Written By: Tony Covey
I’ve kept an obsessive eye on Adams Golf since the TaylorMade acquisition nearly 2 years ago. Would TaylorMade turn Adams into a discount brand? Would Adams cater exclusively to women and old men? Would much beloved player’s irons, the spawn of the relatively recent Idea MB2 and CMB lines, totally disappear from the lineup?
And what about the hybrids? TaylorMade does ok with hybrids, but Adams owns the tour, and it turns out they sell quite a few of those same hybrids at retail as well. Would it not be foolish for TaylorMade to relegate Adams to an also ran in the hybrid space?
Man…that’s a lot of questions for 2 paragraphs. We’ve had 2 years to answer them, and based on what’s happened of late, here’s how this TaylorMade/Adams thing appears to have shaken out.
Adams isn’t going the discount route, but it certainly appears that the brand has concentrated focus on game-improvement, and perhaps senior golfers. If you want to lump women into that space, feel free, but if we’re being totally honest, nobody with the possible exception of Cobra-PUMA is aggressively trying to sell clubs to women.
As far as the irons go…sorry guys, I think Adams run as a discussion point competitor to the great player designs from Mizuno, and sure, lets toss Titleist in there too (why not?), is probably over. Sure, the XTD Forged offers some hope. We may see additional designs that flirt with the single digit market, but an MB3? Wish in one hand…you know the rest.
And that brings me to the hybrids.
Looking over the newly announced Adams hybrid offerings, which include the Pro Hybrid, Pro Mini, and Pro DHy; the reasonable deduction is that TaylorMade isn’t about to mess with this particular good thing. The run of outstanding hybrid offerings from Adams golf is well-poised to continue.
Pro Hybrids
Adams is claiming that the new Pro hybrid offers a single design that works for players of all skill levels. Basically, if you’re a PGA Tour Pro, or if you’re not a PGA Tour Pro, the Pro hybrid should work well for you.
Like other recent Adams hybrid models, the Pro series features a Velocity Slot on the crown and a Cut-Thru slot on the sole. The thinking is that 2 slots are better than one.
Those slots, coupled with an ultra-thin and forgiving face makes it “effortless to catapult the ball online towards its intended target”.
Kudos to Adams, that’s the first time I think I’ve seen catapult used to describe golf club performance. And I thought the industry was out of words.
Adams is projecting that the new Pro Hybrid will be the most played model on the PGA Tour in 2014.
Pro Mini
Adams Golf’s complete commitment to the hybrid market yields more distinct models than anyone in the industry. If anybody cranked out drivers at that sort of rate we’d be screaming about oversaturation. In the hybrid segment, however; variety makes infinite sense.
If you consider the purpose of a hybrid – a replacement for difficult to hit long irons; effectively filling a gap between mid-irons and fairway woods – then shouldn’t manufacturers create a variety of hybrids that can create a more seamless transition from any type of iron?
If you’re playing game-improvement, or even transition irons (low-mid HCP designs) then most hybrids on the market do a reasonable job at smoothing the transition from irons to woods.
What if you bag what are generally regarded as better player’s irons? I’m talking about blades, or compact cavity backs; the sort of stuff that makes normal hybrids standout like John Daly’s pants at Augusta.
If you play compact irons, it stands to reason you might want compact hybrids as well. That’s where the new Pro Mini comes in.
The mini borrows heavily from the original Idea Pro Black and the SUPER 9031. As you might expect, the language is geared towards better players. Adams mentions things like distance control, workability and penetrating ball flight (because those are the words that better players like to hear), and really what we’re talking about is an incredibly compact design that performs exactly as you’d expect it too.
You’re going to trade a bit of forgiveness to get a hybrid that looks more like an iron, and will certainly offer a smoother transition for those gaming blades or compact cavity backs, but I suspect we’ll all be good with that.
Pro DHy Hybrids
Rounding out the new offerings is the Pro DHy. The evolution of last season’s DHy, the new model is they hybrid for the guy who only just barely wants a hybrid at all.
Lower launching than a traditional hybrid, and designed with the fade bias, the Pro DHy’s face has a unique bulge and roll pattern not found in other utility clubs or driving irons. Often confused with MOI, bulge and roll is what helps bring shots struck on the toe or heel back towards the target line.
Availability
All versions of the Pro Hybrid will ship to pro shops and specialty golf retailers on March 14, 2014. With an MSRP of $199.99, the clubs will include Aldila Tour series graphite shafts.
For more information, retail locator and demo day availability, please visit www.adamsgolf.com.
Honman
10 years ago
Essentially the pro is the only new hybrid. The other two are in line running changes akin to Bmw giving a 3 series a facelift rather than when it’s time for a whole new car. Yes it’s quick but the change has been purely to lose the white, and get all the weights to need the same type of wrench. I’ve actually been really impressed with Adams since they’ve been taken over. The product is still exceptional and they have more players orientated product still in the line up than I ever thought they would.