TBS

I stopped using it. I think Dynamic Brands makes very quality products but keeping up with an app like this takes some commitment of human and capital resources, so a company dealing with 90% of bags and carts, adding this tech item plus an app seems a little off of their typical products. So a failure to keep up with OS requirements does not surprise me. 
Like I said in my review, I think the intention of this product is good, but requiring the use of a separate app misses the mark, for me.

Hey guys, It is a MGS Christmas giveaway!!!! Just not the giveaway you probably came here looking for….Christmas is right around the corner and everyone likes to receive gifts around the holidays whether it's a fresh pair of socks or a new car?! Either way it’s the season of giving and receiving. I was thinking of a way to do something special for someone and had an idea. 
If anyone follows @acaseofthegolf1 (Monday Q info) on twitter, Ryan has had some great opportunities to gather donations through his followers and PGA tour players and send to high school/middle school golf teams that are in need. I have a couple items, a never used Cobra Radspeed 3 wood that was sent to me by mistake (Cobra doesn’t want it back) and a new Cobra bag (never got to use since the CC5 never quite got started) that I want to donate to someone/a golf team in need! I want to know if there are any connections out there where a school might not have the funds to help their players or the players are playing with some really old equipment. I know it is not much, but still want to give these items away. Maybe by posting this early enough, I can find someone to donate this to and get it to them by Christmas. I don’t know if this has been done before, but if anyone else has some equipment lying around that they would consider donating, let me know! I’d love to try to gather up any donations and send them to someone/a group in need. At the very least they are getting a new 3 wood and bag.
I’m open to any suggestions, but thought I’d start here with a post. I know I could donate to a local golf store/my local club, but I wanted to reach out to the forum first.
**Disclaimer, I know the 3 wood might not be to a person’s spec, but at least someone could give it a try at the very least. 

Hey guys - I wanted to revisit this test and ask a question of the testers. @Mtbryant01 @revkev @Rchang @StrokerAce
Are you still using this product? If so, how often or frequently do you use it? 

You are the man @MattF, sharing love and celebrating the forum every day!!

The PGA should be more worried about the LPGA.  They are as good or better players and viewership growing every year.  If the PGA Tour gets hijacked by BIG $$$, and effectively goes by way of the NFL, NBA, and MLB, I'll just watch more LPGA, Champions Tour, and European Tour golf.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

I think there is a market for MacKenzie bags, specifically custom ones. I definitely want one eventually, they have made some really sweet custom ones. 

I like that but an interesting twist would be if MGS and TXG fit the same golfer and then got together to discuss the data and why they made the equipment suggestions they did.
Bringing 2 data centered equipment nerds together!

Hello fellow hackers!  Nice to have a place to talk golf and get information about clubs, etc.  I love birdies and bourbon. I love the game of golf even though it doesn't always love me back.  I've accomplished one ace, one albatross and managed to break 70 once!  Now, I'm trying to play as much as I can before my spine says I have to stop!  
How long have you been playing golf? What’s your handicap or normal score?  I'm an 8 handicap according to GHIN, but don't feel like it on some days! I grew up around the game thanks to my dad. After HS, I played consistently for 10-12 years and then had kids which tapered my game off.  The kids are now 14 and 10 and getting interested in the game so I'm back playing regularly. 
What do you love about golf?  The feel of a great shot, the fellowship, and the outdoors.  My favorite time to play is at dusk.  And now, teaching my son and daughter the game even though they don't listen at times.
What brings you to MyGolfSpy? Do you already know any other Spies?  Researching new club options.
Where are you from? What is your home course?  Central AL - Saugahatchee Country Club
What are the best and worst things about golf in your region?  Can play year round for the most part, but the heat and humidity can beat you down.  I used to love it as a younger man, but now I'd rather play early and beat the heat.  Can be pricey.  
What do you do for a living?  Product Manager/Marketing
 

I went to Berry College in Rome. There are some really underrated golf courses in the NW Georgia area. Welcome!

Hello all, my name is Stephen Cole and I am from Cartersville, GA. I look forward to chatting with you all about all things golf. 

Another great test by the MGS crew - https://mygolfspy.com/2021-most-wanted-wedge/
Wow have the top wedges gotten expensive. For a piece of equipment that you are supposed to replace every year or 2, $150+ is getting steep. But, I think if I needed to upgrade, I might try the Sub70. Seems like a great budget option for a third of the price with only a slight drop off in performance. Who else misses the days of Cleveland RTX4?
What is your biggest takeaway from this test? 

Same pairings, different batting order tomorrow for the Americans. Things have been reshuffled for the Euros, including Rory sitting!

Strick is committed to the data, so I won’t be surprised if it seems like his pairings don’t make sense based off today’s play. 
 
I’m loving his strategy and game plan. Keeping everyone guessing. 

Am I starting to come around on Bryson?? 
 
Oh no, it’s happening!

Strick is committed to the data, so I won’t be surprised if it seems like his pairings don’t make sense based off today’s play. 
 
I’m loving his strategy and game plan. Keeping everyone guessing. 

Am I starting to come around on Bryson?? 
 
Oh no, it’s happening!

Strick is committed to the data, so I won’t be surprised if it seems like his pairings don’t make sense based off today’s play. 
 
I’m loving his strategy and game plan. Keeping everyone guessing. 

I've only scanned through some of these responses but I want to echo what so many have said and show some data that backs it up. A few months ago, I wanted to see if I could identify the X factor on getting chosen.
Well, there is no X factor, the mods like @GolfSpy MPR @GolfSpy_THV @Golfspy_CG2 (Sorry if I left you out! These came to mind first) do a great job of selecting both high and low posters, donors, non-donors, and first time and returners. 
There is no secret - get involved, post quality content, if you get chosen to review do it well and timely, support others in the community, and donate if you can.

I've only scanned through some of these responses but I want to echo what so many have said and show some data that backs it up. A few months ago, I wanted to see if I could identify the X factor on getting chosen.
Well, there is no X factor, the mods like @GolfSpy MPR @GolfSpy_THV @Golfspy_CG2 (Sorry if I left you out! These came to mind first) do a great job of selecting both high and low posters, donors, non-donors, and first time and returners. 
There is no secret - get involved, post quality content, if you get chosen to review do it well and timely, support others in the community, and donate if you can.

I've only scanned through some of these responses but I want to echo what so many have said and show some data that backs it up. A few months ago, I wanted to see if I could identify the X factor on getting chosen.
Well, there is no X factor, the mods like @GolfSpy MPR @GolfSpy_THV @Golfspy_CG2 (Sorry if I left you out! These came to mind first) do a great job of selecting both high and low posters, donors, non-donors, and first time and returners. 
There is no secret - get involved, post quality content, if you get chosen to review do it well and timely, support others in the community, and donate if you can.

If Stricker is going with the pod system, these are the perfect pods. Brooks being with Berger and English will help him get into the team spirit. Bryson with the "cool kids" will help his ego and keep him positive. The DJ group is interesting but all 4 put together create the most well rounded team when it comes to strength on course. I'm pumped.

I've only scanned through some of these responses but I want to echo what so many have said and show some data that backs it up. A few months ago, I wanted to see if I could identify the X factor on getting chosen.
Well, there is no X factor, the mods like @GolfSpy MPR @GolfSpy_THV @Golfspy_CG2 (Sorry if I left you out! These came to mind first) do a great job of selecting both high and low posters, donors, non-donors, and first time and returners. 
There is no secret - get involved, post quality content, if you get chosen to review do it well and timely, support others in the community, and donate if you can.

Background 
After I took a few months off of MGS due to some work and life things that needed my attention, I finally got some time to log back on and post a long overdue review. After posting, I found myself curious as to how I was selected and the likelihood of being selected again, especially since my product was so niche and did not receive many interactions. So I took the challenge upon myself to do a not so scientific study of how reviewers are selected and compare it to the post (https://forum.mygolfspy.com/faq/testing/how-are-equipment-testers-chosen-r11/) by the Mods on how testers are selected. While there are no bombshells, I think we Spys understand the value of data in telling our story. So, I did my best at pulling all data from the past 18 months of reviews
 
Methods 
First off, I am no data scientist. From DJ to Bryson, I’m somewhere in the middle. I mainly do very basic data analysis in my role through excel. I know, I know, SQL is much more efficient and I’ll get around to learning it. For this study, I focused on 18 months of product reviews. I chose this timeframe to get some data points outside of the pandemic. I started going through the review pages and noticed it was not as organized as I thought, so I chose to do only 18 months of reviews that were already on the “Past Opportunities” page in the dropdown menu. Like I said, I believe that there may have been a few more reviews that have not been archived to this page, but I don’t think it was significant.
I then did the manual labor of data entry and collection. I clicked on each individual “TESTERS ANNOUNCED” within the time frame, recorded the following data points 
-       date of review published
-       product
-       rough product MSRP 
-       MGS username
-       If the User has a Donor badge on their profile
-       Content count
-       Total reputation
-       Month and year MGS account was created
-       City and State
Once all of this information was input into the spreadsheet, I then added a note if they had multiple reviews and I also created an additional metric to measure the quality of the posts. All analysis comes from these data points.
 
Limitations
Overall, the main limitation is that this dataset was manually curated, so there could be a mistake, but any mistake would be minor. I have checked that there is not an additional 0 added somewhere but there could be +/- 5 units off when it comes to reputation due to fat fingers on a keyboard. Additionally, the MSRP was calculated off a quick Google search. I get that there could be sales, or the price was actually $25 higher at the time of testing. Finally, the content created, and total reputation numbers are not accurate to the time the member was selected. There is no way for me to go back and see this information, but I proceeded with collecting this because for the most part, I believe that most people’s posts grow linearly. So, the quality of posts metric should not be too far off. I will address that in bigger reviews (Cobraconnect), this ratio can get skewed. Enough with the small talk, let’s take a look at the data.
 
Data:
Let’s take a look at the data!
By the numbers-
-       48 total products
-       202 unique testers
-       ~$119,625 total costs of products tested
 
As I said in the introduction, I will be using the MGS selection criteria as a framework of analysis.
Picture – I did not go through and collect this data. This is also the easiest of all of them. Put something up there! I’ve seen pictures of the people (I assume), cartoons, their children, memes, etc. Just put something up. (Inclusive, but probably true)
Prove review chops - 71 (35%) of people had more than 1 review. If you get chosen, even for the smallest thing, a pushcart distance tracker, a dozen balls, etc. take it seriously and write a good review. This means good pictures, concise statements that clearly articulate your opinion on a product, timely submissions, and good follow ups. A good first review will go a long way to getting your second review and the data clearly backs this up. Additionally, one anecdotal note, it was very common for there to be a progression of items to review, starting with a smaller item and then growing to more expensive items. (True)
Start posting – Please remember that this category is not perfect because I was not able to pull the post and reputation numbers at the time the testers were selected. I am assuming that people post at a linear rate. I looked at three areas for this section. Number of posts, Total reputation, and third metric that I created, Quality of post score. I wanted to look at how many interactions per post the reviewer gets. This metric speaks to higher quality of posts for the forum.
 
Total number of posts
Total reputation
Quality of Post Score*
Range
5 - 14,307
3 - 26,497
0.09 - 5.8
Mean
1,412
2866
1.92
Median
513
824
1.85
Because of such a large range with bunching happening at the higher end of each category, I would suggest forum members look at the Median. The best chance for you to be chosen is to have over 500 posts with over 800 total reputation which comes out to 1.85 interactions per post. Like I said earlier, there were a number of members chosen with less than this number but most under 500 posts were in the 100-200 range. I think the biggest takeaway, is to post frequently and create posts that others want to engage in. I think an average user can get to 200+ posts in 2-3 months. 
There might be an issue that leads to inequity when it comes to being chosen. As I started reviewing some of the posts and interactions, if you are chosen for a more high-profile test, your posts and interactions will increase at a higher rate than other members. This easily leads to a boost in your profile making it easier to be selected. I don’t think there is a way around smoothing out this distinct increase, but it is something that I hope mods take notice of. (True)
 Become an MGS Donor
This category comes with major limitations. The only public piece of data that I was able to collect was if the member included the MGS Donor badge in their profile. From this information I found 59.9% of testers had a donor badge in their profile. I suspect that this number may be closer to 70-80% but these members have not reached out to get the donor badge added.
(Inconclusive but probably true)
Overall, MGS is clear about how testers are selected. For the most part their criteria is clear and the data shows that they follow the criteria for selection. 
Common misconceptions
I wanted to add a section that debunked some of the common misconceptions that I had when I first joined the forum. 
-       I have to be a member for a long time before I get anything (FALSE)
o   Over the past 18 months, members who were selected had profiles created from March 2010 – November 2020. 42 testers (21%) joined in 2020. If you’re new and are contributing to the forum, you have a decent chance of being selected.
-       Once I get one review, I won’t ever get another (FALSE)
o   71 (35%) members had more than 1 review in 18 months. I suspect if I go back even further, they had other reviews too. As I said in the above section, if you get chosen and do a good review, you actually put yourself at an advantage to be selected again.
o   No reviewer had more than 3 reviews in the past 18 months. It appears that this is the limit, it looks to be extremely rare for a member to have more than 1 review every 6 months. 
-       I have to be good at golf to be selected for a review (FALSE)
o   This idea is very much false, MGS wants members of all skill levels to be involved in testing. In order to prove this, I pulled the handicaps listed on members’ profiles. This is a limitation because it is member provided information that is most likely not updated regularly. Regardless, here is what I found.
Range – (33 - +5) Mean – 10.09 Median – 9.2 o   If anything, having an accurate handicap is beneficial to being selected because, it appears that MGS wants to have a broad range of testers for each product, specifically balls and clubs.
 
Conclusion
For the most part, MGS sticks to what they say when it comes to choosing testers but it appears that there is some non-measurables that they use when it comes to selecting first time testers. It does not appear that there is a formula or that it is completely random. There seems to be a human element which makes it hard to say exactly why specific members were chosen over others from the outside looking in. 
Shoutout to @Brian A, @jlukes, @B.Boston, @txgolfjunkie, @gavinski91, @Mtbryant01, @daviddvm for having been selected to review over $3,000 worth of equipment! These individuals were ones who had been selected for this year or last year's Cobraconnect challenge. So each of them had at least one product review in addition to cobra connect in the past 18 months. 
 
TL;DR - Overall, post quality content frequently, if you are given a chance to test an item, take it seriously, and keep posting. If you’re new and you stay involved, your time will come. 
 
Okay, I’m tired. Let me know you’re thoughts!

I've only scanned through some of these responses but I want to echo what so many have said and show some data that backs it up. A few months ago, I wanted to see if I could identify the X factor on getting chosen.
Well, there is no X factor, the mods like @GolfSpy MPR @GolfSpy_THV @Golfspy_CG2 (Sorry if I left you out! These came to mind first) do a great job of selecting both high and low posters, donors, non-donors, and first time and returners. 
There is no secret - get involved, post quality content, if you get chosen to review do it well and timely, support others in the community, and donate if you can.

I'm so in. I definitely picked with my heart and not my head on this one. Oh well, its the Ryder Cup baby! USA!