Review: Tour Edge Exotics CB Pro Limited Edition 3-Wood

Driver Like Numbers From a 3-Wood
3-Woods have come a long way in the last 5 years.  Even OEMs didn’t focus too much on the 3-wood, it was a fairway metal to match the looks of the driver.  But as of recent companies have really stepped up their 3-wood design so that they are longer, straighter and easier to hit than ever before.  Tour Edge Exotics has been leading the way in this charge.  Their CB 3-woods have been the best on the market for years.  Talk to just about any fitter and they will rave about the CB 3-woods, how good they are year after year.  The newest CB Pro 3-wood is no different.  It is so good, I am getting Driver like numbers with a 3-wood.
When pictures first surfaced online, the reaction was kind of a double take; “What is on the sole of that 3-wood?”  While pictures and company speak are nice, it wasn’t until the Tour Edge event at the PGA show did I get to see one in-hand and see it in action to learn about the Slip Stream sole.  While I don’t have wind-tunnel testing or super slow mo cameras to see what it is doing in detail, I can say this, on the golf course and on the Flightscope launch monitor, this club puts up driver like numbers.  Huge off the tee and really long off the fairway.

My first round with it was at the Tour Edge golf outing in Orlando.  I dropped it in the bag and away we went.  The first time I got to use it was on a par 4 that they required a 3-wood shot as part of the event.  So I teed it up and bombs away, and oh did it bomb.  It was only 5 yards short of an average drive.  A few holes later it was time to hit it off the turf; unfortunately the results weren’t so good, I just didn’t hit it well.  It was kind of that way for the whole round, awesome off the tee, poor contact off the turf.  Honestly I knew it was the golfer, not the club.

I got home and went to the indoor driving range with my Flightscope and started practicing to see if it really was the golfer, and sure enough, a little mental glitched and it was fixed.  I was now getting big numbers from both the tee and the turf.  But how would it hit on real grass?  I took it with me to Puerto Rico for my winter golf getaway.  I had some of my best 3-wood shots I’ve ever hit.  I didn’t think anything would replace my RBZ stage 2 3 wood but this club just did.  I hit this straighter, longer and with better trajectory.

The biggest reason this3-wood will be in the bag for 2014 is the trajectory. I went with the 14.5* lofted head and the Fujikura 661 Speeder shaft. It launches quick, but has a very flat trajectory which is because of the low spin.  I can hit it high, but then it stays very flat which is great into the wind or crosswind because the ball doesn’t want to balloon or move.  

The Exotics CB Pro Limited Edition is not for everyone, which is obvious by its name and price, but also because it isn’t the most forgiving head you can buy.  So if you already don’t hit a 3-wood well, this isn’t the club for you; you should probably look at the XCG line.  If you do hit a 3-wood well; the feel, control and distance are hard to deny of the CB Pro.  It is one of the most solid feeling/sounding 3-woods you can buy.  It has a real crack at impact and feels explosive.  I’m not really one to work the ball and this thing will hit it straight as the Slip Stream sole keeps it moving down the like with less resistance.  It can also be shaped; I watched others at the Tour Edge event really show the versatility of this club.

The Tour Edge Exotics CB Pro is Limited Edition.   They went all out on this club from the design, the real Fujikura shaft, the Stitch headcover, the Iomic grip, and the detailed packaging.  You will not find a higher end “stock” club than this.  You also won’t find a higher priced one.  The full retail price on this is hard to swallow, but there is no denying the performance.  I put up numbers that almost looked like driver numbers and on the course I wasn’t far behind.

For more information: www.touredge.com

Quick Hits
+Top notch design and packaging
+Amazing performance
+Best feel
+Very good looks

–Players only
–Very expensive