We see it every week on Tour. Players hitting wedges to spots with surgical precision. Holing out from greenside locations with abracadabra ease. And putting spin on shots that make the ball look like a Yoyo trick.
Swing technique of course goes a long way in pulling off these shots. But make no mistake about it, all wedges are not created equal. And even in the hands of less skilled golfers, the new Tour Edge Exotics EXS Pro Blade Wedges make a strong case to be considered among the best in class for overall performance.
You can read all about the EXS Blade Wedge tech and specs here. I'm not going to get into any of that directly. Instead I'm going in-depth with you about how these wedges performed, and what in particular stood out for me playing various shots with the 52 and 56 degree wedges.
The first thing about the EXS Blade wedges that really impressed me was distance control. And I'm not just talking about perfectly struck shots. Contact up and down on the face produce incredibly consistent results, not only in distance, but also in trajectory and spin (more on these two areas later).
Many wedges are designed with CG locations lower on the face for lower-lofted wedges and higher on the face for higher-lofted wedges. This is great because as you add loft your ball strikes the face further up. But the EXS Blade Wedges take that a step further expand the ideal hitting area into what I'd call a more generous impact zone, one where trajectory is friendlier to control and allows more room for error.
I'm not saying EXS Blade Wedges are as forgiving as cavity back, more perimeter-weighed wedges. But even on mishits (particularly on some fat shots), my ball landed closer to intended targets and held their lines better than I would have expected. They still felt soft and solid. And who doesn't like hitting 5 or 10-foot putts instead of 15 or 20-footers?
EXS Blade Wedges also have a lower trajectory and a little more distance than other wedges I've played and tested. Even when I tried to hit my 52 degree a little harder to get the most out of it, the ball didn't go higher or balloon (a common experience with some wedges). Instead, the flight was a faster trajectory (almost iron-like), and shots still had plenty of stopping power.
And to just touch on the added distance a bit. It's not a lot, maybe 3 to 5 yards. Granted, you're not normally interested in more yards from your wedges. But I found this very welcome, as most irons from just about every company these days are designed to fly further, and a few more yards from my 52 degree wedge helps bridge the gap between that and my next closest iron.
I mentioned the EXS Blade Wedges have very consistent spin earlier. On both full shots and more touch shots around the green there's plenty of backspin and check-up. A few times from the rough and needing to stay under some trees to hit the green, the lower flight and abundant spin definitely saved me strokes and made me look a lot better than I actually am.
Hitting shots from the rough can sometimes be helter-skelter, especially when there's a lot of debris between your wedge and the ball. So Tour Edge uses narrower, deeper grooves in the 52 degree (and lower-lofted wedges) to move more of that debris away from the face, and results here were tremendously impressive. You'll be hard pressed to find a better, more predictable wedge from the rough.
The 56 degree and higher lofted wedges have wider, shallower grooves to create friction and and grab more of the ball on softer, half swings and open face shots. I can't say if EXS Pro Blade Wedges spin more than other big name wedges on these types of shots without trackman numbers. But not a single time have I said aloud or thought to myself, "why didn't that spin more or bite more?" And I'll take that kind of peace of mind in my wedge game every single time. Suffice to say, they spin plenty.
Feel is another area where the EXS Pro Blade Wedges excel. It's a sensation where you can feel the grooves grip and spin the ball when you hit a halfway decent shot. Forged from Japanese carbon steel impact is a soft click feel (and sound). As mentioned previously there's a level of forgiveness to this wedge that you wouldn't expect from the design. But if you hit a real clunker the feedback is instantaneous (though not in a harsh, hand vibrating way like some other wedges).
EXS Pro Blade Wedges aren't heavy per se, but they're on the heavy side for sure. And that's going to be a preference (whether you like that heavier weight or not). For me it promotes a more balanced feel which improves my impact. From the bunkers especially, this weight lets me completely commit to the shot, and that's exactly the kind of confidence you want when you're hitting from the sand.
The overall shape of EXS Pro Blade Wedges is a little rounder than a traditional looking wedges. And the leading edge is also rounded. This helped me cut through the sand and rough better than a straighter leading edge. A straighter leading edge theoretically helps increase precision, but on pitches and chips, and shots hit with a squarer face or opened up, contact was crisp from tight lies and very accurate from the rough.
EXS Pro Blade wedges feature a sort of catch-all, one grind fits all sole. There's relief in the toe, heel, and trailing edge, and I found it pretty easy to execute a number of shots from a variety of lies. You can open the face with confidence when you need to create more loft. Play it straight and it's great from the grass and simple to pick balls off the tightest lies.
Yes there are more specialized grinds out there designed to fit different swings and turf conditions, but you don't necessarily need that to hit a wide range of shots. You just need a grind that has enough versatility, and this sole is one of the best of it's kind.
The Tour Edge EXS Pro Blade Wedges combine the classic feel of a traditional wedge with precision technology in groove design and efficiency in sole grind. It has all the looks of a Tour player wedge, but there's also a good amount of forgiveness. And when you add that all up, these are wedges that will make life a whole lot easier in the short game for a majority of golfers.
As always, if you have any questions feel free to shoot me an email or DM on twitter or Instagram.
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