Adams' new era under TaylorMade has begun with the Blue range of irons and woods that claim to offer simplicity and more air.
By more air they don't mean inhaling them, but making the irons easy to launch so that slower swing speed players can get the ball up and forwards more easily.
In the Adams Blue irons they do this by moving the Centre of Gravity (CG) low and back through a deep undercut cavity in the sole.
The cavity is generous, but you hardly notice it at address until you get to the 5-iron where it starts to poke out slightly from the back of the head.
The depth of the cavity in the 5-iron also makes it sound a little 'clacky' at impact, if you know what I mean, but it is not offensive and the rest of the set sounds very good.
The large cavity also leads to a wide sole, but the back half of the sole is curved upwards and a section cut away so that it reduces the contact points with the ground. This leaves a relatively standard sole width that goes through the turf very well, even in firm conditions.
What you also find on the sole is the Adams Velocity Slot that is shaped like a large dumbbell. Unlike their cousin TaylorMade RSi irons, the slot features on all the irons right down to the wedges and allows the face to flex more to generate extra ball speed.
Whatever they have done to control the extra spin and speed on the shorter irons works very well and there is still a decent level of control.
The shorter irons do look a little more rounded than the mid irons and overall the heads are mid-sized for this category of iron. The set stops at 5-iron as Adams encourages you to use the Adams Blue hybrid from #4 upwards and this is good idea.
The top line is quite thick but I think it looks good and is reminiscent of some of the more forgiving TaylorMade irons of the past.
As already mentioned the Adams Blue irons are meant to be easy to launch and the final piece in the jigsaw is a light shaft with a tip that is 0.5mm or 0.02 inches narrower than standard to give it a little more kick.
I tried the Blue irons with a steel True Temper Dynalite 85g shaft in stiff and the best way to describe it is effortless. Despite the lack of weight it was stable and the whole club felt in balance, giving one of the key benefits of the Adams Blue irons.
The flight was around normal for a set of cavity back irons, which was a pleasant surprise and it is still possible to shape shots if you want to. In fact it was so easy to play with them that it gets me wondering why I bother with better player irons that have more 'playability' when all I want to do is hit it straight.
The answer is probably I need a heavier shaft to go with my higher swing speed and then that would throw the Adams Blue irons into a spin, but the point is that these irons are not just for those struggling with their game, but anyone in high single figures upwards with an average to slow swing speed.
TaylorMade want to position Adams as the 'easy, simple, have fun' brand and the Adams Blue irons do fit into this philiosophy. What they also are is a quality iron from TaylorMade without all their bells and whistles, but with the best bits of Adams' slot technology.
They are also cheaper than the TaylorMade equivalents and I have already seen them for two-thirds of the RRP in stores, so this is one of the best value for money irons around and will suit a lot of golfers.