Adams IDEA a2 OS (Oversize) combo irons

Full set of Adams Idea a2OS irons

When I headed to the course yesterday to complete my review of these clubs, I was disappointed at first to find that there was no one hanging about to share my round. Normally it’s good to bounce opinions off and allow even complete strangers to try a few hits.

However, I can honestly say that after 18 holes as ‘Billy no mates’ in soaring temperatures around 80 degrees, it was the most fun I’ve ever had playing on my own – even though the only competitive part of the round was a match between two pristine balls - the Wilson Staff Px3 (£25 per dozen) and the Callaway HX Pearl (£22).

I’d been sceptical about trying a set of over-size combo clubs – a mixture of traditional short irons, bulbous mid-irons and hybrid iron-woods. Publicity material had inferred they were aimed at higher handicappers with little golf experience – an all-purpose set to avoid the expense of purchasing extras like fairway woods and rescue clubs. Not my kind golfing c.v. at all!

But by the end of my round I was really pulling for these clubs to succeed in the highly competitive UK market place – the Grafalloy ProLaunch shafts throughout the set had reminded me how forgiving graphite shafts can be and the hybrids had restored my faith in rescue-style heads.

Distinctive 3-hybrid

Both were accurate and penetrating off the deck with the 4-hybrid a soaring revelation from semi-rough.

The 5- and 6-iron are also hybrid-style clubs with a bulbous head reminiscent of the driving irons of the mid-1990s but with a softer feel off the face and a medium-height flight pattern – filling the gap from 150 - 180 yards.

The 7- and 8-iron had a more traditional shape but with a hollow-back design and low centre of gravity to help get the ball airborne. I’m normally a low-ball hitter so these clubs created a pleasant change in my normal flight characteristics.

Less impressed with the wedge

However, I’m pleased enough with the overall performance of the set to give them another outing in next Sunday’s monthly medal under the pressure of competitive card in my hand.

It will be a fascinating exercise to discover if I can reproduce the form I found using only the eight clubs in the set (plus a sand wedge and a putter) in my match between two balls which ended in a narrow victory for Mr Wilson over Mr Callaway.

	The Golfmagic Verdict
Rating: 9/10 Summary: I’ve got enough faith in these clubs’ all round performance to want to try them in the heat of competitive battle and putting my handicap at stake. As a transitional set – and with Adams’ long-established pedigree in hybrid technology from its Tight Lies clubs - they are of a quality I can recommend for golfers seeking good value. In most traditional sets the 3- and 4-iron tend to be discarded in favour of an extra rescue or fairway metal purchase. Adams have built these clubs into the set. What a great IDEA! .

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