Tour Edge, the pound for pound industry leader in performance and innovation, today announced the all-new Exotics 721 Series metalwoods: the C721 driver, C721 fairway metal and C721 hybrid.
These ultra-premium metals provide all new design concepts and ground-breaking technology from Tour Edge that takes the Exotics 721 Series to an entirely new level of performance.
This is being led by innovation breakthroughs by Tour Edge, most notably the new Diamond Face 2.0™ and the Ridgeback™ support system that provides the ultimate in power and feel.
The performance and design goals of the Exotics 721 Series are to provide every level of golfer more ball speed on off-center hits with a higher launch that is combined with lower spin properties and a perfected sound and feel.
“This is next-level Exotics,” said Tour Edge founder and President David Glod. “It’s a brand-new direction for Exotics, not only with ground-breaking new tech, but with virtually every aspect of the designs.”
The new direction of the Exotics 721 Series was born out of a desire to raise the bar in every metric of Exotics performance, including a major emphasis on full-face power creation, sound and feel.
“With Exotics 721, we have forged a new path to optimal performance, power and feel for the vast majority of golfers,” said Glod. “The key is utilizing more carbon fiber than we have ever used, about 20% more on the driver and fairway with these awesome Carbon Wings that surround our new Ridgeback tech, and our first ever carbon crown hybrid.”
“We also have upgraded our Diamond Face tech to Diamond Face 2.0 that has doubled the amount of interweaving variable thicknesses and an extreme thinning of the face to create more power and forgiveness at the extreme perimeters,” added Glod.
The new ultra-premium, high-performance Exotics 721 driver, fairway metal and hybrid will be available for purchase worldwide on February 15, 2021.
The Exotics C721 Driver will retail for $399.99, with the Exotics C721 Fairway Metal retailing for $249.99 and the Exotics C721 Hybrid priced at $219.99.
HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. — February 8, 2021 — SRIXON®, a global leader in golf equipment innovation, announces the launch of the all-new ZX4 Irons, a fully hollow, face-forged iron set that brings forgiveness to the Srixon irons family. The ZX4 Irons officially launch in North America on March 5, 2021.
ZX4 Irons
The new ZX4 irons are a fully hollow set created to bring forgiveness to the Srixon iron lineup while maintaining the brand’s signature look and forged feel. The iron’s sharp address view and mid-sized profile give them a palatable shape, while their technologies produce exceptional performance.
Hollow from short to long iron, ZX4 irons give you the freedom to strike the ball across the face while still enjoying high shots that launch straight and find their targets. Premium, high-density tungsten in the base of ZX4’s long and mid irons lowers their centers of gravity significantly, producing a high-launch profile. A forged HT1770 Steel face is strong and light, increasing face-flex at impact for enhanced speed and distance. And a 431 Steel body absorbs vibrations for softer feel.
ZX4 also feature Srixon’s new MainFrame technology, a one-of-a-kind face design that increases ball speed on every shot. Milled into the backside of each ZX4 face, MainFrame is a variable thickness pattern made up of grooves, channels, and cavities. This pattern maximizes COR for more ball speed and enhanced distance. The engineering team used artificial intelligence and machine learning to develop the unique face pattern, with computers running thousands of simulations before settling on the fastest design.
The unique Tour V.T. Sole gives ZX4 smoother turf interaction and improved impact feel. The V-shaped sole glides smoothly through turf, even if you strike slightly behind the ball.
Like all ZX irons, ZX4 also feature the resurgence of Srixon’s popular sole notches. Revered by professional tour players, these heel and toe notches enhance iron workability without sacrificing forgiveness.
“The new Srixon ZX4 irons mark a new revolution in forgiveness for Srixon,” says Dustin Brekke, Director of Engineering at Srixon. “The irons include a fully hollow construction with wide soles for getting the center of gravity extremely low and providing maximum forgiveness from the turf. The ZX4 irons accomplish this in addition to MainFrame technology, Tour V.T. Soles, tungsten weighting, and the look and feel expected with Srixon ZX irons.”
Key Innovations Inside ZX4 Irons:
MainFrame – A variable thickness pattern made up of grooves, channels, and cavities. This pattern maximizes COR for more ball speed and enhanced distance.
Hollow Construction – Hollow in every loft, ZX4 delivers higher shots that launch straight and stay on target.
Tour V.T. Sole – Smoother turf interaction and improved impact feel help the V-shaped sole glides smoothly through turf.
Tungsten Weighting – High-density tungsten in the base of ZX4’s long and mid irons lowers their centers of gravity significantly to deliver high, easy launches.
Face Forged – A forged HT1770 Steel face is strong and light, increasing face-flex at impact for enhanced speed and Srixon’s signature iron feel.
BUFFALO, NY – OnCore Golf, the Buffalo, New York-based golf ball company, unveils their second Tour ball after three years of research and development. OnCore’s first four-piece ball, the VERO X1 upholds OnCore’s commitment to innovation and technology while diversifying the company’s portfolio of golf balls to meet the needs of all player performance levels.
Building off of their award-winning three-piece tour ball, the ELIXRTM, OnCore undertook an effort to further increase spin off the irons and distance off the tee while maintaining the highly desirable feel and control offered by the ELIXRTM. The VERO X1 features a thinner cast urethane cover, a nano-thick transition layer between cover and mantle, a high modulus, perimeter-weighted mantle, and an oversized-core. These elements are combined to release a turbocharged performance delivering enhanced speed and distance, noticeably higher stability in flight, and more control and responsiveness to irons and wedges for high skill shots.
“Our primary objective in developing the VERO X1 was to create a product that the best golfers in the world would objectively consider best-in-class. We even selected the name to communicate clearly that this is not a story of marketing – it’s a story of performance. Vero is Italian for “true, real, or genuine” and that is what this ball is all about. True performance,” commented Keith Blakely, OnCore’s CEO.
John Calabria, OnCore’s Senior Technical Advisor who led the VERO X1 development effort added, “I’ve been involved with the development of some of the top performing balls in the industry for the past thirty plus years and could not be more excited about what we’ve accomplished with the VERO X1. The robotic data speaks for itself but the true test of any ball is how golfers respond to it. The feedback from golfers who know their game and are able to be discerning in their assessment of a new product have been unanimously positive in their reviews. Distance, control, accuracy, and feel – everything these golfers look for – are all showing up as pluses for the VERO X1 against their current tour balls.”
Pros and low handicap amateur golfers alike are experiencing first-hand on how well this 85-compression and a 318-dimple pattern tour ball is performing. Golf Labs testing over a range of clubhead speeds has confirmed that the VERO X1 tour ball is competitively longer than other brands on the market across driver, 7-iron and wedge, along with the desired spin rates for each.
Following several weeks of testing, Gary Player, three-time Masters Champion and international golf legend offered his assessment: “I’ve given it a good test in all kinds of weather conditions. I love the ball. I must say I’ve never played a better ball. The paint on it is outstanding and it’s a little firmer than the ELIXR™. I just love putting with it and it gives a very nice click. You’ve got a ball that is outstanding.”
Priced at $39.99 per dozen, the VERO X1 Tour ball can be purchased at www.OnCoreGolf.com along with OnCore’s other highly-regarded golf balls, the AVANT and ELIXR™.
More About OnCore Golf
OnCore Golf is dedicated to delivering breakthrough technology and innovation while inspiring all golfers to achieve peak performance. The company entered the golf ball industry through development of the first-ever commercially available USGA-conforming hollow metal core ball and has since developed a growing suite of differentiated products that includes the soft low-compression AVANT 55 and the top-performing, award-winning ELIXR tour ball. For more information about OnCore Golf, visit http://www.oncoregolf.com.
The Three Majors Elements of Backspin That You Need to Know
Yuta Takeuchi of Fourteen Golf introduces three major elements of wedge backspin that are critical in understanding why Fourteen’s wedges are cutting edge.
The three elements of flight (initial velocity, high launch, low spin) are famous, but did you know the three major elements that determine the backspin of a wedge? It’s not so popular in the golf media and it’s uncommon, but I’ll explain the physical mechanism unique to “Wedge Fourteen”.
#1 Face friction
With the face, the ball and the frictional force, you should be able to easily imagine the mechanism of spin. What is important is the flatness accuracy of the face surface. It may seem like a natural answer, but flattening the face requires a great deal of manufacturing technology. The reason why FOURTEEN wedges have a reputation for “spinning” is that they have been more particular about flatness accuracy than the “MT-28” that laid the foundation for it. The manufacturing plant that responded to Fourteen’s request would have been difficult (laughs).
#2 Score Lines
It is the role of the score line that is caught in the soft urethane material to exert the spin power of the urethane cover ball called the tour system. Do you remember that FOURTEEN released a highly accurate square groove with “MT-28” and dominated the world with its overwhelming spin power? After that, many late models came out, but in 2010, the square groove was regulated. However, after that, FOURTEEN continued to stick to the structure and accuracy of the groove and secured spin performance comparable to that of a square groove. “Wedge Fourteen” is still alive.
#3 Rotating elements brought about by contact with the ball
Professional golfers’ wedge shots show a strong backspin that resembles a return on the green, most notably due to good contact below the center of the ball. It is the FOURTEEN wedge that has realized such professional golfer’s technology naturally with ease of handling by the shape of the wedge.
Taking full advantage of this technology, the new RM-4 Wedge is available throughout North America at FourteenGolf.us
Learn more about the new RM-4’s advances and changes from previous RM wedges. Here.
So in my article yesterday, I talked about the ongoing saga that is Patrick Reed. I have the belief that the astonishing tales of Reed will never come to an end. Unless, social media and television coverage of golf events cease to exist.
But, as fate would have it, there’s another story in the “here we (bleeping) go again” category. With this story I’ve almost reached the precipice where I want to bash my head off of the wall. The distance or roll back the ball equipment debate. A topic that has emerged, once again just the other day.
Opinions are like rectums. Everyone has them and I’m no different.
Among the changes that the USGA and R&A wish to make include limiting drivers to 46″ in length, golf balls that fly a shorter distance, and drivers that don’t feature faces or construction that offer a high C.O.R (Coefficient of Restitution) which is is defined as “the ratio of the final velocity to the initial velocity between two objects after their collision”. Also being proposed, is limiting the amount of Moment of Inertia (M.O.I) or resistance to twisting – see forgiveness- like we see in the current generation of drivers. I’d be remiss if I failed to point out that the recommendation is for golfers at the professional or elite amateur level.
Now, to me it doesn’t matter which side of the fence that you stand on. Maybe you’re all for golf balls to be rolled back and the golf equipment to be reeled in for the matter. Or maybe, you like things the way that they currently are. To me, there is no right opinion because there are solid points and counterpoints to each argument.
Personally speaking, I think that at this point it would be counterproductive. Golf manufacturers have spent countless time and resources for R&D purposes. Technology that has made the average golfer, you know, the golfer that actually purchases the equipment and indirectly pays for the players equipment contracts out of their well-deserved paycheques. Basically, you’d now be asking all of the manufacturers to produce equipment specifically for the masses and the professional/elite amateurs. Talk about resources.
In doing research for this article, I looked to see how much the average club golfer has been affected by the advancements in technology. Initially, I was looking to go from a 2000 -2020 timeframe. While I was not able to find that specifically, I was able to find a chart for handicaps between 1991-2017. Even better. Guess how many strokes difference between the two bookends? For male golfers it was a whopping 2 strokes. For female golfers the numbers of strokes shaved off was about 4 strokes.
Source: Golf Digest/USGA
In 2016 the golf equipment was pretty freaking good. Drivers with big M.O.I and C.O.R. numbers. Who remembers what the leading equipment was in 1991? In 1991, John Daly played a tiny Cobra driver and hit flat out bombs with it, averaging 289 yards off of the tee. A year earlier, the distance leader was Tom Purtzer and the difference was staggering from 1990 to 1991. But, this goes to show that you’re just going to have guys or gals that are longer than others. It’s just the way that it is.
I’ve stated before that there’s a similar comparison when it comes to softball. When I was still playing, bats were getting hotter and hotter and the softballs flew out of the park. That’s if guys didn’t shave and roll their bats. The golf comparison would be in terms of thin faces that rebound more. Where I played my league games, they rolled the ball back (they employed a RIF or “mush” ball) because houses were always getting hit. Guess what? Some guys were still able to hit the houses. It’s just nature that some batters or golfers will hit the ball further than others, no matter what.
The Cobra driver that John Daly used to win the 1991 PGA Championship (Photo Credit: PGA of America)
There’s a hill that I’m willing to die on. The issue isn’t golf balls or the equipment. Otherwise, wouldn’t we all be averaging 285-300 yards off of the tee? No. I’ve long said that this debate is all about the “Top 1% of the Top 1%” of golfers on the planet. This issue is in fact, a non-issue with your typical club golfer or recreational once a year hacker. If they are so worried about distance, for starters, it’s time to look at the courses and how they’re maintained. The difference in equipment used by superintendents and more notably golf course labourers is night and day looking at equipment in 1991 versus 2021. Not to mention other factors like training, player development, fitting, and so on.
Just the other day, Rory McIlroy sounded off in what was a very passionate and eloquent press conference. In my opinion, he is right on every point. See the video below.
“We need more younger people in the game, we need more minorities in the game. That’s how we keep the game going for the next 100 years.” – Rory McIlroy gives his HOT take on the Distance Insights Report. @shanebacon and @damonhackGC react. pic.twitter.com/EYUZasfZPM
To the R&A and the USGA, rolling everything back now for those that support the industry by paying green fees, membership fees (to your organizations), and buying golf equipment this would be egg in the face. It would be detrimental and quite honestly, you wait until 2021 to realize… Oops! Did I do that that? You had to smell it coming. Rory is right, the panel has been a colossal waste of time.
So, how do we combat distance where the issue is. Have the players in these professional and elite amateur events play shorter, tighter golf courses. Not “resort courses” with expansive fairways that are 50 yards wide with not a hint of rough. Golf courses that place an emphasis on shotmaking. Let’s adjust the par for a course and make them a Par 65 or something. Put more irons into their hands. But, in no way am I suggesting no Par 4 or 5’s would exist. Watching tour players drive the golf ball can be fun, but striping irons into tight pins on small undulating greens is more fun. More skill is involved in that than say “bomb and gouge”. How about narrowing the golf course and growing out the rough to punish a miss? Let the greens have a little “fuzz” on them and let them get firm.
Would regressing back to a golf ball like this Knudson be better in the grand scheme of things?
Moreover, use the “silly season” to run a beta test. Instead of that stupid team event in December (Zurich Classic) find an old school course in Florida and try a “shorty”. I think that golf fans would appreciate and they would tune in. Honestly, I think that the player would enjoy it too! Hey, don’t the majority of us hit irons into Par 3’s, unless it’s a 230 yard Par 3? PGA TOUR Champions plays one (Top of the Rock’s nine-hole par-3 course) so why not give “the kids” a shot at doing the same?
