Adams Idea a7OS Irons Take the Gold Medal - Twice

Adams Idea a7OS irons are gold medal winners, capturing the gold in Golf Digest’s “Hot List” Super Game Improvement categories in 2010 and 2011. I’m posting this review to help you decide if these award-winning clubs interest you.

Adams golf clubs deliver good performance at reasonable prices, and overall, I’m a fan of the company. So, here’s some information on these irons, followed by my personal impressions based on playing them for a few rounds.

The standard men’s set consists of 3 traditional hybrids (3-, 4- and 5-H), 2 “mid-hybrids” (6 and 7), and 3 cavity-back irons (8-iron, 9-iron and pitching wedge). The mid-hybrids ensure a smooth, seamless transition between the traditional hybrids and the cavity-back Adams Idea a7OS irons. The stock shaft for the hybrids in the men’s Adams Idea a7OS irons is the 75-gram Grafalloy ProLaunch Axis graphite shaft, available in stiff, regular and senior flex (65 grams in senior flex). The mid-hybrids and short irons can be fitted with the stock True Temper Performance Lite steel shafts or the stock Grafalloy graphite shafts.

The makeup of the senior flex set of the irons is slightly different from that of the standard men’s set, consisting of 4-, 5- and 6-hybrids, 7- and 8-mid-hybrids, and a cavity-back 9-iron, pitching wedge and sand wedge. In addition to the two men’s sets, ladies Adams Idea a7OS irons are also available. The full ladies set includes 4-, 5- and 6-hybrids, 7- and 8-mid-hybrids and a cavity-back 9-iron, pitching wedge and sand wedge, fitted with 50-gram Grafalloy graphite shafts in ladies flex.

There is also a 7-piece expandable ladies set consisting of driver, 5-wood, 5-hybrid, 7-mid-hybrid, 9-iron, sand wedge, mallet putter and stand bag. It might be a good option for beginners or women who play very occasionally. Because individual Adams Idea a7OS irons and hybrids can be purchased, the expandable set can easily be turned into a full set.

Adams Golf is convinced that integrated hybrid/iron “flow sets” like the Adams Idea a70S irons represent the future of irons. The company also thinks its Adams Idea a7OS irons are “the best and most versatile game-improvement set ever.” The clubs use patented gapping technology (what Adams believes is the optimal head size, loft and length for each club) to ensure that you have consistent distance gaps between each club. And all the clubs have been optimized to be easier to hit crisply and promote better launch conditions, longer hits and more versatility.

More specifically, the set’s 3 traditional hybrids (3-5) have an ultra-thin crown to lower the center of gravity, an extra 44 grams of heel and toe perimeter weighting to maximize the Moment of Inertia (resistance to twisting, making the club heads more stable and forgiving), a slight draw bias to help prevent a slice, a thin face to promote faster ball speeds, and a medium to high launch angle. It all adds up to clubs that make it easier to hit straight, long, high shots from different lies.

The two hollow-back mid-hybrids in the Adams Idea a7OS irons set (6 and 7) are also designed to promote high launches and more distance. A four-way cambered sole and back weighting increase forgiveness. Impact vibrations are reduced by an “H-back™” dampening system.

The three wide-soled cavity-back short irons (8, 9 and pitching wedge) have a very deep, low center of gravity to promote high shots, but they also have heel and toe perimeter weighting to increase their forgiveness. In short, each club in the set has been designed to be easy to hit, forgiving and versatile.

I tested an all-graphite men’s set of Adams Idea a7OS irons in regular flex. The heads looked a tad chunky to me, but that’s to be expected in maximum game-improvement clubs like these. They set up behind the ball nicely, and the wide soles of the irons prevented me from digging (one of my bad tendencies). My good shots were high (very high, actually) and fairly long, and my mishits were “decent” so I think the clubs are pretty forgiving. There weren’t any excessive distance gaps between the clubs in the set.

On the downside, I thought the short irons weren’t so hot for chipping. I also thought the feel was too subdued to give the type of feedback that can help a beginner play better – the shots I topped and hit fat produced about the same feel as the shots I struck crisply.

Adams Idea a7OS irons: The Bottom Line

Adams Idea a7OS irons aren’t really workable, but clubs intended to help beginners and occasional recreational golfers aren’t designed to let people hit draws and fades at will. The a7OS clubs are meant to do three things, and they do them well: help you hit the ball high, help you hit it straight, and help you hit it long. I’d recommend these easy-to-hit clubs for higher-handicap golfers.

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