User reviews are pointless ......

I see so many user reviews that are pointless about how perfect the "thing" is ......

If you are enthousiast about your new driver and you decide to write a user report, review or test ...... the outcome is very predictable :

• Distance 5 stars ...... (of course it is 10 yds longer than your previous driver, that was also 10 yds longer than the previous, etc. etc...... over the last 25 years you gained 250 yds .... uhhh.... not exactly ...... )
• Performance 5 stars ...... it is the easiest, longest driver you have ever had
• Esthetics 5 stars ...... the stealthy black face makes it looks mean !
• Overall 5 stars .... it is a great driver, from a great company, if you want to bomb it long, look no further ...... fabulaous Driver, the Best !!!
• Fit 5 stars .... the adjustable hosel plus the adjustable weights, made it possible for you to turn the 30 yds slice into a 5 yard baby draw, with optimum trajectory and swingweight.
• Value for $$$ 4 stars ..... 4 stars is the minimum in a user review ...... but as always the new driver was a bit too expensive

6 months later, if not sooner, it will be gaining dust a your garage, waiting to be traded in for the next best driver.

it's not too often a golfer buys something he/she hasn't tried first. that process usually involves some sort of fitting process or process of elimination, thereby leaving the best club/ball/whatever in the bag (at least in the mind of the buyer).

i agree, relying ONLY on user reviews to purchase golf equipment would be ridiculous....but no one does that.

edit: i will add that they can be a good starting place for people who are new to golf and have never bought clubs before. and this site has things like course reviews, which are helpful considering you can't try a course before you spend your money.

I see so many of your posts are pointless

Quote:

Cheers, Gerald.......... breaking 1.000 soon ..... Hoppa !

I think that's a little critical to be fair. You need to bear in mind that products are reviewed by a whole range of people.

Take golf clubs as an example, you'll have reviews from high handicappers and pros on the same review. The pros might hate how the club has no ability to shape shots and all shots balloon. Likewise a high handicapper will get great distance and nice straight shots which is exactly what they're looking for. Also aesthetics are personal opinion so you'll have a mix of "looks awesome" and "looks shit"

As long as you can see through the fanboy reviews and the hater reviews and get a general feel for something reviews serve as a good method to whittle down a selection to clubs you want to try in person and then write your own review. ;)

You have to take any review in context with what's being reviewed and the source.  Most people won't spend $200+ on a new wood or putter or $500+ on a new set of irons then come on a public site to announce what a horrible club it was.  Doing so would only subject them to a barrage of responses on how stupid they were for buying such an expensive club without getting fitted and trying it out first.  Almost every club maker out there is advertising the promise of 10 yard gains and straighter shots so that's the expectation going in.  I'm sure some people see these gains either as a result of the club being better fit for them, or a placebo effect (improved confidence).

Reviews on lower cost items like golf balls, golf courses, bags, gloves are more likely to be reviewed more objectively because these are items you really can't try out properly in a store so there's less risk in publicly admitting a mistake was made.  These reviews are also subjective in that a ball that spins too much or too little with my swing, might do the exact opposite for someone else.  So handicaps, experience and knowing the reviewer will help in determining if a review will be applicable to you or not.  The fanboy reviews are easily spotted as they usually are brand loyal and their posts indicate their preferences.  These reviews while biased may still provide some valuable feedback about how the reviewer considers their new purchase compared to the items they already own.

I personally enjoy reading the reviews on products I'm considering for purchase.  It doesn't mean I'll allow them to be the deciding factor, but it all gets weighed in.  If you don't find them useful, don't read them, but don't trash those who take the time to provide reviews and ruin it for the rest of the people on the forum.

The only review that matters when it comes to golf equipment is your own review.  We are all so different that one guys love is another guys disdain.

I am not interested in what anyone else thinks of my equipment.

I will read reviews of other products such as TV or other electronics even a golf bag but other than that... I'll pass on 99% of opinions.

Yep, the only review that matters is my review of my equipment for myself.  I'm sure there are plenty of people who couldn't be bothered to play some of whats in my bag.

>

We have too!   Otherwise they will continue putting bananas and watermelons on sticks and calling them "super game improvement".

Just like anything else, you can read reviews but ultimately you have to try it out yourself to see how it works for YOU.  I read some reviews before i recently bought my push cart, a bag boy sc 180.  So far ive used it 3 times in the week or so that ive had it and happy with my purchase so far, i plan to use it literally until the wheels fall off of it.  Many times on reviews I like to get specific info, such as a listing of what the product does well and doesnt do well, pros and cons.   Then again, what another person might see as a pro, i might see as a con and vice versa.   Id never fully rely on a user review to buy a driver for instance, id go to a golf store and hit several and see what i liked, thats the only way you can tell and even then it may not perform the same out on the course but at least you physically got to try  it out.   I just bought a 17 oz stainless steel insulated water bottle for $9 off ebay as I was unhappy with my water not staying cold while walking 9, ill see how it works, the only expectation is that it fits my bag boy bottle holder halfway decent and can keep my drink cold for the 90 minutes or so it takes for me to walk 9.    Hope to get it within the next couple of days and try it out.

I read mixed reviews of the PING G10 on the internet. Some people said it went too high and the shaft was poor (Hunter Mahan played the stock shaft in it for awhile - yeah the one available in the golf shop) yet tour players had it in the bag. It was about 20 yards longer than the driver I was using, BECAUSE THAT DRIVER WAS > 10 YEARS OLD.

I read really mixed reviews about the Callaway X-Tour driver (2006-2008 - somewhere in there). It was even reviewed on this site way back when - it shows up in Google searches. It might not be for everyone, but it kicked the G10 out of the bag. Sometimes people just need a change of pace and sometimes they're replacing a driver that's worn out.

Just yesterday I was looking at a club review here on Sand Trap and a user rated a particularly driver 5 stars, and in the comments indicates that they will be getting fit for one a few weeks after they posted their review.    A club review by someone who hasn't even played it yet - how useless!

One of my pet hates! Another example is the number of 5 star reviews of upcoming movies that haven't even had a focus group release yet.

"I can't wait for this moviez!!!11one 5/5 starz!!!!"

But that's most likely due to the fact that there are always a few users who give the product only 1 or 2 stars with a review that goes like this:"I bought this driver and it looked really nice, except for that big sock that was on it. I took the sock off played a round. It hit the ball okay, but for some reason became all scratched up. When I wanted to return it, they told me all I could get was trade-in value...what a rip-off. *1/2."

Thanks for the comments sofar ...... maybe I was a bit too bold, of course there are some good user reviews, certaintly on balls, trolleys, gloves etc. as Newtogolf stated, but where it comes to the more expensive stuff, it is very hard to write the bads on a driver or putter of $200-$500. I wasn't aware of fake reviews like Clambake describes ....... yep there must be some like these too.......

Also like MiniBlueDragon says, it might be interesting to read how a mid or high capper thinks of a certain product, as long as yhe product is properly reviewed and it is not of copied & pasted, marketing bullshit.......

Besides that maybe pointless isn't the right word, let's say "coloured"

I think maybe it is best summed up as follows: Star ratings are at best a general indicator of what people think of a product, but it is important to read the individual reviews and assess whether or not those apply to your situation.    And if you're going to write a review, take the time and provide enough detail where others can make that same assessment.

detail?  You assume I know a thing about golf or two.  All I know is what works for me... which in my case are my pingeye2s LOL over 20+ years old.  And yes they do collect dust from time to time.

BTW golfers aren't cheap, we are frugal :D