A combination of Barney Adams’ passion for golf and his determination to succeed allowed his company, Adams Golf to boast the largest IPO in the history of the golf industry. Barney, (born Byron H. Adams), was born in Syracuse, New York.  Barney first fell in love with golf in the 1950s and that love has lasted until today. He knew early on that he wanted to someday work in the golf industry and dreamed of running his own outfit. 

Adams graduated from Clarkson University, (in Potsdam, NY), in 1962 with a degree in management.  He then started working for Corning Glass in a variety of engineering positions.  While at Corning, Barney yearned to get back to the world of golf.  He compared his time at Corning to the golf world when he said, “When you’re a field engineer the issue is performance and you are right there.  Working on the driving range custom fitting golfers is the same environment, performance is the issue.”

Adams left Corning after 8 years and started working as an independent sales representative in the super market industry.  Barney said about his time as a sales rep, “It was the beginning of my entrepreneurial life, I wanted to be on my own.”  He later worked in Silicon Valley, in the superconductor industry.

When Dave Pelz, the “short game guru,” called Barney in 1982 to ask him to join Dave Pelz Golf Inc. (the in Abilene, TX), Barney thought his dreams had come true.  Unfortunately, Pelz’s newest invention, the Featherlites clubs had design issues which caused them to snap in half.  Not really what he anticipated when he signed on.  But Adams stuck it out.  In his book, The Wow Factor, Adams said he stayed because people were counting on him.  He cleared out Pelz’s inventory on the Home Shopping Network and was determined to find a way to save the company, and his dreams.

Unfortunately, in 1983, the company went bankrupt and was sold at auction. Barney amazingly still did not give up and purchased the remaining assets.  Adams Golf was born.  Adams knew that it was going to take a lot of money to get the company up and running again so he went back Silicon Valley in order to save up the capital. 

For the first 11 years of Adams Golf, Barney struggled to pay the bills.  But his determination and passion for golf wouldn’t allow him to give up.  Barney wrote articles about golf, conducted seminars, and kept the company going with his determination and passion for the game.  He collected 6 patents on quality golf products during this time, but the sales just weren’t there.

In 1996, things changed drastically for Barney Adams and Adams Golf.  The Tight Lies fairway wood he invented was a success.  Barney’s passion for the game of golf and capacity for innovation allowed him to recognize the need for a club with a lower center of gravity for “long iron” distances.  The Tight Lies not only has a lower center of gravity, but a larger hitting surface as well.  Adams Golf sales soared from $1 million in 1995 to $85 million in 1998.

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Adams Golf went public in 1998 and in 1999, Barney Adams was named the Manufacturing Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst and Young.  Tight Lies is still one of the best-selling fairway woods but Adams says that it was never about the money.  “If you’re going to start a business, it had to be something you’re passionate about.  If it had been about money, I would have quit 40 times.”


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Barney Adams and the History of Adams Golf


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