50 Words or Less
The Tour Edge Exotics Max fairway wood makes it easy to elevate shots off the turf. Excellent ball speed. Strong forgiveness. Limited adjustability.
Introduction
Over the last couple years, golfers have come to expect that every OEM is going to offer numerous drivers and, often, multiple fairway woods. That’s true of the latest Tour Edge Exotics line, but their models and naming conventions are a bit unusual. The subject of this review, the Tour Edge Exotics Max fairway wood, is actually their core model despite the “Max” designation. This is flanked by the LS – built for low spin – and the Lite. In this review, I’ll let you know whether this club is actually built for the majority and whether it lives up to the brand’s great history with fairway woods.
Looks
The first thing I noticed when I put the Tour Edge Exotics Max fairway wood into the playing position was the size. This club stretches out in every dimension, particularly front to back. The larger footprint pairs with a shallow face which makes this club look very inviting to hit off the turf.
The other notable element at address is the carbon fiber patch that covers the majority of the crown. As Dylan noted in his review of the Tour Edge Exotics Max hybrid [find it HERE], the matte grey strip in front of that patch is wider than we see from other OEMs. Whether that’s positive or negative is a matter of personal preference; I rate it a very slight positive.
There’s nothing revolutionary about the look of this club in the bag. The sole is a mix of gloss and matte black with “Exotics Max” in white across the middle. Tour Edge placed their new logo on the toe and the ubiquitous “Tungsten” callout near the weight on the trailing edge. The stock headcover also plays it straight down the middle – it looks good but isn’t exciting. [See Price / Buy]
Sound & Feel
Similar to the look, the sound and feel of the Tour Edge Exotics Max fairway wood keep it right down the middle. The sound is a prototypical fairway wood “snap.” It’s mid-pitched, too low to be the a “tink,” but it has an obvious metallic character. Even with a range ball, the volume is below average.
The feel of impact doesn’t have one clear trait. It doesn’t feel overwhelmingly fast or solid or thin or controlled. It’s a good, normal, average impact feel that I don’t think anybody could object to. There is good feedback, so you can clearly tell where the ball met the face.
Performance
Since their inception, the calling card for Exotics fairway woods has been ball speed. I didn’t need my launch monitor, just my eyes, to tell me that remains true for the Tour Edge Exotics Max fairway wood. On center, it has driver-like speed, and it doesn’t give up much on misses thanks to Pyramid Face Technology and the 360° steel Ridgeback frame.
In a fairway wood, ball speed is great but it’s nothing without adequate launch and spin. Tour Edge bills the Exotics Max fairway wood as mid launch and spin, which matches what I saw in my testing. My best strikes soared on a near-ideal trajectory with a fairly strong ball flight.
Where this club really excels is in elevating shots off the turf. The aforementioned shallow face and low CG get nearly every shot off the ground and into the air. This club actually got more impressive the worse my contact was. I made a couple “F” swings where the ball still got up and took off downrange. The downside is that the shallow face makes it less inviting to hit off the tee for some players. I’m one of them: with a face this short, I’m more confident hitting this off the grass than a tee.
Turning to dispersion, my notes state that the Tour Edge Exotics Max fairway wood is “straight but not idiot proof.” The club has a slight left bias, but, even as a hook-prone player, I was hitting most of my shots on target. There’s enough stability that you should have confidence attacking your targets even from long range.
The tradeoff for this easy launch and forgiveness is that the Tour Edge Exotics Max fairway wood is not very adjustable. It has a traditional bonded hosel, so you can’t tinker with the loft, lie, or face angle. There is a weight port at the rear of the head that comes with a 10 gram weight. Tour Edge sells weights ranging from 5 to 20 grams. This is good for modifying swing weight and altering launch a bit, but it won’t change the directional bias.
Overall, the Tour Edge Exotics Max fairway wood hits the mark as the everyman FW in this year’s Exotics lineup. Players who need lower spin or want more workability will prefer the Exotics LS. The Exotics Lite is, obviously, lighter in weight with a more pronounced draw bias. Tour Edge offers the Exotics Max in the widest range of lofts – five heads, from 15 to 24 degrees – with three different Fujikura Ventus shaft options. [See Price / Buy]
Conclusion
Tour Edge has long been a company with two divergent lines: Exotics and Hot Launch. Hot Launch has been about value, Exotics about high performance. The Tour Edge Exotics Max fairway wood shows that the Chicago-based company can do both at once. With a throwback price of $250, this club can compete with those that cost twice as much. [See Price / Buy]
The Exotics Max fairway offers enhanced forgiveness and consistent distance from every part of the clubface.
Tour Edge Exotics Max Fairway Wood Price & Specs
He founded Plugged In Golf in 2013 with the goal of helping all golfers play better and enjoy the game more.
Matt lives in the northwest suburbs of Chicago with his wife and two daughters.
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