DejaGolf

Older thread, great topic. I haven't played Titleist balls for 50 years because the Titleist script always looks crooked to me. Just can't set the ball down and make it straight. Even when I hide the logo by turning the ball to a white space on top, I "feel" the crookedness of the logo script on the bottom. I also have wedges that my eyes just cannot square up--put that with a Titleist ball and it's a really bad day.

(I don't usually quote the whole darn thing like this) Thanks for the response. Love the mission pages. Reviews IMO are your foundation and biggest asset right now. GolfWRX is a community, ebb and flow kind of engaging conversations. They do reviews and media, but it has no punch. Hackers Paradise is a father/mother to the hordes of kids on their site, clammering for more. SandTrap is kind of in between and vanilla, with no expertise except a long history and loyal following. Seems to me the design of the site is less important than its members, which means the content and UX are king for its members. Yeah, I'd listen, pay attention to the polls, with the other ear on revenue and advertising which you can turn around to benefits for the members. Also, publicity for MyGolfSpy is key. Get the name some life--what does it mean? I'll give the site an informal audit and PM you with some suggestions. Might take a week or so. Thanks. Next day: I've read a lot on the site and have a better idea of where you are, so I might have been late the party as far as suggestions go. Seems like you're all doing the right thing--gathering viewpoints and tweaking the site. I think it feels pretty darn good.

As a relative newbie and hardcore lurker here, I have a few observations. Mods in the forums are nice, but in a lot of companies they pay someone to sit there and be a presence for the mods, using their handle. Response to questions is the goal, yes? Ads are always a problem. There are ways to discover which ads work. IMO it boils down to the types of ads. I'd poll the membership, then encouraage advertisers to offer more value: discounts, contests, freebies, a membership role in the forums offering expertise and in-line links, advertorial-type write ups that inform and show involvement, podcasts of interviews with people in the business with something to sell that can educate (think of Michael Breed's Club Champion segments). I'd be very interested to read a mission statement or the like on the site. Are you GolfWRX or Hacker's Paradise, etc. ? Do you focus on current topics and news or vintage equipment and ideas? Seems to me you can't please all the people all the time. I first encounted GolfSpy as a review resource, then was impressed by the expertise they evoked. Forums rely on the personality of your members. Nerds over at GolfWRX, fun-loving social types at HP. I don't get a feel for the membership here (although, I am not very involved yet). I get the feeling this has all been hashed over and over already. From the site's POV, it is a branding problem. The site wants to maintain a strong brand, unique expert content, then attract like-minded loyalists. That means engaging members ASAP with new content and personal benefits. Polling works to a certain point. Then, choices work better: Here are 3 homepage designs, choose 1. Here are 3 ad solutions, choose 1. etc. Good luck.

Sounds good. My son lives in Lutherville. Keep me up to date.

Howdy all. My name is Tim Schoch. Originally a New Jersey boy, I've been in VA for 4 years, living near Charlottesville. I'm a retired book author, writer, copywriter, and marketing professional. I've written about golf for GolfWRX and various publications going back into the 1970s. I won a golf magazine writing contest and a week's worth of lessons with Hank Haney, and until recently ran a golf blog. I still play older clubs because I simply can't find anything that is much of an improvement, and I've purchased many other iron sets and drivers for testing. The experience was rather eye-opening, and the big benefit is my confidence in my current set-up is rock solid. I don't doubt that anything else can make much of a difference, and that is a good feeling when I'm grinding over a putt for a 50-cent birdie. At my age and with my game playing only once or twice a week, my handicap in a given year can vary from 10 to 15. Currently it has been holding at 12. Nice to be here.