MyGolfSpy Forum: How To Be A Tester Guide

[GolfSpy_APH]

5 minutes ago, J5hort said:

I see. Perhaps an "must be a member for x months" or x many of posts". I am an email junkie, so if an offer or reminder of a post happens, I address it. I am a very active member of forums in general and was lured here by an advertisement for testing. I am assuming there is a certain amount of click bait involved to grow membership. Constant reminders in email about testing seem to be the norm.  Assuming that persons like myself will post as time permits which is the case as I have many questions/comments about new gear, the game and courses as I return to the game.

 

 

That's the thing you don't have to be a member for a long time or have a lot of posts. We spread opportunities around.

@Silver Fawkes was a member for a week or so and was selected, but was very engaged and we felt good about his body of work.

Read the first few posts and I lay out everything for you.

[Mr_BogeyPro]

With so many people on the forum and so many people wanting to test the products, it is the luck of the draw. I'm glad you posted the guidelines and how to potentially increase your chances. 

[cnosil]

6 minutes ago, J5hort said:

I see. Perhaps an "must be a member for x months" or x many of posts". I am an email junkie, so if an offer or reminder of a post happens, I address it. I am a very active member of forums in general and was lured here by an advertisement for testing. I am assuming there is a certain amount of click bait involved to grow membership. Constant reminders in email about testing seem to be the norm.  Assuming that persons like myself will post as time permits which is the case as I have many questions/comments about new gear, the game and courses as I return to the game.

The testing opportunities are advertised via MGS social media and emails because they want to grow the community and keep people informed.   

I’m going to be honest about what I am thinking.,  you seem to want to change the system to.give yourself a better chance at being selected because you really don’t want to participate on the forum for whatever reason.  Could be lack of time, lack of desire, or some other reason…which is fine since it is your choice,   
 

The mods have made choices on how testers will be selected and their process seems to work well.   

 

[J5hort]

Sorry, no I am new to the forum and just want to understand as most of the exposure has been thru email testing adverts. 

I can tell you that the average golfer is turned off by participating by exclusivity/elitism. The sport can be perceived as such. 

I am just a golfer looking for a place to discuss gear, the game, etc as mentioned previous. I also happen to be returning to the sport and planning for new equipment. Local pro shop allows league memembers to try new gear, so not imperative for me to test to try new gear. 

Do all new forum members need to explain themselves?

 

 

 

 

 

[ILMgolfnut]

14 minutes ago, J5hort said:

Do all new forum members need to explain themselves?

 

If they seem intent on criticizing a system that is working pretty well, yeah. I got selected for a test within my first two months on the board, but I was active on the Good Morning thread and elsewhere, followed Jamie's list of things to do, and lo and behold, they picked me. Now if we could actually start the test (waiting on a pending update to a fitness app)...

[GolfSpy_APH]

15 minutes ago, J5hort said:

Sorry, no I am new to the forum and just want to understand as most of the exposure has been thru email testing adverts. 

I can tell you that the average golfer is turned off by participating by exclusivity/elitism. The sport can be perceived as such. 

I am just a golfer looking for a place to discuss gear, the game, etc as mentioned previous. I also happen to be returning to the sport and planning for new equipment. Local pro shop allows league memembers to try new gear, so not imperative for me to test to try new gear. 

Do all new forum members need to explain themselves?

 

 

 

 

 

No need to explain yourself one way or another. 

Just us explaining things why they are as they are. We have members and golfers from all over the world with all sorts of abilities. 

Forgive us if we are a bit taken back when someone mentions a lottery. I won't go into it. But again see the first post. It should help explain everything about testing you need to know and more. 

Member testing is a core part of our community and we take it very seriously. As do the companies involved and we hope all the testers as well. 

[cnosil]

27 minutes ago, J5hort said:

Sorry, no I am new to the forum and just want to understand as most of the exposure has been thru email testing adverts. 

I can tell you that the average golfer is turned off by participating by exclusivity/elitism. The sport can be perceived as such. 

I am just a golfer looking for a place to discuss gear, the game, etc as mentioned previous. I also happen to be returning to the sport and planning for new equipment. Local pro shop allows league memembers to try new gear, so not imperative for me to test to try new gear. 

Do all new forum members need to explain themselves?

 

No need to explain anything.   We are primarily here to discuss exactly what you want to discuss; which is golf and golf equipment.  Most people come for the testing and then learn there is way more to the community than just testing.  

Welcome to the forum and happy to have you here.   

[J5hort]

Thank you. Started some initial posts and looking forward to the discussion...

[William P]

1 hour ago, J5hort said:

Sorry, no I am new to the forum and just want to understand as most of the exposure has been thru email testing adverts. 

I can tell you that the average golfer is turned off by participating by exclusivity/elitism. The sport can be perceived as such. 

I am just a golfer looking for a place to discuss gear, the game, etc as mentioned previous. I also happen to be returning to the sport and planning for new equipment. Local pro shop allows league memembers to try new gear, so not imperative for me to test to try new gear. 

Do all new forum members need to explain themselves?

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome! You won't find a more diverse group to discuss everything golf.

[Glasgow1980]

Makes sense, I applied for a few but I had just joined.. I read the threads but I guess I need to engage more. It’s not about getting free stuff for me it’s to try to get better and some of the equipment I would love to try to see if it improves my game. I play cack handed so I need all the help I can get 

[GolfSpy_BNG]

5 hours ago, Mr_BogeyPro said:

With so many people on the forum and so many people wanting to test the products, it is the luck of the draw. I'm glad you posted the guidelines and how to potentially increase your chances. 

I know what you are trying to say but want to clarify that it really isn’t “luck of the draw” or anything luck related. Us staff will talk during our weekly staff call about testing and possible members for each test.
 

We even chat throughout the week in our slack channel quite often about members that happen to catch our eyes or becoming more active. This also works the other way when we look at signups for tests and we see long time members that have disappeared and all of a sudden showed back up during testing. 
 

My fellow staff members are amazing at seeing EVERYTHING!   Good and bad!

[GolfSpy_BNG]

2 hours ago, Glasgow1980 said:

Makes sense, I applied for a few but I had just joined.. I read the threads but I guess I need to engage more. It’s not about getting free stuff for me it’s to try to get better and some of the equipment I would love to try to see if it improves my game. I play cack handed so I need all the help I can get 

As with the classified messages I have to send out periodically to other members not yourself, you are missing the biggest immediate disqualifying requirement mentioned in the first post and many times throughout this thread. 

[Mr_BogeyPro]

11 hours ago, GolfSpy_BNG said:

I know what you are trying to say but want to clarify that it really isn’t “luck of the draw” or anything luck related. Us staff will talk during our weekly staff call about testing and possible members for each test.
 

We even chat throughout the week in our slack channel quite often about members that happen to catch our eyes or becoming more active. This also works the other way when we look at signups for tests and we see long time members that have disappeared and all of a sudden showed back up during testing. 
 

My fellow staff members are amazing at seeing EVERYTHING!   Good and bad!

Thank you for the clarification and thank you for the detail you and your staff members put in to ensure the right people are chosen. Question: If it comes down to 5 very well qualified people, for 1 or 2 spots, how do you choose? Not to get into the weeds, just out of curiosity

 

[GolfSpy_APH]

27 minutes ago, Mr_BogeyPro said:

Thank you for the clarification and thank you for the detail you and your staff members put in to ensure the right people are chosen. Question: If it comes down to 5 very well qualified people, for 1 or 2 spots, how do you choose? Not to get into the weeds, just out of curiosity

 

Answer is it all depends. Opportunity, recent activity and participation, and more. 

[GolfSpy_BNG]

40 minutes ago, Mr_BogeyPro said:

Thank you for the clarification and thank you for the detail you and your staff members put in to ensure the right people are chosen. Question: If it comes down to 5 very well qualified people, for 1 or 2 spots, how do you choose? Not to get into the weeds, just out of curiosity

 

 

12 minutes ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

Answer is it all depends. Opportunity, recent activity and participation, and more. 

As Jamie mentioned it really depends. 
 

As an example for those that may actually read this thread. Take myself and consider me a member not staff. I’m just finishing up Flightscope Progression test.  Hypothetically I knock it out the park with an amazing review and I end up as a final 2 for 1 spot for another review the next year. The other guy just did balls but did a great review. He gets my vote.  As staff we absolutely want to spread it out and share the love so to speak.  
 

It’s been mentioned a ton but the odds of getting 2 big tests in a year is basically zero and it’s why we stress only signing up for stuff you really wanna test. We get messages all the time from members wishing they would have waited cuz they’d really prefer the current testing opportunity. 
 

 

[Gjuarez24]

I definitely think I’m someone who knows a thing about golf clubs I purchase a ton of equipment run though so much trying to find the right club or extras I have my own putting green and golf simulator so I would love to test out another putter definitely the mallet I have the runner blade first edition and absolutely love it looks and feel amazing it definitely boost confidence standing next to it on the green 

Guadalupe Juarez 

[GolfSpy_APH]

6 hours ago, Gjuarez24 said:

I definitely think I’m someone who knows a thing about golf clubs I purchase a ton of equipment run though so much trying to find the right club or extras I have my own putting green and golf simulator so I would love to test out another putter definitely the mallet I have the runner blade first edition and absolutely love it looks and feel amazing it definitely boost confidence standing next to it on the green 

Guadalupe Juarez 

Welcome to the forum!

As it says at the top, this is not where to sign up - we do have a full thread here for those to pitch themselves as why they could be a tester. It is right here for you. 
 

 

[GolfSpy_APH]

Update

[Bjorns Boys]

I would like to give these caddie's a test run.   I know I haven't been a big poster in the past, but I'd like to be.   I know I'm an avid reader and lurker on the forum.

[GolfSpy_APH]

25 minutes ago, Bjorns Boys said:

I would like to give these caddie's a test run.   I know I haven't been a big poster in the past, but I'd like to be.   I know I'm an avid reader and lurker on the forum.

Hey! So this thread mainly meant to help inform people on how to be a tester. For all application comments and such it is preferred that they are in the thread of the testing opportunity. Main reason being I would prefer that this thread continues to help inform people and they don't get mistaken by putting in applications here. 

[Bjorns Boys]

30 minutes ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

Hey! So this thread mainly meant to help inform people on how to be a tester. For all application comments and such it is preferred that they are in the thread of the testing opportunity. Main reason being I would prefer that this thread continues to help inform people and they don't get mistaken by putting in applications here. 

Makes sense.   Thanks for the clarification.

[Flerric]

On 10/31/2023 at 10:21 AM, GolfSpy_APH said:

I did promise an update so here it is!

In 2023 we had 44 testing opportunity not counting the Titleist Whitebox (yes counting Odyssey). Needless to say this was a banner year and we had more testers than ever before and more product provided to the community than ever before. 

Thanks to @Lacassem who totaled up much of testing opportunities. MyGolfSpy was able to provide our community with over 100k in golf equipment.... I will let that sink in for a little bit. 

We did of course strike out with a few companies and others preferred to wait, but we already have a good group committed to 2024 and one of the single most impressive testing opportunities ever to come as part of the 2024 season. 

There has also been a lot more attention given to the reviews our members are doing. With social sharing, Forum recaps getting the attention of OEMs and using them on their platforms and so much more our testing platform has become a valuable tool for companies to test their equipment. This is of course fantastic! No question, however it has given the staff reason to evaluate our own processes as we want to continue providing excellent thorough reviews for our community, for the companies providing the reviews and MyGolfSpy overall. 

So what does this mean? Since taking on this role I have made it a goal of mine to be as open and honest with the community about what is going on, what is coming and how we do things to ensure everyone feels they are valued and can be heard. With that being said here are some things we all get to look forward to going into 2024. 

Well before I get into that let me do a breakdown of the testing group in 2023. 

Total Testers: 218 Members Selected
New Testers: 109 Members who had never tested before
Two Time Testers: 34 Members who had tested only once before. 

This means we easily reached our target to get new members involved in testers and make sure that everyone felt as though they had a legitimate opportunity of being chosen. 50% of the testers were new! This also means we are putting a lot of faith in you our members who are new to produce good quality reviews that are located properly, active within threads and include media content as well as being on time. 

Overall it was a successful season, but sadly we did have 4 testers not complete, go missing or simply not produce reviews that were even close to the standard we require. These reviewers will not be testing again anytime soon and received a 1 on our scale. For those that are curious about how the scale works I have included our general template here: General Template Guide

Above is the general guide for how scoring works. Again though as our platform is evolving we also need to and therefore we are adding a few more processes which will help us give a better indication of how someone is as a tester. From reading and following instructions (the template and our guidelines are pretty straight forward and easy to understand for those that decide to read them properly).

As for the other grades we had 11 scores of 2, 61 scores of 3, 50 scores of 4 and 37 scores of 5. There are still several reviews which are awaiting review scores or have yet to be completed which is why all the totals don't add up. 

It does show the majority of the reviews so far were graded favorably and what we want to see. A large portion are pretty standard, which is fine, we want to see better, but we can also work with those that have 3's to improve for next time and a low level of poor scores. Typically a score of a 2 or worse means only a low level test almost like a prove it deal for the next opportunity. Scores of 4 and 5 will boost a testers rep and likely earn them a chance at a better testing opportunity in the next season and a 3 is someone we still trust, but may have some slight hesitations on. 

Keep in mind all of this has nothing to do with whether you liked the product or not. It all has to do with your writing, time, effort, posts, photos and interactions that go into being a tester. The one hiccup we have found with this is it can leave out some key aspects when grading a tester's overall performance. 

Therefore moving forward for all future testing opportunities we are going to be tracking reviews a lot more closely in order to identify the testers that really stand out. 

As you can see testers (some of you have already done these, but will be required to fill out the google form for the terms and conditions) will fill out a T&C Form which goes along with the Congrats on being a tester PM. Then each stage of your review is going to be tracked and followed. We expect everyone to be able to post at minimum 3 times per week in their testing thread. For small reviews (headcovers etc) we will make adjustments, however the expectation is that testers will be much more involved. 

This may sound daunting, however we have another surprise which will come in a future update on how we will make this easier for testers to achieve. Simple breakdown 0 Posts gets you a red. Meaning you went mia for a week. 1-2 posts is the bare minimum and scrapping by. 3 or more is all good news! 

It should be said the Forum Staff are more than willing to work around schedules, injuries and other things that come up, however we NEED TO BE INFORMED! Not telling us and waiting for us to follow up or us having to make contact means it is too late. 

Reviews are then going to graded in terms of the participation itself, then the media (photos, video, screenshots etc), post review follow up (if there is any) and finally a baseline recommendation if this member should be recommended for future tests. 

This may seem like micro managing, however we know how many eyes are on these reviews and how much attention they are getting. It is not unreasonable for us to have greater expectations of the reviews moving forward. 

As always (and as it says in the template) testers are encouraged to reach out and ask questions if they are having troubles or issues. We are here to help and are working on a full how to series to make everyone's life with videos, photos and other media content easier. 

A question we always get asked is if these review grades are shared. The answer is yes, if you ask for them we will happily share your personal grade with you. 

We are also going to try and help our selected testers by linking reviews we feel are the benchmarks in their categories for testers to see, read and have a good idea of our expectations. Again the template is easy to follow and very indepth, but we still want to make it easier for you to see how you are going to test the product to make a review that is uniquely you while being relatable and effective to membership. 

That is all for now and I may update a little to this post in the future, however a for now a big shout out to all those testers this season who were selected. It was a lot of fun and 2024 looks to be another stellar season with a few surprises along the way!

 

Very helpful to see the expectations and vision moving forward. 

let’s get better and grow. 

[2SwiFt29]

Definitely helpful post!

[Xtreme.Golfer]

Really hoping to get the opportunity to become a tester this year  

[Freshbrockoli]

Jamie, this post is very helpful and insightful. As a newer member of the my golf spy community, I constantly see post where members are saying they've never been selected to test a product which in all honestly is a bit discouraging to hear. So I was really excited when I stumbled across this posting, thanks for clarifying what it takes to be considered for testing products. I look forward to contributing to the my golf spy community and will make sure to be an active and respectful member ! 11 days till The Masters! 

[TJ Hall]

2 minutes ago, Freshbrockoli said:

Jamie, this post is very helpful and insightful. As a newer member of the my golf spy community, I constantly see post where members are saying they've never been selected to test a product which in all honestly is a bit discouraging to hear. So I was really excited when I stumbled across this posting, thanks for clarifying what it takes to be considered for testing products. I look forward to contributing to the my golf spy community and will make sure to be an active and respectful member ! 11 days till The Masters! 

First, welcome to the forum!  You will find a great group of people with tons of knowledge.

Please get involved…post, jump in, let us know about you and enjoy!

If you need support, this is the place.  You need someone to help justify some unreasonable (or reasonable depending on perspective) purchase, this is the place.

[Freshbrockoli]

Thanks for the post TJ! I've noticed several members in here with the Lefty badge under their name, as a proud lefty myself I am very curious how to go about getting that badge / designation. How do I go about this ? 

[cnosil]

1 minute ago, Freshbrockoli said:

Thanks for the post TJ! I've noticed several members in here with the Lefty badge under their name, as a proud lefty myself I am very curious how to go about getting that badge / designation. How do I go about this ? 

 

[GolfSpy_APH]

2 minutes ago, Freshbrockoli said:

Thanks for the post TJ! I've noticed several members in here with the Lefty badge under their name, as a proud lefty myself I am very curious how to go about getting that badge / designation. How do I go about this ? 

Just send me a pm with the two you would like! 

[TJ Hall]

3 minutes ago, Freshbrockoli said:

Thanks for the post TJ! I've noticed several members in here with the Lefty badge under their name, as a proud lefty myself I am very curious how to go about getting that badge / designation. How do I go about this ? 

Another lefty…nice!

Use this page here:

Make the request and it usually gets turned around pretty quickly.