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Hot List 2012


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Golf Digest just released a list of all the clubs that they tested for this years Hot List in hopes of quelling complaints that they focus on the OEM's....

 

 

 

Drivers

 

Adams Fast 12 LS

Bob Burns No Bananas DAT

Bob Burns B-2 Bomber

Boccieri Heavy Driver

Bridgestone J40 (430/445)

Callaway RAZR Fit

Callaway RAZR X Black

Cleveland Black

Cleveland Classic

Cobra ZL Encore

Cobra Long Tom

Cobra AMP

DnA Welded Alpha 610

Fourteen DT-111 Titanium

Henry-Griffitts Praxis 450

Hireko Power Play Caiman X2

MacGregor Tourney

Nicklaus ML 4

Nike VR Pro Limited Edition

Nike VR_S

Ping G20

Ping i20

PowerBilt Air Force One DF

TaylorMade R11-S

TaylorMade RocketBallz/RocketBallz Tour

Titleist 910D2/D3

Tour Edge Exotics CB4 Tour

Tour Edge Exotics XCG-5

Tour Edge HT Max-D

Wilson Staff Dxi Superlight

Yonex Ezone Type 380

Yonex Ezone SD

 

 

Fairway Woods

 

Adams Fast 12

Adams Super Ti/Tung

Bob Burns No Bananas DAT

Boccieri Heavy Fairway

Bridgestone J40

Callaway RAZR Fit

Callaway RAZR X Black

Cleveland Mashie

Cleveland Black

Cobra AMP

Cobra Long Tom 2 wood

Cobra Baffler T-Rail

Fourteen SF-511

Fourteen VESPO FC-714

Fourteen W-422V

Hireko Power Play Caiman X2

Hireko Acer XDS React

MacGregor Tourney

Nicklaus Railsole

Nike VR Pro Limited Edition

Nike VR_S

Ping G20

Ping i20

PowerBilt Air Force One AF2

TaylorMade RocketBallz

TaylorMade R11s

Titleist 910F

Tour Edge Exotics XCG-4 Tour

Tour Edge Exotics XCG-5

Tour Edge HT Max-D

Wilson Staff Fybrid RS (Rocker Sole)

Yonex Ezone Type ST

Yonex Ezone SD

 

 

Hybrids

 

Adams a12/a12OS

Adams Super Hybrid

Adams Idea Pro a12

Bob Burns No Bananas DAT

Boccieri Heavy Hybrid

Bridgestone J40

Callaway RAZR X HL

Callaway RAZR X

Cleveland Mashie+

Cobra Baffler T-Rail

Cobra AMP

Fourteen UT-511

Hireko Dynacraft Avatar Evolution

MacGregor Tourney

Nickent 6DX

Nickent 6DT

Nicklaus Railsole

Nike VR_S

Orlimar TriMetal Dri-Bryd

Ping G20

Ping i20

PowerBilt Air Force One AF2

TaylorMade RocketBallz

Titleist 910 H

Tour Edge Exotics XCG-4 Tour

Tour Edge Exotics XCG-5

Tour Edge HT Max-D

Wilson Staff Fybrid RS

Yonex Ezone SD

Yonex Ezone

Yonex Ezone Zero Iron

 

 

Game Improvement irons

 

Adams Redline

Callaway RAZR X

Callaway RAZR Black

Cleveland CG Black

Cobra AMP

MacGregor Tourney

Mizuno JPX-800

Mizuno JPX-800 Pro

Nicklaus Polarity 3.0

Nike VR_S (Forged)

Ping G20

PowerBilt Air Force One AF2

TaylorMade R11

TaylorMade RocketBallz

Titleist AP1

Tour Edge Exotics XCG-5

Tour Edge HT Max-D

Wilson Staff Ci11

Yonex Ezone SD

 

 

Players Irons

 

Adams Pro a12

Adams MB2

Bob Burns True Forged

Bridgestone J40 Forged Cavity Back

Bridgestone J40 Forged Dual Pocket

Callaway RAZR X Tour

Callaway RAZR X Forged

Callaway RAZR X MB

Cleveland 588 MB

Cleveland 588 CB

Fourteen TC-710

Fourteen TC-930

Fourteen HI-610h TS

Fourteen TC-610

Henry-Griffitts T12

KZG Forged M Series

Mizuno MP-59

Mizuno MP-69

Mizuno MP-53

Nike VR Pro Combo CB

Nike VR Pro Blades

Ping i20

Ping S56

PowerBilt Air Force One Player Series Iron

SCOR SCOR4161

TaylorMade Tour Preferred MB

TaylorMade Tour Preferred MC

Titleist AP2

Titleist CB

Tour Edge Exotics CG Forged

Whitlam Gauge Design

Wilson Staff FG Tour V2

Yonex Ezone Forged MB

 

 

Super Game Improvement irons

 

Adams Idea a12OS

Bob Burns DAT Hollow Cavity

Callaway RAZR XF

Callaway RAZR X HL

Cleveland Mashie

Mizuno JPX-800HD

Nickent 6DX Combo

Nike VR_S (Cast)

Orlimar Tri-Metal ZXP

Ping K15

TaylorMade RocketBallz Max

Tour Edge JMAX gold

 

 

Wedges

 

Adams Puglielli

Bob Burns Master Grind

Boccieri Heavy Wedge TC

Bridgestone J40 Satin Chrome

Callaway Forged

Callaway X Series Jaws

Cleveland 588 Forged

Cleveland CG Black

Carnahan Vintage

Carnahan V-Groove

Carnahan Gunmetal

Cobra Trusty Rusty

Cobra Big Trusty Rusty

Fourteen RM-11

Fourteen MT-28 JSPECIV

Hireko Power Play Raw Spin

Hireko Acer XS

KZG MWC-1

MacGregor VIP

Mizuno MP R-12 Series

Mizuno MP T-11

Mizuno JPX

Nike VR Pro Forged

Ping Anser

Ping Tour-S

SCOR SCOR4161

Scratch 8620-USA Milled

TaylorMade ATV

Titleist Vokey SM4

Tour Edge Exotics Proto V1.1

Tour Edge TGS

Whitlam Gauge Design TCG series

Yonex Ezone

Yonex WS

 

 

Blade Putters

 

Axis1 Eagle

Bettinardi Studio Stock 11

Boccieri Heavy Putter Tour Series Q2-MT

Byron Morgan Da Kine

Byron Morgan DH 89

Cleveland Classic

Carnahan Broadway

Dogleg Right

Flanigan FB1

Flanigan FB2

Flanigan 343

Hireko Dynacraft Hindsight

Hireko Dynacraft SPOT

MacGregor ROTA series

MacGregor Response

Never Compromise Limited Connoisseur Portofino

Never Compromise Sub30 Type 10

Nickent Omen

Nike Method Core MC

Odyssey ProType Tour series

Odyssey Metal-X

Odyssey Flip Face

Orlimar DuoTec DT3

Ping Anser Milled

Ping Scottsdale

Ping Karsten 1959

Profound Solution

Rife Island Series

Seemore M Series

Seemore Private Reserve

Seemore Si Series

STX Xform series

STX ProFIT

Sunset Beach Ocean Isle

Sunset Beach Masonboro

Sunset Beach Calabash

TaylorMade Ghost Tour

Titleist Cameron California

Titleist Cameron Select Newport

Tour Edge Backdraft GT series

Tour Edge T-Balance series

T.P. Mills Anvil

Whitlam Diamond

Whitlam The Little Dog

Wilson Staff 888 BLK series

Yes! -Groove

Yonex Ezone Full Milled

Yonex Ezone EZP01

 

Mallet Putters

 

Axis1 Umbra

Bettinardi BB-35

Bob Burns Putt-Mark

Bob Burns Great Dane

Bobby Grace AMG

Boccieri Heavy Putter Tour Series R3-MT

Cleveland Classic

Dogleg Right

GTX Tradition

Never Compromise Limited Connoisseur Perfecto

Never Compromise Sub30

Nickent Omen OP Series

Nike Method Core

Nike Method Concept

Odyssey ProType Tour series

Odyssey Metal-X

Odyssey Flip Face

Orlimar DuoTec DT4

Ping Sydney

Ping Scottsdale

PowerBilt Air Force One HT

Seemore fgp

Seemore SB2

Seemore M5x

Seemore DB4x

Seemore Si

STX Xform series

STX Sync Series

Sunset Beach Yaupon

Sunset Beach Surfside

Sunset Beach Pamlico

Sunset Beach Carolina

TaylorMade Ghost

Titleist Cameron California

Tour Edge Backdraft GT series

Tour Edge T-Balance series

T.P. Mills Anvil series

Whitlam Hummer 3

Whitlam Gauge Design M2H Crazy Caliper

Whitlam Window

Wilson Staff 888 BLK series

Yar Putter GX1-WB

Yonex Ezone Full Milled

Yonex Ezone EZM01

 

 

 

Reactions? I for one was impressed that they at least had a few fringe brands listed...

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Great to see some "smaller" guys on there, particularly in the wedge and putter section. Fourteen is obviously making a push with multiple entries in the iron category.

 

One thing I can say for sure: if you don't see gold medals around the "necks" of the Bettinardi SS11 and the Byron Morgans, you know it's a fix!

Follow me on Twitter: @MattSaternus

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I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you. After all, we're talking about a rating system where actual performance counts for less than half of a club's score.

Cleveland Black 10.5*

Ping G15 4W

Cleveland Mashie 18*

Cleveland Mashie 23*

Ping G15 5-W

Eidolon 51*

Ping G20 SW

Mizuno/Bettinardi BC-01

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I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you. After all, we're talking about a rating system where actual performance counts for less than half of a club's score.

 

We need a vomit emoticon. I can't believe that's still the way they score clubs. Someone explain to me what, besides performance, matters in a golf club? Oh right, I forgot, how much advertising you buy...oops, I mean "Hype" or "Buzz".

Follow me on Twitter: @MattSaternus

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I hope I'm proven wrong, but here's how I bet this all turns out...

 

TaylorMade and Callaway walk away with the Lion's share of the golds. Titleist, PING, Cleveland, Cobra, Nike, Adams, and Mizuno will also do ok for themselves because basically everything from a big OEM gets a medal...those are the unspoken rules. In each category, 1 or 2 of the smaller companies listed walks away with a silver. One or two might sneak in for a gold, but there won't be any big surprises.

 

Just a guess....

 

This really isn't much different from year's past. They basically invite nearly everybody to participate - not all do.

 

I say this based on conversations I had at last year's PGA Show with highly placed sources from a few different smaller companies; there are some who no longer bother to submit to the Hot List because of the nature of the "competition" itself. I was told that their clubs are often returned unused and with absolutely no feedback. I'm not sure how you judge a club without hitting it.

 

I'm wishful that GD would dispense with this everybody get's a trophy nonsense and has the stones to pick ONE winner (and ONE Silver, and ONE bronze) in each category, but from an advertising dollars standpoint, ensuring that medal counts are proportionate to expenditures (yes I know...ad dollars have no impact on the results, it's just an annually occurring happy accident), everybody wins.

 

It kills me to think what we could do if we had their resources.

 

I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you. After all, we're talking about a rating system where actual performance counts for less than half of a club's score.

To the best of my knowledge, GD doesn't use any type of actual launch monitor data (at least they've never published it). We've learned from our tests that even knowledgeable and intelligent golfers have a very difficult time discerning their perceptions from reality when it comes to things like distance and accuracy (especially when we're talking about averages and not just a shot or two) - and that's with the benefit of a launch monitor telling them how far and straight each shot was. My point is, perceptions of performance often differ greatly from the reality (especially when you're judging with the naked eye at great distances).

MyGolfSpy is only major golf site that refuses advertising from large golf companies. With your support we can keep it that way. Donate Today
 


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Do we dare start a pool to predict the medal winners???

Driver - Ping G430 Max 9° | Ventus Blue TR 
Hybrid - :srixon-small: ZX 16° & 18° | GD Tour IZ S

2 Iron - :srixon-small: ZU65 17° | AeroTech SteelFiber 110icw S

Irons -  :srixon-small: ZX7 MKII  4-Pw | TTDGTI S400, std length  1° flat
Wedges - :cleveland-small: RTX 6 Tour Rack 50° 54° 58° | TTDGTI S400, std length 1° flat

Putter -  L.A.B. Golf Link.1 | LA Golf P135 shaft | Garsen Quad Tour grip
 

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TaylorMade and Callaway walk away with the Lion's share of the golds. Titleist, PING, Cleveland, Cobra, Nike, Adams, and Mizuno will also do ok for themselves because basically everything from a big OEM gets a medal...those are the unspoken rules. In each category, 1 or 2 of the smaller companies listed walks away with a silver. One or two might sneak in for a gold, but there won't be any big surprises.

 

Based on past editions, this is likely to be spot-on, plus the possible inclusion of a small sidebar piece in one or two categories featuring a few "up and coming" or "boutique" options for those golfers who might like to sneak out on their OEM bags for a walk on the wild side every now and again.

 

 

To the best of my knowledge, GD doesn't use any type of actual launch monitor data (at least they've never published it). We've learned from our tests that even knowledgeable and intelligent golfers have a very difficult time discerning their perceptions from reality when it comes to things like distance and accuracy (especially when we're talking about averages and not just a shot or two) - and that's with the benefit of a launch monitor telling them how far and straight each shot was. My point is, perceptions of performance often differ greatly from the reality (especially when you're judging with the naked eye at great distances).[/size][/color]

 

They made mention of "independent robotic testing" as one of their performance criteria last year, although Lord only knows what it was or how they used it.

Cleveland Black 10.5*

Ping G15 4W

Cleveland Mashie 18*

Cleveland Mashie 23*

Ping G15 5-W

Eidolon 51*

Ping G20 SW

Mizuno/Bettinardi BC-01

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I predict the ones with the most full page ads popping up in the medals sections. I'm interested to see where the SSB, Flanigan, Whitlam, and Machine putters fall into their criterion. The humans testing them, I'd venture a guess, will 75-80% never have heard of them and immediately dismiss them because of name recognition, leading to lower scoring. I'd love to see how everything would test out if they were truly blind tests where the manufacturer was unknown on all product.

In The Bag
Driver: TaylorMade M2 (2017) w/ Project X T1100 HZRDUS Handcrafted 65x 
Strong 3 wood: Taylormade M1 15* w/ ProjectX T1100 HZRDUS handcrafted 75x
3 Hybrid: Adams PRO 18* w/ KBS Tour Hybrid S flex tipped 1/2"
4 Hybrid: Adams PRO 20* (bent to 21*) w/ KBS Tour Hybrid S flex tipped 1/2"
4-AW: TaylorMade P770 w/ Dynamic Gold Tour Issue Black Onyx S400

SW: 56* Scratch Tour Dept(CC grooves) w/ Dynamic Gold Spinner
LW: 60* Scratch Tour Department (CC grooves) w/ Dynamic Gold Spinner
XW: 64* Cally XForged Vintage w/ DG X100 8 iron tiger stepped
Putter: Nike Method Prototype 006 at 34"

Have a ton of back-ups in all categories, but there are always 14 clubs in the bag that differ depending on the course and set-up. Bomb and gouge. Yes, I'm a club gigolo.

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Do we dare start a pool to predict the medal winners???

 

I'll start with some no-brainers:

 

Gold Medals (driver): R11S, RBZ, RAZR Fit, G20

 

Other Gold Medal locks: RBZ fairways, hybrids, and irons, RAZR X Black irons, Vokey SM4, Cameron California & Select

 

I'll look at the list more carefully and make some more picks later.

Follow me on Twitter: @MattSaternus

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I think you have the gold covered Matt. What about the silver?

 :srixon-small:  ZX5 MKII LS 8.5

:taylormade-small: Stealth 2 plus 3 wood

:taylormade-small: Stealth 2 plus 5 wood

:taylormade-small: Stealth 2 plus 19.5 Hybrid 

:srixon-small: ZX5 MKll 5 / AW Dart stiff

:taylormade-small: MG3 black 52 9b 58 12b

:scotty-small:  7.5 Phantom 34”

:srixon-small: Z Star Diamond 2023

 

 

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Golf Digest just released a list of all the clubs that they tested for this years Hot List in hopes of quelling complaints that they focus on the OEM's....

 

 

 

Drivers

 

Adams Fast 12 LS Silver

Bob Burns No Bananas DAT

Bob Burns B-2 Bomber

Boccieri Heavy Driver

Bridgestone J40 (430/445)

Callaway RAZR Fit Gold

Callaway RAZR X Black

Cleveland Black

Cleveland Classic Silver

Cobra ZL Encore

Cobra Long Tom Silver

Cobra AMP

DnA Welded Alpha 610

Fourteen DT-111 Titanium

Henry-Griffitts Praxis 450

Hireko Power Play Caiman X2

MacGregor Tourney

Nicklaus ML 4

Nike VR Pro Limited Edition

Nike VR_S

Ping G20 Gold

Ping i20 Gold

PowerBilt Air Force One DF

TaylorMade R11-S Gold

TaylorMade RocketBallz/RocketBallz Tour Gold

Titleist 910D2/D3 Gold

Tour Edge Exotics CB4 Tour

Tour Edge Exotics XCG-5

Tour Edge HT Max-D

Wilson Staff Dxi Superlight

Yonex Ezone Type 380

Yonex Ezone SD

 

 

Fairway Woods

 

Adams Fast 12 Gold

Adams Super Ti/Tung

Bob Burns No Bananas DAT

Boccieri Heavy Fairway

Bridgestone J40

Callaway RAZR Fit

Callaway RAZR X Black Silver

Cleveland Mashie

Cleveland Black

Cobra AMP

Cobra Long Tom 2 wood

Cobra Baffler T-Rail

Fourteen SF-511

Fourteen VESPO FC-714

Fourteen W-422V

Hireko Power Play Caiman X2

Hireko Acer XDS React

MacGregor Tourney

Nicklaus Railsole

Nike VR Pro Limited Edition

Nike VR_S

Ping G20 Gold

Ping i20 Gold

PowerBilt Air Force One AF2

TaylorMade RocketBallz Gold

TaylorMade R11s Gold

Titleist 910F Silver

Tour Edge Exotics XCG-4 Tour Silver

Tour Edge Exotics XCG-5 Silver

Tour Edge HT Max-D

Wilson Staff Fybrid RS (Rocker Sole)

Yonex Ezone Type ST

Yonex Ezone SD

 

 

 

Thats all i got for now....

Driver - Ping G430 Max 9° | Ventus Blue TR 
Hybrid - :srixon-small: ZX 16° & 18° | GD Tour IZ S

2 Iron - :srixon-small: ZU65 17° | AeroTech SteelFiber 110icw S

Irons -  :srixon-small: ZX7 MKII  4-Pw | TTDGTI S400, std length  1° flat
Wedges - :cleveland-small: RTX 6 Tour Rack 50° 54° 58° | TTDGTI S400, std length 1° flat

Putter -  L.A.B. Golf Link.1 | LA Golf P135 shaft | Garsen Quad Tour grip
 

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Just looked at GD Hot list in the store. Looks like Cleveland and Adams, should of done some more advertising in GD in 2011.

 :srixon-small:  ZX5 MKII LS 8.5

:taylormade-small: Stealth 2 plus 3 wood

:taylormade-small: Stealth 2 plus 5 wood

:taylormade-small: Stealth 2 plus 19.5 Hybrid 

:srixon-small: ZX5 MKll 5 / AW Dart stiff

:taylormade-small: MG3 black 52 9b 58 12b

:scotty-small:  7.5 Phantom 34”

:srixon-small: Z Star Diamond 2023

 

 

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I hope I'm proven wrong, but here's how I bet this all turns out...

 

TaylorMade and Callaway walk away with the Lion's share of the golds. Titleist, PING, Cleveland, Cobra, Nike, Adams, and Mizuno will also do ok for themselves because basically everything from a big OEM gets a medal...those are the unspoken rules. In each category, 1 or 2 of the smaller companies listed walks away with a silver. One or two might sneak in for a gold, but there won't be any big surprises.

 

Just a guess....

 

This really isn't much different from year's past. They basically invite nearly everybody to participate - not all do.

 

I say this based on conversations I had at last year's PGA Show with highly placed sources from a few different smaller companies; there are some who no longer bother to submit to the Hot List because of the nature of the "competition" itself. I was told that their clubs are often returned unused and with absolutely no feedback. I'm not sure how you judge a club without hitting it.

 

I'm wishful that GD would dispense with this everybody get's a trophy nonsense and has the stones to pick ONE winner (and ONE Silver, and ONE bronze) in each category, but from an advertising dollars standpoint, ensuring that medal counts are proportionate to expenditures (yes I know...ad dollars have no impact on the results, it's just an annually occurring happy accident), everybody wins.

 

It kills me to think what we could do if we had their resources.

 

[/size][/color]

To the best of my knowledge, GD doesn't use any type of actual launch monitor data (at least they've never published it). We've learned from our tests that even knowledgeable and intelligent golfers have a very difficult time discerning their perceptions from reality when it comes to things like distance and accuracy (especially when we're talking about averages and not just a shot or two) - and that's with the benefit of a launch monitor telling them how far and straight each shot was. My point is, perceptions of performance often differ greatly from the reality (especially when you're judging with the naked eye at great distances).

 

Good post. Spot on.

Cobra White ZL Encore 9.5 Fujikura Motore F1 55

Ping G15 17* Fujikura Motore F3 70

Nike VR Pro II 21* Fujikura Motore F3 95

Nike VR Pro II 24* Fujikura Motore F3 95

Ping i15 5-PW Dynamic Gold S300

Ping Tour S 50* Dynamic Gold Spinner

Ping Tour S 54* Dynamic Gold Spinner

Ping Tour S 60* Dynamic Gold Spinner

Bettinardi BB53C

IOmic Grips

Ping Hoofer

Titleist Pro V1

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I guess all we need to do is keep an eye on where will the Wilson V2s and BS J40 will rank. If they don't get the gold then the whole theory is real and they are just stupid....

FWIW, neither one got a medal. The BS wedges got a silver as did the Wilson Ci11 irons...

Volvo Intorqueo

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FWIW, neither one got a medal. The BS wedges got a silver as did the Wilson Ci11 irons...

 

I say Good! Every time Golf Digest completely misses the boat on a club that gets a good score here (and that score is validated by golfers who keeping coming back and leaving comments a solid year after the review) our credibility increases. The J40 wedges are good, but the J40 driver is a superstar. The same is true of the V2s. Great performers, and less expensive than most.

 

Hot: Outperforms the competition.

Not: Doesn't have a TaylorMade or Callaway Logo

 

And so it goes...again this year.

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I say Good! Every time Golf Digest completely misses the boat on a club that gets a good score here (and that score is validated by golfers who keeping coming back and leaving comments a solid year after the review) our credibility increases. The J40 wedges are good, but the J40 driver is a superstar. The same is true of the V2s. Great performers, and less expensive than most.

 

Hot: Outperforms the competition.

Not: Doesn't have a TaylorMade or Callaway Logo

 

And so it goes...again this year.

Callaway actually scored a bunch of silvers this year. It seems that the golds are more automatic for Ping and Titleist. Along with TM, of course...

Volvo Intorqueo

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I'm not surprised. PING is highly regarded and does a fair share of advertising. Same with Titleist. Callaway is always interesting. There's a lot of negativity towards the brand that, quite frankly, I have no idea where from it comes.

MyGolfSpy is only major golf site that refuses advertising from large golf companies. With your support we can keep it that way. Donate Today
 


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