Hot List Fan Mail

[golfdigest]

BOMB: One of the things I enjoy most about the Hot List is the comments we receive and the interaction with readers. So let's keep it going. Texasgolfer wrote to ask why a ball may be Silver one year and Gold the next when there were no apparent changes to the product, citing the Top-Flite D2 as an example. Fair question, but there is an answer. Last year we only had two categories of golf balls and the gold balls in the category the D2 was in were the two Titleist NXT balls, Callaway HX Hot and Bridgestone’s e5 and e6. This year, balls were split into three categories and D2 no longer competed with any of those golf balls. They were in a different category and D2 became one of the top balls in its category (balls under $21). Still, there are instances where products will stay on the list from one year to the next and move up or down a level. Fact is, a company may have tweaked the product. Or it may have added something like a fitting component that it didn’t have the year before. Its position in the marketplace may have changed. It may have done well in a category in which more points were allocated from one year to the next. And the competition it faces definitely changes. These are all factors each and every year. As agent Drew Rosenhaus would say, "next question?"

GOUGE: Thanks for the devil's spawn lead-in. Those who want a comprehensive look at all of our thoughts about the Hot List should check out the interview with B&G on golfwrx.com. That should answer most questions, but rickkane's criticisms are worth a separate conversation.

First, regarding the Hot List being like the Masters, all I can say is the Hot List is not like a stroke play golf tournament. What you call "performance" is reflected in several of our criteria (something that has a lot of tour use or consumer satisfaction obviously "performs," for example). We choose our criteria because we are trying to identify the products that are the most significant in the game. There is no single set of "performance" attributes that would present one driver or one putter or even a group of putters or drivers over others because it just can’t be done. All of the products presented for the Hot List work to varying degrees. All of our 240 finalists are very solid in the blocking and tackling. We are identifying only the truly exceptional. Like I’ve said before, the Ping Eye2 irons still work very well. But a 20-year-old technology is not going to be highlighted on the 2008 Hot List. Our process looks to highlight products that move the needle in exceptional ways, ways that go beyond does the club work.

Point-by-point:
No. 1: Technology is what every equipment company touts in selling its new products. We’re merely evaluating that technology. And don't forget that includes the concept of innovation, which means more lofts, new materials, increased fitting options all work in a product's favor. Opting out of evaluating technology is telling the reader that everybody's technology is the same, when we clearly feel that it is not.

No. 2: Our panelists only hit clubs appropriate to their skill set. That means mid- and high-handicappers don't hit player’s irons. It also means low handicappers don’t hit super game improvement irons.

No. 3: VALUE incorporates a product's worth vs. its price. That idea of worth extends beyond the purchase. Just as there is more value when you trade-in your Mercedes (and one could certainly argue there is more intrinsic value in simply driving a Mercedes), we believe there is more VALUE in certain products and certain brands of golf equipment (and it is documented in figures from the PGA.com Value Guide).

As always, the discussion surrounding the Hot List is infinitely more inspiring than it is frustrating. We think more golfers need to be talking about how the new equipment might help their games. We hope the Hot List fuels those discussions.

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