Adams CB3 irons, how are they? How do they perform?

The Adams CB3 irons look sleek, just wondering how they feel and perform forgiveness ect. I know a lot of you like the cb2 but I’m solely asking about the CB3 thanks guys

They are good Irons, a little thicker top line than the CB2, the same sole grind, pretty much.

I was playing them with steelfiber 110s for the past couple of years.

The finish is not as dark as the CB2, but holds up much better.

I have a set of each in the garage, and could easily play either with the right shaft for me.

I do tend to like the CB2 a little better, but honestly really love them both.

Great feedback thanks

I still have a set. Had to swap out the stock kbs 90 shafts as I snapped the 8i and pw just above the hosel. Adams made me whole no questions asked. Put in a combo of dynalte xp gold in the long irons and TT Lite XL shafts in shorter irons. I am a 14 hccper and find them forgiving. Iron play is probably weakest part of game (along with putting). :stink:

Love the feel of the face when you nut one.

Great irons and very forgiving, played them for a while before giving them to my son. Who has been playing them now for 3 years and loves them. Had the KBS Tours in them.

I have a set of each in the garage, and could easily play either with the right shaft for me.

I do tend to like the CB2 a little better, but honestly really love them both.

I too have a set of each, CB2 and CB3. I'm not quite sure which I prefer, as I don't play either regularly, and I haven't really played them in a while. I lean towards a bit more forgiving irons. But they are really terrific iron sets. I played some nice rounds with the CB3's. Got along ok with the stock KBS Tour 90 stiff shafts. They look good, feel really good, and have excellent turf interaction.

The CB3 seem to be super forgiving. And hear they are beyond forgiving in the long irons. Definitely seem like these are solid irons but may need a shaft change to something much stiffer as the tour 90s play even softer than most regular shafts

Had a set of the tour issue satin heads that were super rare... they we awesome clubs. Moved on from them for absolutely no reason, of course

Great set of irons but I moved on to the J40 DPCs.

Adams Idea CB3 are great forged irons. I am gaming them 3years in...Pretty decent Forgiveness, and the feel is spectacular. Tour KBS90 tends to cause a higher ball flight and loss of distance. I am now looking to move on to SL and exploring Cobra F8 SL/Forged Tec SL. The CB3 will remain my backup set

Adams Idea CB3 are great forged irons. I am gaming them 3years in...Pretty decent Forgiveness, and the feel is spectacular. Tour KBS90 tends to cause a higher ball flight and loss of distance. I am now looking to move on to SL and exploring Cobra F8 SL/Forged Tec SL. The CB3 will remain my backup set

I had to reshaft both as the KBS Tour90 hit moon balls and dint work at all for me.

Now have Steelfiber 110 in the CB3 and CTaper lite in the CB2

Still to this day, they are one of my favorite sets of irons. Look good, feel good, play good. They are plenty forgiving, they are fairly long and they feel great. One thing I noticed, they seem to be a touch longer in length than most sets.

I honestly could put them in the bag right now and be completely content.

My backup set are the CB3 satin with Recoil Prototype 110s. They are slightly more forgiving than the 545s I game, but about 1/2 club shorter (which is probably due to loft differences- the 545s play off a 44° pw and 24° 5 iron, whereas the CB3 are 45° pw & 26° 5 iron). The distance does not concern me, as the CB3 are very consistent - I don’t find that I get the occasional jumper with them. I personally think the 545s feel better, the CB3s are a little firmer feeling. But, that’s just personal preference - they are both nice feeling irons for game improvement cavity backs. Though that difference in feel could also be due to the different shafts. The sole camber and turf interaction work great for me, as I tend to be a divot taker. As a single digit handicap, I could play a more compact iron, but I’ve found that the turf interaction from GI irons suits my swing a little better.

Honestly, I can interchange the CB3s and 545s with zero issues, and I’m not sure that I don’t like the CB3 a little better. It’s just that I have to change around my entire bag setup (because of the differences in distance between the two sets), and it would force me to swap out some of the favorite clubs in my bag to game them.

One complaint I have about them, and it’s a minor nit, is that they are a .370” bore hosel rather than .355”. I had to shim the shafts in them.

Had a set of the tour issue satin heads that were super rare... they we awesome clubs. Moved on from them for absolutely no reason, of course

Aaaaargh! I have been searching forever for a nice set of those.

I’ve been playing them since they came out. I have no complaints. They look good and play even better. For the price they are hard to beat if you are looking for a forged cavity back that falls between players CB and game improvement.

My backup set are the CB3 satin with Recoil Prototype 110s. They are slightly more forgiving than the 545s I game, but about 1/2 club shorter (which is probably due to loft differences- the 545s play off a 44° pw and 24° 5 iron, whereas the CB3 are 45° pw & 26° 5 iron). The distance does not concern me, as the CB3 are very consistent - I don’t find that I get the occasional jumper with them. I personally think the 545s feel better, the CB3s are a little firmer feeling. But, that’s just personal preference - they are both nice feeling irons for game improvement cavity backs. Though that difference in feel could also be due to the different shafts. The sole camber and turf interaction work great for me, as I tend to be a divot taker. As a single digit handicap, I could play a more compact iron, but I’ve found that the turf interaction from GI irons suits my swing a little better.

 

Honestly, I can interchange the CB3s and 545s with zero issues, and I’m not sure that I don’t like the CB3 a little better. It’s just that I have to change around my entire bag setup (because of the differences in distance between the two sets), and it would force me to swap out some of the favorite clubs in my bag to game them.

 

One complaint I have about them, and it’s a minor nit, is that they are a .370” bore hosel rather than .355”. I had to shim the shafts in them.

For a second I thought you may have bought mine on eBay until I saw you put your own shafts in...I had Recoil 110 protos in my satin set

My backup set are the CB3 satin with Recoil Prototype 110s. They are slightly more forgiving than the 545s I game, but about 1/2 club shorter (which is probably due to loft differences- the 545s play off a 44° pw and 24° 5 iron, whereas the CB3 are 45° pw & 26° 5 iron). The distance does not concern me, as the CB3 are very consistent - I don't find that I get the occasional jumper with them. I personally think the 545s feel better, the CB3s are a little firmer feeling. But, that's just personal preference - they are both nice feeling irons for game improvement cavity backs. Though that difference in feel could also be due to the different shafts. The sole camber and turf interaction work great for me, as I tend to be a divot taker. As a single digit handicap, I could play a more compact iron, but I've found that the turf interaction from GI irons suits my swing a little better.

 

Honestly, I can interchange the CB3s and 545s with zero issues, and I'm not sure that I don't like the CB3 a little better. It's just that I have to change around my entire bag setup (because of the differences in distance between the two sets), and it would force me to swap out some of the favorite clubs in my bag to game them.

 

One complaint I have about them, and it's a minor nit, is that they are a .370" bore hosel rather than .355". I had to shim the shafts in them.

 

For a second I thought you may have bought mine on eBay until I saw you put your own shafts in...I had Recoil 110 protos in my satin set

No, I found them on Global Golf used (I think one or two clubs were hit a couple times). I don’t even want to tell what I paid. It was like robbery minus the gun.

Agree with all the positive comments here. I’ve got a satin set of CB3 heads I’ve been meaning to shaft. Great sticks, absolutely no reason I stopped gaming them other than just being a club ho...

I have tour satins...played with them today and in some ways like them better than the jpx900 HMs that replaced them. The cb3s were reshafted with a lighter graphite shaft after an injury.

My cb3s are getting beat up....If I had a new set of cb3 heads, I'd consider going through shaft fitting to see what works best (probably something a little heavier).

Turf interaction is very good.

Wonder what are the most comparable heads among new designs out there now?

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Just a gravedig to say Jan 18, 2020 I just played a very wet and cold 9 holes with my CB3s. Still an awesome set of irons.

which more actual irons in the same category as the cb3 would you suggest as a replacement? they are still my favorites but starting to be used... very used. thanks

The long irons in the CB3 are indeed very forgiving and easy to launch (and feel great too). I play the 4 and 5 CB3 irons as part of a combo set of Adams irons that I put together.

Edit: As someone mentioned earlier, the stock lengths for the long irons are on the long side, because Adams used a 5/8" progression in this set.