Adams Fast 12 LS driver...uhhh, ballspeed -THEY DID IT AGAIN-

Well, gave this one some time, wanted to get launch monitor time, range time, and that all so important playing time all into the equation a sufficient amount to collect all the thoughts and data one could possibly want. And needed to find some free time to type this all!

I was going to start this with a long winded review, but what fun is that, WE NEED PICTURES! So here ya go!








Just something I thought was an impressive side note - the slowest ball speed with Fast 12 LS was as fast as the best anything else had, now that's impressive!

So for me, it all started late, late last year, close to the very end of our local golfing season, a time when if it wasn't for a new toy to test, I wouldn't have even ventured out-

Was fortunate enough to start trying / testing / playing with this club late in the year last year. Only rounds I got in were very cold, very windy, or both. But what made me think it was possibly the hottest thing I have ever touched, is the simple fact that in miserable cold and wind late last year, I was ending up in spots that I would expect to be in normal "in season" conditions, not in the miserable stuff I was playing in.......very surprising to say the least, in a great way, on a course I play a majority of the time!

One thing that was really standing out in my mind late last year was how the ball pierced through the wind. Very, very stable flight, and no where near the drifting, or standing up I expected to see in brutal conditions. Definitely was performing better in that regard than other clubs I have a bunch of experience with. Hmmm, could that be some extra ball speed combined with even less spin?!?

Another thing that really popped out, and was commented on by the people I was playing with, who have played with me plenty and know how I hit it, is they swear the ball was just flat out shooting off the club hotter. Just had a zip to it off the face and was noticeable in the speed it just seemed to have downrange......tough to really explain, but there was just something really good going on with it. Several other comments on how good and solid the club itself sounded, which I agree 110%, one of the best sounding, solid drivers for sure.

Many, many.......did I say many trips onto this

one of my personal favorite launch monitors, the Foresight GC2.

Which this is the really cool part, hopefully you made it to this after all the rambling on above! :D
Get ready.......FOR BALL SPEED DOMINATION!

I tested 4 drivers, my most recent gamer (prior to Fast 12 LS), the Fast 12 LS, as well as 2 other drivers that had performed the best through a bunch of launch monitor sessions throughout the months.

Again - because it's so awesome, I have to show these screen shots again:








As you can see, I went through a couple different shafts in each club that allowed it (adjustable drivers), and regardless, one thing kept happening, the Fast 12 LS was MUCH faster.

1-2 MPH of difference, great, but when we start talking 4,5,6,7 MPH of ball speed, THAT IS HUGE, that is a game changer, and a ball speed domination I have not seen since the days of the 9015d years back.

Then I found a place with great weather, light to no wind, and gave it a go, it was SICK, this thing goes deep, it goes deep often (hot all over the face), and is very consistent.

It sets up great, has a great shape, I like the black sole, black face, and the silver crown.

And I have to finish with this, adjustable or non-adjustable, this is absolutely one heck of a solid feeling, and great sounding driver. I keep getting comments on that from people who have heard me hit, or have hit themselves. I absolutely believe the way they do the adjustment system as it relates to internal head design and interaction it has with shaft sleeve plays a big role, great design!

Ladies and gentlemen, this Fast 12 LS is the real deal.....it is a MUST TRY!

wow thats quite an increase in ball speeds... cant wait for the super XTD lineup
Thanks for the write up with some REAL evidence of improvement!

btw VTS black, silver or red?

I am hurrying to say i made the first page of this thread when its 90 deep in 2014! I didn't like the paint as much as i thought, but i can get over that if what you say is true D, and i have no reason to doubt ya this time! Great write up thanks!

Awesome post dlefty--I've been waiting for this . I will echo your sentiments to everyone else. This club is hot. I actually have two heads--a 9.5 and 10.5. I have a tour ad di 7 in mine and it just drops bombs as does the Fubuki Alpha--is there a better stock shaft option in golf right now? What really surprised me is how forgiving this head is. Hit one off the toe this past Saturday that ended up being my longest drive of the day lol Adams really is on fire right now.

I don't have the pics and numbers like you to back it up, but i will second your review. Awesome club! Blah, blah, blah, max COR has been achieved, blah, blah, blah, difference is in your mind, blah, blah, blah.

I'm glad you had some numbers to back up what I have been seeing with my own eyes for weeks!

sounds like a sweet driver, will definitely give it a shot. I was thinking of getting an I20 but now will be giving this thing a shot, thanks for the review:)

I'm going to assume this is due to more clubhead speed? I wouldn't imagine your smash factor was much worse with the other clubs.

What were the other drivers?

I tested all the new offerings and thus driver was consistently producing the best ball speeds. The razr fit was the nearest 2-4 mph behind. All else was on average 6 mph slower.

Its a forgiving 9015d/speedline classic but better!

And to top it all off, its wi-fi capable! Lol . Always full bars too!!!

I just picked up an 8.5* with the Alpha today because the launch monitor numbers were so good.

I can't wait to put this weapon through the paces on the course and range

Wow...A forgiving version of the 9015D without the 9015D's crappy matrix shaft. I'm going to fall asleep tonight dreaming of Holly and the A12LS.

I picked up a 9.5 F12 LS with the Fubuki Alpha Stiff, gave me the best numbers and dispersion on the LM against the VR_S and i20.

 

Swing was ~2 mph slower on average, but ballspeeds were ~2 mph faster due to hitting the ball more solidly. Lots of room for me to grow into the club too, its just going to be a bomber for me.

[quote name='KYMAR' timestamp='1331185524' post='4459933']
I am hurrying to say i made the first page of this thread when its 90 deep in 2014! I didn't like the paint as much as i thought, but i can get over that if what you say is true D, and i have no reason to doubt ya this time! Great write up thanks!
[/quote]

x2 - seriously looking at the Fast 12 LS.

I tested about 8 drivers extensively last summer and the F11 produced an increased 6 mph ball speed over anything else. Only reason I didn't buy it was I couldn't find a shaft I liked with it and had better dispersion with my current gamer. It looks like you had the same experience with the Fast 12. I can't wait to hit this thing, I wouldn't be surprised to see a 10 mph ball speed increase over my D2, I just hope I can find a shaft to go along with it.

Fantastic review ! I'm in the UK so won't be able to hit or try the different shafts...

I currently play an r11 with Kai'li 70 stiff - does anyone have a view on which of the 3 shaft choices would be the closest fit to the Kai'li 70 ? In terms of feel and spin numbers ?

Thanks BB

I tested this vs the razr fit and the razr fit was 3-4mph better than the fast 12. Did this with Adams own machines as their rep was at our club couple weeks ago. Was fast 12 w/ fubuki vs razr fit with BB. Razr fit won hands down.....and i like Adams better as a company.The rep didnt seem thrilled. Lol

I think the razr fit head is better. Stock shaft is junk compared to fast 12 so i think the fast 12 benefits from better numbers with their stock offering.

Fast 11 had similar hype....
You can get them for sub 100 now . On the tee it sounded and felt like i killed the ball but was way short in the fairway . There is a reason that the Adams driver use on tour is only restricted to the contracted tour pro's, unlike taylormade . Now adams hybrids are a different story.
Adams driver just don't work for me . I tried F11with different shaft s, RHT was 10 -15 yards longer than F11. Going with Razr fit this year.

Looks impressive, but it would be more useful if you included the club head speeds for each.

I can't recall much hype in WRX for the F11.

[quote name='Ezgolfer' timestamp='1331208675' post='4460489']
Fast 11 had similar hype....
You can get them for sub 100 now . On the tee it sounded and felt like i killed the ball but was way short in the fairway . There is a reason that the Adams driver use on tour is only restricted to the contracted tour pro's, unlike taylormade . Now adams hybrids are a different story.
Adams driver just don't work for me . I tried F11with different shaft s, RHT was 10 -15 yards longer than F11. Going with Razr fit this year.
[/quote]

I don't recall any hype for the F11 at all. But the Fast 12 LS has the Fubuki Alpha shaft as stock and that makes all the difference in the world. You should try it. I wish I could afford one.

Only problem I have with this whole scenario is this: [color="#696969"][size="4"]$399[/size][/color]

[quote name='moonshine' timestamp='1331210266' post='4460537']
Only problem I have with this whole scenario is this: [color="#696969"][size="4"]$399[/size][/color]
[/quote]

The overall price for a driver, or because it's Adams?

Ping I20 - $400 (Adams with a massively dearer stock shaft)
TM R11s - $400
Titty D2/D3 - $400
RAZR Fit - $400


Plenty of $400 drivers out there. The key i guess is whether the Alpha 60 fits your own needs. I;m not yet 100% convinced the 6M3 is not a made for.

That number just seems high to me for all of them. Also, the 60g weight is something I am not used to. I put my state and surrounding states in their site for demo day availability and got nothing! It stinks I have to seek this club out, since most other major brands all come together at my local course for a demo day in a few months.

Edit: g20 $299 i20 $349

[quote name='moonshine' timestamp='1331212187' post='4460625']
That number just seems high to me for all of them. Also, the 60g weight is something I am not used to. I put my state and surrounding states in their site for demo day availability and got nothing! It stinks I have to seek this club out, since most other major brands all come together at my local course for a demo day in a few months.

Edit: g20 $299 i20 $349
[/quote]


The i20 book price is $400. The Adams LS 12 is readily available at $309.

[quote name='Qegurezi' timestamp='1331211439' post='4460593']
[quote name='moonshine' timestamp='1331210266' post='4460537']
Only problem I have with this whole scenario is this: [color="#696969"][size="4"]$399[/size][/color]
[/quote]

The overall price for a driver, or because it's Adams?

Ping I20 - $400 (Adams with a massively dearer stock shaft)
TM R11s - $400
Titty D2/D3 - $400
RAZR Fit - $400


Plenty of $400 drivers out there. The key i guess is whether the Alpha 60 fits your own needs. I;m not yet 100% convinced the 6M3 is not a made for.
[/quote]

I'm guessing he said that because Adams' resale/price drops are substantially worse than other brands, on average. I'm pretty sure the 6M3 in the LS is made for, because isn't it really a 6M3[u].1[/u]? Has anyone contacted Adams or Matrix about that? A while back I asked Adams about the Matrix X-Con 7.1 that was in the F11 Ti fairways and they were very straight up telling me that it was an "exclusive" made for Adams and differentiated from the "real" Matrix X-Con 7 by the "7.1".

Sorry for all the quotation marks, no sarcasm or hostility intended, haha.

Btw, dlefty, those are great numbers. Interesting that whether you used the Fubuki or VTS, you still saw the same improvement. If we assume COR is conforming and maxed out, the only explanation would then just be aerodynamics right? The head is actually travelling faster, given a similar swing with different driver.

Darn! I was really set on getting the i20. Now, i have to wait for this to come out in our area. Does anyone have a comparison between the i20 n the LS? Numbers would be really appreciated

Not really thinking resale, but buying these clubs and then either dumping the stock shaft, or paying huge upcharge for something that works for me...just burns my b*tt!

I usually will find a value somehow some way....but I'm liking the performance/cost ratio of g20 and cleveland! Great stuff by the way OP...enjoy seeing those numbers!

[quote name='yeezy' timestamp='1331183386' post='4459761']
wow thats quite an increase in ball speeds... cant wait for the super XTD lineup
Thanks for the write up with some REAL evidence of improvement!

btw VTS black, silver or red?
[/quote]

Entire XTD line up is amazing, been hitting the hybrid for almost as long, UNREAL.

VTS was a Silver 7X.

[quote name='Puppetmaster' timestamp='1331212625' post='4460647']
Btw, dlefty, those are great numbers. Interesting that whether you used the Fubuki or VTS, you still saw the same improvement. If we assume COR is conforming and maxed out, the only explanation would then just be aerodynamics right? The head is actually travelling faster, given a similar swing with different driver.
[/quote]

Yes, aerodynamics absolutely play a part, and same swing, Fast 12 LS produces the best speeds.....ball and swing.

There is just simply something [b]hot[/b] about this club, same as years ago when 9015d just stood out head-and-shoulders above in regards to speed.

[quote name='moonshine' timestamp='1331213185' post='4460691']
Not really thinking resale, but buying these clubs and then either dumping the stock shaft, or paying huge upcharge for something that works for me...just burns my b*tt!
[/quote]

Got it, that makes sense. This is why I'm not buying a Razr Fit yet - I have all the shafts I need, no desire to pay that kind of money for a head and sleeve.