The beginning of the end, or the end of the beginning?: Bomb & Gouge: Golf Digest

The beginning of the end, or the end of the beginning?

Thursday, October 25, 2007 Comments

BOMB: I've been waiting for nearly two weeks to say this, pardsy: It's over. GOUGE: You know as well as I do, it's about as close to being over as I am to teeing it up on the PGA Tour. There was an awful lot of hard work these last two weeks by as impressive a team of editors and contributors and consultants as our annual Hot List has ever assembled. The mission has been clear, and it will continue to be our primary motivation: To serve as an informed starting point for the golf consumer. We could just simply regurgitate the advertising claims, print out a rehashed catalogue listing of all the new equipment and move on our happy way, but that's shirking our responsibility. We're trying to get at the equipment that matters, and that's why we've spent the last two weeks away from home and family (to say nothing of the dozens of trips we've made this year). They don't like it and it's not fair or fun, but, bottom line, it's absolutely necessary. The challenge is to look at every piece of equipment in more than the obvious ways. It's asking everyone from retailers to scientists to everyday golfers the extra questions, and the aim is to understand things in the most complete way before we make our annual recommendations. The challenge is to go beyond the obvious, and that's why our spreadsheets contain formulas that look like this:

=180/PI()*(ATAN(N13/(D13*3))+ATAN(O13/(C13*3)))

I don't know what that means at all, but when a scientist whose done work for Space Shuttle missions says that's a good way of analyzing some of our data, I happily defer to his judgment. Do we know what all the answers to our Hot List deliberations are yet? Not entirely. What we do know is when the project is finally completed in the next five weeks the golfer will be served. And I'm betting he'll be surprised on more than one occasion.

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Archived Comments (4) Click to expand

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-Ty

Posted by TyWebb October 28, 2007 4:56 PM

So from what you're saying, this year's Hot List may be like Forrest Gump's proverbial box of chocolates. I wonder about equipment analysis and testing sometimes, what it really accomplishes. But what I've learned is that you sort of have to do it, because you never know what you're going to learn.

Posted by 86general October 29, 2007 10:17 AM

For this year's hotlist, are you guys going to include the ridiculous "buzz" category in ranking clubs? I don't understand what media buzz or hype has to do with a club's performance. Just the facts, please. What clubs/balls/shafts work the best for your panelists?

GOUGE: For a product to earn the designation of Hot, it must exude the quality of being in demand. That is reflected in tour usage, sales, consumer satisfaction or retailer anticipation. All of those elements are part of our evaluation of products. As for which products work best, all of these products work in various levels and to various degrees. If the single characteristic that matters to you is Performance/Playability, you can look at our list of products and produce your own order. We have simply chosen a methodology that is not so simplistic.

Posted by rickkane December 19, 2007 10:03 AM

gouge

go with finnikee-cars are better design, atleast thats' what the engineres' say! well! lets hear it!!!
some more.

Posted by Garyhard February 25, 2008 12:16 PM