After 40 years in the golf business, Tour Edge is finally getting into the ball biz.
For a company that’s been making golf clubs since 1986, the move into balls might seem overdue but, according to Tour Edge CEO and Founder David Glod, the timing is right.
“This is a monumental step for Tour Edge,” said Glod. “After four decades of relentless innovation in golf clubs and bags, we’re applying the same commitment to performance and quality to golf balls.”
If you’re scratching your head thinking you remember a Tour Edge ball from years past, you’re not alone. Several readers reached out after our story about the Exotics ball appearing on the USGA’s Conforming Golf Ball List, swearing they’d played Tour Edge balls before.
They hadn’t. At least not according to Tour Edge.
Despite four decades in business, this is legitimately the company’s first golf ball.
What we know about the Exotics golf ball
Tour Edge is positioning the Exotics as a serious player ball designed for wind stability and greenside control. The company says extensive testing shows the ball delivers low driver spin for distance while maintaining tour-level spin with short irons and wedges.
None of that is particularly surprising. You’ll hear similar claims for just about every urethane-covered ball on the planet.
“The design brief started with a clear goal: deliver superior performance in the wind without sacrificing spin around the greens,” said Matt Neeley, VP of Research and Development. “Better players are increasingly looking for stability and consistency in challenging conditions and we set out to solve that.”
The ball features what Tour Edge calls a KinetiCore engine (“SoftFast Core” was already taken), an ionomer mantle layer the company describes as “fast and soft” and an ultra-thin cast urethane cover. A 318-dimple pattern handles the aerodynamics.
If you’ve kept up with our ball coverage over the past several years, you should be able to piece together where Tour Edge is sourcing the Exotics ball.
Tour Edge claims the testing numbers are “remarkable” but isn’t sharing any of them publicly, at least not yet.
Reading between the lines
If you’ve spent any time staring at dimple patterns (and, trust me, I have), the 318-dimple design on the Exotics will look familiar. It’s the same pattern you’ll find on balls from Maxfli, Vice, and others—all of which are manufactured by Foremost Golf in Taiwan.
What’s interesting (or suspicious) is Tour Edge’s decision to describe the mantle layer as “soft.” Typically—if not always—the mantle is the firmest layer in a three-piece golf ball construction.
In the golf ball world, everything is relative, but the fact is that a good bit of a golf ball’s speed (and low driver spin) results from a firm mantle layer. The interplay between a soft cover and that firm mantle is essential for greenside spin generation. You either have exceptional distance and greenside spin or you have a soft mantle layer.
“All of the above” isn’t an option.
It’s a classic oversell but we’ll let it slide since Tour Edge is new to the ball thing.
Market positioning
At $39.99 per dozen, the Exotics sits $15 below the premium balls from the major OEMs but a bit higher than what we can reasonably assume are similar offerings from Maxfli and Vice.
In today’s golf ball market, that price point isn’t particularly compelling on its own. Tour Edge is going to need differentiated performance—and the ability to communicate that performance to golfers—to separate itself from an increasingly crowded field of smaller ball brands.
Forty dollars feels like the absolute upper limit for an unproven offering from an upstart in the category but the company is betting that Tour Edge loyalists (and they definitely exist) will give the ball a try.
That said, converting that initial curiosity into sustained market share will require more than brand recognition. It’s either going to have to differentiate itself on performance or Tour Edge will need to lower the price if the plan is to move any significant volume.
Coming attractions
While the three-piece Exotics is getting the headlines, Tour Edge also appears to have a two-piece Hot Launch ball in the works. That suggests the company is planning a more complete ball lineup rather than a single premium offering.
The Exotics launch also coincides with Tour Edge’s refreshed logo and visual identity, suggesting the ball is part of a broader brand evolution.
Whether that evolution includes a serious run at golf ball market share remains to be seen but after 40 years of making clubs, Tour Edge is finally ready to complete the set.
The Tour Edge Exotics golf ball will be available Oct. 28 at retailers nationwide and at TourEdge.com for $39.99 per dozen.
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