[MyGolfSpy]

Should MyGolfSpy do our own version of the "Hot List"? {Take them head-on} .... Thinks it's about time???

Let us know your opinions...we are debating it right now.

* (any and all opinions and ideas are welcome)

[Miboy62]

That would be awesome. Maybe start out with just drivers, see where it goes from their?

[apples]

Yes, absolutely. Use the exact same clubs for each category that they did. Give the consumer what they need to know (truth), not just what they're used to.

[nicsherman]

I would love to have some performance data that would compare all the clubs on the "Hot List" to each other, as well as some not as well known brands. Lets take the "Buzz Factor" out of the ratings, and judge clubs based purely on performance.

[nicsherman]

My other thought is to rank all the clubs accurately in each category. One list for performance, one list for aesthetics, one list for "Buzz" ect....
I know that for some consumers, what is "cool" is the most important factor when choosing clubs. If a consumer is able to clearly see that he is choosing club A because it is neat, and not because it works, that might open some eyes...

[Jgolf]

nicsherman, on 09 January 2012 - 07:27 PM, said:

My other thought is to rank all the clubs accurately in each category. One list for performance, one list for aesthetics, one list for "Buzz" ect....

+1

[drbloor]

Eh. Not so sure about this--one golfer's "hot" is another's "not." Once you start moving away from data, you're inviting mischief...

[GolfSpy Matt]

If MGS does decide to do a hot list, I would suggest that it be 100% data driven. Opening it to up "Buzz" is too subjective. I might even shy away from "Looks" and "Feel" unless the pool of testers was large enough that you felt you had a really good, representative sample. Actually, better than ranking looks and feel, just show the club at address (and other angles) and take a recording of the sound!

MGS > GD

[wdgolf]

GolfSpy Matt, on 09 January 2012 - 10:57 PM, said:

If MGS does decide to do a hot list, I would suggest that it be 100% data driven. Opening it to up "Buzz" is too subjective. I might even shy away from "Looks" and "Feel" unless the pool of testers was large enough that you felt you had a really good, representative sample. Actually, better than ranking looks and feel, just show the club at address (and other angles) and take a recording of the sound!

MGS > GD

+1 to this.

[bcgolf]

NO, no hot lists. Is there any use, any need ? Consider this, everyone is full of custom fitting these days. Every player is unique and so on and so on. So what's the use of testing and hotlisting stock off the shelf gear when everyone should be custom fit in the first place ? Wouldn't that just be useless info then, right ?

[GolfSpy Matt]

bcgolf, on 10 January 2012 - 05:24 AM, said:

NO, no hot lists. Is there any use, any need ? Consider this, everyone is full of custom fitting these days. Every player is unique and so on and so on. So what's the use of testing and hotlisting stock off the shelf gear when everyone should be custom fit in the first place ? Wouldn't that just be useless info then, right ?

I think the fact that many (far far far from "all") golfers are taking advantage of custom fitting does not make a Hot List useless.

For example: I know that I like KBS Tour iron shafts. I will likely put them in any iron head that I play. That does not mean that I don't want to know about the performance of the various iron heads out there so that I can narrow down my list of what to try. Of course, you can argue that the performance of the iron will be affected by the stock shaft, but the list still gives me a starting point.

I think the bigger point is that the vast majority of golfers are still not getting custom fit, and probably never will because they just play casually/don't want to spend the money/100 other reasons that I hear every day at the shop. For them, a meaningful Hot List would be very useful.

[GolfSpy Dave]

Isn't this sort of already in place?
If you click on the reviews on the main page, they are sorted by rating in the different categories.

[JohnBarry]

Yes you should, since it was my idea!!!

[nicsherman]

GolfSpy Dave, on 10 January 2012 - 07:55 AM, said:

Isn't this sort of already in place?
If you click on the reviews on the main page, they are sorted by rating in the different categories.

If I wanted to read what GD thought, I would buy the magazine...

[GolfSpy Matt]

GolfSpy Dave, on 10 January 2012 - 09:55 AM, said:

Isn't this sort of already in place?
If you click on the reviews on the main page, they are sorted by rating in the different categories.

I think the idea is to do testing of all the products for a given year at once with a bigger group of testers.