mab
Challenge Tour Pro
This ended up longer than I was planning. Apologies!
I've been playing Cleveland CG7 Black Pearl irons for the past couple of years or so, but never felt they were the optimum fit and feel for me. The shaft wasn't quite right, the feel of the ball of the face was a bit 'clicky', the overall weight and swingweight wasn't quite right, etc.
I'm painting a bad picture of the CG7 Black Pearls which I don't mean to; they are a good club but the fit just wasn't quite right for me.
It didn't make that big a difference though, as I haven't played a great deal over the past couple of years so I considered the fit good enough for my infrequent games. However, I plan to play much more this year, so I did quite a bit of online research before deciding on a new set of irons.
What I wanted:
- Soft feel
- High ballflight that doesn't balloon
- Game improvement forgiveness in a smallish package
- Good looking iron head
- Recognised, branded shaft (not a manufacturer 'made for' whose specs are impossible to decipher)
- Non-current model that I could pick up relatively cheaply, new or slightly pre-loved
I decided fairly early on that I wanted forged heads this time round, which significantly reduced the options available. I don't completely buy in to the theory that forged is monumentally softer / better feel than cast, but I decided to give myself every advantage possible to gain that silky smooth feel.
In parallel, I was considering shafts. I've tried PX and didn't like them. I've tried Dynamic Gold and, whilst a great shaft, they are not what I would consider smooth. In fact, I've tried a variety of True Temper shafts over the years and none immediately came to mind as being what I'd love to try again this year. Then I came across a load of reviews on KBS shafts, all of which were consistent on one particular attribute... they were smooooooth. Hmmm, sounded like just what I was after.
I've always had a thing for Adams; I've played many of their clubs over the years and always enjoyed them. Searching through their 'legacy products' I came across a the CB series (CB1, CB2, CB3)... all of which were great looking clubs with, apparently, GI level forgiveness. Looking at the specs a little more closely, the CB2 and CB3 came stock with KBS shafts. Excellent. A little more reading and I decipher that the CB3 is more forgiving than the CB2... so the CB3 becomes a firm favourite.
I check the KBS website to ensure the KBS Tour 90 shaft in stiff flex would be a good fit and the online tool suggests it should work. So I get to work.
Being an Adams fan, I know of one particualr store that often stocks Adams products so I immediately go there. RRP of £800.
Selling price of £500. Next... eBay. After a bit of negotiiation, I agree a price of £220 delivered for a barely used set of 4-PW.
Are they any good?
In a word... yes!
They have given me exactly what I was after:
- Buttery smooth which I put down to both the forged head and the KBS shaft
- High, but strong, ballflight with no ballooning
- Forgiving... I know when I've missed the sweetspot but the results are still decent
- Great distance control
- Dispersion seems good, but my swing is still warming up for 2013 so not a fair assessment yet
- A very handsome club, either set up to the ball or in the bag
Overall, I'm really pleased and incredibly keen to get out on the course more and more.
This is the year I get back into golf and these irons have got me really excited about it.
-
-
-
I've been playing Cleveland CG7 Black Pearl irons for the past couple of years or so, but never felt they were the optimum fit and feel for me. The shaft wasn't quite right, the feel of the ball of the face was a bit 'clicky', the overall weight and swingweight wasn't quite right, etc.
I'm painting a bad picture of the CG7 Black Pearls which I don't mean to; they are a good club but the fit just wasn't quite right for me.
It didn't make that big a difference though, as I haven't played a great deal over the past couple of years so I considered the fit good enough for my infrequent games. However, I plan to play much more this year, so I did quite a bit of online research before deciding on a new set of irons.
What I wanted:
- Soft feel
- High ballflight that doesn't balloon
- Game improvement forgiveness in a smallish package
- Good looking iron head
- Recognised, branded shaft (not a manufacturer 'made for' whose specs are impossible to decipher)
- Non-current model that I could pick up relatively cheaply, new or slightly pre-loved
I decided fairly early on that I wanted forged heads this time round, which significantly reduced the options available. I don't completely buy in to the theory that forged is monumentally softer / better feel than cast, but I decided to give myself every advantage possible to gain that silky smooth feel.
In parallel, I was considering shafts. I've tried PX and didn't like them. I've tried Dynamic Gold and, whilst a great shaft, they are not what I would consider smooth. In fact, I've tried a variety of True Temper shafts over the years and none immediately came to mind as being what I'd love to try again this year. Then I came across a load of reviews on KBS shafts, all of which were consistent on one particular attribute... they were smooooooth. Hmmm, sounded like just what I was after.
I've always had a thing for Adams; I've played many of their clubs over the years and always enjoyed them. Searching through their 'legacy products' I came across a the CB series (CB1, CB2, CB3)... all of which were great looking clubs with, apparently, GI level forgiveness. Looking at the specs a little more closely, the CB2 and CB3 came stock with KBS shafts. Excellent. A little more reading and I decipher that the CB3 is more forgiving than the CB2... so the CB3 becomes a firm favourite.
I check the KBS website to ensure the KBS Tour 90 shaft in stiff flex would be a good fit and the online tool suggests it should work. So I get to work.
Being an Adams fan, I know of one particualr store that often stocks Adams products so I immediately go there. RRP of £800.
Selling price of £500. Next... eBay. After a bit of negotiiation, I agree a price of £220 delivered for a barely used set of 4-PW.Are they any good?
In a word... yes!
They have given me exactly what I was after:
- Buttery smooth which I put down to both the forged head and the KBS shaft
- High, but strong, ballflight with no ballooning
- Forgiving... I know when I've missed the sweetspot but the results are still decent
- Great distance control
- Dispersion seems good, but my swing is still warming up for 2013 so not a fair assessment yet
- A very handsome club, either set up to the ball or in the bag
Overall, I'm really pleased and incredibly keen to get out on the course more and more.
This is the year I get back into golf and these irons have got me really excited about it.
-
-
-
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