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MGS Beef with Rick Shiels? He addresses on his new podcast


VtheGNMan

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52 minutes ago, VtheGNMan said:

This was news to me.  There is reported to be a beef with MGS and Rick Shiels?  He addresses it in his latest podcast.  

 

Have a time reference?  Dont want to listen to the entire podcast 

update:  the referenced discussion starts at about the 42:00 mark.

 I get Rick’s point and it does seem valid, but I personally wouldn’t say it is specifically a beef between MGS and Rick.  IMO, it is more of a beef between MGS and people that compare subjective reviews to the MGS reviews.  Rick happened to be included because of a response on a blog post that referenced his name.   

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1 hour ago, cnosil said:

Have a time reference?  Dont want to listen to the entire podcast 

update:  the referenced discussion starts at about the 42:00 mark.

 I get Rick’s point and it does seem valid, but I personally wouldn’t say it is specifically a beef between MGS and Rick.  IMO, it is more of a beef between MGS and people that compare subjective reviews to the MGS reviews.  Rick happened to be included because of a response on a blog post that referenced his name.   

I agree.  I think there is a mutual respect between Shiels and MGS.  I think the comments tied them together.   Or at least Shiels has openly commented about the respect he has for MGS and especially their thorough testing.  

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I didn't know this had happened and I'm surprised. Although MRHOGAN is presumably not affiliated with MGS, the reply certainly appears to be. Frankly I am surprised they'd directly name and go after Rick Shiels like that - to what end? NONE of the successful YouTube experts will ever say anything bad about ANY product directly, that's a given - that's why I don't use/watch them often. Rick Shiels is not at all unique in that respect.

And there's no way we could know how many/few shots YouTubers take, no one would want to watch more than 5-10 if that. How many shots do MGS Most Wanted testers take with each club before moving on the next?

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26 minutes ago, Riverboat said:

I'll be a little harsher. MGS far too often come off as fan boys for the big OEMs. The We Tried It is very similar to the major golf publications, just a rehash of the OEM propaganda with very little critical information thrown in. And defending them the way you referenced certainly gives the bad appearance that the relationships with the big boy companies is getting a little too cozy. 

That’s funny, because I hear just the opposite from other people. That MGS hates Taylormade and Callaway and loves the smaller companies 

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2 hours ago, Kansas King said:

them and have donated in the past but I get this sense that they are trying to do more than they set out to do. What started as a small group of hard working people doing independent reviews has turned into a bunch of sponsored articles. I know I'm certainly being overly harsh when I say that because I don't think that is their intent, it's just the optics of their articles have gotten worse, especially since they started the We Tried It series.

So a company can’t grow expand what their initial mission was?

There’s lots of brands that have affiliate links and do articles on that. Doesn’t necessarily create a bias and those who want to find something wrong with it will and then make a comment on a forum about not liking it. 

15 minutes ago, jlukes said:

That’s funny, because I hear just the opposite from other people. That MGS hates Taylormade and Callaway and loves the smaller companies 

People have been saying some crazy stuff to justify their positions lately 

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Obviously not as plugged in as I used to be, but that blog reply strikes me as an odd shot to take. Why call out Rick unless you’re trying to get his attention? Makes me feel like they’re falling on the wrong side of the adage that you don’t lift yourself up by tearing down others. 

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2 hours ago, RickyBobby_PR said:

So a company can’t grow expand what their initial mission was?

There’s lots of brands that have affiliate links and do articles on that. Doesn’t necessarily create a bias and those who want to find something wrong with it will and then make a comment on a forum about not liking it.

I think MGS can do what they want, but as someone who has supported MGS in the past based on their mission of being independent and unbiased, growing the company with a bunch of sponsored or affiliated articles doesn't really do it for me. Then you throw in them defending TM and that doesn't really seam to align with the idea of being unbiased and independent. 

I don't want to overly bash MGS, I think they are well-meaning and do legitimately good work. I want them to succeed as I appreciate their testing and I appreciate them hosting this forum. My fear is that MGS is creeping closer to being the next Golf Digest. I think there are lots of ways for MGS to grow but it is harder if independence is going to remain a genuine part of their mission.

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On 1/11/2022 at 10:14 AM, Middler said:

I didn't know this had happened and I'm surprised. Although MRHOGAN is presumably not affiliated with MGS, the reply certainly appears to be. Frankly I am surprised they'd directly name and go after Rick Shiels like that - to what end? NONE of the successful YouTube experts will ever say anything bad about ANY product directly, that's a given - that's why I don't use/watch them often. Rick Shiels is not at all unique in that respect.

And there's no way we could know how many/few shots YouTubers take, no one would want to watch more than 5-10 if that. How many shots do MGS Most Wanted testers take with each club before moving on the next?

Screen Shot 2022-01-11 at 1.12.21 PM.png

Do you have a link to this MGS quote? I can't find the original post. Thanks!

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36 minutes ago, chisag said:

 

...  I love MGS testing and I love Shiels reviews. That said, I do not agree with everything either one of them say or report. It is always the job of the consumer to be informed and then come to their own conclusions, hopefully by a fitting or at least on course testing. I was particularly surprised by the love fest MGS showed Bob Parsons when they "interviewed" him but maybe that is just because I wanted them to put him on the hot seat for his most irritating commercials ever made and they basically kissed his butt. That said if I were a big Parsons fan I may have loved the interview which is my point. We all have bias.

... But to address the defending of TM, it seemed to me they were defending the Stealth technology as a major advancement in club head design and not TM as they never even mentioned their name in the above example, which is exactly what I am looking for from MGS. It is rare for a new technology to change the way clubs are designed, but it certainly happens. Slot in the sole and thin faced irons with a polymer type filling are examples. I think it is fair to assume a company that has the top driver in the market does not completely abandon titanium and introduce something radically different without it being better. As always how much better is the big question. Which is why I appreciate Shiels and MGS's POV as they are probably a harbinger of exactly what all golfers out there may experience. One guy will testify they gain yards and dispersion with their Stealth driver and the next guy will say it is no better than their SIM2 or what ever titanium driver they were playing.  

I understand that everyone has some inherent biases but the third core belief for MGS is being "proudly unbiased". I'm actually okay with nice interviews and I love some of the industry research MGS does. I'm not saying MGS has to be a negative nancy every time they publish something. I'm glad MGS covers new products and gives us the information that the company has released. I'm fine with all that. I just think they need to be careful about how things look. It's all about the optics.

I don't believe MGS should go to bat for TM, regardless of how great their technology claims to be or how much time they claim to have worked on something. MGS commenting about a Rick Shiels post defending the new stealth drivers puts a little cloudiness as to how MGS can claim they are doing independent testing when they aren't letting a true independent test do the talking for them. While it may be true that the new Stealth driver is a better performer for the staff at MGS, let the actual testing do the talking. The optics of the MGS comment is poor regardless of intent and it potentially tarnishes the trust that so many of us have. This comment alone will not ruin MGS for me and I don't think it will ruin it for anyone else but as someone who values independence, stuff like this starts to make the whole independence claim a little more cloudy.

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Quote is in the comments here: https://mygolfspy.com/taylormade-stealth-drivers-with-carbon-fiber-faces/#comments

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4 hours ago, Riverboat said:

I'll be a little harsher. MGS far too often come off as fan boys for the big OEMs. The We Tried It is very similar to the major golf publications, just a rehash of the OEM propaganda with very little critical information thrown in. And defending them the way you referenced certainly gives the bad appearance that the relationships with the big boy companies is getting a little too cozy. 

3 hours ago, jlukes said:

That’s funny, because I hear just the opposite from other people. That MGS hates Taylormade and Callaway and loves the smaller companies 

+2. MGS most wanted has given credit to many non-major OEMs, Evnroll and Snell got a lot of love here and still do. Tommy Armour has also gotten a lot of notice here too. Scotty Cameron definitely has not. And MGS seriously wounded Callaway ball quality a couple years ago, and they took notice (eventually). There are countless examples of MGS not giving preference to the big guys. Compared to Golf Digest and all the ad supported sources, MGS is still head and shoulders above the rest. I read MGS along with other sources, sometimes I’m in agreement but not always.

And MGS is absolutely entitled to make a buck for the unique services they provide. Where else can you get the same bang for your buck in the golf equipment reporting world? Let’s not let the perfect be the enemy of the good…

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1 minute ago, Saturday Morning Sherpa said:

Like all other internet boards, it is easy to spew words when "talking" to a keyboard or go pro camera.  All of society has forgotten how to address issues/opinions/feelings in a face to face conversation or debate.

No doubt. I'm going to admit that I'm feeling a little keyboard warrior-esque today but I would also say that I would still support my thoughts if I were discussing it in person with someone from the MGS staff. I'm also guilty of being overly harsh from behind the keyboard from time to time. I kind of like what that one organization 60 Minutes was showing where they would have two people with very different political leanings sit down and have to have a conversation about the issues for an hour. The outcomes while talking in person and words being typed behind a keyboard are dramatically different. 

I would say though, that if we don't like something we're seeing, it's important to share that feedback. 

 

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Very disappointed in MGS. If you are going to call someone out at least have the courage to identify yourself. I respect Rick’s opinions but they would not preclude my trying something out for myself. These “everyone had speed gains”  statements don’t  mean much to me either. I do not believe any of your staffers hit the ball as poorly as I do. “Your results may differ!” Rick could have said “contrary to the OEM whores over at MGS, I saw no gains at all, don’t waste your money!” But he did not say that. Good for him. 

Edited by Btshiloh@yahoo.com
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MGS is accountable for the posts made by their account, even if this post is the sole opinion of one member of the team. In this case, the "5-10" shots is a low-blow insult that's obviously untrue, and that'd be bad enough. It's entirely possible that Rick could genuinely not see speed gains while the entire team did. Peter Finch had similar findings to Rick's, with a little ball speed bump but not enough to fully differentiate. Caping up for TM in this way really calls into question MGS's ability to be objective across the board.

It shouldn't matter to a reviewer how hard or how long TM worked to create or test the club. If TM spent 20 years or 20 minutes creating the club, it now stands on its own and should be judged on its merits. Rick isn't their mom appreciating the gesture of a poorly made breakfast in bed on Mother's Day. They made a product and he's reviewing it on its merits. It literally doesn't matter at all how hard they worked on it.

The post reads like someone trying to defend a sibling against criticism. That's not the relationship I want my reviewers to have with their subjects. This will cause me to view MGS's subjective reviews with a lot more suspicion than I did previously.

 

Edited by shane_pech
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2 hours ago, Kansas King said:

I think MGS can do what they want, but as someone who has supported MGS in the past based on their mission of being independent and unbiased, growing the company with a bunch of sponsored or affiliated articles doesn't really do it for me. Then you throw in them defending TM and that doesn't really seam to align with the idea of being unbiased and independent. 

I don't want to overly bash MGS, I think they are well-meaning and do legitimately good work. I want them to succeed as I appreciate their testing and I appreciate them hosting this forum. My fear is that MGS is creeping closer to being the next Golf Digest. I think there are lots of ways for MGS to grow but it is harder if independence is going to remain a genuine part of their mission.

They’ve grown way more than just doin the “sponsored” articles. That’s just another aspect of what they’ve done and again thers really not a biased there unless someone wants to find it which apparently you have.

you need to re-read the comment about TM. They weren’t defending TM, but rather pointing out how rick does his reviews and how he could be doing better, and that really goes for any of the YouTube and online reviewers similar to rick. They also pointed out how clubs have been similar year after year and how with the new release of the stealth how that’s changed. Again no bias or defense of a company unless someone is set out to find it. Which seems to be your goal today

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Not sure where to start. I made a comment on this forum that I saw a few sites where the ball speed/distance numbers were not much different between SiM and Stealth, but mentioned no specific names. I watch multiple sites because I like seeing all of their opinions and gives some ideas on what I’d like to try. In the end, no matter what the information I’ve received, whether it be clubs, balls, shoes or whatever, it’s what works for me and my game. I don’t buy something and if it doesn’t work blame anyone from these sites for misleading me. 

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35 minutes ago, shane_pech said:

In this case, the "5-10" shots is a low-blow insult that's obviously untrue, and that'd be bad enough. It's entirely possible that Rick could genuinely not see speed gains while the entire team did.

That’s pretty much all rick hits when he reviews. Mgs pointed out that they do more intensive testing and have tons of data points. The amount of data they collect from one person in the most wanted test out does what rick does, now add in all the most wanted testers for drivers. The data blows ricks testing out of the water.

 

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Hybrid: PXG Gen2 22* w/AD hybrid

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1 hour ago, chisag said:

In comments both under reviews and on social media someone replying for MGS can get very defensive and disrespectful, so I rarely read those. When I do read them I like it much better when say "Tony" replies instead of "MGS" replies because I don't know who that is.

Well if it helps, it’s still pretty obvious who is writing those comments. That’s been a consistent tone and type of response throughout the years in and out of various staff changes. There’s still the one constant. 

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Interesting. I made a comment about TM Sim2 and Stealth regarding a video I saw from a British Pro, and someone jumped all over me about Rick Shiels...but I wasn't Rick Shiels! I don't know if this was a reader or MGS staffer. I've said it once and will say it again...MARKETING. That's all it is. I fit clubs, been to Callaway Performance Center, Titleist Performance Institute, TM The Kingdom, and Karsten Mfg...but was in executive sales and marketing for 35 years. IT'S ALL MARKETING. The name, the red face, the colored shaft, the script, the colorization...it's all marketing to get you to buy the product. Remember, what you buy and what the pro's hit are completely different.

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1 hour ago, shane_pech said:

He directly responded to that claim in the video linked at the beginning of this thread. It's simply not true. The shots that get shown on screen aren't the only shots that he hits. Same with Peter Finch or any of the other reviewers/channels. This is a classic case where it doesn't make sense to conflate testing and reviewing. MGS is the best at testing, no doubt. They don't have a monopoly on reviewing, and frankly this comment from their account helps me realize they might not understand the difference between the two.

Your right they don’t have a monopoly on it but they amount of data they have blows every forum and YouTube/social media reviewer out of the water. It’s not even close in what mgs does from reviews and testing. Ricks videos are almost predictable in what he will say. He’s also not going to out and our bash a company because he doesn’t want to end up like crossfields where he doesn’t get sent equipment to “review”. He will toe the line of negative and positives and that nothing is really that much better.

Those that are set in finding fault with something mgs says will read that into what was said in the reply. 

 

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