Adams XTD Irons Review
jjcgolf72
Get in the hole!
My brother is playing great with his new set. Picked up 1 - 1 1/2 in club distance getting him back in the game hitting irons from hybrids. They are not ugly just different. Definitely worth a demo. I know the Grand Geneva has a demo set since he used it for about a month every weekend before buying.
- Staff
- #28
When they get DIRT cheap, I'm grabbing a set. Hitting the 8i 180+ on the monitor at Adams and then on the range just makes me want to hit them some more. Ugly as hell, but I'm finally getting over that stuff, it just took a couple years.
Hit these outside at the demo day and had to look twice at the number at the bottom of the club after I hit it. Just stupid long.
- Staff
- #30
Yep, the THP'ers I was with on the tour in the monitor room just laughed. It was fun.
Your are correct. I remember how far you were hitting them. And I remember laughing. Impressive.
I've seen some ludicrous ball speeds with a demo 6i on a sim. They make me salivate thinking about real world results.
rbarthle17
One-length advocate
I just added a 6 iron of these to my bag. Really like the feel of it. So many clubs are going to heavier heads and I just cannot get those to square up in time. I hit this in the stock 90g shaft and had no issues and it was 15y further than my current 6i (which is 20 years old). I have been looking for a club to fill the 165-180 range in my bag and I really hope this is it. If I wasn't happy with the rest of the a12 os set, I would be in hard ponder mode for the rest of the XTD irons. Maybe in the future.
rbarthle17
One-length advocate
I did s bad thing today. I went and hit the entire set of these. I have serious lust for the 5-GW in S steel now.
P.J.
Active member
Do it! Do it!
rbarthle17
One-length advocate
You are not helping here P.J.! 
rbarthle17
One-length advocate
I did it... and then I didn't do it.
The eBay sale I bought ended up being a dud. Reason given was a screw up in the sellers stock. They were up front about it, so I am choosing to believe them. So still in the market for these...
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rbarthle17
One-length advocate
The clubs are in the bag! Got the 5-PW two days ago. An unexpected chance to go play happened today so off I went, minus a 49 and 54 wedge (arrived while I was out), had to take the wrapping off the clubs at the course! Also had standard size stock grips which I don't care for, ordered UTx midsize to put on next week.
But all that said I had 3 pars, two 3-putt bogeys, and a lot of good swings with these with absolutely zero practice time. Once I get the grips fixed and a winter of grooving my swing with them under the belt, I am excited to see what the 2015 season brings with these.
But all that said I had 3 pars, two 3-putt bogeys, and a lot of good swings with these with absolutely zero practice time. Once I get the grips fixed and a winter of grooving my swing with them under the belt, I am excited to see what the 2015 season brings with these.
rbarthle17
One-length advocate
So FWIW, here are my initial thoughts. I have bagged the 6i in these for 3 weeks. I got the rest of the set in the last 2-3 days. I am bagging the 5-SW, the 4i is still TBD.
First off, the looks of the club head not only did not bother me, they attracted me to them. Kinda sci-fi looking on the back which makes for a cool look in the bag, but you never see it at address. These are my first dark-colored iron heads, and I found that visually appealing as well. On the club face, I like the contrast between the groove area and the heel/toe sections. Makes for a nice framing of the ball and could be good for sharpening ball striking for some.
As for the feel of the club, the one thing I personally dislike is an overly heavy feeling club head during my swing. I have these is the KBS Tour C Taper Lite 90 in S flex. When I take my backswing, I do feel the weight of the club head, but it's not significant like other clubs I have tried (most notably the Apex and Altitude lines). It's just enough heft that it reminds me to slow my backswing. This is big for me personally because a primary trigger for my swing is to take it back until I don't feel the club head weight, and that is the point that I start my downswing.
On impact, all I can say is that I have read many reviews where people talk about the ball coming off the club like a rocket but I never felt that before until these clubs. It is most noticeable when hitting into a net where you get instant feedback but the force the ball was hitting the target on my net was eye opening.
Coming from the a12 os irons, these are easily 10-15 yards longer for me. Some of it can be explained in loft differences (the XTDs are 1° stronger in the 7-9i). But even in the clubs that are equal in loft I saw a distance gain.
The stock grips that come with these were surprisingly good. They are very contoured (kind of like the Golf Pride New Decade MC in design) and I liked the feel of it. They are standard size, and I play midsize so they are getting replaced. But for those that play standard size you might not have to immediately buy aftermarket grips.
I will offer one "oopsie" moment I had with the 6i. When cleaning the club I made the terrible mistake of using a steel brush on the club face. Even wiping as gently as I could, the steel bristles left scratches on the club face. I was really upset at myself for that, and will only be using a wet towel and non-steel brushes going forward.
Yesterday I had my a12 os 4-5 hybrids in the bag as well. But yesterday I did notice one thing that may make me reconsider keeping the 4 hybrid in the bag. I dropped from the same spot and only hit the 4h about 15 yards further than the 5i went. Both shots were solid, but the 4 hybrid has a graphite shaft in it so my club head speed is a lot faster for that club. The ball flight on the 5i was much more direct and cut through the wind. The hybrid got up in the air fast, but the ball acted like it hit a wall and went vertical and that took away some distance. I have seen this before with these hybrids but it was worth noting.
UPDATE: The hybrids are gone. I am adding the 4i in and will work on it a lot over the winter. I traded in the a12 os set for the TaylorMade 18° UDI which was not my plan going in to the store today, but I am excited to have.
First off, the looks of the club head not only did not bother me, they attracted me to them. Kinda sci-fi looking on the back which makes for a cool look in the bag, but you never see it at address. These are my first dark-colored iron heads, and I found that visually appealing as well. On the club face, I like the contrast between the groove area and the heel/toe sections. Makes for a nice framing of the ball and could be good for sharpening ball striking for some.
As for the feel of the club, the one thing I personally dislike is an overly heavy feeling club head during my swing. I have these is the KBS Tour C Taper Lite 90 in S flex. When I take my backswing, I do feel the weight of the club head, but it's not significant like other clubs I have tried (most notably the Apex and Altitude lines). It's just enough heft that it reminds me to slow my backswing. This is big for me personally because a primary trigger for my swing is to take it back until I don't feel the club head weight, and that is the point that I start my downswing.
On impact, all I can say is that I have read many reviews where people talk about the ball coming off the club like a rocket but I never felt that before until these clubs. It is most noticeable when hitting into a net where you get instant feedback but the force the ball was hitting the target on my net was eye opening.
Coming from the a12 os irons, these are easily 10-15 yards longer for me. Some of it can be explained in loft differences (the XTDs are 1° stronger in the 7-9i). But even in the clubs that are equal in loft I saw a distance gain.
The stock grips that come with these were surprisingly good. They are very contoured (kind of like the Golf Pride New Decade MC in design) and I liked the feel of it. They are standard size, and I play midsize so they are getting replaced. But for those that play standard size you might not have to immediately buy aftermarket grips.
I will offer one "oopsie" moment I had with the 6i. When cleaning the club I made the terrible mistake of using a steel brush on the club face. Even wiping as gently as I could, the steel bristles left scratches on the club face. I was really upset at myself for that, and will only be using a wet towel and non-steel brushes going forward.
Yesterday I had my a12 os 4-5 hybrids in the bag as well. But yesterday I did notice one thing that may make me reconsider keeping the 4 hybrid in the bag. I dropped from the same spot and only hit the 4h about 15 yards further than the 5i went. Both shots were solid, but the 4 hybrid has a graphite shaft in it so my club head speed is a lot faster for that club. The ball flight on the 5i was much more direct and cut through the wind. The hybrid got up in the air fast, but the ball acted like it hit a wall and went vertical and that took away some distance. I have seen this before with these hybrids but it was worth noting.
UPDATE: The hybrids are gone. I am adding the 4i in and will work on it a lot over the winter. I traded in the a12 os set for the TaylorMade 18° UDI which was not my plan going in to the store today, but I am excited to have.
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I'm putting these in play this morning for the first time. I'll try to get back with some thoughts.
Spring182
New member
I was bored yesterday so I decided to go up to GolfGalaxy to waste some time. There was still some snow on the ground and I was having some withdrawls from not swinging a club for so long. When I was there I decided to just go ahead and have an iron fitting since I've never had one. I hit maybe 8 different irons and the top 3 for me was the XTD, JPX EZ, and the G30.
The distances were all basically the same but the difference was the feeling of the ball off the face on the XTD. The ball just shoots off the face like there is a flame on the end of it. These are incredibly underrated and if you're in the market you really must hit these! The excitment of my Ci11s I just got has vanished and I am in hard pondering mode to get these.
Off to ebay I go!
The distances were all basically the same but the difference was the feeling of the ball off the face on the XTD. The ball just shoots off the face like there is a flame on the end of it. These are incredibly underrated and if you're in the market you really must hit these! The excitment of my Ci11s I just got has vanished and I am in hard pondering mode to get these.
Off to ebay I go!
Scrap Iron
On The Eh Team
I saw a set at golf town that was satin and stamped with "tour" they seemed to be slimmer but can't find any info about them. Anyone have experience with them or know what they are about.
- Staff
- #46
Hawk nailed it. They're the Els irons, were slated to be released...then the Adams purge/move happened.
Scrap Iron
On The Eh Team
I thought they might have been that but didn't think they ever made it to market. They looked awesome I think I should go back and hit them.
Shakey
#TheGolfWhisperer
I am moving to a "distance iron" this spring to gain back some of length I've lost in the past few years. What used to be a comfortable 7i, now takes a solid 6i. I'll probably go graphite as well.
Right now, the top contenders are the XTDs, Speedblades, RSis, 545s, D200s & the soon to be released XRs from Callaway. The XTDs & Speedblades are the 2 longest I've hit to date. I hit the XTDs on the monitor at the Adams event & saw some stupid distance increases for me.
Right now, the top contenders are the XTDs, Speedblades, RSis, 545s, D200s & the soon to be released XRs from Callaway. The XTDs & Speedblades are the 2 longest I've hit to date. I hit the XTDs on the monitor at the Adams event & saw some stupid distance increases for me.
Spring182
New member
Can't find an XTD GW for the life of me!! With a 44° PW I now have a HUGE gap to my 52° wedge lol.
Shakey
#TheGolfWhisperer
That's one of the reasons I haven't pulled the trigger on a set from ebay yet. Most are 4-PW & steel shafts. I want 5-GW with the matrix programs.
The other reason is that I'm still waiting to hit a couple of contenders from 2015.