2009 Hot List: Categories, Awards, Ratings
The Categories
1. Performance (40%)
2. Innovation (30%)
3. Look/Sound/Feel (20%)
4. Demand (10%)
The Ratings
The star ratings are meant to reflect the various levels of judges' scoring from Poor to Outstanding. Each star represents a scoring range, with a ½-star generally equal to the upper end of a particular range. For example, scores in the 93 to 96 range represent a score of ★★★★½. Products that led the scoring in a particular criterion are designated with a circled blue star. If a product is also available in a women's-specific model, it's tagged with a "W" in a pink circle.
The Awards
SILVER products earned a score of 88 to 92.99. For example, a product scoring 94 in Performance, 91 in Innovation, 96 in Look/Sound/Feel and 86 in Demand would earn a weighted score of 92.7, or Silver status. There was no minimum number of stars required to earn Gold or Silver status.
The Numbers
Golf Digest measured all sample clubs using digital calipers and a digital planimeter. Measurements of moment of inertia in drivers were collected in partnership with the Department of Physics at Gordon College in Wenham, Mass. (HIGH MOI = 4,000-4,699; VERY HIGH = 4,700-5,299; EXTREME = 5,300+)
Independent robot testing for DRIVERS was conducted by Golf Laboratories Inc. of San Diego. The launch angles and spin rates are designated on these scales, relative to the field of drivers tested. The lofts were chosen based on a 95-miles-per-hour clubhead speed, per the manufacturers' recommendation.
Of the 31 drivers tested, launch angles ranged from 9.2 to 13.8 degrees, and spin rates ranged from 2,300 to 3,600 revolutions per minute.
