2012 Golf Digest Hot List - RESULTS

[GolfSpy_X]

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

[drbloor]

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.

[agray88]

Agreed. This list makes me want to puke.

[Xamilo]

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

[Matt Saternus]

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.

[apples]

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.

[JBones]

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

[Mizzy23]

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.

[Mizzy23]

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

[JBones]

Sounds like Mark King

I don't know who that is, but I would LOL at those claims.

[GolfSpy WD]

Only name people (excluding MGS readers) might not know on the list is the SCOR wedges. Lame.

[Mizzy23]

I don't know who that is, but I would LOL at those claims.

 

CEO of taylormade

[JohnBarry]

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.

[MDyer21]

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!!!!

[intothegrain]

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.

[Tony Covey MGS]

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.

[smgoldstein]

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.

[Tony Covey MGS]

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.

[Phana24JG]

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.

[Phana24JG]

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.

[Tony Covey MGS]

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.

 

It's a great question Phana. Obviously I talk to a lot of guys as part of this gig, but I've also thought it might be fun to track every bag that comes through the door at Tark's just to see if reality is inline with my observations.

 

I think I see more TaylorMade woods than anything else. I'm also fairly certain I see more Callaway irons than anything else, but...just about everything that I see is either mainstream (large OEM) or cheap knockoffs. There's very little in the way of respectable component companies (although I did catch some KZG blades the other night). Generally speaking, TourEdge is as exotic (pun intended) as it gets.

 

The why of it almost certainly boils down to advertising. The big names advertise. Because they have big ad budgets, they've assured themselves plenty of coverage both on TV and in magazines. Toss in their PGA sponsorship and the average golfing consumer probably has no idea that companies like Hireko/Dynacraft, KZG, Swing Science, or Wishon even exist. If you're running Golf Digest, your main objective isn't to support all equipment manufacturers, it's to bring in as much revenue as you can...and from an advertising/subscription perspective, there is no money in smaller golf companies.

 

The average golfer has no idea about what "custom fit" really means, what flex really means, or really any of the details that lead any of us to work with a custom fitter. It's funny...I play Miura irons (if I didn't I'd play Mizuno or Adams), and guys with $700 off-the-rack big oem irons look at me with pity. Seriously, I was once asked why, given the assumption that I could play just about any iron I want, I would play a no-name brand instead of TaylorMade or Callaway. What can you really say to that?

[Everardo]

On 1/2/2012 at 9:23 PM, apples said:

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.

and here we are, 10 years later, same ole same ole