First Look – Tour Edge CBX Iron-Wood

The length of a hybrid and the accuracy of an iron?

Tour Edge has a rich history of producing top performing fairway woods and hybrids and once upon a time; it could be argued it put out a product which was a little bit better than anything else on the market.

Now the market is replete with quality products, and Tour Edge is trying to regain the competitive advantage it once enjoyed. To that end, the new CBX Iron-Wood is designed to be a one-arrow quiver for better players looking for something different in the often-confusing transitional space between fairway woods and mid-irons.

On the continuum of wood-like hybrids to chunky driving irons, the CBX is stated to offer the most important benefits of a hybrid (distance, forgiveness, performance from varied lie) while maintaining the workability and feel of a premium forged iron.

Increased distanced is achieved via a hollow body and “L-Cup” face technology. The thin face includes a flange which wraps around the leading edge and acts as a hinge allowing the face to reach the maximum CT. Characteristic Time is a measure of the amount of spring-like effect the face can generate and remain conforming. Interestingly enough, TaylorMade uses a similar “wrapped face” technology on the recently announced TaylorMade’s P790 irons. Don’t be surprised if this tweak on face technology is the start of a trend within the forged distance category of clubs.

The CBX is scheduled to ship to dealers on September 12^th and will carry a price tag of $199. A limited edition “Black Pearl” finish will set you back an additional $50. Stock shafts include the Project X HZDRUS series and Mitsubishi Rayon Kuro Kage Silver Dual Core. It’s available for right-handed players in four lofts (17°, 19°, 22° and 25°).
Tour Edge is confident the CBX Iron-Wood has all the benefits of a traditional hybrid, with the feel and performance of a premium forged iron. I’ll reserve final judgment, should I have the opportunity to test it in person, but a jack of all trades is rarely a master of any.

The potential trouble spot is the hollow cavity. Thus far in my experience, the hollow cavity simply doesn’t feel the same as a one-piece forged iron, even when supported by engineered plastic elastomers or a product which sounds like it was picked up off aisle six at the local grocery store.

That said, players generally expect some trade-offs and if the CBX has hybrid length and iron accuracy, as long as its feel isn’t decidedly harsh, this could be quite popular amongst the Tour Edge faithful and players who haven’t already bagged a Srixon U65, PXG 0311X, Fourteen HI 877 or Mizuno MP-18 MMC Fli-Hi.

For More information, visit TourEdge.com.

Have Your Say

What do you think? Is this a club you’d bag? Is it one you’d like to see us test? Is this further evidence of a new category?