Adams Redline Irons Review

[Doug the lefty]

I wish I had the 5 iron at times and I really want that GW. It would nicely fill in a full shot gap that I have right now.



I bet that drops $150 within a few months man.

I think I would want the gap as well. Since these are so long, I think I would have a significant Gap as well.

 

[Hawk]

I think I would want the gap as well. Since these are so long, I think I would have a significant Gap as well.

My dream set up would be to carry the 50° xFT and the Redline GW. Sounds goofy, but I think it would be perfect for me.

 

[Doug the lefty]

My dream set up would be to carry the 50° xFT and the Redline GW. Sounds goofy, but I think it would be perfect for me.

Interesting. What do you estimate your yardage gap would be with that setup? Only 1 degree difference, right?

 

[Hawk]

I hit my 50° xFT GW 90-95 yards and I hit my Redline PW 110-120 yards. The variance is on the quality of my shot.

I'd really be looking for a consistent 100-110 yard club

 

[Doug the lefty]

I hit my 50° xFT GW 90-95 yards and I hit my Redline PW 110-120 yards. The variance is on the quality of my shot.

I'd really be looking for a consistent 100-110 yard club

Gotcha. Sounds like the GW would fit that role very well.

 

[Hawk]

At the range last night I let a buddy hit these against his irons. They are a Tour iron from a couple years back with an X in the name. No joke at all when I say he was hitting these a good 10-15 yards farther and so much higher. He really just looked perplexed as he's not really an equipment junky and doesn't know much about strong lofts/lightweight shafts, etc.

 

[Tmex]

Hahaha, I love it. How did he like the feel and whatnot?

Going back to PGA SS today, pray I don't walk out with a set.

At the range last night I let a buddy hit these against his irons. They are a Tour iron from a couple years back with an X in the name. No joke at all when I say he was hitting these a good 10-15 yards farther and so much higher. He really just looked perplexed as he's not really an equipment junky and doesn't know much about strong lofts/lightweight shafts, etc.

 

[Hawk]

He didn't really comment on the feel, but I did hit his irons. I actually liked them a lot and wouldn't mind having a set, but they are completely different. His irons are forged and most would say they should be 'softer', but for me that couldn't be farther from the truth. I liken it to something JB said once about inserts vs milled putters.

The look on his face was so funny. He was just staring way up the air with a very confused expression.

 

[Tmex]

hahahaha, I love that look! I get it at times. Ok, a lot. These irons did that to me.

He didn't really comment on the feel, but I did hit his irons. I actually liked them a lot and wouldn't mind having a set, but they are completely different. His irons are forged and most would say they should be 'softer', but for me that couldn't be farther from the truth. I liken it to something JB said once about inserts vs milled putters.

The look on his face was so funny. He was just staring way up the air with a very confused expression.

 

[beardog]

I'm demoing a 7 iron right now. So far so good. I'll let you know if I pull the trigger. Not too enamored with the hybrids.
Thanks Hawk for your review which got me interested in the irons.

 

[Hawk]

I'm demoing a 7 iron right now. So far so good. I'll let you know if I pull the trigger. Not too enamored with the hybrids.
Thanks Hawk for your review which got me interested in the irons.

Welcome to THP and I hope you post your thoughts as you get more time with them. I personally don't care for the hybrids at all, but these irons are the real deal. Anybody in the market for a GI/distance iron is doing themselves a disservice by passing them by. I just can't say enough how much I like them and how much they've helped my game in the last couple months.

 

[beardog]

Thanks Hawk! I appreciate it. Great site & forum! I happened upon it in June with the Wilson D-11 irons and have read most if not all the equipment threads.

So far so good. I'm more than likely going to get the 4-GW which plays more like a 3-PW. The club I'm testing is 1/2" over 2 degrees upright stiff shaft and I am just juicing it. It is at least 1 1/2 club longer than my current set up which is Titiliest AP-1. It feels great and I like it's turf interaction. I've hit off of lies in the fairway and from the rough and it doesn't disappoint. Definitely a good club that doesn't get a lot of attention.

I'll post more when I get them and put them thru a few rounds.

 

[Griff]

What's nice about these clubs is how well these shafts perform. Yeah, they are a made for TT shaft that appears in multiple Adam's sets. At first I was hesitant that I would stick with them. They flat out work and send the ball high with great consistency. Not switching them out.

They do interact with the turf quite well. There seems to be some nice relief around the edges that forgives a not so great swing. Adding the 5 and maybe 4 iron very soon.

 

[Hawk]

That's funny, because I keep telling myself it would be fun to experiment with a different shaft and then I ask myself if I'm freaking crazy.

 

[Doug the lefty]

Spent some more time with these yesterday and came away impressed, again. Took my CB2 7i in to compare on the LM. Needless to say the Redline was much more forgiving but what surprised me is how much longer they were. The distance gain is VERY significant.
Pondering these once again.....

 

[Hawk]

Spent some more time with these yesterday and came away impressed, again. Took my CB2 7i in to compare on the LM. Needless to say the Redline was much more forgiving but what surprised me is how much longer they were. The distance gain is VERY significant.
Pondering these once again.....

What did you think of the feel/sound in comparison to the CB2, Doug?

 

[Doug the lefty]

What did you think of the feel/sound in comparison to the CB2, Doug?

Hawk,

I would say the feel is very similar. I think the shafts in the Redlines are very sufficient, however, I really do like the feel of the KBS Tour 90's in my CB2's. Makes me ponder how a Redline + KBS Tour combo would perform....

As far as sound-very different, IMO. The Redlines sounded very muted to me. The sound reminded me of the RXT's (which I also think sound very muted). Honestly, they sounded so muted/quite that it threw me off a bit and I was actually wondering where in the hell I hit on the clubface. Well, once I looked up at the simulator, I realized it was in the sweet spot due to the fact that the result was loooooong and straight.

And forgiveness-fugetaboutit. I obviously expected the Redlines to be longer and more forgiving, but they exceeded my expectations-big time.

These have gone to the top of my list.

 

[Hawk]

That's really cool to hear! You are spot on with the ultra-muted sound/feel. These irons are crazy soft, but in a very different way than most people think of soft. I think that's what I mean.

Forgiveness and distance are just awesome. I got a case of the hanks yesterday and reverted to the old practice swing (slow and smooth) to get rid of them and I was still just as long as I was with my old set of irons. Not long by any means, but I wasn't completely done for either. That's a huge positive in my book.

 

[Doug the lefty]

That's really cool to hear! You are spot on with the ultra-muted sound/feel. These irons are crazy soft, but in a very different way than most people think of soft. I think that's what I mean.

Forgiveness and distance are just awesome. I got a case of the hanks yesterday and reverted to the old practice swing (slow and smooth) to get rid of them and I was still just as long as I was with my old set of irons. Not long by any means, but I wasn't completely done for either. That's a huge positive in my book.

Agree with your thoughts. There were a few swings where I really went after it and to be honest I only gained about 5 yards. But the good news is, there were a couple I hit on the toe and they were only about 5 yards short.

 

[Hawk]

I've been playing these irons for around 3 months now and thought I'd do a quick write up on my thoughts now that I've been in the post-honeymoon stage for awhile.

I wrote that I thought the irons were sort of plain looking, but I've come to actually like the look of the cavity quite a bit. I'm not huge into over-the-top modern styling on golf clubs and these fit my eye pretty well. I'm not really a big fan of the matte gray finish, but it does hold up and seems to hide scratches very well. These irons look nice in my bag.

They are a bit clunky. Not that they are any different than any other similar iron, but sometimes the internet golfer in me wants them to be smaller. That would completely defeat their intended purpose, but it is something I notice at times. The only true downside to their size that I've found is that they are not great out of heavy, wet rough. I find the need to often club up by two clubs since they tend to get caught up pretty easily. I also can have issues with accuracy out of the rough as the face seems to have a tendency to close on me. As for turn interaction, they usually take a very shallow divot for me, if they take one at all. I've hit some irons this year that really scalp the ground, but they sole on the Redlines makes that pretty tough to do.

I have my distances completely dialed in on well struck shots, which is nice. These irons play to a distance that I'm comfortable with. To me, hitting an 8 iron from 140 is much more comforting to me than hitting one from 125-130 yards. It just is. The forgiveness is just ridiculous. If you are looking for irons to help you with mis hits, it would be difficult to find better ones. It seems like they are plenty forgiving most everywhere on the face. The muted feel seems to mask many of those slight mis hits, but I'm able to notice anything that is well off the center of the face. I absolutely love the feel of well struck shots and am able to tell I hit one the second it comes off the face.

Ball flight is magnificent, especially if you are looking for some height. I hit these about as high as anything I've hit, but it's piercing. Not the lazy upside-down U that some irons have giving me. These rocket off the face, climb fast and then drop. I don't struggle to hit a high ball, but at one point I did. Seeing a nice high iron shot that retains it's distance is always a great feeling.

The two irons that I tend to struggle the most with are the 6 & 7. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out why, but it can be frustrating at times. It seems like I can hit them both very well some days and very poorly other days. My success with the other irons doesn't seem to have any effect on my success with the 6 & 7 either. When I'm hitting them well they are very useful tools to have in my my bag. They fly just as high as the others on nicely struck shots.

The feel in hand is light compared to many 'traditional' irons, but similar to many of the lighter distance irons out there. They can sort of get lost in the swing compared to a heavier club, but that's not surprising considering the shaft weight. I am interested right now in seeing what a heavier shafted iron would do for my accuracy, but that's just the ponderer in me. As with most things feel, we all have our preferences and I'm still trying to determine what mine are.

In a nutshell, I think that there are many people out there that would call these some of the best irons of 2011 if they had a different name on them. It's a shame, but it's true. If you are looking for height, forgiveness, and distance with a nice soft feel you should seek these out and hit them.

 

[CharlieMoy]

GREAT writeup hawk. I hated the look but loved these irons when I hit them. After hearing what you and Jrod have done with them, it has seriously intrigued me.

Glad to hear that youre comfortable with them.

 

[Doug the lefty]

Thanks for the writeup, Hawk. I still have these in spot #1 of my ponder list.

 

[Hawk]

Thanks guys. I'm a big believer in them. They've really made a difference for me at this point in my golfing journey. I'm very thankful that I had a chance to play them this summer.

 

[Griff]

Nice job Hawk. Just about everything you said from the ball flight to the looks is spot on. My buddy hit the 6I this weekend and all he could say was "whoa" after he held his finish and flew the green on the par 3 hole we were playing. These sticks are gems and I am glad I bought them.

 

[Tmex]

Great write up Hawk. I know you touched on the forgiveness quite a bit and said that it in some cases masks some of the slightly off center shots. Positive or negative to you? I sometimes wonder if I'm more off center on my shots than I think.