GolfSpy_X 881 #1 Posted January 2, 2012 I will leave my comments for a later date...but here are the results: 2012 Golf Digest Hot List - Results DRIVERS GOLD Taylormade R11S Taylormade Rocketballz Taylormade Rocketballz Tour Callaway RAZR Fit Cleveland Classic Cobra AMP Nike VR_S Ping G20 Titleist 910 D2/D3 SILVER Adams Speedline F12LS Callaway RAZR Black Cleveland CG Black Ping i20 FAIRWAY WOODS GOLD Taylormade R11S Taylormade Rocketballz Taylormade Rocketballz Tour Callaway RAZR X Black Ping G20 Titleist 910F TourEdge Exotics XCG-5 SILVER Adams Speedline Fast12 Callaway RAZR Fit Cleveland CG Black Cobra Baffler T-Rail Nike VR_S Ping i20 Yonex Ezone SD HYBRIDS GOLD Taylormade Rocketballz Taylormade Rocketballz Tour Rescue Adams A12 Adams A12 OS Callaway RAZR X Callaway RAZR X TOUR Ping G20 Ping i20 Titleist 910H SILVER Adams Pro a12 Callaway RAZR X HL Cleveland Mashie + Cobra Baffler T-Rail Nike VR_S TourEdge XCG-5 Wilson Fybrid RS GAME-IMPROVEMENT IRONS GOLD Taylormade R11 Taylormade Rocketballz Callawy RAZR X Callaway RAZR X Black Cobra AMP Mizuno JPX-800 Pro Ping G20 Titleist AP1 SILVER Cleveland CG Black Mizuno JPX-800 Nike VR_S TourEdge XCG-5 Wilson Staff Ci11 SUPER GAME-IMPROVEMENT IRONS GOLD Taylormade Rocketballz Adams Idea a12 OS Callaway RAZR X HL Callaway RAZR XF Mizuno JPX-800 HD Ping K15 SILVER Cleveland Mashie Nike VR_S PLAYERS IRONS GOLD Cleveland 588 CB Mizuno MP-59 Ping i20 Titleist AP2 SILVER Adams Idea Pro a12 Callaway RAZR X Tour Mizuno MP-53 Nike VR Pro Combo CB Ping s56 Taylormade Preferred MC Titleist CB Forged WEDGES GOLD Cleveland 588 Forged Ping Anser Titleist Vokey SM4 SILVER Taylormade ATV Bridgestone J40 Callaway Forged Cobra Trusty Rusty Mizuno MP-R12 Nike VR Pro Forged SCOR4161 BLADE PUTTERS GOLD Nike Method Core Odyssey Metal-X Ping Anser Milled Ping Scottsdale Titleist Cameron California Titleist Cameron Select Yes! C-Groove SILVER Odyssey ProType Tour Series Rife Island Series Taylormade Ghost Tour MALLET PUTTERS GOLD Odyssey Metal-X Ping Scottsdale Taylormade Ghost SILVER Nike Method Concept Nike Method Core Odyssey ProType Tour Series SeeMore mSeries Private Reserve Titleist Cameron California Fastback Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
drbloor 0 #2 Posted January 2, 2012 It's a coincidence bordering on the miraculous. After "testing" an exhaustive list of brands and clubs this year (MOAR THAN TWO HUNDREDZ, GUYS!!!1!one!!), the perfect +1.00 correlation between medal count and advertising budget is completely intact. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
agray88 0 #3 Posted January 2, 2012 Agreed. This list makes me want to puke. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Xamilo 0 #4 Posted January 3, 2012 Oh my God! The Taylormade RBZ line hast o be the best ever!!! They didn't lose not even ONE gold medal! hahahaha Each category has a "surprise" though. Wedges have the Scorgolf, Woods have a Yonex, irons have a Wilson (not the V2s, since they are not "good enough" for the list), but obviously they only get "silvers" (but is enough to make people think they actually did test "different" equipment. At first it was funny, but it has become kind of boring with time. You can predict 90% of the list eight months before. Although, the funniest thing is having the Callaway x and X-Black irons both with a gold when they are exactly the same club hehehehehe I can bet you the 2012 list would look like this: Drivers: TM RBZ-Extreme TM R11-Deep Callaway RAZR-Albatross Nike VRS-Pro Irons: Mizuno MP79 (or whatever number. They will always have an awesome set of irons) TM RBZ-Scorch Callaway X-Eagle Putters: TM Phantom Putter (Now they come cristal clear instead of white) TM Phantom Tarantula Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Matt Saternus 28 #5 Posted January 3, 2012 Golf Digest makes me want to puke. Do they have any shame at all? You can practically copy and paste the "Gold" winners from drivers to fairways, and hybrids! Apparently the only really good products come from TM, Callaway, and PING. Here's the thing: I love TM and PING. My bag next year will be mostly PING with (probably) TM woods, maybe hybrids. But that's just my preference and I recognize that there are other equally good, or in some cases better, fish in the sea! Does Golf Digest think we're so stupid that by throwing in one "outside" pick per category they can fool us into thinking that this is objective? As I said in the predictions thread, if Byron and Bettinardi are not Gold medalists in the putting categories, this is a joke. Anyone who can hold either of those putters next to any one of the medalists and say that the Byron or Bettinardi is inferior...well, you don't know the first thing about golf clubs. Oh, wait, I'm sorry, I guess I wasn't giving sufficient considering to "Buzz." What a joke. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
apples 0 #6 Posted January 3, 2012 And this is exactly why I discontinued my subscription to Golf Digest (and because MGS is better). I bet if I glued a broomstick to a rock and called it a golf club they'd give it a Gold medal as long as I advertise in GD enough. Seriously makes me wanna throw up. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JBones 1,230 #7 Posted January 3, 2012 I have a TM Rocketballz and I hit it 350 and I'm never more than 3yds off of dead center of the fairway.........with the hybrid. This statement is about as valid as this list. LOL Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mizzy23 0 #8 Posted January 3, 2012 As I said in the predictions thread, if Byron and Bettinardi are not Gold medalists in the putting categories, this is a joke. Anyone who can hold either of those putters next to any one of the medalists and say that the Byron or Bettinardi is inferior...well, you don't know the first thing about golf clubs. Oh, wait, I'm sorry, I guess I wasn't giving sufficient considering to "Buzz." What a joke. Valid point! I was about to purchase the new Cali from sc till I noticed c&l on MGS. Being local, I decided to experience it first hand. Needless to say when I even look at a SC now my immediate reaction is cheap (China). It feels and looks dead only for $350 folks. Anyway, I know that the BM putters are high class as well, and anything and almost everything mass produced out of China is going to be radically inferior to my C&L! Btw got my CL-1 with Nippon shaft and iomic grip for only $250. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mizzy23 0 #9 Posted January 3, 2012 I have a TM Rocketballz and I hit it 350 and I'm never more than 3yds off of dead center of the fairway.........with the hybrid Sounds like Mark King Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JBones 1,230 #10 Posted January 3, 2012 Sounds like Mark King I don't know who that is, but I would LOL at those claims. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GolfSpy WD 12 #11 Posted January 3, 2012 Only name people (excluding MGS readers) might not know on the list is the SCOR wedges. Lame. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mizzy23 0 #12 Posted January 3, 2012 I don't know who that is, but I would LOL at those claims. CEO of taylormade Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnBarry 118 #13 Posted January 3, 2012 This list is a joke, and has been a joke for a very long time. I myself no longer look at magazines like that for clubs, I have grown too savy, but alas, the general population still uses this. Sad day for golf, golf writers, when OEM's dictate the content of a golf publication. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MDyer21 0 #14 Posted January 5, 2012 Golf Digest has done it again. Many things stand out to me on the list, but so more than others. 1. R11S wins most innovative -- Doubt it -- What about Callaway finally popping their adjustability cherry -- Or Cleveland trying to bring Retro Back -- Or even Cobra for Giving a whole line a Rickie Fowler Makeover -- or titleist for Still having the cleanest and 1 of the best adjustable hosels on the market. 2. I find it hard to believe that the Cleveland Classic has more demand for it than the new Adams F12. I fell like on every golf forum middle aged males can't stopping talking about the new Adams driver. 3. Just because a golf manufacturer makes a Game Improvement and a Tour Hybrid doesn't mean they both are guaranteed gold. Just a guess, but they have to perform somewhat different? 4. Last year the Mizuno MP-63 was golf and also the highest rated in performance and look sound feel in the playeres irons category. This yet it didn't even reach the podium. Yet the ping s56 which was gold, but about average in all tests is still getting silver. At least Golf Digest figured out that the nike VR Pro Combos and the Titleist CB are basically the same club! Tips for the little manufacturers for next year: PAINT YOUR CLUBS WHITE, GIVE THEM NAMES THAT HAVE SEXUAL / RETARDED UNDERTONES ===== WIN GOLD!!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
intothegrain 2 #15 Posted January 5, 2012 The great irony in this list is that the biggest winner - Taylor Made - makes historically the worst quality clubs on the market. Maybe their marketing has brainwashed average consumers to thinking they really are the best? As a long time, well respected clubmaker and fitter friend of mine told me many times: "I can tell you so many horror stories about people going to him with TM clubs that needed fixing..." He's seen wild variance in shaft weights, deflection and frequency. He's also seen head gram weights all over the map with TM irons, drivers and fairways too. I had a brand new R11 TP 3-wood that was just over 42.5", (half an inch short) yet swing-weighted at D5 (one over standard) and the Fujikura Motore F380x shaft deflected at XXX! Who in the world can hit that thing? The list goes on and on... The fact that the Exotics CB4 Tour fairways didn't even make the final cut is proof that they don't have the right people testing these clubs. Anybody that can hit a golf ball more than 200 yards raves about those babies, and while the XCG5 is a great club, the CB4 Tour is a cut above. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tony Covey MGS 616 #16 Posted January 5, 2012 The great irony in this list is that the biggest winner - Taylor Made - makes historically the worst quality clubs on the market. Maybe their marketing has brainwashed average consumers to thinking they really are the best? As a long time, well respected clubmaker and fitter friend of mine told me many times: "I can tell you so many horror stories about people going to him with TM clubs that needed fixing..." He's seen wild variance in shaft weights, deflection and frequency. He's also seen head gram weights all over the map with TM irons, drivers and fairways too. I had a brand new R11 TP 3-wood that was just over 42.5", (half an inch short) yet swing-weighted at D5 (one over standard) and the Fujikura Motore F380x shaft deflected at XXX! Who in the world can hit that thing? The list goes on and on... The fact that the Exotics CB4 Tour fairways didn't even make the final cut is proof that they don't have the right people testing these clubs. Anybody that can hit a golf ball more than 200 yards raves about those babies, and while the XCG5 is a great club, the CB4 Tour is a cut above. Your point about the CB4 (and some others I've already pointed out) missing the list illustrates the absurdity of the Hot List. Even if one is willing to accept that any correlation between medals and GolfDigest Ad space is coincidental, the results suggest to me that Golf Digest's panel of testers are perhaps too entrenched in their own beliefs about equipment. There would appear to be a general lack of openness towards small brands, or really, any brand outside of the top 5 or 6 names in the industry. My point is, even if the entire testing process is on the up and up, it's clearly time for Golf Digest to bring in some new blood. Unless of course, everything isn't quite on the up and up. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
smgoldstein 0 #17 Posted January 5, 2012 It should be noted that SCOR golf won a Silver medal in teh wedge category. The only "niche' company to win in any category. It probably would have won a gold but he demand rating ws so low-of course the company is only 4 months old. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tony Covey MGS 616 #18 Posted January 5, 2012 It should be noted that SCOR golf won a Silver medal in teh wedge category. The only "niche' company to win in any category. It probably would have won a gold but he demand rating ws so low-of course the company is only 4 months old. Just one guy's opinion here, but it's telling that the two best wedges on the list (the SCOR wedge, and the Mizuno MP-R12) both got Silvers. You'd expect Vokey to win gold every year on brand recognition and tour presence alone. The PING wedge is good, and while others on staff here would disagree, I don't think it's on par with the two I mentioned. Cleveland is a curious case...I mean, I guess it's cool that you can customize the wedge to look like Cleveland Golf CEO Greg Hopkins's sweater,but really, I think it starts and ends with a decade plus old notion that Cleveland makes the best wedges. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Phana24JG 1 #19 Posted January 6, 2012 I have a TM Rocketballz and I hit it 350 and I'm never more than 3yds off of dead center of the fairway.........with the hybrid. This statement is about as valid as this list. LOL Hey, if you want 20+ more yards just wait for the Rocketballz SuperDeep due out as soon as the current stock of plain Rocketballz are shipped. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Phana24JG 1 #20 Posted January 6, 2012 Your point about the CB4 (and some others I've already pointed out) missing the list illustrates the absurdity of the Hot List. Even if one is willing to accept that any correlation between medals and GolfDigest Ad space is coincidental, the results suggest to me that Golf Digest's panel of testers are perhaps too entrenched in their own beliefs about equipment. There would appear to be a general lack of openness towards small brands, or really, any brand outside of the top 5 or 6 names in the industry. My point is, even if the entire testing process is on the up and up, it's clearly time for Golf Digest to bring in some new blood. Unless of course, everything isn't quite on the up and up. T, you probably see more golfers than most of the posters. Do you find a huge disconnect between the "average Joe" who actually reads this bullshit versus MGS and like-minded golfers who actually understand the market? Maybe I am just weird, but for the life of me, I do not understand why such magazines even exist. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites