Equipment
Adams Speedline FAST12 Fairway Wood: Featured Review
By TCMP
Reviewed: Adams Speedline FAST 12 15º 3 wood, Pro Launch Blue Stiff Shaft
A little bit about myself and my game: I’ve been playing for about 9 years now with the first five years playing just 15-20 times per year. I didn’t take lessonsfor the first five years, just beat balls and asked my friends to help. For the last 4 years I have been working pretty hard on my game. I’ve taken lessonsfrom my local PGA professional, and played over 100 rounds per year. Four years ago, I was a 12-13 handicap. As I sit here today writing this review, my handicap index is 3. Just about all of last year I hovered around a 3-4 handicap. Fairway woods have always been hard for me to hit off the deck – so this is a great test. If I was to compare my swing to a tour pro, it would be most like Zach Johnson. I don’t have a lot of lag and I keep the shaft and my right arm in a straight line all the way above my head on the follow through (like he does). This makes for consistent ball striking, but not too much distance. I’m an average length driver of the ball with a swing speed in the 103-105mph range and a carry distance of around 240 yards or so. My 7 iron goes 160 (in the summer months).
Click here to see more pics and read discussion in the forums
First impressions:
Wow, this silver headed sleek-but-meaty club really looks nice. The silver crown with the black face really frames the ball nicely. The velocity slot on the crown serves as a nice alignment device for me. It doesn’t look bad in the least. The head shape is very traditional and looks to be dead square. Looking at the Pro Launch Blue shaft (in stiff) it has a rough texture and is supposed to be more aerodynamic. I have my doubts about this actually helping the golfer in some way.
Performance:
After grabbing a large bucket of balls, I hit the range (which is natural grass) to see how this thing performed. The wind was blowing right to left at a steady 10-15mph as I lined up my first shot. I fluffed up the ball on a good lie and let it rip. First shot, dead straight on a medium trajectory. Wow….now that surprised me. It usually takes me a while to warm up to 3 woods as they are pretty darn difficult to hit off the deck. Next shot, nice high fade. Hmmmm, this shaft feels a little whippy, maybe I’ll choke down on the next one to make it feel a little stiffer. Next shot, dead frozen rope straight and medium to high trajectory. Wow, ok, I can live with this. I have been playing Tour Edge Exotics XCG-4 Fairway woods since the start of last season. A 15º and 18º with Aldila NV-85 stiff shafts. They have been extraordinarily long and fun to hit.
After hitting this Fast 12, I can say that distances were a bit shorter than the titanium headed Exotics. About 7-8 yards for me. The launch was higher with the Fast 12 and it certainly stopped better coming into par 5’s with more spin and higher trajectory. The Exotics have a more boring flight with less spin, but the likely contributor is the shaft difference. The NV is a tip stiff heavy shaft. The Pro Launch blue is a tip soft 65g shaft. These two shafts couldn’t be more different.
Saturday and Sunday I had a golf outing with my old college buddies. We played two courses that were pretty challenging for us and have a little money on the matches. I took the exotics out of the bag and played the Fast 12 exclusively all weekend. On Saturday it became my go-to club as my driver was very sketchy to say the least. My playing partners definitely noticed the consistency and distance of the Fast 12. I consistently was last to play my second shot using this club.
Click here to see more pics and read discussion in the forums
Sound/Feel:
Feel is very subjective. I for one like the feel of the Fast 12. It has a different sound than I am used to. Kind of a hollowed out and slightly deeper and more powerful “ping” than the Old Big Bertha fairways of yester-year. The Pro Launch Blue shaft in this fairway has a soft tip and an overall soft profile. I think if I was to get the most out of this fairway, I would require an “X” flex Pro Launch, if it is available. Of course, it is most definitely softer than the NV-85 I play in the Exotics fairways. On several swings I felt like the shaft wasn’t keeping up and caused a high right shot.
The factory swingweight is spec’d at D2, which is about what I prefer in my woods. I love to tinker, so a while ago I bought a swingweight scale to setup all my clubs with the right weight for me. So, I threw this stick up on the swingweight scale and it read “D2”. Ok, perfect. Good job Adams!
Off the face, the ball really rockets. Toe, heel, it doesn’t matter. If you hit the face it will go – and go far! This thing is crazy forgiving. I hit it all over the face with great results. Even shots my playing partners thought I would lose to the right, held their line quite nicely and ended up on the fringe of the green. Surprised the heck out of me! This stick is more forgiving on off center strikes than the XCG-4’s I game. No doubt about it. Shots just stay on line better.
Overall:
I am definitely a fan of the new Fast 12 fairways. The weight, balance, feel and distance are all excellent. The silver crown is actually quite nice and frames the ball beautifully at address. The velocity slot looks cool and acts as a nicealignment device for me. The Pro Launch Blue shaft didn’t quite fit my swing, but it worked fine and I was able to shoot some great scores over the weekend with it. If I was to do it over, I would have gone with the X flex shaft.
Price/Value:
2 Thumbs up! The Exotics Fairways are $299 which is pretty steep, so it is refreshing to see this much performance for $199. Without a doubt, this is a contender with the Titanium big dogs!
Click here to see more pics and read discussion in the forums
I would give Adams 2 thumbs upon this new Fairway!
Cameron Young’s WITB from his win at the 2025 Wyndham Championship. Cameron is a Titleist staff player but his bag is definitely filled with some unique clubs. Here are the clubs he used to secure his first PGA Tour win!
Driver: Titleist GT2 (9 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Orange 70 TX
3-wood: Titleist GT3 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 80 TX
Hybrid: Titleist GT2 (21 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus HB Black VeloCore+ 10 X
Irons: Titleist T200 (4), Titleist T100 (5), Titleist 631.CY Prototype (6-9)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X7 (4-9)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F, 52-12F, 56-14F @57), WedgeWorks (60-K* @62)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X7
Putter: Scotty Cameron Phantom 9.5 Tour Prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Prototype
- Peter Malnati what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Titleist GT3 (10 degrees, C2 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Project X Denali Blue 60 TX
3-wood: Titleist GT3 (15 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 7 X
7-wood: Titleist GT2 (21 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 8 X
Irons: Titleist T150 (4, 5), Titleist T100 (6-9)
Shafts: True Temper AMT Tour White X100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F @47, 52-12F, 56-08M @57, 60-04T @62)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: Scotty Cameron Studio Style Fastback 1.5 Tour Prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Yellow
We’re proud to once again partner with 2nd Swing Golf to bring you GolfWRX Members Choice 2025! 2nd Swing has more than 150,000 new and pre-swung golf clubs available in six store locations and online. Check them out here.
What is the best driver in 2025? At GolfWRX, we take great pride in our online community and the cumulative knowledge and experience of our members. When it comes to the best driver of 2025, we want to know what our forum faithful think.
Since our founding in 2005, the bedrock of GolfWRX.com has been the community of passionate and knowledgeable golfers in our forums, and we put endless trust in the opinions of our GolfWRX members — the most knowledgeable community of golfers on the internet. No other group of golfers in the world tests golf clubs as frequently or as extensively, nor is armed with such in-depth information about the latest technology.
Below are the results of GolfWRX member voting for the 2025 best driver, along with the vote percentage for each club.
Best driver of 2025: The top 5
5. Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond: 6.02%
Callaway’s pitch: “For golfers looking for a fast, forgiving, yet workable driver, the Elyte Triple Diamond features a tour-inspired shape and is the preferred model by most Callaway tour players.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond here.
4. Ping G440 Max: 6.86%
Ping’s pitch: “The most forgiving G440 model, MAX has a hotter face to generate speed and distance, and a lighter overall system weight with a longer shaft (46″) for faster clubhead speed, higher launch and longer carries. The Free Hosel and Carbonfly Wrap crown save weight to create our lowest CG ever and increase forgiveness while contributing to a more muted, pleasing sound.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Ping G440 Max here.
3. Ping G440 LST: 9.53%
Ping’s pitch: “LST is an especially good fit for faster swings, offering less spin and more control with a penetrating trajectory. A hotter face, lighter overall system weight and longer shaft (46″) deliver more speed and distance while maintaining tight dispersion.”
@phizzy30: “Not a fan of Ping drivers in general, but 440 LST takes the cake. It’s super forgiving across the face for a low spin head, looks and sounds good and the ability to make it play neutral or slightly fade biased through the hosel settings is very appealing.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Ping G440 LST here.
2. Titleist GT3: 16.55%
Titleist’s pitch: “The GT3 Driver offers Titleist’s boldest combination of power and personalization through adjustable performance. Dial in the CG Track to your frequent contact location to make your biggest drives even bigger while taking total control over flight and shaping.”
@mrmikeac: “I’ve been Anti-Titleist for years and years and years (outside of Vokey, of course). With that being said, HOLY BEGEEZUS the GT3 driver is an absolute NUCLEAR MONSTER! This thing blew my G430 10K Max out of the water in every single category. Forgiveness is the biggest thing that stands out of me, the 3 model has always been one of the less forgiving models in the past but this GT3 can take bad shot after bad shot and still end up in the fairway, I think a ton of that has to do with the adjustability, it’s actually effective. Feel and sound is perfect, that solid crack is so addicting to hear and when you hit it out the screws this thing can absolutely bomb it. Titleist, I’m sorry for doubting you. You have converted me.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Titleist GT3 here.
1. Titleist GT2: 22.91%
Titleist’s pitch: “Delivering impressive distance from any impact point, the Titleist GT2 Driver extracts maximum performance through a forgiving design. Get the stability and added confidence of a high-MOI driver without sacrificing speed.”
@DTorres: “The Titleist GT2 has proven to be the best driver of the year. Packaged in a classic profile, GT2 perfectly balances performance and forgiveness while consistently being a high performer across all categories.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Titleist GT2 here.
Other drivers receiving >2% of the vote
| Driver | Vote percentage (%) |
|---|---|
| Cobra DS Adapt Max K | 4.85% |
| Ping G430 Max 10K | 3.85% |
| Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond | 3.68% |
| TaylorMade Qi35 | 3.51% |
| Callaway Elyte | 3.18% |
| Cobra DS Adapt X | 2.34% |
| Cobra DS Adapt LS | 2.17% |
| TaylorMade Qi35 LS | 2.17% |
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Provisional
Apr 24, 2012 at 6:40 am
I read this review with much interest as I struggle with hitting my old TM 200 Steel 3 wood with any consistancy and was v. curious about the new Adams club. It was what I’d like to see with all club reviews. Everyone else should follow this approach to give meaningful reviews.
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