What happened to Adams Golf?

[mahonie]

Taylormade purchased them (there was once rumor that they had to purchase them to ease the legal penalties of stealing their "speed pocket" like design).

 

They essentially ran them into the ground after stripping away the desired technology that Adams had.

 

Perhaps an M series hybrid will feel much like an Adams used to :)

 

I gather that the Adams design team went to Wilson Staff. IIRC the Staff FG Tour M3 hybrid was one of the first designs that they put out.

[setter02]

What happened to Adams?

Taylormade happened to Adams.

 

Stop blaming TM for buying Adams. If Adams was so great, why are they pretty well just looked at fondly like Hogan irons. Put your money where your mouths are or shut up. If anything, Adams happened to Adams, you can't compete with the big boys and release PILES of drivers. People often forget this, but they were pretty well matching TM 1 for 1 on releases at one point.

 

Yes they made some solid gear, but as usual, no one bought it and you could find it for half the price within 6 months, ummm like TM, yet people would then buy that 50% off TM gear and Adams still sat there... Blame bad stock shafts, limited upgrades and a price point that was far too high for the top end vs. the competition before you blame TM, they were a dead company crawling already...

 

Whoa. I dont know why I incurred your wrath this morning, but I certainly dont think it's deserved

 

Sorry, was more of a general 'stop blaming TM' for this, not directed at you personally. That and I'm cleaning the house, so not that chipper already :stink:

 

I have no issue with blaming TM for bad products, etc and am far from a 'fanboy'. I just see it as a sinking ship got bought out and moved to deeper water so it can get forgotten vs. running aground on the beach and people fondly remembering them and rehashing the same topic.

[27x10.5]

Does anyone know what company the R&D people at Adams mostly went to? Just all at Taylormade now? Like everyone said, the last 2-3 season of releases from them were so good. Their stock shafts were all premium stuff too.

[cgasucks]

Long story short, they were bought out by TMAG, TMAG took the good tech that Adams had and didnt nothing with the brand, so the brand is very much dead right now.

Hopefully one day, someone will buy Adams and resurrect the brand.

 

Yeah...like Dick's.

[Tyus Stones]

@setter02 - The majority of pros use hybrids you say? You should really use facts instead of making up bogus statistics to support your arguments. Let's run through the Top 10 in the World Golf Rankings and see who carries a hybrid in their bag:

 

1) Jason Day - NO

2) Jordan Speith - NO

3) Rory McIlroy - NO

4) Bubba Watson - NO

5) Rickie Fowler - Yes, but dependent on course

6) Dustin Johnson - NO

7) Henrik Stenson - NO

8) Adam Scott - NO

9) Danny Willett - NO

10) Justin Reed - NO

 

If you weren't keeping score, that's 9 of 10 who never game hybrids, and 1 who only has it in the bag for certain courses. These are all the young guns on tour that everyone pays the most attention to, and essentially none of them use hybrids. The bags you will find hybrids in are of the pros who are older, and that is a fact. So explain to me again how hybrids are supposedly so prevalent on tour, especially for the younger and best players?

[setter02]

@setter02 - The majority of pros use hybrids you say? You should really use facts instead of making up bogus statistics to support your arguments. Let's run through the Top 10 in the World Golf Rankings and see who carries a hybrid in their bag:

 

1) Jason Day - NO

2) Jordan Speith - NO

3) Rory McIlroy - NO

4) Bubba Watson - NO

5) Rickie Fowler - Yes, but dependent on course

6) Dustin Johnson - NO

7) Henrik Stenson - NO

8) Adam Scott - NO

9) Danny Willett - NO

10) Justin Reed - NO

 

If you weren't keeping score, that's 9 of 10 who never game hybrids, and 1 who only has it in the bag for certain courses. These are all the young guns on tour that everyone pays the most attention to, and essentially none of them use hybrids. The bags you will find hybrids in are of the pros who are older, and that is a fact. So explain to me again how hybrids are supposedly so prevalent on tour, especially for the younger and best players?

 

Please stop, while well, you weren't even ahead...

 

I didn't say majority, I said like 50% of Pro's and like 95% of Rec golfers, so please go through the WITB of around 400 Tour Pro's world wide for me and LMK that I'm right. Please read before you get typing. Also, your example is of THE TOP 10 PLAYERS IN THE WORLD is just really sad and so far a stretch I'm concerned your limbs have been pulled off.

 

I'm also sure that Bubba and Henrik love being considered 'young guns' given they are 37 and 40 years old. Hell even Scott is 35... Did you try to make a super player by combining Justin ROSE with PATRICK Reed?

[bpark1210]

Adams has always had a place in my bag. The retail stuff was pretty mediocre but all their tour or limited release stuff was off the charts. Who remembers the v1 Peanuts, RPM 4060 fwy's, Speedline 3446 fwy's, CC1, MB1 irons. They were the introduction to limited tour issue clubs for me personally and I still have the 3446 which is still long for even today's standards.

 

Did TM pummel Adams into the ground or was Adams on a downard spiral to sell off? Debatable, but I do know one thing Mark King the then CEO of TM made their intentions very clear from the start of the acquisition that Adams was going to be brushed into the closet.

 

"The catagories within the market where King thinks his company can grow are in the game-improvement, senior and women's categories—three core areas where Adams focuses much of its attention."

 

Adams was at the prime of producing some very innovative technology when they were acquired. They also had an awesome tour staff w/ Chad Campbell, Aaron Badely, Kenny Perry, to name a few. TM wanted to copy the speed slot w/ RBZ and a lawsuit was surely on it's way. So they bought it out, ripped the patents out of Adams hands to avoid litigation and threw the company to the wayside. So is TM to blame? I know where I stand.

[Tyus Stones]

@setter02 - The majority of pros use hybrids you say? You should really use facts instead of making up bogus statistics to support your arguments. Let's run through the Top 10 in the World Golf Rankings and see who carries a hybrid in their bag:

 

1) Jason Day - NO

2) Jordan Speith - NO

3) Rory McIlroy - NO

4) Bubba Watson - NO

5) Rickie Fowler - Yes, but dependent on course

6) Dustin Johnson - NO

7) Henrik Stenson - NO

8) Adam Scott - NO

9) Danny Willett - NO

10) Justin Reed - NO

 

If you weren't keeping score, that's 9 of 10 who never game hybrids, and 1 who only has it in the bag for certain courses. These are all the young guns on tour that everyone pays the most attention to, and essentially none of them use hybrids. The bags you will find hybrids in are of the pros who are older, and that is a fact. So explain to me again how hybrids are supposedly so prevalent on tour, especially for the younger and best players?

 

Please stop, while well, you weren't even ahead...

 

I didn't say majority, I said like 50% of Pro's and like 95% of Rec golfers, so please go through the WITB of around 400 Tour Pro's world wide for me and LMK that I'm right. Please read before you get typing. Also, your example is of THE TOP 10 PLAYERS IN THE WORLD is just really sad and so far a stretch I'm concerned your limbs have been pulled off.

 

I'm also sure that Bubba and Henrik love being considered 'young guns' given they are 37 and 40 years old.

 

50% is one percent shy of a majority, sorry for exaggerating your statement by a percent. And when young golfers are looking to model themselves after PGA pros in their bags, who do you think they are looking at? The top 10 young guys in the world, or the rest of the fodder on tour?

 

Edit: And yes, Bubba and Henrik aren't exactly young anymore. But they are still stars on the tour, and they don't have hybrids in their bags. The people who get the most attention do not game hybrids, and that is the point here. Its hard to sell a brand that is focused on a club type that the best players rarely have in their bags. People want to emulate what they see on TV and be able to brag about their clubs to their boys. Its hard to brag about a hybrid made by a company many golfers have never even heard of in the past 5 years.

 

Also, I may be wrong on this, but I feel like after being acquired by TMaG, the company's focus shifted much more heavily towards the GI category and Adams essentially became their GI/SGI branch. I have to believe this was facilitated by TMaG so that they would not be cannibalizing themselves with competing products. Its difficult to promote a brand that is exclusively geared towards slower swing speeds and high handicappers, even if they perform well on the course.

[niscur24]

[setter02]

^ Love the meme, but not worth using in this thread.

[niscur24]

^ Love the meme, but not worth using in this thread.

 

Think this is going to be my goto meme everytime a thread goes south!

[setter02]

^ Love the meme, but not worth using in this thread.

 

Think this is going to be my goto meme everytime a thread goes south!

 

Check in when you see I've replied as I'm usually pretty good for it.

 

Either way, maybe we can get mad is the likes of Nike buys TM and buries them. But its just business. But anything that has happened to Adams over the last few years comes as no shock to anyone really other then ostriches.

[Tcann32]

Companies that aren't in trouble don't generally get put up for sale, unless it's privately held and the owner just wants to go hands off and retire..

 

Tmag did what most powerhouse buyers do.. Buy a company, take what they want, and let whats left rot away. At the end of the day, it's business. It doesn't matter how great the golf clubs were to shareholders and number crunchers, they want profit, and this was a move that many companies who perform buyouts do on a weekly basis..

 

It's Adams fault for being in the situation they were in. Poor marketing, and no apparent interest in appealing to a younger demographic will do that.

 

At the same time, I get the frustration of Adams fans, and people who were consumers of other businesses who found themselves being forced to purchase other products because of such mergers and buyouts. Merger is a poor description of the situation though. Tmag DID let them sink, and this was a business decision. Could they have revitalized the brand? Maybe.. but on the drawing board, it was going to take too much to make it happen, if it would happen at all.

 

It wasn't walmart coming in and closing down the corner market that was family owned for 30 years. That's a different situation. One company excelled and bought a lagging company for it's ideas (no pun intended). Adams must not have been very profitable or else Tmag would've kept the name around. All you can hope for in these situations is that they gave it a shot, and maybe kept some people around. The large buyouts where everyone gets fired and they keep nothing but a few patents are sad.. We can hope TM didn't do that, but as far as Adams golf goes, you don't buy a failing company to help them out. You buy them in hopes of turning a profit after a little investment, or you buy them because they have something you like that can make you money and this potential outweighs the price of purchase of said company.

[Tyus Stones]

Companies that aren't in trouble don't generally get put up for sale, unless it's privately held and the owner just wants to go hands off and retire..

 

Tmag did what most powerhouse buyers do.. Buy a company, take what they want, and let whats left rot away. At the end of the day, it's business. It doesn't matter how great the golf clubs were to shareholders and number crunchers, they want profit, and this was a move that many companies who perform buyouts do on a weekly basis..

 

It's Adams fault for being in the situation they were in. Poor marketing, and no apparent interest in appealing to a younger demographic will do that.

 

At the same time, I get the frustration of Adams fans, and people who were consumers of other businesses who found themselves being forced to purchase other products because of such mergers and buyouts. Merger is a poor description of the situation though. Tmag DID let them sink, and this was a business decision. Could they have revitalized the brand? Maybe.. but on the drawing board, it was going to take too much to make it happen, if it would happen at all.

 

It wasn't walmart coming in and closing down the corner market that was family owned for 30 years. That's a different situation. One company excelled and bought a lagging company for it's ideas (no pun intended). Adams must not have been very profitable or else Tmag would've kept the name around. All you can hope for in these situations is that they gave it a shot, and maybe kept some people around. The large buyouts where everyone gets fired and they keep nothing but a few patents are sad.. We can hope TM didn't do that, but as far as Adams golf goes, you don't buy a failing company to help them out. You buy them in hopes of turning a profit after a little investment, or you buy them because they have something you like that can make you money and this potential outweighs the price of purchase of said company.

 

I thought TMaG bought them to avoid getting sued.... Their potential losses in court for stealing their tech would've been much greater (and potentially crippling) than the cost they sunk into buying out Adams

[setter02]

^

 

I don't know if anything actually came out and we all assumed this given the similarities in the 'technology' of the slots (tho I'm sure we all accept it as the likely reason). Even if Adams had a case, could they then afford to challenge TM in court?

[Tyus Stones]

^

 

I don't know if anything actually came out and we all assumed this given the similarities in the 'technology' of the slots (tho I'm sure we all accept it as the likely reason). Even if Adams had a case, could they then afford to challenge TM in court?

 

There is always enough money to challenge another company for IP infringement in court. That is why all public companies have legal teams, for this exact scenario. The potential payouts are so massive that the investment in legal fees is more than worth it. Especially if a company is struggling since there is nothing for them to lose. What better way to infuse capital back into your company than to win a massive law suit against a company as big as Adidas/TMaG?

 

If it had ever been brought to court, there is no question that TMaG would've come to Adams with a substantial settlement at the very least. Its not worth the potential losses on their end to let it play out in court where they are no longer in control of the outcome.

[Medic]

What is lost a bit in this whole thread is the fact that hybrids are essentially Game Improvement clubs meant to allow players who can't hit long irons to replace them with something that is easier to hit and will still have the same distances.

 

The pros can hit long irons and thus hybrids really aren't necessary for them. Some carry them because they are so much easier to hit but on the tour stops I have gone and watched I didn't see to many in the bags of the best.

 

Adams 9064LS was an AWESOME driver and is one of the few I have ever owned that I really regret parting with. It had a RIP shaft and was just a fairway finder for me. And, like so many others here, I have had Adams hybrids in my bag on and off for years. They were a great brand that simply got bought out by a bigger brand and in the aftermath died out.

 

In the end does anyone here remember Pontiac? Awesome brand with lots of style and great models. But when GM was failing something had to give and they opted to eliminate this single brand in order to allow the company to continue on. TM is struggling a bit. Even if the original purchase intent was to sell the snot out of the Adams brand, at some point it becomes a matter of making sure the main brand name stays strong and Adams was sacrificed.

[Bad9]

Adams has always had a place in my bag. The retail stuff was pretty mediocre but all their tour or limited release stuff was off the charts. Who remembers the v1 Peanuts, RPM 4060 fwy's, Speedline 3446 fwy's, CC1, MB1 irons. They were the introduction to limited tour issue clubs for me personally and I still have the 3446 which is still long for even today's standards.

 

Did TM pummel Adams into the ground or was Adams on a downard spiral to sell off? Debatable, but I do know one thing Mark King the then CEO of TM made their intentions very clear from the start of the acquisition that Adams was going to be brushed into the closet.

 

"The catagories within the market where King thinks his company can grow are in the game-improvement, senior and women's categories—three core areas where Adams focuses much of its attention."

 

Adams was at the prime of producing some very innovative technology when they were acquired. They also had an awesome tour staff w/ Chad Campbell, Aaron Badely, Kenny Perry, to name a few. TM wanted to copy the speed slot w/ RBZ and a lawsuit was surely on it's way. So they bought it out, ripped the patents out of Adams hands to avoid litigation and threw the company to the wayside. So is TM to blame? I know where I stand.

 

I think the part in red could be called a pretty wild exaggeration.

[ebn2002]

I had an Adams hybrid once

 

[bpark1210]

Adams has always had a place in my bag. The retail stuff was pretty mediocre but all their tour or limited release stuff was off the charts. Who remembers the v1 Peanuts, RPM 4060 fwy's, Speedline 3446 fwy's, CC1, MB1 irons. They were the introduction to limited tour issue clubs for me personally and I still have the 3446 which is still long for even today's standards.

 

Did TM pummel Adams into the ground or was Adams on a downard spiral to sell off? Debatable, but I do know one thing Mark King the then CEO of TM made their intentions very clear from the start of the acquisition that Adams was going to be brushed into the closet.

 

"The catagories within the market where King thinks his company can grow are in the game-improvement, senior and women's categories—three core areas where Adams focuses much of its attention."

 

Adams was at the prime of producing some very innovative technology when they were acquired. They also had an awesome tour staff w/ Chad Campbell, Aaron Badely, Kenny Perry, to name a few. TM wanted to copy the speed slot w/ RBZ and a lawsuit was surely on it's way. So they bought it out, ripped the patents out of Adams hands to avoid litigation and threw the company to the wayside. So is TM to blame? I know where I stand.

 

I think the part in red could be called a pretty wild exaggeration.

 

Haha true but remember this was 5-6 yrs ago before the Ror's, Spieth, Day, Fowler era.

[setter02]

Adams has always had a place in my bag. The retail stuff was pretty mediocre but all their tour or limited release stuff was off the charts. Who remembers the v1 Peanuts, RPM 4060 fwy's, Speedline 3446 fwy's, CC1, MB1 irons. They were the introduction to limited tour issue clubs for me personally and I still have the 3446 which is still long for even today's standards.

 

Did TM pummel Adams into the ground or was Adams on a downard spiral to sell off? Debatable, but I do know one thing Mark King the then CEO of TM made their intentions very clear from the start of the acquisition that Adams was going to be brushed into the closet.

 

"The catagories within the market where King thinks his company can grow are in the game-improvement, senior and women's categories—three core areas where Adams focuses much of its attention."

 

Adams was at the prime of producing some very innovative technology when they were acquired. They also had an awesome tour staff w/ Chad Campbell, Aaron Badely, Kenny Perry, to name a few. TM wanted to copy the speed slot w/ RBZ and a lawsuit was surely on it's way. So they bought it out, ripped the patents out of Adams hands to avoid litigation and threw the company to the wayside. So is TM to blame? I know where I stand.

 

I think the part in red could be called a pretty wild exaggeration.

 

Haha true but remember this was 5-6 yrs ago before the Ror's, Spieth, Day, Fowler era.

 

Yes, in the era where every other OEM still had a stable that was substancially better then Adams. Heck, Duval had a better career with Nike then Adams has pretty well ever had historically and that was short lived.

[pholway]

Ah the Adams 4060 fwy - tour only and on that "other site" you could get one with a lime colored shaft for a mere 3 grand and nuke it 290 of the deck,

[DTXgolfer12]

I have not had any positive experiences with the company. only driver i have ever owned that broke was an adams and it broke twice

[Tiptx1122]

Now does everyone see why there is so much hate for TaylorMade on here.

[setter02]

Now does everyone see why there is so much hate for TaylorMade on here.

 

Bit of a silly statement...

[jmaatman]

I still love hitting my tight lies 3 wood...

[boggyman]

@setter02 - The majority of pros use hybrids you say? You should really use facts instead of making up bogus statistics to support your arguments. Let's run through the Top 10 in the World Golf Rankings and see who carries a hybrid in their bag:

 

1) Jason Day - NO

2) Jordan Speith - NO

3) Rory McIlroy - NO

4) Bubba Watson - NO

5) Rickie Fowler - Yes, but dependent on course

6) Dustin Johnson - NO

7) Henrik Stenson - NO

8) Adam Scott - NO

9) Danny Willett - NO

10) Justin Reed - NO

 

If you weren't keeping score, that's 9 of 10 who never game hybrids, and 1 who only has it in the bag for certain courses. These are all the young guns on tour that everyone pays the most attention to, and essentially none of them use hybrids. The bags you will find hybrids in are of the pros who are older, and that is a fact. So explain to me again how hybrids are supposedly so prevalent on tour, especially for the younger and best players?

Well if you'd look more closely, Speith does bag a hybrid at various times himself! Most guys give in the the fact that in earlier years of their golfing career there was no hybrids,therefore the reason you see lots of bags with extra fairway wood. I for one hook hybrids and I know it's me but I'd much rather stand over the ball with my 18* driving iron. Hybrids are great when paired with the right shaft as is any iron etc, but I look at hybrids as marketing like anything else, look at how overweight a majority of people are. Hybrids are for sloooow swing speeds and people too lazy to practice I feel. Yes they help given the right situation. That's why I like the Seniors, look closely sometime if you are ever at an event, I watched Brad Faxon look at an old Cally 5 wood one day walking down the fairway in absolutely amazement, it was being balled by Joe Durant. After their round Joe Durant thanked me for following them that day, all 18 holes! Ever get that at a PGA event? . Guess what I'm saying is play what works & screw the rest of it & them! Sorry for the rant.

[DTXgolfer12]

@setter02 - The majority of pros use hybrids you say? You should really use facts instead of making up bogus statistics to support your arguments. Let's run through the Top 10 in the World Golf Rankings and see who carries a hybrid in their bag:

 

1) Jason Day - NO

2) Jordan Speith - NO

3) Rory McIlroy - NO

4) Bubba Watson - NO

5) Rickie Fowler - Yes, but dependent on course

6) Dustin Johnson - NO

7) Henrik Stenson - NO

8) Adam Scott - NO

9) Danny Willett - NO

10) Justin Reed - NO

 

If you weren't keeping score, that's 9 of 10 who never game hybrids, and 1 who only has it in the bag for certain courses. These are all the young guns on tour that everyone pays the most attention to, and essentially none of them use hybrids. The bags you will find hybrids in are of the pros who are older, and that is a fact. So explain to me again how hybrids are supposedly so prevalent on tour, especially for the younger and best players?

 

Please stop, while well, you weren't even ahead...

 

I didn't say majority, I said like 50% of Pro's and like 95% of Rec golfers, so please go through the WITB of around 400 Tour Pro's world wide for me and LMK that I'm right. Please read before you get typing. Also, your example is of THE TOP 10 PLAYERS IN THE WORLD is just really sad and so far a stretch I'm concerned your limbs have been pulled off.

 

I'm also sure that Bubba and Henrik love being considered 'young guns' given they are 37 and 40 years old.

 

50% is one percent shy of a majority, sorry for exaggerating your statement by a percent. And when young golfers are looking to model themselves after PGA pros in their bags, who do you think they are looking at? The top 10 young guys in the world, or the rest of the fodder on tour?

 

Edit: And yes, Bubba and Henrik aren't exactly young anymore. But they are still stars on the tour, and they don't have hybrids in their bags. The people who get the most attention do not game hybrids, and that is the point here. Its hard to sell a brand that is focused on a club type that the best players rarely have in their bags. People want to emulate what they see on TV and be able to brag about their clubs to their boys. Its hard to brag about a hybrid made by a company many golfers have never even heard of in the past 5 years.

 

Also, I may be wrong on this, but I feel like after being acquired by TMaG, the company's focus shifted much more heavily towards the GI category and Adams essentially became their GI/SGI branch. I have to believe this was facilitated by TMaG so that they would not be cannibalizing themselves with competing products. Its difficult to promote a brand that is exclusively geared towards slower swing speeds and high handicappers, even if they perform well on the course.

 

@setter02 - The majority of pros use hybrids you say? You should really use facts instead of making up bogus statistics to support your arguments. Let's run through the Top 10 in the World Golf Rankings and see who carries a hybrid in their bag:

 

1) Jason Day - NO

2) Jordan Speith - NO

3) Rory McIlroy - NO

4) Bubba Watson - NO

5) Rickie Fowler - Yes, but dependent on course

6) Dustin Johnson - NO

7) Henrik Stenson - NO

8) Adam Scott - NO

9) Danny Willett - NO

10) Justin Reed - NO

 

If you weren't keeping score, that's 9 of 10 who never game hybrids, and 1 who only has it in the bag for certain courses. These are all the young guns on tour that everyone pays the most attention to, and essentially none of them use hybrids. The bags you will find hybrids in are of the pros who are older, and that is a fact. So explain to me again how hybrids are supposedly so prevalent on tour, especially for the younger and best players?

 

Spieth plays an 816h occasionally.

 

I believe hybrids on tour are trending upwards. Maybe not the majority but i think more guys are using them. If not that they're going to some "franken iron" that is not far from it. Even the best players in the world need help elevating a 3i into greens running 13+. Also why you see a lot of tour guys playing softer higher launching iron shafts - more spin.

 

Has nothing to do with the amateur game however - we don't play concrete greens

[mike_dmt]

I carry an ancient Adams Hybrid. I like it, and haven't found something to kick it out of the bag. Granted the old girl looks pretty rough, and the headcover is falling apart.

 

It's not that I cant hit my long irons, because I can. It's because I don't hit my 4 iron more than about 200. So, when I have a short par 4 or 220-230 to a par 5, the hybrid gets it done.

[KARL M]

What goes around comes around.

 

"Yes" the putter company was bought out by Adams and met a slow death.

 

T.Mag bought out Adams and Adams met the same fate.

 

Someone will always benefit from the wreckage, I picked up the last Yes right handed Abbie model putter that was available on Adam's website for about $60.