Every amateur is looking for that edge. We want the extra 10 yards off the tee, the ultimate feel and forgiveness combo in irons, and the greatest combination of spin and feel in wedges. However choosing wedges has become extremely hard over the last few years as so many companies are touting their wedges as having “the best feel”, “supreme spin”, and “the best performance”.
Recently The Hackers Paradise held their annual Wedge Shoot Out to give our readers a slightly different perspective and “rip” through all of the marketing and see which clubs the consumers liked and which ones did not make the grade. Adams Golf decided to drop in on our contest and was one of the biggest surprises of the entire event. It seems that when most golfers think of wedges, Adams was not a company that popped into their minds. However by the time the Shoot Out was over they were a club that was very much in the mind of most of the people involved.
First Impressions
When the Adams Puglielli wedges first arrived at our office, I must admit I was skeptical. Not in the fact that Adams Golf produces fine equipment, but more so that these wedges were a little odd looking and I wondered how they would perform compared to what we are used to. It features a “weight cartridge” in the back that will reduce vibration for a soft feel. The classic design and face look as good as anything on the market. The cartridge is what kept us from saying “we love it” at first glance.
Technical Specs
Max Puglielli an Adams Golf industry veteran developed this wedge for the better amateur player. It’s designed with a classic teardrop shape and comes with tour proven performance. The CNC fly–cut face has been precisely milled for more consistent spin and the carbon steel finish provides optimal feel. The 7–gram weight cartridge reduces vibrations for a soft, responsive feel and allows for swing weight adjustments.
* CNC fly–cut face with milled grooves.
* Vibration–dampening system for better feel.
* 8620 carbon steel with mirror–plated finish.
* Six models available.
* True Temper Dynamic Gold Steel Shaft.
Feel & Spin
During the Wedge Shoot Out all of our testers kept commenting what a “diamond in the rough” these clubs were. It seems most were not expecting to like them but in reality they had top 5 finishes in both the feel and spin categories. By the time the event was over I was really looking forward to trying these particular clubs out.
My first testing of these came at the chipping green and I hit ball after ball with these wedges as well as my regular wedges to compare both the feel I was getting and the spin. In initial testing, I must say I was pretty impressed. The feel is extremely soft which is always something desired in scoring clubs. However what we have found recently is that many of the extremely soft feeling wedges lacked some of the spin that we amateurs like so much. Not these! The Adams Puglielli wedges had no shortage of spin at all. In fact they had me altering my shots because I was spinning it back almost too much. That is not a bad problem to have once you figure it out. I was eager to get these on the course and see how they fared, but they definitely passed our feel and spin test according to both myself and the 18 testers that we used in our event 1 week prior.
Performance
After a stellar testing session at the practice range and others raving about the club, the Adams wedges just had to go in my bag for a few weeks (7 rounds). On the course it was more of the same. Both approach shots, and shots around the green provided top notch feel and solid spin. I found myself being able to go at just about every pin with these wedges because of just how well they performed. In some cases (inside of 65 yards) it was as if I was throwing darts at the flag stick rather than playing golf. However with all of this spin, there was absolutely NO feel sacrificed at all. One thing stood out during all of this testing was the forgiveness. Forgiveness is not something often discussed when reviewing wedges because most of the time they are blade like clubs that are not ultra forgiving. The Adams Puglielli is no different other than the weight in the back of the face seems to really assist in getting the club face square and I found myself hitting it on the sweet spot time and time again. Many mid and high handicap players suffer from hitting their wedges a groove thin or a groove thick and my belief is that these would help out dramatically in those scenarios.
Final Thoughts
Overall we think that Adams has a real winner on their hands. The Puglielli wedge was everything we could ask for in a wedge and then some. Some of the testers had some issues with the overall looks of the club, but I must say within a few rounds, you do not even notice and find them at setup looking classic and traditional. With a retail price of about $110 THP feels that it is right in line with where it should be compared to the rest of the selections out there. If anybody is in the market for new wedges, this reviewer strongly believes that you should have these on your short list. For more information on the Adams Puglielli wedges check out the website at Adams Golf.
Till Next Time
Josh B.
Since the shoot out I have been looking for new wedges and these ones intrigue me quite a bit. I kind of like the looks and the performance has been fantastic by you and the testers. My local store does not have these, but I may have to find these and give them a try. Good review and thank you.
Nice review mate, I’m wanting to test out some of these myself. One of my questions was do you lose any spin….answered perfectly. Thanks.
Great. Time to throw another brand into the mix of “Which wedgeds am I going to decide on?”! I personally liked the different look of these, it doesn’t bother me at all. Now, which to choose?
I tried these out a few weeks ago and agree with the reviewer 100%. They feel great as good as any that I have hit this season.
I was hoping to get to try these out this weekend, but Dicks did not have any. Now you have me salivating to try them out. I play Vokeys now and love the spin, but I think they lack a little bit of feel and am looking for something that I will not need to sacrifice any spin and add the feel to my clubs.
I am one of the people that struggle with clubs that are not traditional looking and these as noted are not. However once you start playing with them, you realize just how great they are. Good, interesting info.
I too am one that struggles with looks of clubs, but this one sounds very much for me based on the look at setup is classic.
Great review, JB. Thanks.
I have been playing these for about 6 months now and your reveiw is exact. What I liked about these from the first time I tried them was the weighting and soft feel, both of which are important to me. I used to have the CG-14’s but replaced them with the Adams and have not looked back. These are some great wedges that have been under the radar, but my guess is that is all about to change.
Interesting …..