Adams Golf has undergone a great deal of change in the past few years. After the company was purchased by TaylorMade many thought that they would kill the Adams line. In the short term at least that does not appear to be the case. Which for those of us who have liked the Adams clubs is great news.
Since their introduction that Adams hybrid line has been the number one hybrid on the PGA Tour, and even though that doesn’t help you or I hit more greens, it does say something about the quality of the clubs. For this season Adams has announced the Idea Super LS hybrids along with the Idea Super S line. Even more recently they have announced the Idea Super DHY and the Idea Super 9031 as well. For this review I was give a 19 degree Idea Super LS with a Stiff Mitsubishi Kuro Kage 80 graphite shaft.
Join me as I take this hybrid through its paces.
Technology
Adams has long been considered one of the leaders when discussing R&D for golf clubs, and the Super LS hybrid is no different. The Super LS hybrid was designed with Adams proprietary UPSIDE DOWN WOOD shape which is designed to provide added forgiveness and a higher launch. This type of unique design feature is what separates Adams from their competitors and has been integrated into most Adams clubs.
The first piece of important technology for which many other golf manufacturers has adopted is the sole slot. The Velocity Slot Technology (VST) is not a staple in most of the hybrid and fairway wood designs of all of the Adams clubs. With the Super LS hybrid the VST has been optimized to provide a level of hotness near the USGA limits. The Adams engineers have found that it is the sole slot that has the most affect on ball speeds. Adams claims that this new sole slot has increased the CT in the Super LS hybrid to 250, which is very near the limit, and this provides a very hot clubface for higher ball speeds and increased distance.
Another improvement to the Super LS hybrid is the re-designed crown slot, which has been redesigned to be deeper, longer, and thinner to give improved performance characteristics. The engineers say that the new crown slot improves deflection across the entire face which gives the golfer a higher launch angle without increasing spin, something everyone is looking for because it will create more carry distance.
What really makes the Super LS unique in terms of technology, what Adams calls a technological marvel, is the multi-material design. Adams combines a titanium crown and face with a stainless steel sole and VST. The combination of these components creates an exceptionally low CG for great all around performance.
The last piece of technology that is worth mentioning is the Matte White Crown. The Matte White, popularized by TaylorMade, is done according to Adams to make the clubhead look larger and contrast the black face of the clubhead to give the golfer confidence at address.
Esthetics
When picking up the Adams Super LS hybrid for the first time the first thing you will notice is the comfortable feel that the club has. The colors are not overwhelming and very subtly done. The size of the hybrid is standard with most of the other hybrids that you can find on the market. It is a bit more boxy, but for the most part a very confidence inspiring design.
The top of the clubhead is mostly done in white, but the toe of the club is painted in a slightly darker grey and across the back of the clubhead the words SUPER are done in this darker grey. Because most of this is done near the back of the clubhead this is not distracting at address. Also on the top of the clubhead is the top VST slot which runs along the majority of the top of the clubhead. The face of the clubhhead which is done in black is a nice clean transition to help the golfer with alignment of the club.
The face has traditional looking grooves, with the top of the clubface having a very short groove and then five grooves running the whole length of the clubface and another short groove on the bottom of the clubface. The grooves have been painted white, but not a bright contrasting white, a much more muted grey color in the grooves.
Turning the clubhead over the bottom of the club is where all the action is. The first design feature that most will notice is the stainless steel colored bar that begins at the back of the VST sole slot and goes to the back of the club. In the middle of this bar is the weight screw which can be removed with the Adams wrench. Right next to the VST sole slot which is right behind the face is the letters VST which have been engraved into the stainless steel bar. Also engraved in the bar is the Super LS lettering as well as the Idea logo. The letters Super are done in black, the letters LS are done in white, and the Idea lettering is left in the stainless steel color.
The stainless steel bar is framed by a section of black area done to look very similar to netting. This is all done in black so one must inspect the clubhead closely to see this design feature. Beyond the netting the clubhead has a outline done in white paint starting from the back of the VST sole slot to the back of the clubhead. This was likely done to give the clubhead a sleek transition from the sole slot to the back of the clubhead.
The hosel, starts by using both the white from the back of the clubhead and the black from the face and then transitioning to complete black as the club gets to the ferrel. In the white portion the loft of the club is denoted, as well as the letters XTD. Engraved in the black portion is the words hybrid.
The standard graphite shaft installed in the club is mostly grey in color, but as you move up the shaft, the shaft color switches to grey and it is adorned with small and large white and black squares to create a collage affect on the shaft.
The headcover is a bit of a throwback in its design. It is done in a black imitation leather with padding on the inside to give it the look and feel of headcovers from the eighties. The cover adds in some white imitation leather as two rings around the bottom before switching to a black sock so that the headcover does not fall of the hybrid. The logos are stitched in to the leather. Overall the headcover is extremely nice touch added to the hybrid.
Playability and Feel
I have long been a fan of Adams hybrids because they are generally very easy to hit and are great clubs. I was pleasantly surprised by the Super LS hybrid. I found it for the most part to be very easy to hit. The only major drawback that I could find using the club was that it was not as strong of a performer from the rough. From the tee and the fairway this club gets very high marks however. I had a few occasions to use the club in fairway bunkers and the results were mixed for the most part. This isn’t the strongest part of my game to begin with, but this club did not add an improvement in this area.
From the rough or any kind of difficult lie I look to my hybrid to bail me out when I have hit a poor drive on a par four and at times I found it difficult to make solid contact with this club. I don’t know that the boxy design make me mentally feel that I could cut through the grass. Some other hybrid designs, the soles of the club are curved such that only the bottom part of the sole come into contact with the ground. The Adams Super LS hybrid the sole is pretty much consistent throughout the entire clubhead.
From the fairway the club was extremely easy to hit, certainly one of the top performers I that I have tried. The performance was similar off the tee as well. The ball had a great high flight and landed softly on the green. The ball flight was a hair lower than with some of the other hybrid I have used, but that was a welcomed change because on occasion I have found that the hybrids can balloon.
The sound of the clubhead was quiet and very pleasant. As I have used more and more of the “ghosted” clubhead the look has started to grow on me. I thought when first getting to look at the club that the VST crown slot might bother me at address and after using it for a while now I am no longer of that opinion. One bothersome note on that, is from time to time when using the hybrid from the rough some grass would get into either the bottom or top VST slot and it was difficult to get it out. This is a minor issue, but something that bugged me.
Specifications
Model Loft Lie Length SW Hand Flex ----- ---- --- ------ -- ---- ---- 15 15º 56.5º 42” D2 R R S X 17 17º 57º 41.5” D2 R L R S X 19 19º 57º 41” D2 R L R S X 22 22º 57.5º 40.5” D2 R L R S X 25 25º 58º 40” D2 R L R S X 28 28º 58.5º 39.5” D2 R R S X
Conclusion
There was some concern, especially from this reviewer, that when TaylorMade purchased Adams the quality and innovation might be seriously reduced. I can confidently say that it appears that my fears were unwarranted. The Super LS hybrid makes me feel that Adams is continuing to tweak and improve on their ever popular line of hybrids. They have borrowed some of the technology that TaylorMade has with the white matte ghosting and incorporated that into their already successful hybrids.
My recommendation is that the Super LS is targeted for golfers from the mid handicappers to the scratch golfer. For the higher handicap golfers they may prefer the Super S hybrid which is designed to help the golfer get the ball airborne easier. In their advertising Adams claims that the Super LS is used not only by average golfers but also by golfer playing on Tour. This is rarely important to me, because my game and the touring pros are so far apart, but to some tour validation is important and the Super LS has that.
I test drove my new super ls today and found that I really have over adjust my aim as when I stand in my normal swing position the ball travels to the right. For example if I am aiming for the center of the fairway, the shot actually will hit the rough at least 30 yards to the right of the centerline. Is the weight on bottom adjustable to compensate for this issue?
Rich,
The LS hybrid face sits neutral or slightly open, that would explain why you are hitting all your shots to the right. A neutral/open clubface is preferred by low handicap golfers because it allows them to shape their shots better than a slightly closed face (which the vast majority of amateur golfers need because we tend to need the extra help to keep the ball in play). Hope this helps.