Adams Golf was synonymous with golf clubs created for the best approach shot golf in the game of golf. This made them a frontrunner in easy-to-hit fairway woods, hybrids, and hybrid irons.
Since they were successful and popular, many golfers mull over about who makes Adams Golf Clubs now?
Well, Adams Golf was founded when Barney Adams, who was renowned for turning the fate of companies around and making them successful. He bought Dave Pelz Golf in 1987 and re-named the company Adams Golf.
As an entrepreneur with a love for golf, Adams saw the opportunity to own his own golf shop and brand.
With Adams using his golfing background and entrepreneurial skills, Adams Golf released some innovative hybrid technology while pursuing the game improvement, women, and senior golfer’s markets.
The ultimate aim of the Adams Golf club design club was to make it easier for its target market golfers to get out of the rough. Golfers of all capabilities appreciated the assistance, and the clubs quickly became popular for the consistency they provided, at a budget-friendly price.
The origins of Adams Golf Clubs
Adams was never meant to be a mass-market product, but its popularity soon led to it having stellar sales performance. Adams Golf hybrid technology enjoyed a strong run becoming the top hybrid on the PGA Tour. This quickly got TaylorMade’s attention.
The range of clubs produced by Adams Golf centered around its sets of irons and hybrids. This did not stop Adams Golf from occasionally venturing into the driver market.
Since TaylorMade was servicing a market for specialized equipment to the best golfers, professional and low handicap, they were not a significant force in the mid-to-high handicap market that Adams was selling into.
TaylorMade showed more than just a passing interest in Adams Golf when they decided to purchase the company in 2012. The acquisition provided TaylorMade access to the intellectual property and an increased customer base.
The purchase of Adams Golf by TaylorMade was overseen by the then CEO, Ben Sharpe.
After the acquisition, TaylorMade made little effort in promoting Adams Golf leading to speculation that they purchased the company to get rid of some major competition, especially in the iron market.
The conflict of interest and the lack of commitment to the Adams Golf brand led to Mr. Sharpe resigning soon after the acquisition was finalized.
There have been some rumors in the golfing community that the Adams Golf brand can be revived, it is highly unlikely that it would do so since the intellectual property belongs to TaylorMade and there are none of the original engineers available from the original Adams Golf crowd.
Who makes and where they are made Now?
Unfortunately, the answer is no one. No new clubs are rolling off an assembly line carrying the Adams Golf brand.
This does not mean that you will not find some good examples of the quality Adams Golf clubs on the second-hand market.
Nick Faldo is one of the big names in golf that have been linked to Adams Golf when he signed for the brand in 1998.
Tom Watson joined the brand as well as former world number 1 and 4-time major winner, Ernie Els who signed in 2014.
No major developments in the brand and the lack of marketing have seen no new important signings.
Adams Golf will be remembered for the introduction of their Tight Lies design. Tight Lies clubs were designed to get golfers back into play- after a tray shot landed them in the rough. The hybrid-like design with its small profile available in a variety of lofts and graphite shafts made it possible for nearly any golfer to get out of thick rough.
Tight Lies also offered Adams Golf’s Extended Face Technology expanding the face vertically by 7mm resulting in a 14% larger face area. This larger face resulted in a larger hitting zone and a wider sweet spot offering more forgiveness.
Adams Golf promoted easier shots of the fairway as well as the rough with its cambered Tri-Sole Design which enhanced turf interaction by reducing the sole area at ground impact.
Other technology includes Adams Golf Velocity Slot on the sole of the club providing more flex on the face resulting in more rebound off the face for increased ball speed.
The most popular Adams Golf clubs
Blue Irons featuring velocity slot technology that offers more face flex and ball speed at impact. The center of gravity positioned low to the rear of the club increased the efficiency of your ball flight.
Professional golfers like Ernie Els benefitted most from the Adams XTD Tour iron.
The company first forged clubs, Adams XTD Forged irons, offered the first-ever Cut-Thru Slot technology in a forged iron. The technology offers a floating face and hollow design to deliver a faster face with increased forgiveness on off-center hits face.
Final Thoughts
Although there are now new clubs coming from Adams Golf, they will be remembered for the innovation they provided in easy-to-hit fairway woods, hybrids, and hybrid irons.
TaylorMade’s acquisition all but wiped out the brand but its intellectual property will live forever in much of the later TaylorMade irons.
Your memories of the Adams Golf brand and its demise by TaylorMade will be appreciated.
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Nick is the founder of GolfSpan and an avid golfer. He's not quite a pro but has over 15 years of experience playing and coaching golfers worldwide. His mission is to bring the golfing community a better experience when it comes to choosing the right golf gear and finding the right setup for your game.
