It's gotta be the clubs...

I had a long, descriptive blog written up to describe my attempt to qualify for the championship flight of my club championship this past weekend. Luckily for you, I came to my senses and realized that nobody would be all that interested in a shot-by-shot recap of 36 holes of misery bad golf.

My very first hole of the tournament saw a 15 foot, uphill, right-to-left birdie attempt turn into a bogey 5 and it only got worse from there. I shot 82 on the first day, vowed to shoot 72 the next day, and was a beaten man after my 72 turned into an 87. I missed the cut by 15 shots and immediately put my irons and putter on eBay!

I didn't include that the clubs were clearly cursed in my description in the eBay listing, only that they were in excellent condition and I had only been using them for a few months.

Left with a decision to make on which new irons to buy, I did some research.

I went to Golf Galaxy to try out both the new Ping i15 and the Adams A7 since my pro didn't yet have the demos in stock. I liked them both and they fit the type of club I like to play: workable, but forgiving. They both have moderate offset and the sole and topline aren't too thick. The Ping is a "prettier" club in my opinion, but I like the fact that the A7's come with two hybrids.

In the past I have only carried one hybrid (typically 18* or 19*) and hit my long irons very well. I also need a long-iron because nobody hits a 4-iron "out-from-under-a-tree-with-a-30-yard-hook-only-four feet-off-the-ground-190 yards" quite like I do! Scott Van Pelt needs his grooves and I need a 3 or 4 iron!

However, in doing some research, I found that the lofts of the Adams irons are a little strong and the 5-iron will play like your standard 4-iron (25*). They are set up this way because your average #3 hybrid usually doesn't replace a 3-iron at all, it goes 20 yards further. So this set has a 20* & 23* hybrid, a 25* 5-iron and then goes in 4* increments to the 45* pitching wedge.

I could always have the Ping irons ordered to these specs, but would still be left with having to find two hybrids that I like. From my demo sessions, I couldn't find any hybrids that I liked more than the Adams A7. I recently bought the '09 Rescue (#3 - 19*) from Taylor Made and that's headed to eBay as soon as I finish typing this blog!

So I emailed my pro with my specs for the Adams A7 hybrids & irons this morning (2* upright, Dynamic Gold Super Lite R300 steel in the irons, UST Mamiya AXIVCore stiff flex graphite in the hybrids, New Decade White/Black grips) and will impatiently wait for them to arrive. I'm pretty pumped up about the purchase and am shocked that Adams Golf came out with a set of irons I would even consider.

Having worked in the golf industry for most of my life, I would honestly consider myself a snob in regards to golf equipment. If it isn't Mizuno, Taylor Made, Ping or Titleist, it's just not for me. However, I nearly bought the Adams A4 Tech Forged irons last year, but opted for the Taylor Made Tour Preferred instead. This was mainly because I just couldn't see myself playing Adams irons. In retrospect, it was a mistake and those clubs really signaled Adams' arrival (in my mind) as a major player in the irons market.

With the new A7, I think they have a winner. I'll let you know how I like them after they arrive.

Now if only changing my swing could be so easy...