Adams Fast 12 Driver & FW Wood Forum Review

Great write up Steel President. You are bringing the pain when it comes to this testing.
 
I got another chance to use the Fast 12 3w out on the course yesterday. It was a shorter course than normal, so I used 3w off the tee a few times. For the most part, I hit this club well. On good shots it produces a slightly higher pitched sound that isnt too loud or annoying though. The ball doesnt seem to "jump" off the face like some other fairways, but this club can certainly produce plenty of distance.

I caught two shots on the top half of the face, and while still going fairly straight they did not go very long. This has been a common thing if I get the ball a little high on the face, it looks like I used a 6 iron instead of a 3w.

While I enjoy hitting this club and feel like it is a great 3w, it just doesnt work for my swing as well as my R11 3w does. One shot yesterday on a par 5 showed the difference in clubs for me. My phone had me 252 to the center of the green. I pulled out my R11 and put a good swing on it, hit front edge of the green and rolled on about 15 ft past the front pin. I then pulled out the Fast 12, and again, put a good swing on it. This shot went out quite a bit higher than the previous shot and landed about 15-20 yards short of the green and rolled about 5 feet. Both shots were good swings and very well struck shots, but there was definitely a difference in the trajectory and distance of the two shots.

The Fast 12 is a pretty good 3w. It is really easy to hit off the deck and out of the rough, feels similar to a lot of the new hybrids out there right now. If anyone needs help getting a fairway wood in the air, they need to take a look at the Fast 12. I am not sure that this head/shaft combo is the right 3w for a person with my swing who hits a high launching shot.
 
Do you not think it's quite boring as there is no "electricity" so to speak off the face?

Actually, now that you mention it, yes. It doesn't have that "I crushed that" feel that I have gotten when hitting the RBZ, I20, VRS, or R11.
 
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Adams Fast 12 FW Testing
Cedarbrook Golf Club (Red Course)
4/14/2012

Played 18 holes today with a few friends and had a really nice time. I was striking the ball really well and honestly my score should've been better than it was. However, I had another solid 86 (and that's with some shoddy putting statistics). I didn't score as well as I did yesterday but it was a bit tougher course. It's short but really tight. The back nine is actually a bit more difficult but I started putting things together (aka I stopped hitting trees). I didn't really use the Fast 12 a ton today but I found it being useful - I was comfortable with my driver for once so I was enjoying that while it lasts.

Similar to yesterday, I'll just go through the holes in which I used the Fast 12.

Hole #2:
I hit a bit of a stinger off of the tee but it really rolled out there. I put myself right in the middle of the fairway on this 528 yard par 5. I was left with about 285 yards to the green and it seemed like a perfect spot to pull out the Fast 12. I caught it a little off of the toe and left myself with right around 100 yards - it wasn't the greatest hit at all but I can't complain a whole ton. It just wasn't a very good swing from me - it was early in the round and I walked right onto the course without any sort of warm up. It wasn't a terrible miss but obviously it wasn't exactly what I wanted. It did stay just a little bit out to the right as well. I just left it out there a bit. Oh well! I ended up hitting my next shot over the green and carded a bogey.

Hole #8:
I felt all day up to this point that my game was close right now but I just wasn't putting it all together. I really jumpstarted my round with a par on this 297 yard sharp dogleg left. I used the Fast 12 off of the tee and it was a success. I felt like I really flushed it and saw a nice tight draw ball flight - that's ideal for me. It was a nice mid-trajectory shot and it ended up right in the fairway, about 80 yards from the flagstick. It was just a flush hit into a tight, precise uphill fairway and it led to my first par of the day. It was just a nice hit. Well done, Fast 12.

Hole #12:
Another short, right par 4 that measures out to only 298 yards. I busted out the Fast 12 and hit another really nice shot - it just went dead straight though and I was planning on it drawing back a little. It wasn't a big deal but it left me with right around 60 yards in the right rough. I'd have rather it drew back into the fairway but it was another really solid hit. I'll be honest friends - I think that the Fast 12 3W is absolute MONEY off of the tee. Money. It's so easy to hit off of the tee. I'm finally hitting the ball well again from the tee box and it's really nice to be able to see some true results from this club.

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Like I said, I was really hitting my driver well today and that just doesn't happen a whole ton so I was using it more off of the tee. However, I'm once again pleased with the Fast 12. I know I only busted it out three times today but I saw some more results. The Fast 12 really jumpstarted my round by putting me in GREAT position on #8 and allowing me to get a par. My back nine was obviously a lot more clean than the front and that was nice.

I've just been hitting the golf ball a lot better since I've tweaked my alignment in my last few rounds - I was just hitting everything way too far up in my stance and found myself hooking it far too often. I was trying to open up the face, work my hands..blah blah blah..when all I really needed to do was move the darn ball back in my stance. I've seen some instant results with my long irons, woods, and driver. Just really encouraging and I can honestly say that the Fast 12 has been a nice confidence builder. I didn't really have to use it off of the deck much at all today except for that first shot but I've also seen some significant improvement in that area.

Just an encouraging club for me so far. I'm pleased.

I'm out of town for Sunday/Monday but I'll try to get out on the course again on Tuesday or Wednesday. I'm really itching to get back out there because I really think I can take a score like that 86 and turn it into an 80 with a little more consistency and some better putting.
 
Oh yeah - I'm the 'P' on the scorecard.
 
Excellent update SP. Solid score too dude. Hey if youre banging driver out there it just makes golf easier and you gotta keep rolling with it.
 
Excellent update SP. Solid score too dude. Hey if youre banging driver out there it just makes golf easier and you gotta keep rolling with it.

Thanks. Yeah, like I said, I've been struggling with the big stick so it's nice to be hitting it well again. However, I just love that the Fast 12 'sparked' my round a bit by allowing me to finally get a par on the front nine. It's good to know that it's a bit of an ol' reliable for me off of the tee.
 
I had an absolutely abysmal day trying to work this driver today. I was 5-10 ft into the 2nd cut 60% of the time. The first bad showing of the club for me. I say first bad showing of the club because while it wasn't the clubs fault that the course was slightly more technical than I am used to, the lack of forgiveness really showed on slight miss hits. I'm not talking about shanks, I'm talking still well hit - slightly off center toward the heel or toe mishits..
 
Fast 12 Driver Review

Fast 12 Driver Review

Adams Fast 12 Driver Review
Date: 4/14/2012
Location: Chesapeake Bay Golf Club, North East MD
Club Tested: Adams Fast 12 Driver 9.5* stock stiff shaft
Previous Club: Ping G20 9.5*
Conditions: Sunny 65*

Made it out today for 18 early this morning and in tow I had the Adams Fast 12 driver. I had an epic battle staged between the Ping G20 and the Fast 12 that did not happen because the G20 found itself on injured reserve. So instead of a little battle of driver vs driver I played a normal round with the Fast 12 only. While my numbers with the Fast 12 weren't all that great I still came away more impressed then I thought Id be. One thing that really stood out to me today was the sound at impact. It was very different from on the range. Very solid crack sound. I liked it too. And this thing was point and shoot for me. I did have a couple pulls today and that was my miss but I expected big nasty slices and did not see any at all. I also have settled on a tee height. Using the Epoch THP tee's I go into the ground to the highest green line so all the lines are in the ground. This produced the best ball flight and seemed to hit the right spot on the face. I kept stats for holes I hit the Fast 12 and it broke down like this:

(Started on the back nine)

#12: Hit this driver dead straight but didnt take an aggressive enough line and almost went thought the FW. Ended up on the edge of the rough/trees and lost distance. 210 yards.

#13: Again I suffered from not knowing the course well enough and hit one dead straight almost into the bunker across the FW. Ended up 231 yards.

#15: This was one of if not my worst Fast 12 shot of the day. This one started right and was peeling right, hit a tree and dropped on the right most side of the rough. 182 yards.

#3: Pulled this one left into the stuff, 160 yards as it got knocked down.

#5: Great drive here that ended up 246 yards in the FW.

#6: Another good drive here that ended up 242 yards and in the FW. This was the last driver hole of the day.

This is the video from the last hole, #6 that if you saw the Video Hole of the Day thread you might have already seen it. The Fast 12 give some good sound feedback on this video.

Spoiler
 
That's some good stuff right there. I'm really curious about the driver. Honestly..it seems like a lot of people feel that they'd come away more impressed with the FW than the driver.

Can't wait until Demo Day.
 
That's some good stuff right there. I'm really curious about the driver. Honestly..it seems like a lot of people feel that they'd come away more impressed with the FW than the driver.

Can't wait until Demo Day.

I hit the fairway wood at Dick's and came away liking it more than the RBZ...the driver is just hit or miss.


Tap before talk.
 
I just feel like the FW is such a comfortable club..and I'm a bad golfer. I would love to see some of you ringers strike this 3W.
 
That's some good stuff right there. I'm really curious about the driver. Honestly..it seems like a lot of people feel that they'd come away more impressed with the FW than the driver.

Can't wait until Demo Day.

It does seem like more people like the FW then the driver. I just felt like with a good swing the driver was good right back to me yesterday. After reading OG's post about maintaining proper spine angle it was something I paid attention to all day and seemed to really help, specially with driver.
 
That thing sure did sound good Kmac. I finally had the chance to hit the driver and the 3wood outside yesterday. I've read most of this thread but not all of it. Off the driver, I saw the same thing I saw in the shop, a driver that somehow delivers the center of the clubface to the golf ball. Which is nice. What's not nice was how stupid high I was hitting this thing. I didn't care for that at all. Still, very solid feel/sound and stupid easy to hit. The 3wood was a freaking badass for me. It's now on the ponder list. I wasn't seeing any Kenny Perry type distance with it but that thing just goes straight. Personally, I love the velocity slot on top of the 3wood. It's a perfect alignment aid for me and truthfully, it kind of gives me something to focus on. I don't find myself thinking about swing thoughts or anything else, which is nice. Two very good clubs in the end. I still don't understand Adams' direction with the stock shaft in the driver. It bottles my mind.
 
That thing sure did sound good Kmac. I finally had the chance to hit the driver and the 3wood outside yesterday. I've read most of this thread but not all of it. Off the driver, I saw the same thing I saw in the shop, a driver that somehow delivers the center of the clubface to the golf ball. Which is nice. What's not nice was how stupid high I was hitting this thing. I didn't care for that at all. Still, very solid feel/sound and stupid easy to hit. The 3wood was a freaking badass for me. It's now on the ponder list. I wasn't seeing any Kenny Perry type distance with it but that thing just goes straight. Personally, I love the velocity slot on top of the 3wood. It's a perfect alignment aid for me and truthfully, it kind of gives me something to focus on. I don't find myself thinking about swing thoughts or anything else, which is nice. Two very good clubs in the end. I still don't understand Adams' direction with the stock shaft in the driver. It bottles my mind.

Makes you wonder if the driver would be even better with a different shaft. Interesting thoughts on the 3W bro. I have yet to hit it outside just off mats so I dont have a good feel for it. If I get out with Banks I'll hit his otherwise I'll hit it at the outing. The 3W sure seems to be doing well in the reviews here though.
 
I hit the single longest drive of my life yesterday with this driver. I am supremely happy with it being in my bag.
 
Well had the first tournament of the year, little breakfast best ball. It was a lot of fun and my first as a member of my new course. I played with my neighbor for the first time so I expected it to be a little up and down, but with the 30+ MPH winds I knew ahead of time it was going to get pretty crazy.

Started on 15

#17: 445 yard hole dead straight into the wind so when the drive came up way shorter than I wanted the Adams Fast 12 needed to perform. I hit it pretty well and got a much lower ball flight than I had been seeing. Caught it about mid face and almost dead center. End up just a bit short but exactly what I was looking for on the hole.

#18: Drive up the hill wasn't bad was left with about what I expected. Caught it a bit on the heel and pushed it a little right into the trees, but had about 50 left in for the third and felt OK with it.

#1: Awesome drive to start the front nine, and had about 230 left and was ready to go for the green in two, caught it a bit on the heel again but got great distance and the right amount of height. Came up a bit short with the wind but a really good leave. IMHO!!!!

#2: Another long par 4 I needed distance with. Here's where I tried a new shot with this club and found a new go to shot with this club. I took a smaller stance and looked at it more as a half shot chip, WOW!!! Loved the result. A great low ball flight, under the wind, and got only about 20-30 less than normal. I need to figure out how to get that on a full shot as a go to stinger style!!

#4: Second shot on a par 5 got about 235 yards total with the wind behind and got great result. Lower ball flight again, but probably the highest of the day.

#9: Long par 4 again and went with the low sting chip and got an awesome roll out.

#10: Got the best result with my new 3 wood swing, about 240 out and rolled it onto the green, had the wind behind but loved it. Fell in love and my partner wanted one to match the rest of his Adams set!

#11: I have good feelings with this 3 wood on this hole previous and this time was a different story. Caught it high on the face but must have turned it over quick because it was a low roller with a big hook. Willing to admit fault on the shot, but didn't get the distance I was hoping for, but it was high again.

All in all I love the new swing I found, I can't wait to really put this into play even more in my game and maybe off the tee, once I get a chance to practice it more.

On a bit of a side note I love the dark face finish as it's super easy to see where the ball hits.
 
Sorry that I haven't had time to get a real big update in the last week, but life is sort of making it tough to find THP time at the moment.

I haven't noticed anything that changes the thoughts/feelings I've had to date with the Fast 12. I'm still not hitting it as well as I'd like, but it performs pretty well when I hit it good. Again, that's as much my own problem as anything, though some extra forgiveness on the thick shot would make it easier to handle.

A good example of that is on the opening hole at my course. It's a par 5 that plays downhill to just short of 600 yards. A good tee shot usually leaves me 320-350 out due to roll. I could probably be fine hitting a hybrid for the second shot, but I tend to grab the fairway wood for some reason.

My last time out I was around 330 out and hit the Fast 12 (slight down hill lie) and was just behind the ball. I dug a bit and got a real low ball that lost a ton of steam and petered out, leaving me a little less than 140 yards. Bad swinging on my part, but the downhill lie didn't help. I grabbed the F3 to take a second try at it, did almost the same thing, still had a lower ball, but it had a lot more speed behind it and was left with 105 to the center. Again, this is a downhill shot that rolls a lot, so I suspect the yardage would be significantly less with both clubs on a flat surface.

I've never been a very good 3 wood player and a lot of that is because of that miss right there. It's always just been easier to hit a hybrid because my chances of success were better. Although I feel like I'm hitting the Fast 12 better than I would have a year ago, I still don't think it's a club I can pull from the bag with confidence, especially when I have to hit it off the deck. I've usually done better with weak 3 woods or 5 woods, so I do wonder what I'd see if I tried one from the Fast 12 line.
 
Got a chance to finally hit the Fast 12 driver, didn't know what to expect as the Fast 12 FW I'm testing and I didn't get off to a great start. But wow was the driver a beast. First shot was dead straight, nice mid to high trajectory and about 230 carry which is fairly good for me. I hit a lot of clubs today and it was between the Fast 12 and a G20 for the lead. Really liked the silver finish on the crown, but the circles on the back of the crown is much more distracting for me than the slot of the fairway wood. If I didn't hit the G20 a little further and it just felt a bit better the Fast 12 would have been in the bag for sure. Miles ahead of the RBZ, RAZR, D2, AMP combined!!!
 
I did have a couple pulls today and that was my miss but I expected big nasty slices and did not see any at all

I have to agree with this aswell i've not had a bad slice on this, i do feel its more controlled than my D2 but i kinda like the fact the D2 is not as tame so to speak
 
I have to agree with this aswell i've not had a bad slice on this, i do feel its more controlled than my D2 but i kinda like the fact the D2 is not as tame so to speak

I played again yesterday but didnt write up a review yet and may not. My driver swing was so out of whack I kept slicing OB and into the woods. But I know it wasnt the driver as I saw very good results on Saturday.
 
I hit the Fast 12 today on the monitor and was really impressed. It felt solid coming off the club head. I hit it with the Fubuki and Black Tie in X-Flex and ended up with pretty similar numbers. If I end up getting a new driver soon, it will be between this and Cleveland Classic 290.
 
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