3 degrees.

The E722 driver has a larger profile, meaning it takes up more space, and utilizes a 30-gram backweight to drive down the center of gravity and offer higher MOI. (A weight kit is available to dial in to the ideal weight.) With a moment of intertia rating at nearly 5,500, this driver has 18 percent higher MOI than the original 722.

The C722 driver is more compact than its sibling, coming in at 455cc (vs. 460cc) and having a smaller footprint. The goal with this driver was to kill spin for more distance. The C722 has two weight ports -- one center-forward and one center-back -- to allow golfers to prefer more MOI or less spin, depending on where the 20-gram and 5-gram weights are positioned. With the heavier weight forward, spin drops, but so too does forgiveness. Personally, I would play this with the heavier weight back.

The Tour Edge E722 driver is $399 and available in 9.5-, 10.5- (only lefty model) and 12-degree heads, while the Tour Edge C722 driver is available in 9.5 and 10.5 degrees (only lefty model) for $430.

Tour Edge offers a shaft-fitting system based on your average driver swing speed, recommending the following:

  • Less than 85 mph: Fujikura AirSpeeder Ladies (35g), Senior (40g) and Regular (40g)
  • 85-95 mph: Fujiura Ventus Red 4T 50R/ 60S
  • 95-105 mph: Fujikura Ventus Blue 4T 60S/60X
  • 105+ mph: Mitsubishi Tensei AV Raw Blue 65 S/X

Pre-sales begin Feb. 9, and the clubs are fully available on March 4.

Fairway woods and hybrids

In the fairway woods and hybrids, the E and C monikers still carry meaning, and it's pretty similar to the driver. In the E models, you're going to find fairway woods and hybrids with a bigger footprint, a shallower face, plenty of MOI and a forgiving profile. In the C models, you'll see more compact shapes, adjustability and more mass forward.

Like with the drivers, both models of fairway woods and hybrids share technologies.

Fairway woods

While Tour Edge has gotten away from the beloved SlipStream sole, the 722 series features new RyzerSole Technology. The application is different on each fairway wood. The sole on the E722 fairways has a full sole-length rail with weight that brings the center of gravity lower to improve launch conditions, featuring a 10-gram weight port at the back of the sole. On the C722, the RyzerSole has 90 grams of weight, with 80 grams set in a fixed tungsten weight and a weight port with a stock 10-gram weight that's near the center-front of the sole.

Diamond Face technology sits behind the face, with the same 61-shape concept as in the drivers. ARC (Acoustic Resonance Channels) are used to deliver the proper feel and acoustics players expect from Tour Edge's Exotics lineup.

Both models have a carbon-fiber crown, but the E722 has a maraging steel face, while the C722, which is more compact and not as forgiving, uses 6-4 titanium on the face and part of the body. The C722 has an adjustable hosel to dial loft up or down 1.5 degrees.

Tour Edge offers a shaft-fitting system based on your average driver swing speed, recommending the following:

  • Less than 85 mph: Fujikura AirSpeeder Ladies (35g), Senior (40g) and Regular (40g)
  • 85-95 mph: Fujiura Ventus Red 4T 50R/ 60S
  • 95-105 mph: Fujikura Ventus Blue 4T 60S/60X
  • 105+ mph: Mitsubishi Tensei AV Raw Blue 65 S/X

The Tour Edge E722 fairway woods are $250 each and available in 13-, 15- (lefty option), 16.5-, 18- (lefty option) and 21-degree heads, while the Tour Edge C722 fairway woods available in 13, 15 and 18 degrees for $300 each.

Hybrids

Similar concepts apply in the E722 and C722 hybrids. The E722 hybrids have an adjustable 10-gram weight sits at the very back of the RyzerSole configuration to move the center of gravity position low and back. The C722 has a smaller, more iron-like profile with an adjustable hosel (same as the fairway woods), with a deeper face and that 10-gram weight port closer to the face.

If you hit the ball more consistently, look to the C models in both. Otherwise, get in the E (for easy decision).

Both hybrids have Diamond Face technology -- with 41 diamond-shaped mini-trampolines instead of 61 -- and maraging steel faces.

Tour Edge offers a shaft-fitting system based on your average driver swing speed, recommending the following:

  • Less than 85 mph: KBS TGI 60 Graphite 50L/60A/70R
  • 85-95 mph: KBS TGI 70 Graphite 70R/80S
  • 95+: Fujikura Ventus Blue 8S

The Tour Edge E722 hybrids are $230 each and available in 17-, 19- (lefty option), 22- and 25-degree heads, while the Tour Edge C722 hybrids available in 17, 19, 21 and 23 degrees for $250 each.

About the author

Ryan Ballengee

Ryan Ballengee is founder and editor of Golf News Net. He has been writing and broadcasting about golf for nearly 20 years. Ballengee lives in the Washington, D.C. area with his family. He is a scratch golfer...sometimes.

Ballengee can be reached by email at ryan[at]thegolfnewsnet.com

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