Byron (Barney) H. Adams (born March 24, 1939 in

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...

), is an

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...

, the founder of

Adams Golf Adams Golf, Inc. was an American sports equipment manufacturing company based in Plano, Texas, focused on the golf equipment market. The company produced golf equipment (more specifically clubs). In 2012 it was acquired by TaylorMade (owned by Adi ...

, inventor of the Tight Lies fairway wood, holder of several patents on golf products, author of ''The WOW Factor'', and proponent of growing the game of golf.

Biography

Adams began playing golf at 14, caddying at Onondaga Country Club in

Fayetteville, New York Fayetteville is a village located in Onondaga County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the village had a population of 4,225. The village is named after the Marquis de Lafayette, a national hero of both France and the United S ...

. Adams attended

Clarkson College Clarkson College is a private college in Omaha, Nebraska focused on the health sciences. The institution was founded in 1888 by Meliora Clarkson following the death of her husband Bishop Robert Clarkson of the Episcopal Church. It is affiliate ...

, now Clarkson University, on an athletic scholarship. He joined Sigma Delta, a local fraternity, and graduated in 1962 with a Business Management (BBA) degree. In 2012 Adams was inducted into the Sports Hall of Fame at Clarkson University. After graduation, Adams worked for

Corning Glass Corning Incorporated is an American multinational technology company that specializes in specialty glass, ceramics, and related materials and technologies including advanced optics, primarily for industrial and scientific applications. The co ...

in various engineering positions, and then entered the supermarket industry in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

as an independent sales representative. He then joined a

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo County ...

startup making

microprocessor A microprocessor is a computer processor where the data processing logic and control is included on a single integrated circuit, or a small number of integrated circuits. The microprocessor contains the arithmetic, logic, and control circu ...

s to reduce retail energy usage. In 1983 Adams joined

Dave Pelz David T. Pelz is an American golf coach, known for his expertise and published writing on the art of the short game, particularly putting. Pelz's ''Short Game Bible'' was a ''New York Times'' "national best-seller" in 1999. Eleven of Pelz's prof ...

Golf in

Abilene, Texas Abilene ( ) is a city in Taylor and Jones Counties in Texas, United States. Its population was 125,182 at the 2020 census, making it the 27th-most populous city in the state of Texas. It is the principal city of the Abilene metropolitan statis ...

Adams Golf

When Dave Pelz Golf Golf Inc. went

bankrupt Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debt ...

, Adams bought the assets and started Adams Golf. Initially specializing in custom fitted

golf club A golf club is a club used to hit a golf ball in a game of golf. Each club is composed of a shaft with a grip and a club head. Wood (golf), Woods are mainly used for long-distance fairway or tee shots; iron (golf), irons, the most versatile class ...

s, the company rapidly expanded after the creation of the Adams Tight Lies fairway

wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin th ...

. In 1998 Adams Golf went public with an

initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...

underwritten by

Lehman Brothers Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. ( ) was an American global financial services firm founded in 1847. Before Bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, filing for bankruptcy in 2008, Lehman was the fourth-largest investment bank in the United States (behind Gol ...

. Adams was selected as Manufacturing Entrepreneur of the Year by

Ernst & Young Ernst & Young Global Limited, trade name EY, is a multinational professional services partnership headquartered in London, England. EY is one of the largest professional services networks in the world. Along with Deloitte, KPMG and Pricewaterh ...

in 1999. The 2010 Ernie Sabayrac Award for lifetime contribution to the golf industry was presented to Adams by the PGA of America. Adams has also been named an Honorary Member for Life by the PGA Southern California Section, Desert Chapter. Adams served as

Chairman of the Board The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

of Adams Golf until June 2012 when the company was purchased by

TaylorMade-Adidas TaylorMade Golf Company is an American sports equipment manufacturing company based in Carlsbad, California, United States. The company focuses on the golf equipment market, producing golf clubs, balls, and clothing. TaylorMade Golf is currently ...

The WOW Factor

Adams book, ''The WOW Factor'', is an insiders look at the golf industry and offers business advice to entrepreneurs. Adams continues to be an avid golfer, but now mainly pursues his hobby, saltwater fly fishing.

Initiatives and Awards

Since retirement Adams continues to write about golf including regular contributions to ''GolfWRx''. A 2011 story culminated in the Tee It Forward movement, which he founded to help make the game more enjoyable by helping amateurs play from the distance that aligns with their abilities. He remains active with two charities, The Ryan Foundation benefiting MPS and Orphan Diseases, and Folds of Honor which supports military families. In 2012 Barney Adams was inducted into the Clarkson College Hall of Fame, and in 2022 he was inducted into the Texas Golf Hall of Fame for lifetime achievement in golf. Adams also created new shaft technology in 2022,https://breakthroughgolftech.com/about/ with Breakthrough Golf Technology, bringing innovation to putter shafts.

References

External links

Adams Golf.''The WOW Factor'', Sky Horse Publishing.Newport, John Paul (May 21, 2011). "Finding a Game for the Rest of Us" The Wall Street Journal.Dorman, Larry (July 10, 2011). "Par: Tailoring the Tees to the Players to Bring the Fun Back to Golf" The New York Times.Tee It Forward-Golf Channel's "Live from the U.S. Open" (June 14, 2011).
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PGA Southern California Section.
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GolfWRx

The Ryan Foundation.Folds of Honor.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Barney Golfers from New York (state) Businesspeople from Syracuse, New York 1939 births Living people