2014 Golf Ball Hot List jumped the shark?

I just got my May 2014 issue of Golf Digest with the Golf Ball Hot List and noticed something was missing. There is no spin chart! The only redeeming aspect of the Hot List that wasn't totally based on opinion is now gone. The downward spiral continues. I will predict for the 2015 golf ball hot list there will be no pictures of the golf balls and potentially no vowels in there description. The only reason I ever looked at the Hot List was for the wedge and driver spin. I think Golf Digest peaked in 2009 with the Hot List info for clubs and golf balls and now it seems like they don't even care anymore.

The fact they call it Hot List makes it pretty clear it is not about testing or analysis. It is the balls they want you to go buy because they are "Hot".

Well they had the issue where the spin data was reported incorrectly--maybe they caught to much heat from the manufactures.

This really is a joke! the best part of the Hot List was the data they presented, not the testers opinion. This data is really the only reason I keep a golf digest subscription. Other than that I prefer the Golfweek mag much better.

I agree. The spin chart (right, wrong or indifferent) did seem like the last true data testing they divulged.
VERY VERY let down this weekend when I saw this.

Perhaps balls are getting to the point where they all perform similarly making the spin chart irrelevant.
I would like to email or call then to find out why it was omitted though.

Well I'm pretty sure they can sell just as many golf balls for their advertisers and sell darned near as many magazines by putting in "Hot List" rankings that cost them pretty close to zero.

The alternative is to spend what by magazine standards is probably a fair chunk of time and money collecting spin data on dozens of different golf balls.

Can't see why they would both to spend a few thousand bucks doing testing when a couple hundred words of blah-blah-blah will serve the same purpose to their bottom line.

Got my Golf Magazine yesterday. They had balls in there and I thought they did a better job than G.D. I also was disappointed in not having the spin chart!

I have the iPad version of the Hot List, and there IS a spin chart.

Very interesting to see where the Cally Supersoft lands on the chart!

Even when they did show data it was suspect. If you read the test criteria from several years ago they used a 10 1/2 degree driver with regular flex shaft set to swing at 90mph. This combination would work well with some balls but not be optimal for others. How much more difficult would it be to have two columns of data - one optimized for stiff flex/higher swing speeds, and another for regular flex/lower swing speeds? The associated 8 iron and wedge data would follow the same dual criteria. This is an annual test so while they're at the range simply do it right. This new report is pretty much useless. They summarize the balls in only one or two sentences - less than thorough. They then lump all models of a given line together in one report. For example in the "Feel" category, all four Bridgestone B330 models get rated the same even though there is a noticeable difference between the models. The ProV1 and ProV1X rating is the same also. Plus on the "Demand" rating I could care less what the demand is if its a product that fits my needs.

[quote name='gvogel' timestamp='1397571569' post='9095805']
I have the iPad version of the Hot List, and there IS a spin chart.

Very interesting to see where the Cally Supersoft lands on the chart!
[/quote]The ball chart on my PC is the 2013 chart despite all the other stories are for 2014. Seems very odd. Can you fiind the Callaway SR 1, 2, and 3? Can you find the TaylorMade TP and TPX?

Thanks.

I have been disappointed by GD lately.

It's become such a fluffy fashion mag.

Too many pages of Paulina Gretzky.

I can flip throught it in only a few minutes.

It has now been religated to restroom reading only.

All the drivel in these publications as has been commented in this thread along with the myriad of useless golf tips contained in them as well is why I have not renewed my subscriptions.

Besides I have GolfWRX....so who needs them anyway???

So all it is really is reiterated verbiage the marketing teams provide them. Gotcha.

[quote name='gvogel' timestamp='1397571569' post='9095805']
I have the iPad version of the Hot List, and there IS a spin chart.

Very interesting to see where the Cally Supersoft lands on the chart!
[/quote]

Post a pic!

Since it wasn't listed on the cover, I figured the Ball Hot List was going to be part of the June issue this year (especially since May was the FIT issue). Then got really excited when I turned to the first Hot List page only to be disappointed by three pages of 1-2 sentence descriptions.
Even Stachura's intro looked like he threw it together in 5 minutes. GD really phoned it in this year

Here it is.

Volvik. Who would have thought they would be about the ball everyone is looking for? Low driver spin and highest wedge spin combination

[quote name='ThunderBuzzworth' timestamp='1397615936' post='9101377']
Volvik. Who would have thought they would be about the ball everyone is looking for? Low driver spin and highest wedge spin combination
[/quote]

That is surprising. I've tested both the Vista iV and iS, but might need to give the S3 & S4 a shot too!

Rife v motion did pretty good. Never heard of it.

Thanks for posting the chart. Very interesting !

"Indeedtheball The Ball"?? What the? Never heard of those.

rife and ineedtheball? shocking results

Thanks to the OP for the spin data chart. No chart has ever made clearer to me the difference in spin rate between surlyn v. urethane covered balls. Even leaving the (non-mantled) 2-piece urethane ball #23 in the mix, there is a clear gap in spin production between the surlyn and urethane balls. This chart suggests to me that ball manufacturers, who realize that many of us have slice or duck hook problems, offer surlyn balls as a palliative to bad technique. Lack of spin in surlyn balls is, as they say, a feature, not a bug.

The tight cluster of the red premium balls also tells me that spin differences among those balls is only observable at the margin, and certainly not by a 10.5 like me. My takeaway will be to use that premium ball whose aesthetics/ "feel"/ price please me the most. I think they would all behave pretty much the same when I am striking them well.

Finally, #38, the SuperSoft, wins the silver medal in spin production among surlyn balls. But at $1 US less a ball than the #36 NXT Tour S, it is clearly the best value in surlyn balls with a bit of spin.

[quote name='Colby327' timestamp='1397616362' post='9101447']
[quote name='ThunderBuzzworth' timestamp='1397615936' post='9101377']
Volvik. Who would have thought they would be about the ball everyone is looking for? Low driver spin and highest wedge spin combination
[/quote]

That is surprising. I've tested both the Vista iV and iS, but might need to give the S3 & S4 a shot too!
[/quote]

I have been posting about the Volvik balls for almost a year now! Just got my hands on the S3 and have not been to the course yet. The Vista iS is my favorite ball. It is soft and spinny around and into the greens and have great stopping power the farther away you get. The ball does amazingly well in all areas. If there ever was a Pro V1 killer, Volvik has them! Excited to get some on course time with the S3 as I hear it is every bit as good as the iS and lower spin off the driver.

The Hot List issues are the ones I keep for years and have a look at them every now when I read a review about a ball.

I was really looking forward to the Hot List Golfball issue. But first i discovered that girl on the cover that hasn't so much to do with golf and second that there's no spin chart (knowing that the criteria might not be perfect and that with a little more effort they could make it really cool).

I guess i won't renew my subscribtion of GD because I do not see much added value anymore. What a pity.

A few surprises but I am more disappointed in the number of upgraded balls that were missing such as the Gamer, Gamer Tour, Maxfli U/3 and U/4. I would liked to have seem some of the direct market balls such as the Hopkins and MG offerings. I will have to check the USGA conforming balls list to see if they give any additional details on all the other balls. Never heard of I need the ball or Rife - worth looking them up.

No Duo testing.

[quote name='NJpatbee' timestamp='1397668191' post='9104885']
A few surprises but I am more disappointed in the number of upgraded balls that were missing such as the Gamer, Gamer Tour, Maxfli U/3 and U/4. I would liked to have seem some of the direct market balls such as the Hopkins and MG offerings. I will have to check the USGA conforming balls list to see if they give any additional details on all the other balls. Never heard of I need the ball or Rife - worth looking them up.
[/quote]Check the 2013 list. IIRC, they're the same balls with no changes in manufacturing.

--kC

Supersoft is better than I expected. Considering it's 2 peice surlyn cover.I have experienced the same behavior Low Spin Drive / Mid Spin wedge as per the list. But this just solidifies my views.

[quote name='Imp' timestamp='1397654090' post='9103215']
"Indeedtheball The Ball"?? What the? Never heard of those.
[/quote]

+1