2011 Golf Digest Hot List – {HAS IT BECOME THE MEDIOCRE LIST?}

Remember When You Couldn’t Wait For The Hot List To Arrive?

I remember before the internet became what it is today…golfers all over the country would literally chase down their local mail man to see if the “Golf Digest Hot List” had arrived in the mail.  Golfers couldn’t even get through the front door quick enough before ripping it open to see if the driver they were currently playing made the list.

But over the past few years the luster of the list seems to be wearing off.  Times have changed…but the list stayed the same.  Not only are there about ten thousand other places you can get reviews of golf clubs…but golfers are much more educated about the equipment they purchase now as well.   The Hot List was basically the golfers bible in regards to helping them decide what equipment to purchase for the upcoming golf season.  But now you hear more rumblings about it being bias or basically an advertorial for the big brands then you hear golfers singing it praises.

Golf Digest Was Aware Of Reader Complaints

Hot List writers were well aware of the opinion many of their readers and other golfers were starting to voice but until this year they didn’t acknowledge it.  They seemed to believe in the old motto, “If it ain’t broke…don’t fix it.”  But…at this years Hot List Summit meeting writer Michael Johnson stated, “”One of the complaints regularly heard about the Hot List is that it tends to be dominated by the large equipment companies.”  So…they were well aware of its perception…and this year I was told that would change by more then a few insiders.  Although…I still had my doubts.

That’s because over the past few years it seems as though no matter who you are (as long as your a big name in golf and you are an advertiser in their publication) your company either gets a Gold or Silver medal in the Golf Digest Hot List.  And last year at this same time we wrote an article where we were critical of their results being biased towards their large advertisers…which promptly resulted in a email and return phone call from one of their head writers disputing our post.  He asked us to promptly take our post down…although we stood behind our findings and our sources and chose to keep the post up.  Below is one of the statements we received from one of their long time advertisers.

Previous Statement:

Just the other day I was talking to a high up at another golf company…and he was telling me about his unhappiness with the treatment their MAJOR golf company got for the millions of dollars they spent on ads in Golf Digest which also included the “Hot List” Edition.  He had received a proof for the article they had written about their product that was to be published in the “Hot List” article and let’s just say it was not to his liking.  Well they called the writer and said if he didn’t make some drastic changes to his opinion and their placing in the list that they would pull all the ad spending from their publication.  And guess what….he made the changes.

* (THIS IS JUST ONE PERSONS OPINION AND NOT STATED AS A FACT – GOLF DIGEST CONTACTED US AND DISAGREED WITH THIS ABOVE OPINION FROM OUR EXTREMELY RELIABLE SOURCE)

Well another year has passed since that statement, and this year at the “Golf Digest Hot List Summit” they claimed there would be changes to the system and that this years list would be different.  They talked about including more niche brands along side the big names in golf.  Here are some direct quotes from one of their writers at their summit meetings:

• We asked a follow-up question: “Would it be a bad idea then to even consider niche companies?” The reply came as a relief.  “I don’t think it’s a mistake to have small brands on the list,” one Leigh Bader of Joe & Leigh’s Discount Golf Shop at Pine Oaks GC in South Easton, Mass. “I think it may be a mistake not to.” Several heads nodded in agreement.
• “Prepare to be Surprised – The slightest hint of brand bias will not be tolerated. Be ready to be underwhelmed by a club from a popular manufacturer and likewise, be ready to fall in love with a club whose name you’ve never heard of.”

• “One of the complaints regularly heard about the Hot List is that it tends to be dominated by the large equipment companies. Our counter to that has always been that big equipment companies are usually big for a reason: they tend to spend more on research and development and more on quality materials and manufacturing, thus usually (but not always) leading to pretty good products.”
• “One of the joys of being a Hot List judge is finding the hidden gem.”
• Comments made by Michael Johnson, read complete article here.

So Did The Hot List Results Actually Change for 2011?

Well a quick glance through this years “Hot List” winners and you soon realize it is much of the same.  Still the big names at the top and 9 out of 10 being sponsors in their magazine.  And what about the complaint many golfers have about them giving Gold and Silver medals out to just about every big name product on the market?  Well more of the same in 2011.  We know that reviewing clubs is not an easy task…especially with the amount of clubs and testers that they use in their process.  There is a lot of time and energy involved.  And even more data and results to compile.  But in the end if your purpose is to have the most thorough and in-depth golf club review process as they claim to have shouldn’t the point of this process be then to give golfers the most informed decision they could have after reading the article?  What is the point of giving almost every major name brand golf club either a gold or silver in every category?  How does this helps the readers?  Well in our opinion there is no point…at least for the golfer.  But if you don’t want to ruffle any feathers in the industry and keep everyone happy it sure is a good way to achieve just that.  Once again just my opinion but sure seems to be the case with the “Hot List” results year after year.  And yes many of these clubs are very close in quality and results but there should still be clear winners in my opinion.

So…What is the Point of Reviewing Golf Clubs For Readers Then?

Well I feel it should be to first and foremost to give detailed and accurate results of all the equipment that is available to golf consumers.  And after collecting that data to then provide readers with clear and concise results to help them make more informed decisions when possibly purchasing this equipment.  If that isn’t the case then why do the reviews at all?  So…is there any value to the reader when there are 14 drivers being listed and 8 Golds & 6 Silver medals are awarded with little to no distinct differences being noted amongst them?  How does this do anything other then further confuse the reader and make the decision process on what is best for their game even harder to decide.  Like I have stated previously I understand their issue…tough to tell a Callaway who is one of your biggest sponsors that they didn’t win any awards compared to giving them a couple golds and a few silvers to keep all your big sponsors happy.  It might seriously impact their business.  But is it the right thing to do is the question.

And that is exactly why MyGolfSpy was created.  If we continue to grow and if you continue to demand more un-biased info and golf club data…sooner then later we feel we will have to come out with our own new site dedicated solely to nothing but reviewing all the golf clubs on the market and letting you know which ones REALLY perform and which ones are a waste of your money.  And also by including some of the amazing niche companies that we try and spotlight on our site as well. There are some amazing products that are being left out and that is a fact.

We put a quick feeler out to some of our Facebook followers right before writing this article to see what your opinion was on the current status of the “Hot List” and this is what some of you had to say.

2011 Golf Digest Hot List Results

What Is Your Opinion?

We want to hear your opinions on the “Hot List”…so have your voice be heard.  Can the “Hot List” be improved on?  Or do you like it just the way it is?  Do you think it has lost its luster and become not as useful in regards to helping you decide what equipment is best for your game.  Or do you still think it is the best review process and format in golf? Has it become “The Mediocre List” has it “Jumped The Shark”?  Have any other points you would like to make or debate…lets hear’em!

* (INFO IN THIS POST IS JUST OUR OPINION AND NOT STATED AS A FACT.)