Equipment
GolfWRX Spotlight: Tour Edge Exotics EXS Blade wedge review
At GolfWRX, we leave no stone unturned to find the best golf equipment on the market. Although this may come across as an insinuation that some golf equipment can be found under rocks, that is not that case. One of the names that has long intrigued me is Tour Edge. I consider it the next Mizuno (with apologies to anyone who finds fault with that characterization.)
For the longest time, Mizuno flew well under the radar, preferring to spend dollars on research and development, rather than self-promotion and tour sponsorships. Guess what? Same business model at Tour Edge. Those who play TE stand by the equipment as if defending a fortress. That was enough for me to reach out to the company, to find out what is really up with the Illinois firm.
Supplied to me were 54-degree and 58-degree Tour Edge Exotics EXS Blade wedges, with a True Temper Dynamic Gold 115 shaft in each. Over the course of one month, I had the opportunity to put them in play on a variety of golf courses. I decided to not test them in practice circumstances, as that is not the modus operandi of the majority of recreational golfers. Instead, my thinking was, I’ll pull them out of the bag when I need them, and we’ll see how they feel, how they connect, how the ball reacts, and how my confidence wanes or grows. In other words, I gave them a real-world, weekend-golfer assessment.
After my on-course review, I dug into the true technology behind the release of the EXS Blade series. After a thorough inspection, three elements of the clubhead construction stood out, and I feel justified in sharing them with you here. These aspects are: milling, the flared toe, and sole grind. Each is unique to this club, and separates it from wannabe peers.
1. Milling
The first aspect of milling, as related to these wedges, concerns the milling out process of moving weight up and down for distance control. We are fallible swingers of clubs, and our strikes are not always where we anticipate. Tour Edge anticipates this. If we deloft or proloft the club face, weight is there to save us to a degree.
The second aspect of milling is milling for precisely-forged tolerances. The grooves are exact. Their spin communication is exact. Our pitches and chips are more exact, thanks to individually-milled faces.
2. Flared Toe Design
My word of the day is chamfer, which is a cut into a right angle, for transitioning purposes. Like a bevel, it is a carpentry term. There is a chamfer on the rear of the face, directly above the words Milled Forging. What appear to be aesthetic, is actually part of the weight-positioning process. The flared toe allows for continued distribution of weight (see milling out above) to enhance shot values.
I’m an aesthetics guy, and the wedges I used previous to receipt of these (54 and 58 degree) models, had a traditional toe, with more of a gentle pear shape. The Tour Edge flared toe stands out to me, or at least it did, over the rounds I’ve played. Reminding my own self that I had to trust the tech, it wasn’t long before the form took a back seat to the function.
3. Dual Groove Construction
Something I had not encountered in wedge development, is dual groove construction. The grooving for the lower lofts (50 and 52 degree) differs from that found on the higher-loft (54, 56, 58, 60 degree) clubs. According to Jon Claffey, vice president of marketing at Tour Edge Golf,
The dual groove construction optimizes groove edge contact, maximizing the spin needed for the diverse array of shots around the green.
What this means to me, then, is that shots that come in lower (and hotter, even fractionally) will benefit from deeper grooves (more spin.) This will align those wedges with the higher-lofted ones, whose descent into the green will be steeper and softer, and will not require the same bite as their more vertical siblings.
Verdict
These wedges will stay in my bag, replacing the Mizunos that were there before. I’ll look forward to seeing how they wear over time, as five rounds become ten, become twenty, and more. If something magical (or unfortunate) occurs, I’ll speak up below in the comment space, to apprise you of the realization.
If you haven’t heard of Tour Edge before, and also if you have, give them a look. Golf club companies don’t stay in business on pity and charity; they need solid product that emanates from quality research and development. Tour Edge has four golfers on PGA Tour Champions on staff. Consider this for a moment: you’re in the twilight of your career (sad, happens to all of us) so you decide to use inferior equipment? NEVER going to happen. That’s why Lehman, McCarron, Petrovic, and Waldorf opted in on Tour Edge golf for their PGA Tour Champions livelihood.
Cameron Young’s WITB from his win at the 2025 Wyndham Championship. Cameron is a Titleist staff player but his bag is definitely filled with some unique clubs. Here are the clubs he used to secure his first PGA Tour win!
Driver: Titleist GT2 (9 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Orange 70 TX
3-wood: Titleist GT3 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 80 TX
Hybrid: Titleist GT2 (21 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus HB Black VeloCore+ 10 X
Irons: Titleist T200 (4), Titleist T100 (5), Titleist 631.CY Prototype (6-9)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X7 (4-9)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F, 52-12F, 56-14F @57), WedgeWorks (60-K* @62)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X7
Putter: Scotty Cameron Phantom 9.5 Tour Prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Prototype
- Peter Malnati what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Titleist GT3 (10 degrees, C2 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Project X Denali Blue 60 TX
3-wood: Titleist GT3 (15 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 7 X
7-wood: Titleist GT2 (21 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 8 X
Irons: Titleist T150 (4, 5), Titleist T100 (6-9)
Shafts: True Temper AMT Tour White X100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F @47, 52-12F, 56-08M @57, 60-04T @62)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: Scotty Cameron Studio Style Fastback 1.5 Tour Prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Yellow
We’re proud to once again partner with 2nd Swing Golf to bring you GolfWRX Members Choice 2025! 2nd Swing has more than 150,000 new and pre-swung golf clubs available in six store locations and online. Check them out here.
What is the best driver in 2025? At GolfWRX, we take great pride in our online community and the cumulative knowledge and experience of our members. When it comes to the best driver of 2025, we want to know what our forum faithful think.
Since our founding in 2005, the bedrock of GolfWRX.com has been the community of passionate and knowledgeable golfers in our forums, and we put endless trust in the opinions of our GolfWRX members — the most knowledgeable community of golfers on the internet. No other group of golfers in the world tests golf clubs as frequently or as extensively, nor is armed with such in-depth information about the latest technology.
Below are the results of GolfWRX member voting for the 2025 best driver, along with the vote percentage for each club.
Best driver of 2025: The top 5
5. Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond: 6.02%
Callaway’s pitch: “For golfers looking for a fast, forgiving, yet workable driver, the Elyte Triple Diamond features a tour-inspired shape and is the preferred model by most Callaway tour players.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond here.
4. Ping G440 Max: 6.86%
Ping’s pitch: “The most forgiving G440 model, MAX has a hotter face to generate speed and distance, and a lighter overall system weight with a longer shaft (46″) for faster clubhead speed, higher launch and longer carries. The Free Hosel and Carbonfly Wrap crown save weight to create our lowest CG ever and increase forgiveness while contributing to a more muted, pleasing sound.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Ping G440 Max here.
3. Ping G440 LST: 9.53%
Ping’s pitch: “LST is an especially good fit for faster swings, offering less spin and more control with a penetrating trajectory. A hotter face, lighter overall system weight and longer shaft (46″) deliver more speed and distance while maintaining tight dispersion.”
@phizzy30: “Not a fan of Ping drivers in general, but 440 LST takes the cake. It’s super forgiving across the face for a low spin head, looks and sounds good and the ability to make it play neutral or slightly fade biased through the hosel settings is very appealing.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Ping G440 LST here.
2. Titleist GT3: 16.55%
Titleist’s pitch: “The GT3 Driver offers Titleist’s boldest combination of power and personalization through adjustable performance. Dial in the CG Track to your frequent contact location to make your biggest drives even bigger while taking total control over flight and shaping.”
@mrmikeac: “I’ve been Anti-Titleist for years and years and years (outside of Vokey, of course). With that being said, HOLY BEGEEZUS the GT3 driver is an absolute NUCLEAR MONSTER! This thing blew my G430 10K Max out of the water in every single category. Forgiveness is the biggest thing that stands out of me, the 3 model has always been one of the less forgiving models in the past but this GT3 can take bad shot after bad shot and still end up in the fairway, I think a ton of that has to do with the adjustability, it’s actually effective. Feel and sound is perfect, that solid crack is so addicting to hear and when you hit it out the screws this thing can absolutely bomb it. Titleist, I’m sorry for doubting you. You have converted me.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Titleist GT3 here.
1. Titleist GT2: 22.91%
Titleist’s pitch: “Delivering impressive distance from any impact point, the Titleist GT2 Driver extracts maximum performance through a forgiving design. Get the stability and added confidence of a high-MOI driver without sacrificing speed.”
@DTorres: “The Titleist GT2 has proven to be the best driver of the year. Packaged in a classic profile, GT2 perfectly balances performance and forgiveness while consistently being a high performer across all categories.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Titleist GT2 here.
Other drivers receiving >2% of the vote
| Driver | Vote percentage (%) |
|---|---|
| Cobra DS Adapt Max K | 4.85% |
| Ping G430 Max 10K | 3.85% |
| Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond | 3.68% |
| TaylorMade Qi35 | 3.51% |
| Callaway Elyte | 3.18% |
| Cobra DS Adapt X | 2.34% |
| Cobra DS Adapt LS | 2.17% |
| TaylorMade Qi35 LS | 2.17% |
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Peter Malnati WITB 2025 (August)
Peter Malnati what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. More photos from the event here. Driver: Titleist...
Cameron Young’s winning WITB: 2025 Wyndham Championship
Driver: Titleist GT2 (9 degrees, A1 SureFit setting) Buy here. Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Orange 70 TX 3-wood: Titleist...
Camilo Villegas WITB 2025 (July)
Camilo Villegas WITB accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. Villegas was undecided on a 3-wood when we shot his bag. ...
WITB Time Machine: Brandt Snedeker’s winning WITB, 2018 Wyndham Championship
Brandt Snedeker fired a final-round 65 at the 2018 Wyndham Championship to outlast Webb Simpson and C.T. Pan. His 5-under...
Dave Bryce
Nov 20, 2020 at 9:39 pm
Have the 56 degrees bent too 55,love this wedge,looks,feel and spin are great!
boydenit
Oct 17, 2020 at 8:06 pm
A lot of milling, milling, milling for a club that look like it was made in China for a few dollars a head!
Ronald Montesano
Oct 18, 2020 at 7:43 am
Beauty and all things are in the eye of the beholder. Exclamation points should be used sparingly. Here is a link to their description page: https://www.touredge.com/exotics-exs-pro-forged-blade-wedge
They have contact information on site, and would be happy to discuss the process with you. Worth a call, I suspect.
Wedge Guy
Oct 19, 2020 at 8:55 am
Wow. I’m a club fanatic from way back and I’m shocked you would say that. These scream premium to me. I guess beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder.
Ronald Montesano
Oct 23, 2020 at 8:55 am
They play so well. I was invited to a premium course in Buffalo last weekend, and had so many 50-100 yard shots into greens (had to punch out a lot 🙂
I was so darned comfortable with them. Hit the ball inside 15 feet on all of those 3rdies into par 4s. Putter was balky, but wedges were stellar.
Milo
Oct 17, 2020 at 6:54 pm
I’m looking for a 46° to take the place of my PW. Probably end up being a Mizuno. I have a 60° mack daddy • forged raw and a 56° S5 blue ion.
Ronald Montesano
Oct 18, 2020 at 7:46 am
Are you a “looks” player or a “feel” player? As I revealed above, the look matters to me, so I had to get used to a bit different toe on the Tour Edge club. How do the Mack Daddy and Blue Ion toes and top lines compare, or doesn’t that matter? If it doesn’t, awesome…you can pick the best-feeling wedge to fill the 46 degree gap.
If looks do matter psychologically, you’re handcuffed a bit, but there are so many options available. I can’t wait to see how the new Tour Edge lines/toe compare with the one I just reviewed.
ChristianR
Oct 17, 2020 at 2:07 pm
They’re also known for their hybrid and fairway woods, but latest models of drivers have got lot of positive reviews, looks like they have the numbers of the big ones despite a lower price.
Ronald Montesano
Oct 18, 2020 at 7:48 am
I bet that you were waiting for this review. You have a nice understanding of their product. As I posited, they became the company that Mizuno used to be. They have sincere quality and are just not “out there” yet. I can’t wait to read about all the new models, and with luck, will have an opportunity to test them. Good luck with your game.
ChristianR
Oct 18, 2020 at 3:50 pm
It’s not a case my irons are Mizuno!
Thanks for the answer Ronald.