The Tight Lies name has been synonymous with Adams for as long as I can remember. Since they turned a head upside down and realised that the high point that was now the low point, it made it very easy to lift the ball from closely mown fairways.
The Tight Lies franchise has survived the purchase of Adams by TaylorMade and in the 2013 Tight Lies fairway, Adams complemented the slot on the sole with a second one on top of the head. Whilst this created a very visible technology, it did not go down well with everyone, so in the two 2015 Tight Lies fairways, Adams has decided to mind the gap with their Ghost Slot.
Adams Tight Lies 2 Fairway Wood Review
The Adams Tight Lies 2 looks a very similar shape to the previous model, except that at address it looks like the slot on the crown and the sole has been spirited away.
Of course it hasn’t actually gone, but it has been covered up by Adams for “out of sight technology for out of sight performance”. If you look closely on the crown you can just about make out the barbell outline of where the Ghost Slot in the crown is located.
It is all the same technology, but I think Adams has maybe gone too far the other way and highlighting the top slot in some way as a feature or alignment aid would appeal to those who like visible technology.
Turn the club over and you will see the sole slot as a blue bar bell line that extends the full width of the sole.
Whichever way they are dressed up does not really matter as what is important is that it enables the face to effectively float away from the body so that it can flex more at impact and deliver more ball speed.
Certainly the face felt very good and the closed slots improved the sound by giving a more solid smack than the previous model, which sounded a bit more hollow and high pitched.
Slots aside, the stand out feature of any Tight Lies club is the cambered Tri-Sole design that makes it very versatile for every type of lie. Whether I was hitting this from the tee, the fairway or some pretty poor lies elsewhere, the low centre of gravity and wide area across the bottom of the face gave a level of forgiveness that seemed beyond such a compact head.
The shallow head should appeal to all levels of players, but it is on the compact side and the D-shaped head looks quite large around the toe area and takes a bit of getting used to.
The Adams Tight Lies 2 comes with a good black and blue Mitsubishi Rayon KuroKage shaft at 60 grams that is light and stable and should suit most players.
Under your hands is the Adams Full Choice Standard grip again that features textured areas for your fingers, so you had better work on getting that grip neutral and in the right place as it does the job well.
Overall I think the Tight Lies 2 is a visual improvement on Tight Lies 1, although I think they could have been a little more creative with the visual depiction of the Ghost Slot as having two slots is one of the key selling points.
The other selling point is the classic Tight Lies head design with the unique cambered sole that is one of the best in the market from variable lies. It would be nice to see this in a slightly larger head as there are many of these types of forgiving fairways out there that look a bit more inviting at address.
The Tight Lies 2 is still a forgiving club and good value for money, but something bigger would widen its appeal beyond category 1 and 2 players.
Adams Tight Lies Ti Fairway Wood Review
What may help mid handicap golfers is the Tight Lies Ti fairway, which features a titanium face and crown in the same style of head.
You have to pay another £50 or so for the privilege, but for that you get a higher launching club. This is because titanium is lighter than steel so when you replace the crown with it, more of the weight of the club is now in the sole and hence the centre of gravity (CG) is lower.
A lower CG results in a higher ball flight than the standard version. Combining the titanium elements with a 75 gram steel sole plate creates the lowest CG on any fairway that Adams has done to date. I also felt the titanium face gave it a better feel at impact and a pleasing sound that was a little higher pitched.
Technically there is not much difference to the Tight Lies 2 as the head shape and dimensions are the same.
For your extra hard earned cash you get a cool looking Mitsubishi Rayon Bassara shaft that is silver on the front and blue on the back. I am a sucker for silver graphite shafts in woods that look like steel from a distance, so this ticked my box.
What was noticeable was that it was half an inch longer as standard and the 3+ Ti fairway at 13.5° could be a great driving 3-wood for some extra distance.
It comes with an Iomic Black Armor Stick Evolution 2.3 grip that is not only one of the longest grip names around, but also one of the stickiest to hold. If it is like most other Iomic grips, it should be pretty good in the wet too.
On balance whilst I like the look and feel of the Ti version, the standard Tight Lies 2 is probably the one to go for as the sound is a little better and it is 25% cheaper.
If you are feeling flush or have a slower swing speed, then the Ti is just as competent and gives a higher ball flight with all the playability options from that wonderful Tight Lies sole.
By Martin Hopley – Golfalot.com
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