ULTIMATE REVIEW! – TourEdge Exotics CB4 Hybrid

“To all you brandwashed jackwagons, if TourEdge isn’t in your golfing vocabulary, it’s about time you got yourself Hooked on Phonics.  If you haven’t tried their CB4 Hybrid or CB4 Fairway Wood it is about time you do!”

TourEdge CB4 Hybrid

(Written By: GolfSpy_T) To all you brandwashed jackwagons, if TourEdge isn’t in your golfing vocabulary, it’s about time you got yourself Hooked on Phonics. Consider this Lesson One: Introduction to Beastly Distance. Actually, lesson 1 was a couple weeks back when I introduced you to the TourEdge CB4 Fairway. Today we’re looking at the Mini Me Edition of that same club; the CB4 Hybrid. Now I know your deal…chances are if you’ve heard of TourEdge, they’re probably not at the top of your list for a new set of irons, or a driver, or a hybrid, or for many, not even a fairway wood. Look, I’m not about to call you names and suggest that your head must have taken an ill-advised turn at your coccyx, if you don’t have a bag full of TourEdge clubs. But what I will say is that if you don’t have the good sense to pull one off the rack and have a go at some balls the next time you’re looking to fill a spot in your bag…man…do you even want to play better?

Tell Us What You Think!

• Have you EVER tried a CB4 TourEdge hybrid before…if so let the other MGS readers know your thoughts?
• When you hear the name TourEdge what comes to your mind?

The Marketing Angle

Like the rest of the CB4 Series, TourEdge has targeted the CB4 hybrid at the better player. It features a deeper face with a higher center of gravity, so if you have trouble getting the ball in the air, the CB4 isn’t going to offer you any real help. The rest of the marketing stuff is all pretty straightforward (although it’s the first time I’ve ever seen the phrase “greater malleability for enhanced feel and distance“). The bottom line according to TourEdge is more or less that the CB4 hybrid offers outstanding distance, workability, and versatility. Weekend hackers take notice, forgiveness is not on the list.

 

 

The CB4 Hybrid comes stock with an Aldila Sigma Shaft (it’s a TourEdge exclusive), and GolfPride White/Black Decade Multi-Compound grips. Both should be considered upgrades over typical OEM stock.

How We Tested

The 6 golfers for whom we collected detailed performance data were asked to hit a series of shots on our 3Track Equipped simulators from aboutGolf.  As usual, testing was done at Tark’s Indoor Golf, a state of the art indoor golf facility located in Saratoga Springs, NY.  Detailed data for each and every shot for which we collected data is now viewable in the interactive portion of this review.  This data serves as the foundation for our final performance score.  As a supplement to our 6 performance testers, a subset of additional golfers were given the opportunity to test the TourEdge CB4 Hybrid and provide feedback in our subjective categories (looks, feel, perceived distance, perceived accuracy, perceived forgiveness, and likelihood of purchase).  This information, which we also collected from our performance testers, is used as the foundation for our total subjective score. Though testers also had the opportunity to hit the 18° hybrid, for the purpose of data collection, formal testing was done with the 19° hybrid in the tester’s choice of regular or stiff  flex.

PERFORMANCE SCORING

Distance

Like the previously reviewed hybrid, the CB4 achieves massive distance results from our testers. The last one accomplished the distance in large part thanks to a slightly longer than standard shaft. The CB4 manages extreme distance through what must be labeled a jacked up loft. At 19° the 3H would classify as a 2H in some other manufacturer’s lineup. For most any other it would quality as a 2+ or 3-. I actually considered having our testers test with the 22° 2H, but ultimately we decided to roll with the club designation (3H is our standard for data gathering) instead of the loft.

I really wish all the OEMs would get on board with some form of standardization, but since we’re dealing with an industry that can’t even agree on what 45″ is, getting them to standardize on something like the loft of a 3 hybrid is just slightly more probable than yours truly shooting 3 under on the back 9 at Augusta.

At the end of the day, regardless of how an OEM defines, an inch  or a degree, a yard is still a yard at MyGolfSpy, and the TourEdge CB4 Hybrid covers lots of ’em; 218.65 on average.

MGS Distance Score: 97.54

Accuracy

Here’s an interesting fact, the face on the TourEdge CB4 hybrid is 2° open. True story. You’re not going to find many quite that open, so to an extent I figured some of my testers would struggle a bit to keep the ball on the straight. As it turns out results were a bit of a mixed bag. Our better players had little trouble achieving very good accuracy results, some of the other guys didn’t fair as well. At 16.90 yards off the centerline, accuracy for the group was average at best, but considering the individual range was from 6.75 yards all the way up to 29.33; perhaps more than any other club we’ve tested this season, mileage depends largely on who’s doing the driving.

MGS Accuracy Score: 85.60

Consistency

When we look at consistency, the numbers show some pretty interesting things. Even the guys who struggled with their accuracy managed to do so in a very consistent fashion. So while the design of the club might negatively impact their ability to hit the ball where they want to, the numbers suggest the results will be the almost identical time and time again. Whether or not these guys want to keep banging their heads against the proverbial brick wall is an altogether different question, I think.

With 3 testers posting A+ level consistency scores, and two more right on the edge of the A+ range, if you’ve got the game to hit the ball where you want to, the CB4 Hybrid maybe the perfect club to help you get it there.

MGS Consistency Score: 95.60

Overall Performance

Accuracy continues to be a struggle for hybrids in general, and while the TourEdge CB4 was a bit below the average of what we’ve tested thus far, you must remember that this is club specifically designed with better players in mind. The fact that a group of golfers, which includes a few weekend hackers could achieve decent accuracy numbers while cranking out some serious distance (jacked up loft not withstanding), tells me that this is a club that better golfers should absolutely consider. The weekend hacker…perhaps the XCG lineup offers a better fit.

MGS OVERALL PERFORMANCE SCORE: 91.38

SUBJECTIVE SCORING

So there’s this group of guys (our testers), who, subjectively speaking, basically loved everything about a golf club (TourEdge CB4 Hybrid). We gave those same guys a chance to hit a club which is in almost every respect that club’s Mini Me…Yeah…I more or less expected similar results.

Looks

We’ve talked about it before. Guys like all black, and mostly black designs. They also love a club that looks simple and compact address. Nice looking sole graphics are a bonus too. If you’ve read our review of the CB4 Fairway wood, you’ve heard this all before. From the head, to the RIP shaft, to the white multi-compound grip, our testers absolutely love the whole package.

MGS Looks Score: 96.75

Feel

The first thing our testers noticed about the CB4 hybrid is that it feels heavy. This is a small point of distinction between the hybrid and the fairway wood that gave a couple of testers some initial concerns, but otherwise it performs very much the same – and those concerns quickly faded. “Phenomenal”, “solid”,…pick your accolade. The bottom line is that everyone approves.

MGS Feel Score: 94.06

Perceived Distance

Testers, much like the average golf consumer could care less about the number stamped on the sole plate. Nobody cares about shaft length, or loft. Nope, people care about raw distance…gorilla power. So while I personally might nitpick about a degree or two of loft, my testers mostly just want to hit the ball as far as they possibly can, and in that simple respect, the CB4 hybrid is every bit the beast that the fairway is.

Tester Perceived Distance Score: 94.06

Perceived Accuracy

What a 2° open face can do like nobody’s business is turn a little mistake into a big slice. To be certain most of our testers hit one or two as they either put a horrible swing on the ball, or didn’t quite manage to shut the face down. I don’t think any of our testers would tell you that the CB4 is the most accurate hybrid they’ve ever hit. Like the fairway wood, however; it’s not supposed to be. Workability and control are the keys here, and that means ability level will impact performance more than with most.

Tester Perceived Accuracy Score: 88.69

Perceived Forgiveness

Forgiveness reflects a club’s ability to mitigate mistakes. In the wrong hands, the CB4 has the potential to actually exacerbate mistakes. That’s not to say its poorly designed, or is a poor performer. We’re simply talking about a club that doesn’t fit into a conversation where the central theme is “hit the ball straight – always”. For a guy who wants to work the ball, this is an outstanding option. For the guy who needs to hit the ball straight every time…um…not so much.

Tester Perceived Forgiveness Score: 83.31

Likelihood of Purchase

So for those of you who haven’t been paying attention…our testers love the looks and the feel. They can’t stop talking about the distance, and are willing to tolerate the accuracy loss that’s often associated with these big hitting clubs. They acknowledge that it’s not the most forgiving club they’ve ever tested, but guess what, at the end of the day they don’t care. The guys who’ve tested the CB4 love the good (great feel, good looks, outstanding distance), accept the shortcomings (accuracy, and forgiveness), and a fair number of them have told us that the CB4 hybrid is a club they want in their bag.

Tester Likelihood of Purchase: 91.38

I can’t recall any review where the subjective totals so closely matched our performance numbers. In this case, our tester’s perceptions of performance where spot on reality. While it doesn’t happen nearly as much as it should, we love it when our testers understand the reality of club performance. This time around, they get it.

TOTAL SUBJECTIVE SCORE: 91.78

CONCLUSION

I think there is a legitimate parallel to be drawn between TourEdge and Adams Golf. Both companies have almost accidentally pigeonholed themselves into a market niche (TourEdge with Fairways, Adams with hybrids) that gives some golfers the impression that each company only does one thing well. As we’ve seen time and time again, nothing could be further from the truth. Yes, the TourEdge CB4 was an absolute beast of a fairway wood. Some would argue the company makes the best on the market today, and while we haven’t tested enough fairways to say with any high degree of certainty, I will say with absolute certainty that nothing I’ve seen so far would cause me to think otherwise.

The thing is, TourEdge makes a pretty beastly little hybrid too, and we’re really looking forward to seeing if their drivers and irons can deliver more of the same. Even at 2° open, the guys who struggled to hit it straight are nothing but pumped to check out the upcoming XCG5 lineup, and quite frankly, you should be too.

MGS TOTAL SCORE: 91.48

Tell Us What You Think!

• Have you EVER tried a CB4 TourEdge hybrid before…if so let the other MGS reader know your thoughts?
• When you hear the name TourEdge what comes to your mind?

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