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Testers Wanted! Titleist SM10 and Stix Golf Clubs ×
Testers Wanted! Titleist SM10 and Stix Golf Clubs

Berg Ryman

 
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Test Comments posted by Berg Ryman

    Posted

    20 minutes ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

    15k is our record so still have a ways to go.

    1600 is normal for forum push, when the HQ announcement goes out this weekend... Well them with their 300k followers could break the forum haha 

    oh I know, 1800 in the first 12 hours though, seems like 5k easy over the weekend if the announcement goes out.

    Posted

    3 hours ago, Golfspy_CG2 said:

     

     

    Not neccesarily 

    Actually the Cobra Challenge signups in the past are not typically record setting application amounts.   And a large part of that is we (the staff) try to be very upfront about the time commitment and expectations of the testing that are asked of all particiapnts.   It's much much more than a normal test of a driver or irons.   You are going to spend a lot of time not only playing and on the range, but writing up several full reviews of the entire bag. 

    I give a huge amount of respect to those who would love a full bag, but choose not to apply knowing they couldn't meet the expected time commitments. 

     

    And this right here is why, despite this being one of the tests that always brings excitement, it also leads me to never throw my hat in the ring for it. The time commitment is something fierce and knowing what's required can make even a hardened MGS review vet steer clear 

    Posted

    So I do hate to bump, but considering we're nearing the part of this review where we would need to make a decision as to keeping the driver or sending it back, figured I'd come back and inform you that DDC is still accepting memberships for the start of the 2022 season when they can reload their stock. If you didn't laugh, you'd cry.

    Also, complaints are now starting to come in through the BBB page for them and are now going unanswered, leading to them being an F rated business.

    Posted

    44 minutes ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

    For me as much as I thought this idea had potential seems like it is pretty much dead in the water. If they can't provide the newest kit this pont in the season then there is very little incentive to look at a membership. Not like these clubs haven't been around for a while and they are easily found to test either at demo days or at local shops. 

    Appreciate the update. Sorry it wasn't the greatest test as far as a postive one, but the insights provided by the testers go a long ways to helping members avoid the mistake of getting involved with this company. 

    No problem Jaime, again this thread should be held up to show that people aren't paying for positive results here with testing. We're not going to hide away from the shadows if the company wants to operate there. Again, I could see this idea getting folded into company only offerings like what Taylor Made is doing, but a decentralized platform just seems unlikely to work

    Posted

    So I think I finally broke through to chat yesterday. I was asking about how ending the membership works, and they told me notices go out around a month out of your membership ending for you to take next steps.

    I then asked about 2022 stock and got the typical answer as to supply chain, but it's coming soon. When I said I was frustrated I finally got what I thought was a real answer when they told me "well if you don't want to wait, we recommend you cancel"

    Things are rotten in Denmark... and I'm not talking by the docks.

    L.A.B Putters

       192

    Posted

    10 minutes ago, Grand Stranded said:

    That was my plan my plan going in @Berg Ryman! Hopefully it plays out the way I hope after the fitting process. If it’s left up to me, I’d like to go completely off the reservation here, and go with something that I’ve never done before.

    My first choice would be the broomstick, then the armlock would be second. Either one of those in a 2.1 head would be a lot of fun to try.

     

    Aquaman-My-Man.gif

    L.A.B Putters

       192

    Posted

    In all honesty, the builds for everyone are what I'm most intrigued in. In DF 2.1 alone there are three heads, three grips, eight shafts and 36 lineup lines for a total of 2592 potential builds at base level, not including length and lie. B.2 has 160 different possibilities and Mezz.1 has 72.

    In total, folks have the selection of over 2824 different builds, at standard length style putting, not counting potential armlock or broomstick builds as well.

    Let's get weird...

    Posted

    And another update. I'm been playing the G425 Max now for a few rounds with the Alta CB 55, it's been ok for accuracy, but I don't feel as if I'm getting the distance performance out of the club I was looking for. Part of me believes that the shaft weight and lighter shaft with a different kickpoint might be leading to a well centered strike, but higher spin leading to a more accurate flight, but lesser distance.

    Curious I looked at the the shaft switch option to see if the AV Raw Orange or the Tour 65 was available. The 65 was and I went through the process until I got to the payment screen. They wanted FIFTY DOLLARS to exchange a shaft. I'm sorry, but that's preposterous. Also, I thought about exchanging with my final upgrade request... turns out the upgrade process is currently frozen as, and this is a direct quote from the DDC website.

    "Upgrade requests are temporarily unavailable. We're working to replace the 2021 driver options with the new 2022 options. Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding as we make this transition."

    I mean this honestly, I don't want to bury DDC, but this isn't a good sign or good business practices.

    Posted

    5 minutes ago, TBS said:

    Why don't OEMs just do this same membership service? $40 / month to play their newest driver with the opportunity for 2 trade ins per year. OEMs then sell the drivers used for $200-$300 and still come out ahead. 

    Well @TBS, as alluded to in my review, Taylormade has rolled this kind of service into MyTaylorMade+, both paid models give you access to "try it then buy it" with their equipment, besides getting video instruction, GPS and score tracking, and the ability to schedule fittings with their staff and keep a competitive handicap. It's 119.99 for Champion and 239.99 for Legend, which also includes virtual swing analysis and coaching. Arguably if you're a TM fan, it's the way to go and if it proves successful, don't be surprised if other companies steal it.

    Posted

    7 minutes ago, ChitownM2 said:

    @Berg RymanGreat review.  It does sound like there are some kinks to work out in the system.  One item I think you should add to your review is the date of your review.  You mention that 2022 drivers are still not available, but that has no context without a publish date.  

     

    I think I looked at this service sometime last fall and noticed that it was closed to new members and as of today it still appears they aren't taking on new people so.....does anyone know the reason for this?  Is it just so wildly popular that they are at maximum capacity and can't support anyone else or is this something where they've realized they aren't making money and are trying to limit the bleeding until they figure out a way to revamp the offering to turn a profit?

    I'd be very interested to see the criteria that is required for them to make money.  I mean even if they are buying drivers at wholesale, they would still likely be losing money on every customer who demoes 3 drivers and ends up purchasing one.  As someone else previously suggested I think it would make a lot more sense for them to keep a demo inventory and have those be the clubs that are sent out to people and then if someone wants to purchase you swap it for a new club.  You could always weed out clubs with serious cosmetic damage to prevent someone from getting a really bad club but it would save them a lot since the difference between wholesale and trade-in prices are still very large.

    @ChitownM2, interesting point on the date. I thought having the launch windows for the 2022 stuff was good, but I'll add final date of review as well.

    As to your second paragraph, that's the biggest mystery for us as well. When I mentioned the radio silence, it wasn't just the testers getting it from DDC, the mod team in charge of setting up testing of DDC and the contacts we had around it also really hadn't heard much. Obviously, it's not my spot to speculate or cast rumor or doubt on the company, but I wouldn't be surprised if there were issues in the supply chain hampering things, and in the cash flow sense as well. COVID has had long reaching impacts and services like this in the past like I alluded to in review have had cash issues, perhaps it was a perfect storm of both things? I don't think we're ever going to know honestly.

    Posted

    1 hour ago, jlukes said:

    Just read the @Berg Ryman and review and I am perplexed about their business/price model

    So you pay an annual subscription of $360 with the option to get 3 different drivers.  But then you still need to pay every time you want to actually, you know, try a driver?!

    s***, just charge $400 for the membership with no cost to switch drivers.  Don't charge a membership fee and then nickel and dime your customer any time they actually want to use your program how it is designed.

    So, I got thinking about this after reading this critique, and I think it gets even worse now that I wrap my head around it, but I do think there is a solution that doesn't involve a price raise.

    Normally, when you buy a year subscription to things, you can sometimes get a reduced rate instead of going on a month to month basis. For example, I game on PS5, I play for Playstation Plus and I buy a year subscription for 60 bucks, compared to going month to month at 9.99, a savings of 50%. Save thing when I buy a year's worth of a streaming service, like HBO Max I get a nice 16% savings for being a year long consumer instead of month to month.

    Now, I know that's not universally the plan for some companies, but with DDC, it is definitely not. You pay either $30 a month or $365 up front for a year, so there's no saving for going more long term. Now, @jlukes, here's where I think you can make the change. Make shipping free for those who buy in at a year, without a price change. At that point, you're giving perceived value by saying that you get to ship for free, while promoting the lower cost than going to month to month because if the shipment costs 20 dollars, well now you can say you're getting 12 months for the cost of 10, a savings of 16%. If they don't use the shipment, great, you're back to the 30 dollar a month cost with nothing lost, but at least you're offering an incentive to get more money from the consumer.

    Just a thought I guess

    Posted

    15 hours ago, PeterHenric said:

    @Berg Ryman So my biggest question and possibly even complaint, is if you went through 2-3 drivers and realized that your favorite was one that you had already tried and wanted to purchase, you couldn’t get that club back unless you used your final swap to get it back and then purchase. Correct? I understand why they can’t let people have multiple drivers at the same time but I think it would be better to have the testing pool be used drivers and then if you wanted to actually purchase one, you could get a new one. 

    In its current form, I don’t think I’d see myself getting a subscription. If you could demo used drivers for periods of time and then use that money, or even a portion of the money, to purchase a new one, I’d be all in. Same thing with irons or woods. Hitting clubs on mats in hitting bays just isn’t the same thing as playing out on the course. I wish there were more ways to demo clubs and then make a purchasing decision.

    Peter,

    So maybe the review wasn't clear on this point, but the fee you pay does get used as a credit toward the purchase of the driver you have in your possession, so for example if I wanted to buy the G425 I have currently, I'd be credited $360 toward the final purchase price of $549.

    As to your point about getting used clubs, just thinking aloud here knowing what I know from working at a big box retailer which took trades in the golf space (hint, rhymes with Rick's Porting Woods), the quality of the used market can run the gamut and I would think unless you're buying direct demos from dealers, it's too much of a hassle to have all those different sku's. Plus, you're trying to put out your best product to entice me to buy, you ship me a used SIM2 with some beatdown on it when I'm paying 30 bucks a month or 360 all at once... I'm not going to be happy.

    Posted

    5 minutes ago, MattWillGolf said:

    Great review. To be clear, their fee doesn’t cover return shipping? 

    It does not. When I went in for the upgrade, it was a flat $20 dollar to get the next club shipped to me and the initial shipping cost was $16.95. There was apparently some discussion behind the scenes about them potentially covering these because we were testers, but that never came to pass. 

    Considering the overhead on shipping I get charging, but if you're a year long subscriber I would have hoped for something a bit cheaper.


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