For Skilled Players Only
Written: Sep 15 '09
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great look at address, minimized the square look
Cons: Not very forgiving for a hybrid
The Bottom Line: A true hybrid for the better player.
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| lmh3's Full Review: Adams Pro Black Hybrid |
Adams has been one of, if not the top, hybrid company on any professional tour for the past few years. The new Idea Pro Black is the latest innovation in skilled player's hybrid design, creating the most iron like full hybrid on the market.
The Pro Black hybrid features a flatter face than many hybrids on market, giving the player the control and feel of an iron while offering more forgiveness that one would expect from a hybrid. The face is 17-4 maraging steel, a much harder steel than in many other hybrids to provide higher initial ball speeds for added distance. The back portion of the club offers 25 grams of discretionary weight that is pushed low in the club head with larger portions on the two sides for added stability at impact. With a larger percentage of the weight low in the club head, this club performs very well from the rough that is found on tour, so it is even better in the rough on your local track. The weight in the sole is factory installed, but can be changed to tweak the swing weight to the player's desired setting. The black nickel finish on the sole is very durable for a black finish giving the Pro Black hybrid a very sleek look. The two available shafts, the Aldila Voodoo 85 and Matrix Ozik Altus are premium shafts that are designed for the more aggressive club head speeds generated by pros and top amatuers. The Voodoo is a slightly lower launching shaft while the Altus will give a higher initial launch yet both are very low spin to produce a penetrating ball flight. There are several lofts available, with small increments in between, so the player is able to fill the gaps in their bag with ease, 16, 18, 20, 23, and 26 degree lofts are available.
The compact look is very appealing to the better player, with a narrow sole and marginal offset, the Pro Black is intended to provide the utmost in control over ball flight and shot shape. The shape is much more rounded off than the Idea Pro Gold that featured Boxer Technology, but the corners are still slightly pulled back to allow for a little more weight to be positioned in the corners for added stability. I noticed that the ball seemed to come out much flatter than the tour only Idea Gold PNT that I had been using, with a shallower angle of descent, while still allowing the ball to stop relatively quickly on the green. When need be, I was able to still get the ball up in the air quickly and use the height to control the distance and roll that I got on approach shots. The flatter face also made it possible to hit a cut, something that I struggle to accomplish with most hybrids on the market today. The relatively heavy club head got through the rough quite easily, and allowed for solid contact even with a rather dicey lie.
I found that I had to drop to a 20 degree head rather than the 18 degree that I had been playing to keep the distance gap from my hybrid to 3 iron from getting too big. Despite adding two degrees of loft, I did not lose any distance when switiching to the Pro Black. While still more forgiving than my 2 iron, this hybrid is not nearly as forgiving as some of the other models on the market, it is intended only for the better player.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
lmh3
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 in Sports & Outdoors |
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Location: North Carolina
Reviews written: 235
Trusted by: 35 members
About Me:
Adams Golf staff member.
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