Adams XTD Driver - THP Preview

[blugold]

Same adapter according to Jman.

I saw that. I may be tinkering...

 

[MPlefty]

I loved that driver when I tried it, and it might be worth it just for that sick head cover!

 

[Jman]

Man that thing is so freaking stealth looking. I've seen it at the store multiple times, but have yet to swing it.

Jman since you're playing it now - what spin characteristics does this bad boy have?

Haven't put this one into play yet but its a low spin head by design.

I like the driver, but am not a huge fan of that style of headcover.

Its def personal for people, I'm on the other end, I absolutely adore the Adams HC's since they switched to these.

Just would have liked to see flex and weight options not flex determining what weight to play.

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This confuses me, the 6Q3 is for R, S, X and senior and ladies are the 5Q3 and 4Q3. Plus, all flexes are available for all 3 heads minus the actual ladies version, pretty straight forward.

I like how the shafts are interchangeable with TM. Makes sense. Also like how it plays at 45". None of the 46" craziness.

Agree on BOTH points. Adams is smart here.

I'm not even sure Adams offers custom shaft options.

They do, and ALL shafts they use are "real".

They are?! Did I miss that?

Skimmer.

Same adapter according to Jman.

That dude knows things.

 

[blugold]

I admit. I got through your pictures and got giddy.


It's no secret I like Adams' products.

 

[Golf Ghost]

What's confusing. Would personally just like to see the 5 offered in stiff flex as well. If you're doing to offer different weights, offering them in different flexes as well. That's all I would have liked to see personally.

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[blugold]

What's confusing. Would personally just like to see the 5 offered in stiff flex as well. If you're doing to offer different weights, offering them in different flexes as well. That's all I would have liked to see personally.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

The shaft selection allows for a huge part of the bell cure to be covered with the Red Tie.

 

[coers]

Well I tried this guy last night at the Adams Demo day. My thoughts on it probably aren't that good because it was twenty mph winds and at me. Well first impressions were I thought the head was enormous compared to my Cleveland 588 Custom Driver. Like the Red Tie shaft option which I think is great for this. But hitting it I did not really like the sound, because it didn't have a nice crisp sound to it. Almost sounded like hitting a ball with a baseball bat I thought. But that's basically what I thought about it since it was so windy so couldn't judge distances.

 

[Jman]

I admit. I got through your pictures and got giddy.

It's no secret I like Adams' products.

This I know.

What's confusing. Would personally just like to see the 5 offered in stiff flex as well. If you're doing to offer different weights, offering them in different flexes as well. That's all I would have liked to see personally.

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The wording, it was confusing, you specifying what you meant as it pertains to the 5Q3 itself not being offered in S helps to clarify that. Having talked with Adams at the event about shaft pairings they go through a TON TON TON of time testing and finalizing the shaft that is best for the head to bring out the traits that they are focused on. So rhyme and reason I suppose. But, I would not at all be shocked if it could be ordered from Adams with the 5Q3 in S.

Well I tried this guy last night at the Adams Demo day. My thoughts on it probably aren't that good because it was twenty mph winds and at me. Well first impressions were I thought the head was enormous compared to my Cleveland 588 Custom Driver. Like the Red Tie shaft option which I think is great for this. But hitting it I did not really like the sound, because it didn't have a nice crisp sound to it. Almost sounded like hitting a ball with a baseball bat I thought. But that's basically what I thought about it since it was so windy so couldn't judge distances.

Very interesting stuff, wind sucks!

It does have a different sound esp next to Bertha and such, but I didn't think it got into the aluminum bat range. That is reserved for the R1 and Nike SQ's of the world to me LOL

 

[tpluff]

Loved my time with the XTD at Adams and demoing prior. And at 45", it's not just shaft length getting the ball out there, it's the technology. It was consistently among the longest drivers for me whenever I tested it. We learned a lot about their testing down at Adams and, like James said, they are the hottest face in golf based on their testing and how they push the COR limits as tolerances. Great driver with a great shaft.

 

[golf4life]

Would love to get my mitts on this driver to give it a go. Nice stock shaft offering in that bad boy too!

 

[Jman]

Loved my time with the XTD at Adams and demoing prior. And at 45", it's not just shaft length getting the ball out there, it's the technology. It was consistently among the longest drivers for me whenever I tested it. We learned a lot about their testing down at Adams and, like James said, they are the hottest face in golf based on their testing and how they push the COR limits as tolerances. Great driver with a great shaft.

It was so cool listening to their "take" on them and producing drivers.

I really am quite excited to spend time with this one.

 

[tpluff]

It was so cool listening to their "take" on them and producing drivers.

I really am quite excited to spend time with this one.

Exactly! And how tedious their process is of testing and their tight tolerances, there won't be any duds in the bunch, that's for sure. Looking forward to your long-term thoughts James. This one will surprise people if they give it the time.

 

[checkered]

Really like the looks of this. With all that has been said on these, and the shaft pairing they've chosen for them, I'm really curious to hit one.

 

[Smallville]

Not a fan of this line at all. I just copy | pasted my post from the Tight Lies thread. They may not be exactly in the same line, but they look so similar.


I love my Adams set, and am a huge fan of the company.

But I am not in love with the looks of this one. It might be an awesome performer, but I do not like the appearance.

 

[Jman]

Really like the looks of this. With all that has been said on these, and the shaft pairing they've chosen for them, I'm really curious to hit one.

Agreed, IMO its a looker, it looks like it WANTS to pound the golf ball. Also, the Red-Tie is a nice pairing to see, its a really popular shaft this year with the OEM's.

 

[Nebgolfer]

I can't wait to hear your thoughts on this one, James. I know Johnny Mojo can't say enough about this driver, and I'm sure it's with good reason. Personally the slot doesn't bother me all that much, and launching the ball a long ways would make me forget about it even quicker. LOVE the fact that it's got the TM adapter on it, as that should make finding shaft options even easier. Look forward to seeing some in-play results.

 

[Jman]

I can't wait to hear your thoughts on this one, James. I know Johnny Mojo can't say enough about this driver, and I'm sure it's with good reason. Personally the slot doesn't bother me all that much, and launching the ball a long ways would make me forget about it even quicker. LOVE the fact that it's got the TM adapter on it, as that should make finding shaft options even easier. Look forward to seeing some in-play results.

Agreed buddy, the slot to me is easy to get over now, I get that its not for others, I used to be that way too but in the end if it works I'm game.

The adapter was a really smart move, rather than making it hard to find adapters, use the most widely used adapter from your "parent" company (not best way to describe it, but you know what I mean).

 

[Spring182]

I gamed the F11 driver for a bit and really liked it. Tried the Super S and hated it. This one looks great and hope I get a chance to swing one soon.


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[Nebgolfer]

Agreed buddy, the slot to me is easy to get over now, I get that its not for others, I used to be that way too but in the end if it works I'm game.

The adapter was a really smart move, rather than making it hard to find adapters, use the most widely used adapter from your "parent" company (not best way to describe it, but you know what I mean).

Yeah, I got the feeling it was more like big brother/little brother sort of relationship. One's clearly in charge, but that doesn't mean the little brother isn't going to push the boundaries.

Sorry if I missed it, but what loft are you planning on playing this with? With it being a low-spin head, seems 9.0* might be a little low, but also having to deal with change in lateral movement with change in loft might not be ideal either (at least I'm assuming that's the case).

 

[Jman]

Yeah, I got the feeling it was more like big brother/little brother sort of relationship. One's clearly in charge, but that doesn't mean the little brother isn't going to push the boundaries.

Sorry if I missed it, but what loft are you planning on playing this with? With it being a low-spin head, seems 9.0* might be a little low, but also having to deal with change in lateral movement with change in loft might not be ideal either (at least I'm assuming that's the case).

FWIW, they definitely do their own thing at Adams and the personality of those dudes is something else, they personify having fun at their jobs, pretty cool to see. We all know TM bought them, but they walk their own path. Was really cool to hear them talk about.

I'll play it at 9 and also the +1.5 setting, will be interesting to see how it all goes. I'm pretty used to bouncing around lofts as need be haha

 

[rallo]

This review is one that I'm truly excited for. Loved the xtd super hybrid that was released 2 years ago, and I'm curious to see if they can carry the magic over to the driver. I like the direction that the XTD line is going with the cup face rather than the welded face. Exotics has been doing this for a few years with some success in fairway woods, but I haven't been too keen on their drivers... here's to hoping that the brazed cup face + speed slot + forward weighting yields a monster.

Can't wait to see you put it through it's paces... and I'm jealous as always

 

[Scrap Iron]

I have tried this a man it's extremely forgiving and looks nice next to the ball, like you just can't miss with it. Unfortunately I don't get along with the red tie so I would like to see other shaft options. This has the potential to be a beast off the tee. Really looking forward to the review and others really shouldn't sleep on this club it may very well surprise you.

 

[Brianbigoats]

Seems like a good idea to unify the adapter between Adams and TM

 

[Shakey]

I hit the XTD driver at the Arlington Golfsmith last weekend. I love the way it looks but I couldn't get any good results with it. It wasn't the driver's fault though, I couldn't get the ball teed down low enough on the mat I was hitting off of, so I kept catching it at the very top of the face.

 

[bhilln]

I got to hit this the other day at a local demo day, tried a few different lofts on the range but due to the wind in the face at about 25mph it was tough to tell distances. Having hit the past few lines from Adams, I can say the sound is better than the past couple lines, but still uniquely adams sound. After a couple swings the slot on top didn't bother me in the slightest; I do like the matt black finish on the top of the club and think it helps hide the slot from being obtrusive at address. Redtie is a great pairing for this club... really like all the shaft line up's that Adams have done this year, Kudo's to Adams for that. The adapter to share with TM is a huge advantage in tinkering with shaft choices although doesn't have the adjustability that many drivers have these day's.

Overall, solid driver by Adams this year, I'd like to spend more time with it under better conditions and the sound could take some getting used to... but that's just because of what I've been accustomed compared to other's.