Written By: Tony Covey
Just yesterday we heard grumblings about what’s perceived as a near total lack of actual innovation coming out of the big golf companies. Apparently those big OEM guys are coasting by on gimmicks, and haven’t actually come up with anything impactful in decades.
Well today we’ve got something that might just get some of you to settle down for a little while; at least those of you who don’t immediately assume this is yet another golf company gimmick.
The story we heard is that Tour Edge’s upcoming CB Pro is really making waves on the range at the BMW Championship.
The Exotics Tradition
A couple of days ago we received pictures of an upcoming Limited Edition fairway wood from TourEdge Golf. The new CB Pro (Limited Edition) is the latest iteration of the CB Line (clubs generally designed for better players), and is constructed with the same seamless (no-weld) combo-brazed, titanium cupped face hyper steel body as previous CB fairway iterations.
While it has been a while since Tour Edge has updated the Exotics CB Line, the clubs remain popular with lower handicap golfers (and the occasional wanna-be), in part due to their mostly traditional appearance, but more so their performance, which more the a few golfers will tell you still rivals anything on the market today.
Is That Linguine?
That’s all well and good, and a new Exotics CB Fairway would almost certainly garner plenty of attention on its own, but what’s certainly going to have people talking (and other golf companies looking very closely at the design) is what TourEdge is calling the Slip Stream sole.
The story behind the Slip Stream design is that it “dramatically minimizes turf contact”, which allows the club to glide through the turf with minimal impact -regardless of how steep of a swing you happen to put on it.
Steep or flat, Tour Edge says CB Pro will work for you.
Visually, Slip Steam looks like a collection of 9 linguine noodles spaced and bent (they’re wavy) in such that you basically couldn’t rest anything across the sole of the club and still maintain 100% surface contact with it.
Lots of companies talk about minimizing turf interaction, but this is one of those rare occasions where you can actually see how it’s done.
We’ve seen similar designs in the past, but none made it past prototype phase, and none came from a company with the type of fairway wood chops that TourEdge has. Past experience suggests that CB Pro will be a solid performer, even if Slip Stream is proven to be just another gimmick (which incidentally, I don’t think is going to happen).
It goes without saying that we’re anxious to check this one out for ourselves.
It’s Not All Awesome
So I guess the Fujikura Speeder Shaft thing (661 and new 757) qualifies as a good thing. That’s a pretty solid upgrade, but expensive…that may not begin to cover it.
Suggested retail price for the Tour Edge Exotics CB Pro Fairway is $499.99.
One more time for those who think I just made another in a long line of famous typos:
Suggested retail price for the Tour Edge Exotics CB Pro Fairway is $499.99.
Yup…Tour Edge is releasing a $500 Fairway Wood. I love the ambition, but besting any other titanium faced fairway on the market by $200…it’s going to be a tough sell.
The Future of Fairway Woods?
As much as I find the constant (and often misinformed) “they stole x from y” stuff we hear almost anytime something new comes out tiresome (and painfully unoriginal), it is true that golf companies do very often find inspiration in each other’s work.
It’s going to be exceptionally interesting to see if and how the Tour Edge design is coopted by other manufacturers into their own fairways, and probably hybrids too.
Specifications and Availability
Look for the TourEdge CB Pro Fairway Wood to hit stores this November.
Matt
9 years ago
Found this club on ebay cheap and it hits awsome.For the better player.I can work it both ways with ease.And no joke but it hits 10 yards off my driver distance. I find myself being very disciplined with this 3 wood but the results are number 1 in my book.