Adams Golf is teeing off in 2005 with two popular, yet distinct, metalwood themes: composition construction, which is an industrywide trend, and its own unique Ovation design.
The company, well known for pioneering upside-down fairway woods in the 1990s, has entered the “Comp” realm by introducing a Redline RPM driver, Redline RPM titanium fairway woods and Redline RPM Stainless Steel fairway woods. All use carbon composite materials in the crown.
Meanwhile, Adams also has added an Ovation 460cc titanium driver to complement its well-regarded lineup of Ovation fairway woods.
Just as meaningful, perhaps, is that Adams is carving out a niche for itself by offering premium equipment at mid-level prices, competing against the likes of Cobra, Tour Edge, PowerBilt and Wilson’s Deep Red line. The Adams Ovation driver, for example, carries a suggested retail price of $249.99 and the Redline RPM driver is listed at $349.95, with “street” prices for such equipment usually $50 to $100 less.
In a business sense, this is probably a better proposition for Adams than butting heads, and clubs, with Titleist, TaylorMade, Nike, Callaway and Ping.
Among the pros, Adams has forged a bond with a roster of Champions Tour players, including Tom Watson, Jose Maria Canizares, Allen Doyle, Larry Nelson, Sammy Rachels and D.A. Weibring.
Here’s a closer look at the latest from Adams Golf.
REDLINE RPM DRIVER
The RPM series stands for RePositioned Mass and puts Adams among a growing list of companies using carbon composite materials, commonly called graphite, to help lighten the crown and reposition weight to other parts of the driver.
The Redline RPM driver checks in at 460cc, just under the USGA rules limit, and extends the maximum, large-headed concept first introduced by Adams to the premium clubmaking ranks in 2003.
"Through repositioned mass technology and advanced launch condition engineering, the [Adams] R&D team has created a driver and fairway wood that are not only more forgiving, but also improve ball speed, launch angle and spin rates,” said Chip Brewer, CEO of Adams Golf.
Using the graphite material, Adams has reduced the crown weight of its driver 36.4 percent, moving weight to the soleplate with tungsten inserts. The company also uses what it calls “xFace” engineering to expand the sweet spot at impact.
Three Redline RPM driver models are being offered: two for men, with a choice of neutral or draw bias and an array of lofts, and one for women. The draw bias is achieved by using a slightly different head shape and center of gravity positioning to both reduce sidespin and promote a draw.
The neutral bias would be more suited for players seeking to work the ball off the tee while the draw would be geared for those looking to reduce slicing.
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| The Redline RPM driver has a suggested retail price of $349.95. (Provided to GolfWeb) |
In trying to determine between choosing a regular all-titanium Redline driver or the composite RPM driver, one of GolfWeb’s club pro testers suggested the RPM driver, with a higher launch angle, might be better suited for golfers with slower swing speeds.
Suggested retail price for the driver is $349.95.
REDLINE RPM FAIRWAY WOODS
There are two types of Redline RPM fairway woods to complement the driver: titanium or stainless steel.
Both types use graphite crowns to achieve RePositioned Mass technology along with xFace engineering.
The titanium fairway woods, with a Tight Lies upside down head design, reduce the crown weight by 24.4 percent. Available in lofts of 13, 15 and 19 degrees, suggested retail price is $299.95 each.
According to Adams, its Redline RPM Stainless Steel fairway woods, also featuring a graphite crown and tungsten inserts, reposition 27.8 percent of metalwood weight lower in the head.
“The Redline RPM Stainless Steel fairway wood has the lowest center of gravity of any steel fairway wood in the marketplace, which makes it very versatile from the fairway, out of the rough or off the tee,” said Brewer.
The stainless steel lineup comprises a strong 3-wood, plus regular 3, 4, 5 and 7, with lofts of 13, 15, 17, 19 and 21 degrees, respectively.
Suggested list price for the stainless steel clubs is $249.99 each.
OVATION DRIVER
Like the Ovation fairway woods, the new 460cc driver comes in a choice of standard or offset models, plus senior and women’s. All are designed with an extremely low center of gravity to promote high launch angles and low spin rates, along with greater forgiveness.
In testing, GolfWeb reviewers found the Ovation driver to be highly satisfactory, especially among mid to high handicap players. The club was specifically praised for its looks, ease of swing, ability to get the ball airborne and, very noticeably, for forgiveness on off-center hits.
Features built into the Ovation driver include tungsten perimeter weighting and a proprietary Aldila shaft “optimized” for the clubhead design. As testers found, the club is “remarkably light” and its large size “breeds confidence” on the tee.
There are four basic models in the Ovation driver series: men’s standard, men’s offset, senior and women’s. With a choice of lofts, suggested retail price for the Ovation driver is $249.99.
Editor's note: Chuck Stogel writes about golf equipment. Look for his columns each week on GolfWeb and PGATOUR.COM.
