Hot List Winners and Losers

[useless149149]

Just got the Hot List issue from Golf Digest, and I wanted to know your guys thoughts on the winners and losers. For nonsubscribers, the Hot List can be found here: http://www.golfdigest.com/equipment/ratings

My thoughts:
Winners:
Ping G10 series and putters
Adams
Cleveland wedges
Wishon
TaylorMade r7 irons
Odyssey putters
Nike
Seemore
Whitlam
Zen
Profound

Losers:
TaylorMade (especially CGB Max line)(the Spider is the ugliest club on the list)
Titleist (no gold in anything besides wedges, putters, and balls)
Callaway FT line (only gold was FW)
Nickent (only one product made it)
Mizuno putters
Callaway (for that huge product spread, only 1 gold)

Anyone notice that the Callaway X-20 Tours have a topline that is 1 mm thicker than the X-20's?
Isn't Never Compormise part of Cleveland, yet there is the NC GM2 Exchange, and also the Cleveland VP5?

[cozz]

yeah i just got the callaway x forged they are so smooth i can work the ball great and the trajectory is amazing i love them defiantly a winner

[Vanstonica]

It seems that every year Callaway and Ping are the winners of the "gold" catagories.

They're excellent clubs, but I agree with what a few others have said in that it seems to be more of an advertisement to the "highest bidder" sometimes than an actual testing of clubs.

[Shindig]

I'm glad whoever wrote about the Cobra UFIs had the same feeling I did: the loft on the PW is pushing it. No wonder they were hitting 10 yards past my current set: their lofts are the lofts of the next club in my current set!

[Big_M]

yeah i just got the callaway x forged they are so smooth i can work the ball great and the trajectory is amazing i love them defiantly a winner

I don't know what it is, but I have never liked Callaway Irons. The fat topline looks terrible to me, but obviously they are very good clubs, as many top players play them. When I hit them they feel OK, and they are workable, but I can't get over the look.

They do make some nice drivers, every time I've tried one of the FT line it felt great. In other news... I think every club mentioned in the hotlist is a winner in a sense. Advertising. Although, it IS all a bunch of crap anyway, the big names get all the attention. I would love to see them test some popular components (i.e. Snakeyes, Maltby, SMT, etc.), this would actually be informative.

[andre112]

Anyone notice that the Callaway X-20 Tours have a topline that is 1 mm thicker than the X-20's?

that's not true. i have compared them. x20 tour still has thinner topline than x20. at first i never tried the club becuz of their look. after i tried them and had great results with them, i just bought them. i still really like the thin topline of idea pro though, but i'm not good enough to use them.

[fusioncal]

In other news...

Mike Stachura and Mike Johnson from Golf Digest answered questions from members on another forum submitted prior to the

interview including the assumption of manufacturer advertising making the Hot List. "The worst part really is having people question our integrity. We put endless hours into this, we spend untold nights away from our families. That’s fine, but when people at the end of the day point at us and say, “Well it’s all just about the advertising and nothing else really matters,” that really sticks in our prop quite a bit." - Mike Johnson

I would love to see them test some popular components (i.e. Snakeyes, Maltby, SMT, etc.), this would actually be informative.

They did.

"It’s important to remember that we’re not going to eliminate any company. If it is a component company, most of those component companies are happy to supply us with fully assembled clubs and certainly the folks at Golfsmith were part of our consideration set for this year. Tom Wishon’s been on the Hot List before and this year his fairway wood was on the Hot List and he’s obviously very much a component company." - Mike Stachura If you had any spare time, I think it's very informative to know how a product makes to the Hot List by reading the whole interview . Hope this helps.

[albatroz]

What is one mans gold is anothers lead . The list does not foretell the outcome of what the opinion of a controlled group may fair out. The following months will tell which is which . And yes ... this does not apply to each and every one . best to try all what there is in a golf shop .

[fusioncal]

What is one mans gold is anothers lead . The list does not foretell the outcome of what the opinion of a controlled group may fair out. The following months will tell which is which . And yes ... this does not apply to each and every one . best to try all what there is in a golf shop .

I totally agree with you and I also believe Golf Digest Hot List agrees with you as well.

"The important thing to remember about the Hot List is how it started. The readers are looking for advice because quite frankly, they’re confused. It’s a difficult marketplace to understand if you only do it part time, let alone full time. But most readers don’t even do it part time. Their experience with new clubs is the first time they walk into a shop or the first time they look online. We want to be their starting point in the shopping experience. I think one of the reasons we eliminated Editor’s Choice was because we thought it was getting in the way of us helping them work through the products in the marketplace. People would see Editor’s Choice and they would stop reading and stop investigating. Again, the Hot List is a starting point and not an end point. Looking at the universe of equipment, like we say in the article, we have 552 products that were on our original considerations list. To get down to 130 is fairly impressive and more importantly helpful to the readers. I think that’s what we’re trying to do – say these products are the most significant in the game. These are the products you should look at. Now go about your search in your own way starting from this point." - Mike Stachura

[Big_M]

Mike Stachura and Mike Johnson from Golf Digest answered questions from members on another forum submitted prior to the

Of course golf digest is going to defend its position... I just don't think the hot list is at all helpfull the way they do it. It mostly ends up equating to free advertising for the big OEM's. They can say what they will, but the list isn't all that helpful in my eyes.

[Zakko]

Golf Digest =/= Consumer Reports

[polred2007]

Just got the Hot List issue from Golf Digest, and I wanted to know your guys thoughts on the winners and losers. For nonsubscribers, the Hot List can be found here:

What does anyone make of the Titleist 775 CB's??

[follyforhire]

Excellent Sand Trap review of the 775.CB irons here .

[HytrewQasdfg]

Of course golf digest is going to defend its position... I just don't think the hot list is at all helpfull the way they do it. It mostly ends up equating to free advertising for the big OEM's. They can say what they will, but the list isn't all that helpful in my eyes.

They are writing about companies they think their readers will be interested in. And what are their readers interested in? Companies that advertise in their magazine, of course!

They are half right. Most people are interested in reading about equipment they can go to their local sporting goods store and look at. Not equipment from some small, out of the way company that may not even have a distributor in their area. Unfortunatly, most true innovations (in every industry, not just golf) come from smaller companies, not the big ones. Maybe they should rename it the big company hot list.

[elchene]

The medal rankings are mostly just opinion. Hot List is just a great advertisement and a feedback for the top golf clubs in my opinion. I think the editors did a pretty good job putting together the hot list.

[useless149149]

that's not true. i have compared them. x20 tour still has thinner topline than x20. at first i never tried the club becuz of their look. after i tried them and had great results with them, i just bought them. i still really like the thin topline of idea pro though, but i'm not good enough to use them.

Golf Digest measured the toplines of each club, and the X20 is 9.8 mm, and the X20 Tour is 10.8 mm.

The Bridgeston J36 irons look sweet.

[SammamishWA]

I don't know what it is, but I have never liked Callaway Irons. The fat topline looks terrible to me, but obviously they are very good clubs, as many top players play them. When I hit them they feel OK, and they are workable, but I can't get over the look.

I always thought Callaway irons looked weird too and never thought I would buy a set. However, I found myself in the Callaway golf store in Las Vegas and decided to try out a few on the range. I hit the X-20 Tour and the older X-Tour irons and loved them both. I ended up buying a used set of the X-Tour's on eBay (b/c I couldn't afford the $grand they wanted new) and my handicapp has dropped 4 pts. I'm still a crappy golfer but I love my clubs

In regards to Golf Digest, I look forward to this issue every year...it gets me excited for the golf season. So much, that I actually hit balls this afternoon in 35 degree weather!