Unofficial Review: Tour Edge C721 Driver

[analyticandrew]

Evening all! This is my first unofficial product review so I hope that you find it to be helpful!
 

TL;DR: this thing mashes. Get yourself one. Thank me later (I accept tips) .

Background on me:

I am 42, I’m 6’5, lost 100 pounds in the last year (along with some muscle I’m sure) down to 232, have lower back stiffness that flares up every so often (thanks to playing high school and collegiate football), I sit at a desk for 8 hours a day, and I have played golf since I was 5 (didn’t take it serious in any way until I was 18). I was an assistant pro for a couple of years at my home course, had no handicap for about 5 years, and I took about 10 years off golf until about 5 years ago. My current handicap sits at ~8.

Testing background:

This was my first time hitting a ball since January. So needless to say my back was a little tight by the time I got to hitting driver (went through a fairly normal early season range session - only hit about 15 drives total). I have been going through a modified speedsticks training 3 days a week for the last month so I have been swinging, just not hitting balls. 
 

My 2020 equipment for comparison:

• Ping G410 LST
• KBS TD Category 3 Stiff shaft
• Midsize Tour Velvet Grip
• 9* dialed down to 7*
• A pretty consistent “good” drive for me last year would have been 265 maybe 275 total distance. 
• Lacked consistency (distance and forgiveness) on off-center hits. 
   

Testing Equipment:

• Tour Edge C721 Driver
• HZRDUS Smoke Black 6.5 X-Stiff shaft
• Standard Lamkin Grip
• Tested stock 9.5* and also dialed down to 7.5* 

 

Looks:

This club screams technology and also for me it also screams confidence. From the carbon on the crown, to the ridgeback (which is a fantastic alignment aide) technology and the fact that it sits square at address... it has a trifecta for anyone looking for more confidence off the tee.

Tour Edge also ships with a sharp looking headcover (they’ve had great looking headccovers for years now), an adjustment tool, and a business card with the changes in the loft and lie if you adjust.

*side note: Tour Edge seems to be one of the VERY few club manufacturers that will actually tell you the lie of their drivers. Most modern manufacturers will say “average lie angle” I suspect because they do NOT QC the lie angle coming off the manufacturing line. I find this to be extremely challenging as even a 1/2* change in lie angle can make a difference to many players and they’ll not even realize it.

The sole of the club (of which I wouldn’t really care what it looked like) does have an adjustable rear weight. The stock weight is 10g but Tour Edge sells them in 5g, 15g, and 18g. The weight does not slide into any other positions. I personally love this as I think some drivers are TOO customizable and the golfer can have a horrible swing and “buy” themselves into a slightly better golf game. 
 

The face is the 2.0 version of Tour Edge’s Diamond Face technology, which is one of the hottest (if not the hottest) driver faces out there and the company also touts it’s forgiveness.

From Tour Edge:

What is it?

Diamond Face 2.0 is made up of diamond shapes of variable face thickness behind the face. There are 43 total diamond shapes featured on Diamond Face 2.0, comprising seven different thicknesses in an interweaving pattern. This compares to the three different thicknesses used on the initial Diamond Face design. Face thickness of Diamond Face 2.0 at the extreme perimeters of the face is also reduced by 20%. 

What does it do?

The mini trampolines that make-up Diamond Face 2.0  create faster ball speeds and an expanded sweet spot.  

The increase in Diamond Face 2.0 coverage to the extreme heel and toe and of the driver dramatically increases ball speed and forgiveness on off-center hits.

 

My Take:

Looks: 4.5/5 - I wish the glossy were a little less glossy - I’m nitpicking here.

 

Sound: 5/5 - One of the best sounding drivers I’ve hit (maybe THE best sounding) in the last five years or so.

 

Feel: 5/5 - Like a good spouse, you know exactly where you stand with this one. Miss it on the toe? You’ll know. The heel? You’ll know. SUPER feedback to the hands.

 

Forgiveness: 4.5/5 - I have an X flex in this driver (the stock Smoke Black 60g) and I think it’s a little bit too stiff for me for right now. I’m not going to knock it too much and may adjust this when I get my KBS into it. I was missing to the right and high toe. My swing speed for driver is right around 105, ball speed around 157 on Trackman indoors. I’d love to get to a range where I could see these number with this club. That said, catch the sweet spot and this thing goes for ages. I got ahold of a few of them and my 10 year old was exclaiming loudly “wow that one went really far!” The off center strikes were much straighter than with the Ping. And they went further, no question. At least 10 yards. Maybe more.

  

 

Distance: 5/5 - The balls I hit square were absolutely destroyed. I had my rangefinder with me, the end of the range has a small hill for the last 30 yards or so and I was flying them somewhere on top of the hill. I shot the distance to the face of the hill and it was 260. So I was flying the ball a minimum of 265 and more likely 270+. That carry distance is more than what I’d get last year including roll out of what was (at the time) the best driver I’d played as an adult (my old Great Big Bertha as a scratch 20 something assistant pro was THE BEST driver combo I’ve ever played.)

TOTAL: 24/25

 

Some additional thoughts before I wrap up this novel:

• The first 7-8 balls I hit with the stock configuration. 9.5 degree, 59 degree lie angle. I also was not turning away as much as my back started to tighten up, so lots of arms. My miss is generally on the toe, and with the stiffer shaft, I ended up with some push fades. They were still bombs. Yes they might have ended up in the middle of the next fairway, but I was flying them at least 260. (Would have been major trouble in the wind) I also knew exactly where I missed them on the face. 
• The last 7-8 swings I dialed it down to 7.5 degrees and 60 degree lie angle (note - this is one thing I very much appreciated about the Ping G410 - you can change the loft without changing the lie angle - no such luck here). I connected on five of them, heeled one trying to swing too hard and the other 2-3 were toe balls again. 

I am going to swap the adapter on my current KBS TD and pop it in here to see how it performs. That’ll take me a couple weeks as I need to get the adapter shipped. 
 

Final Thoughts: This driver is going to the course next weekend and I can report back more, but with as solidly as it performed on the range I don’t know that it will come out of the bag for a long while. Add in the fact that it has a lifetime warranty and is made in the USA and I don’t know how you could go wrong. 
 

Hope this has helped and happy to answer any and all questions you have! ALSO - if you ARE looking at this driver, I have a guy that got me mine for $325 total to my door direct from Tour Edge. I’d love to take care of him like he took care of me. (Not sure if that’s allowed here or not)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[AH1980MN]

I'd like to know how you got that deal. I'm very interested in Tour Edge and hope to be in good enough shape to get a fitting this year.

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

I am presuming this is the stock smoke RDX Black? X-Stiff must feel like a telephone pole on that. Thanks for the review as this is a good cost effective option. Looked like it finished middle of the pack though in the latest high swing speed testing

[RickyBobby_PR]

9 minutes ago, rbsiedsc said:

I am presuming this is the stock smoke RDX Black? X-Stiff must feel like a telephone pole on that. Thanks for the review as this is a good cost effective option. Looked like it finished middle of the pack though in the latest high swing speed testing

I haven’t swung the x flex but the smoke rdx black 6.0 isn’t anywhere near as boardy as the smoke black or the original hazdus black. Was quite surprised how good it felt and yet not giving up any stability 

[analyticandrew]

21 minutes ago, RickyBobby_PR said:

I haven’t swung the x flex but the smoke rdx black 6.0 isn’t anywhere near as boardy as the smoke black or the original hazdus black. Was quite surprised how good it felt and yet not giving up any stability 

I felt the same. It is the smoke rdx black. Yes. Got out today for a second session and was working on a couple things (including clearing my hips earlier) and even though I was hitting into a stiff cross breeze, it was still flying. Really impressed two sessions in. 

[cksurfdude]

Good info, thx. Glad you found a book stick you're that happy with!

[analyticandrew]

Picked up a Rapsodo and will get to the range this week. Will report back some numbers. 
 

Played my first 18 of the season yesterday and it was awful. Tee ball (And many others) a bit all over the place. Indication of my swing, not the clubs. Lol

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

Just saw the TXG video for this. Amazed at the low spin Marty was getting. Going to have to add this to my list when I go get fit. Forgiving and spin control sounds nice. 

[analyticandrew]

So I’ve been having some good success with this driver on the course as well. My swing has been part of the problem and I also need to replace the shaft. I have a couple KBS TD shafts coming that I’ll put one in here. 
 

That said, this was my biggest drive of the day yesterday. Straight, uphill, and a BOMB over all of the trouble and just a short pitch up onto the green and drained the 4 footer for birdie. 
 

Had to play the back, then the front and something really clicked for me. On the front (my second nine), I hit 5/7 fairways and the two I missed were by a COMBINED 4 yards. I also averaged 281 yards on my drives which is WAY above my normal (I’m usually around 265 or slightly less). 

Excited to get a more balanced shaft in this and REALLY see what I can make this thing do!

I have a buddy who is waiting for his SIM replacement to arrive, he’s hit my driver a few times and he says that it’s the best sounding driver he’s ever hit. 
 

 

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

14 hours ago, analyticandrew said:

So I’ve been having some good success with this driver on the course as well. My swing has been part of the problem and I also need to replace the shaft. I have a couple KBS TD shafts coming that I’ll put one in here. 
 

That said, this was my biggest drive of the day yesterday. Straight, uphill, and a BOMB over all of the trouble and just a short pitch up onto the green and drained the 4 footer for birdie. 
 

Had to play the back, then the front and something really clicked for me. On the front (my second nine), I hit 5/7 fairways and the two I missed were by a COMBINED 4 yards. I also averaged 281 yards on my drives which is WAY above my normal (I’m usually around 265 or slightly less). 

Excited to get a more balanced shaft in this and REALLY see what I can make this thing do!

I have a buddy who is waiting for his SIM replacement to arrive, he’s hit my driver a few times and he says that it’s the best sounding driver he’s ever hit. 
 

 

great to hear! i will make sure this is on my fitting list on May 8th

[JimNantzsToast]

This looks so much like the Tommy Armour 845 Driver on the topside: https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/p/tommy-armour-845-driver-19av3m2020t845drvdrv/19av3m2020t845drvdrv

Great review, i'm going to check these bad boys out!

[analyticandrew]

Back with some updates for y’all! For reference, last season, I averaged between 30-40% FIR. In my six rounds so far this season with this driver and the stock HZRDUS Smoke RDX X shaft, here’s my FIR:

31%, 43%, 50%, 57%, 64%, 43% (lots of detail on this last one below)

I’ll keep singing the praises of this thing b/c unless I put a s*** swing on it, it's strokes gained are amazing... 

I played this past Saturday at a much tighter, old school course designed by MacKenzie and Maxwell. It’s called Melrose Country Club and if you’re into golf course architecture, and some of the original guys (not this dumb ass target golf and templates holes of so many courses being built today), you’d appreciate this course a lot.  When I say much tighter, you’ll see just how tight below. I also will add a couple screenshots from my DECADE yardage book so you can see where the fairways squeeze, where my ball ended up, etc. 

The course is under new ownership (a couple of local judges I was told by the pro) and they're making some improvements to it - so I have high hopes for the rest of the summer. It’s a super interesting course in an old school design, that even on the weekends (2pm or after) is only $46 with a cart.

They just need to change the damn pin locations more than once a month and it'll be much better.

This is a course where honestly you could probably hit 3 wood on every single hole and be JUST fine - but what's the fun in that?! Also, I'm still waiting for my new TSi3 to get delivered... 

Also, I still have not made the time to tip and grip my KBS, so no updates there as of yet  

I only hit 43% of FIR this round. But TBH, as inconsistent as I was for much of the day in general, I'm pretty stoked about that. And when you see some of my misses below, and how close I was to still hitting the short stuff, I think you’ll agree. Yes, some of this is me and my swing, some is my course management, but I still give a TON of credit to this driver and the tech within.

Hole - Par - Yards total - Fairway yards wide at 275 yards - Hit FW/Miss FW R/L/Short/Long - Distance

• Hole 1 - Par 4 - 387 Yards - 27y wide @ 275 - Miss FW Rt - 265y (missed by 8 feet)
• Hole 2 - Par 5 - 497 Yards - 0y wide @ 275 - Miss FW Rt - 322y (fairway is 0 yards b/c it's a split fairway - top of hill to bottom of hill is rough, then fairway picks up again) - hit a BOMB, I just didn't get it started on the line that I intended - technically I was in the fairway, but it was #1 fairway. Lol
• Hole 3 - Par 3
• Hole 4 - Par 3
• Hole 5 - Par 4 - 368 Yards - 36y wide @ 275 - HIT - 236y (used 4 iron) - tees were up, hole was playing 313 with 234 to the end of the fairway before a steep uphill to a blind green
• Hole 6 - Par 4 - 320 Yards - 11y wide @ 275 - Miss Long/Rt (through fairway) - 260y (missed by 4 feet) I hit a “baby driver” off the tee here and two things stuck out to me: first is that it went DEAD straight. I mean no lean to it in any way. Second is that it still went 260! Diamond face 2.0 FTW!
• Hole 7 - Par 4 - 353 Yards - 25y wide @ 275 - Miss Lt - 236y - first bad swing I put on it really and ended up in the trees. There’s a large branch of a tree that hangs out from the right (right is OB too) and every time I play this hole I pull my drive in a reaction I think. Add in swinging too hard and I double crossed.
• Hole 8 - Par 3
• Hole 9 - Par 4 - 348 Yards - 24y wide @ 275 - HIT - 269y - pulled it a little, got a nice kick off a tree branch - middle of the fairway - yes this is a lucky FIR. 
• Hole 10 - Par 4 - 302 Yards - 0y wide @ 275 - Miss FW Rt - 296y - this is a BEAUTY of a hole straight ahead to about 220 at which point it doglegs up hill at about a 130 degree angle to a blind green - I got greedy and tried to go for it (even though it was probably a 270 carry) and I pushed it - but I still had about a 50 yard flop shot over a tree
• Hole 11 - Par 4 - 328 Yards - 20y wide @ 275 - Miss Long/Rt (through fairway) - 280y (hit it about 30 feet through the fairway before it turns left towards the green)
• Hole 12 - Par 4 - 372 Yards - 21y wide @ 275 - HIT - 298y (this starts a pretty good stretch of holes for me w/ the driver - I striped this one dead center of the fairway)
• Hole 13 - Par 4 - 378 Yards - 26y wide @ 275 - HIT - 296y
• Hole 14 - Par 4 - 385 Yards - 23y wide @ 275 - Miss Lt - 282y (missed by 12 feet)
• Hole 15 - Par 5 - 510 Yards - 23y wide @ 275 - HIT - 316y
• Hole 16 - Par 4 - 385 Yards - 24y wide @ 275 - HIT - 244y (hit a BAD toe ball and somehow magically snapped it into the fairway)
• Hole 17 - Par 3 
• Hole 18 - Par 4 - 339 Yards - 0y wide @ 275 - Miss Lt - 261y (I got really greedy here again like I did on 10 - It's a downhill hole where I knew that if I hit it straight, even with an "average" swing, I'd still end up with a pitch less than 50 yards and at WORST a long bunker shot to a middle pin - instead, I pulled it into the trees)

If I were smart on holes 10 and 18, I would have not hit driver and I would have ended up with close to 60% FW hit - add in the total misses on holes 1, 6, and 14 (a total of 24 feet) and I'm at 79%. I'll take all of it!! 

See below for a few pictures or screenshots. 
 

Number 10 from the tee:

 

Number 10 up the hill to the green:

 

My number 10 drive. Oops! 

 

TIGHT fairway and the “best” drive I hit all day.