TourEdge Bazooka JMax 460cc Carbon Driver Review

This review comes to us via our partners at GolfWRX.com. Specifically, we’d like to thank Sam Torrez (aka “Sam-Tee-Time”), who plays out of Dallas, TX, for this review.

TourEdge is a company that I’ve been aware of for their Bazooka JMax drivers, but I’ve never had the opportunity to test their clubs until recently, when I got my hands on the TourEdge Bazooka JMax 460cc Carbon driver. I was pleasantly surprised. Reading other Internet reviews of the previous model Bazooka drivers indicates that these are very solid, well engineered clubs that should be up for consideration for players of any ability level. As the limits to driver size has increased, TourEdge has responded likewise, with larger and larger clubheads that are now at the 460cc size limitations.

Design
As with many other manufacturers, TourEdge has also introduced a driver with a carbon-fiber top, combined with a forged beat titanium head, in two versions: “Draw Bias” and “Power Fade.” The Draw model helps control fades and slices by placing extra weight in the heel of the sole and closing the face 1°. Lofts are available in one-degree increments from 9-12°. The Fade model positions weight deep in the sole and straight back away from the face for workability and control, and is available in 9-11°. Unlike the Draw Bias model, the face on the Fade model is square. Unfortunately for lefties, only the 10° Fade/Neutral driver is available for southpaws.

When you look at the sole of the club – you can easily see the 20-gram black-colored weight chip labeled “TourEdge.” The flowing esthetic design of the sole will be curved and oriented more towards the heel of the club (for the “Draw” version), or in the back middle of the club (for the “Fade” version). The appearance of either sole design is very sleek and subtle.

To get more varied opinions, I solicited fellow Internet golfers to help me participate in the testing, as well as a few local friends. The golfers ranged from low-handicap local mini-tour players, to mid-handicappers, to higher handicappers looking for easy-to-hit clubs. Their comments are included below mixed in with mine, and I hope they present a thorough look at this driver.

Test Model
I personally tested a 9° “Fade Bias” model with a shaft labeled “JMax Reactive Flex 63g, 3.5 Torque, mid kick, Stiff flex, 90-100 speed.” This shaft is available in L, A, R, S, and X flexes to fit most any golfer. The grip provided is a Tour Edge “SofTech+” with a very nice textured area where your left thumb would be placed. I immediately liked this grip, as it looked good, and felt great! I don’t know if the textured area by your left thumb was cosmetic or practical, but it felt good!

The test model shaft, a “JMax Reactive Flex 63g, 3.5 Torque, mid kick, Stiff flex, 90-100 speed.”

Esthetics
This driver has a very serious and purposeful look to it. The top/crown has a subtle carbon fiber mesh that blends seamlessly (and nearly invisibly) with the black paint. At address, the club sits just a tad closed, but not overly so. The face area is enormous, with one of the largest faces I’ve ever seen in a driver – very wide, very deep, with a slight drop-off towards the toe. My first thoughts are that this driver is impossible to mis-hit, as the face just seemed huge! Another thing I noticed was the headcover design for the Driver and 3-wood – they are made with a length-long zipper rather than a “sock” to protect the shaft. I like this design a lot better than the “sock,” which can get distorted and out of shape over time. The TourEdge headcover design is a lot better in my opinion, and they look sharp.

That’s one heckuva large face! How can you mis-hit this bad boy? I think it’s got to be nearly impossible!

As with all the TourEdge clubs, the sole appears very cleanly designed, with subtle lines and alternating polished/matte finished surfaces. The Jmax shaft is satin silver in color with painted-on specifications. I’ve always liked this feature, as it allows you to see a shaft and immediately know how it should react in your swing. I do wish that the TourEdge shafts had a more dynamic color scheme – there are many shaft graphics that are a little on the wild looking side, but if I’m paying for an upgraded, high quality shaft, I would like some spiffy graphics, and a very “Tour-oriented” look.

Performance
The feeling of carbon drivers is very different than steel (remember those?) or all-titanium drivers. This is one of the reasons I like this driver – the return feeling was that of a solid rebound. The feeling is good, but some testers were not used to the different feeling a carbon-headed driver produces vs. an all-titanium driver. All testers echoed the same comments – the feeling was reassuring, with a very distinct carbon fiber sound at impact, with little to no vibration transmitted to your hands. The sound is a little louder than some people are used to but nowhere near as loud as some modern all-titanium drivers. I love the feeling and sound of carbon/titanium drivers, and this one definitely sounds good to me.

My low-handicap tester was not comfortable with the stock shaft. However – he has a very high (~118 MPH) swingspeed, which is much more suited to an X-flex shaft. His comments were: “With a more aggressive shaft, I would have been able to unload and most likely have better results.” He did like the feel of the driver overall. Other testers seemed to be very comfortable with the stock TourEdge shaft, and some felt the shaft felt a little soft for a “Stiff” flex. Overall, the shaft felt fine. As the shaft is stamped “Fujikura,” my interest was piqued, as I love Fuji shafts, particularly the “Speeder” lineup. It made me wonder which variation of a Fuji shaft this was.

The driver does seem to hit higher than its indicated 9° loft – even mid handicap testers used to 10.5° (or higher) driver heads were achieving nice ballflight trajectories. Ballflight was fairly high but with no ballooning whatsoever – just straight, penetrating drives that nutted through the wind admirably. None of us could determine if this is due to the driver head itself, the shaft, or the combination of head/shaft. The best aspect of this driver was its forgiveness, as it seems to perform equally well through the entire face area. Even severe mis-hits seem to fly fairly long and straight.

And straight it is! There has been a lot of discussion about the Moments of Inertia (MOI) of various clubs, including putters and drivers. More MOI will result in clubs that are less resistant to twists and deviations, resulting in straighter shots. This is where the JMax Carbon driver excels. It’s very, very straight and forgiving – you must put a VERY bad swing in order to get poor results. Most every tester was achieving straight and long drives. My testing with impact tape was resulting in several hits right in the middle of the clubface! I don’t know what TourEdge is doing to their drivers, but this unit seemed to be impossible to slice or hook – every good swing resulted in a dead straight ballflight.

Conclusion
This is a driver for the masses. Straight, long, and immensely easy to hit, with little vibration transmitted back to your hands. Many people who commented about the different feeling at impact were not used to carbon fiber composite drivers. The feeling and sound is quite different at impact than all-titanium models, but I like it more. Some players who wish to work the ball left/right may be disappointed by the lack of workability this club offers, but most every other player will be very pleased with the ability to get on a teebox, line up your shot, and put a good swing to the ball – you will be pleasantly rewarded with straight, piercing shots time after time. TourEdge’s website indicates that the company’s first claim to fame was the “Bazooka” lineup of titanium drivers, and this one doesn’t disappoint, and should continue the legacy.