Forum Testing Example Thread

GolferGal

Chick Norris
Boss Albatross 2024 Club
Staff member
Joined
Oct 15, 2008
Messages
45,274
Reaction score
33,868
Location
Florida
Handicap
Golf
As we had mentioned in the Future of Forum Testing thread we want to better educate the current and future testers on what THP, the companies, and your fellow readers are looking for when you test equipment. I have asked the loyal forum members to send me examples of posts they felt were educational, informative, and something they would like to see done again.

I want to stress that this is not a thread to tell you how to do your testing but merely an example thread to show you what people are looking for to better help you be a superstar tester. I do not want to see people copy and paste what they see here and just put their own info, I still want to see individual creativity but maybe have these posts as a reference.

Anytime you see a person who makes a post in a testing thread that you think deserves recognition, FIRST always post in that thread and tell them. The more feedback we give the testers the better job they will do, which in turn makes THP and the companies happy and only helps promote future testing. After you comment in that thread come in here and share that thread with us so current and future testers can see what you are enjoying.

One thing I want to stress about being a tester is that being a 'good' tester means having a solid balance of both quality and quantity posts. Meaning you should be posting often with detail in each post. Not "I played 9 today, the clubs are great/terrible". Also, NEVER be afraid to dislike a club, they are not going to be for everyone. All we ever ask is that you offer honest, clear, detailed reviews.

Now to the examples. I will put them in spoilers to make them easier to see.

Example 1:
Spoiler


Video update: still trying to load video from earlier today. YouTube has completed 75% twice then died and Photo Bucket got to 13% and stopped. Trying YouTube again now. Video is about 5 minutes long and 375 MB (HD). I will place video in this thread as well as my first post in this for ease of finding as soon as it decides to upload - my apologies for the delay.

RANGE SESSION 1 UPDATE:

Hey everyone, just got back from my 1st range session with the new irons. Overall, I am fairly pleased with how things went - about as I expected with no big surprises. Entire session was hitting straight into a 10-15 MPH south wind.

Initial Impression throughout set:

- These clubs look amazing. They are sleek with what is for me a very minimal topline compared to what I am used to.
- They look so good that they instill confidence and you feel like you are going to hit a good shot.
- The shafts (especially towards the grip) are noticeably thicker in diameter than what I am used to.

I started off hitting about 5-7 PW shots with my old clubs to get a sense of feel, trajectory, and distance. I then moved onto the Nike's. My first thought is "these feel great". Very smooth through impact with similar trajectory to my old PW but they are about 10 yards shorter on average. I expected this going in because of the loft differences (the VR Pro Combo's are about 3 degrees weaker through the set than my Cobra S9's).

I then moved onto the 7 iron and did the same thing, hit old club first and then the Nike. I saw a similar distance loss of approximately 10 yards. The ball climbed very quickly for me - but did not balloon. It just climbed and carried at that height for what seemed like awhile. I am already a high ball hitter so this was not a surprise to me either. After watching the trajectory, I made a concerted attempt to hit more of a punch shot with a 3/4 swing and was able to do that with ease. When I mishit a shot with these split cavity irons, I immediately knew it and could tell by the sound and vibration through my hands. When I would catch a shot "flush", I felt none of that.

I then proceeded to jump down to the 4 iron. I hit my old one first and then the Nike. This is where I really started to notice a different in ball flight and line. Every swing with my old club was either straight down the range or a fade (not to the slice point yet). The Nike was DEAD straight but about 10 yards left of the middle of the range. I did not notice it as much with the higher lofted clubs but did more on the 3 and 4 irons. I got curious about swing weight (which I do not know much about) and balanced each 4 iron in a hand and determined that the balance point on the Nike is about 1 inch - 1 1/2 inches further up the shaft (towards the grip). Does that have something to do with the ball flight/alignment? The ball flight was lower than my Cobra but now low by any means - probably getting up to about 120 feet at max height.

I do not even have a 3 iron in my old set but decided to go ahead and hit 3 iron off the deck which I have not done in a LONG time. Mixed results here - hit the first few fat and then got into a good rhythm and was hitting some very straight (but still left of middle of range) and carrying about 190 or so. One thing I did notice is that on the long irons I was consistently hitting the ball off of the toe but still seeing good results. On the mishits, I felt it here more than any other club in the set. Not only was there a harsh vibration in my hands but the ball got up to about 25 feet in the air and carried about 100 yards.


Overall thoughts after 1st range session:

- Love the responsiveness of the irons. I immediately know where I missed it on the club.
- PW gives a great high launch and I could tell I was putting some spin on that bad boy - I think it will be my favorite club in the bag when all is said and done.
- Mishits throughout the set are immediately felt. While I lost distance on mishits in my long irons, I think that is a trade off where as a mishit in a hybrid for me did not stay straight; it was either right or left. Personally, I would rather be 50-60 yards short on a mishit than flag high and 30 yards right.
- After swinging the Nike's and then going back to the Cobra, one thought popped into my head - now I see where this "shovel" term comes from. That's how big the Cobra's feel after hitting the Nike's. While the width is the same, this is the impression given from the topline and cavity back that can be seen at address.
- Grips are good. Not great, but not terrible. I could see eventually swapping out the stock grips.

Keep in mind that I am coming from graphite shafts so I may feel mishits more than others moving to steel shafts. Hope the above is readable - page full of notes that I was trying to make sense of!

Questions - please ask away!!

Thanks again to THP and Nike Golf for this opportunity - these babies are my gamers and will be for a long time, just have to spend a bunch more quality time together. Below are a few pics from today on the range:

Iron Covers for my new babies:
IMG_0592.jpg


7 iron impact area - hitting it where I wanted to:
IMG_0593.jpg


3 iron impact area - everything off the toe:
IMG_0595.jpg


3 iron at address - just wants to attack the ball!
IMG_0596.jpg



Example #2
Spoiler
OK THPers. I received my Yonex EZONE Hybrid, 19 degree stiff in the mail this past weekend. Since receiving it I have hit about 50 balls with it at the range and played 36 holes with it in the bag. My initial thoughts are below the pics.

IMG_0854.jpg

IMG_0855.jpg

IMG_0859.jpg

IMG_0856.jpg

IMG_0857.jpg

IMG_0858.jpg


Background information: I firmly believe that in order for a review to be effective, readers must be given candid information so that you may know how my experience with the club could be biased, specific to my swing, etc etc. I have had a hybrid in the bag for about 6+ years. For a significant portion of that time I have played Adams hybrids. With hybrids, I prefer a mid to high ball flight and a club that is versatile in various situations.

Looks: A- I really like the looks of this club. The head is compact enough to appear that it can be used in various situations, yet big enough to make you feel you have the freedom (and corresponding forgiveness) to put some umpff behind it on a par 5. The head has an appearance to it that makes me feel it will perform best off the tee and in the fairway (see below for actual performance). I like the red shaft and how it pops with color. While I like the top part of the head cover, I am not a big fan of the sleeve section (hence the A-). I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about the silver section extending onto the crown, but after playing with it, I grew to like it and, actually, think it may encourage good swing characteristics.

Feel in Hand. B+ The club feels fairly light in hand, yet the shaft feels stable enough to provide some confidence at setup. The grip is fairly standard rubber grip, which is a personal thing, but not my favorite. The club is a bit shorter than I am used to and, due to the lightness, encourages me to be a tad late in my release. This was simply something that I needed to get used to through the first range session. After about 20 balls I got the hang of it, but I was still thinking about it when I was at setup. I have a feeling that when I update this in future sessions, I will be more than comfortable with the shorter shaft and lightness.

Sound. A+. I love the sound of this club. You know it when you connect, and it is beautiful.

Feel at Impact: A Same as above. Feels great when you hit it in the center of the club face.

Performance on Tee: A+. On the course I used this off the tee on 4 holes and hit several shots on the tee at the range. I loved its performance on the tee. Nice mid to high ball flight (and could hit stinger if wanted). Great distance and was going pretty much where I wanted it. It was very predictable and that is exactly what I want on the tee.

Performance on Fairway: A. Thought it performed well on the short grass. I took two approaches with my swing from the fairway: 1) iron swing and 2) FW swing. The fairway wood swing saw good and predictable results. The shot shape was desirable, but I couldn't get the ball quite as high as I would typically like. The iron type swing provided a much higher ball flight for me, but due to the steeper swing and bit less release, I had a slight fade with this swing. Not necessarily a bad thing, because it was getting great distance and holding the green.

Performance in Rough. B. On the first cut it performed similar to the fairway performance above. In the thick rough I got best results when the ball was laying in the middle of the grass (neither laying on top or imbedded in the rough). In those situations I was able to easily hack it out with good ball flight and distance. If the ball was low in the grass, I had much difficulty getting the ball to carry far, but I got significant roll out. If sitting high on the grass, I was hitting quite high on the face and not getting as much distance. This may be due more to me being unfamiliar with the club at this point.

Specialty shots: A+. I used this from a weird spot about 20 feet of the green on very short cut grass leading up to the green. I used it for a "hybrid chip" and rolled it to about 4 feet from the pin. I tried it again and rolled it to about 5 feet from the pin. I also tried the same shot with a putter, wedge and 7 iron. The hybrid definitely got me the closest to the pin.

Third party interest: A-. At the range and course, numerous people asked me about the club. Some wanted to know more about Yonex. Others specifically mentioned Monty, Ryo, etc. Was pretty fun and interesting to hear people's thoughts on the company.
 
  • Thread starter
  • Admin
  • #2
Example #3
Spoiler
OK folks... Here is another mini-review piece for my "specialty shot" section.

To refresh your memory, I have put this club through the ringer on several different shots that would only be used in those one-off type of circumstances. Though these shots are only needed once in a blue moon, they are important nonetheless. Thus far I have tested the club in the following circumstances: (i) the "hybrid-chip" up an short grass embankment to the green; (ii) a long fairway bunker; (iii) the-bend-around-a-tree-shot (both super fade and super draw); and (iv) the into the strong wind shot.

This specialty shot is the downhill/uphill lie shot.

Update # 3(b) mini update

This Specialty Shot: B+. I was curious as to how this club would perform in the circumstances where there was a significant uphill or downhill lie in the fairway. I have wanted to try this shot on the golf course for some time now, but hadn't had the oppotunity to play a course with undulating fairways that was empty enough to spend some time in the same spot. Then, I realized that one of the courses around here is a links style course with incredibly undulating fairways and, most importantly, has 2 practice holes with the same type of fairways. So I made my way to the course, warmed-up at the range and went directly to the practice holes. I skipped the tee box and found a great little miniature valley in the fairway that was the appropriate amount of distance from the green to hit the Yonex EZONE hybrid.

Just based off of past experience with this club, I hypothesized that I would be very happy with the uphill shot results and moderately happy with the downhill shot results. My hypothesis was accurate.

I hit about 12-15 shots from the uphill fairway lie. I straightened my left leg a bit more than usual so as to make my swing consistent with the slope of the hill and I swung with my normal fairway swing with this club. The result was a nice, high draw that landed softly just short of the green. The rest of the shots from this lie were all nice high ball flights that landed softly on or near the green (with one that I snapped-hooked due to user's error). I was very happy with the ball-flight on these shots and I was very confident that it would perform well in this situation during an official round.

I then proceed about 7 yards back to get onto a downhill lie. This was a difficult lie because the fairway proceeded to go back "up" about 6-7 yards down the fairway. It was intimidating to say the least, especially with such a low lofted club in your hands. It would be unlikely that your ball would actually come to rest in that spot without going to the bottom, but hey, this is testing right?!? I straightened my right leg and bent my left leg a bit more than usual so as to swing consistent with the slope. I let one rip.... it was a low bullet that barely made it over the slight slope directly in front of me and then proceeded like a bullet and then ran about 50-70 yards until it ran out of steam about 15 yards short of the green. The next couple came off the same way. Then, on the 4th shot I actually hit the slope in front of me. I decided I needed to get a higher trajectory, so I tried hitting slight fades. This led to a slightly higher ball flight, but still fairly low. These were getting very close to the green (up-an-down territory), so I was moderately happy with these results.

The downhill test corresponds to previous findings. I love the distance with this club and am fairly happy with the accuracy off the tee and in the fairway. While I like the piercing ball flight, I wish it was just a bit higher ball flight for those delicate shots.

Till next time...
 
Those are some fine examples indeed. I think this new direction (if you will) is definitely going to improve the overall forum testing experience for those testing and for those looking for feedback from the testers. I like it!
 
  • Thread starter
  • Admin
  • #4
One last thing to note:

I want to keep this thread mostly about the examples so I would like to keep the banter to a minimum. If you see an example and really like it then please feel free to quote it and say so but I want this to be an easy read for testers and viewers to see. And I hope I start to see more examples posted in here or sent to me to post. Also remember, don't just post in here make sure to tell the people in the threads if you like their posts and what you like about it. Give feedback, ask questions, and also offer constructive criticism if you feel it's necessary just be nice about it.
 
I love the examples GG! I was looking for some from a certain forum member and Ill send those over to you as soon as possible. They have so many its hard to pick out haha.
 
  • Thread starter
  • Admin
  • #6
I love the examples GG! I was looking for some from a certain forum member and Ill send those over to you as soon as possible. They have so many its hard to pick out haha.

Pick one and then include the link to the testing thread and share the post #'s. That can work too.
 
Pick one and then include the link to the testing thread and share the post #'s. That can work too.

Sweet!

http://www.thehackersparadise.com/f...R-Pro-Combo-Irons-Forum-Testing-Review/page19

Post #283

I loved the pictures and I thought the different shots of each angle of the clubs were perfect. From the topline to a full shot of the club and shaft it just gave a real sense of how striking these clubs were.

Loved the talk about turf interaction and why they chose the shafts they did.
 
  • Thread starter
  • Admin
  • #8
This came from a forum member:

I really would like to have the tester let me know _exactly_ what equipment he/she games in the bag and/or more specifically, what club the test club is replacing.

I would like to be able to personally go look at a club like the tester's personal club...It really helps when they describe what "they" think is a "narrow topline". Also, I think they should give a quick recap of any testing including exactly what ball or club (when testing balls) they used. My ball looks, sounds, and feels different when using a Nike club vs. a TaylorMade...and my club can feel and sound different based on the ball.

I would think a lot of us have hit quite a few clubs/balls and this would give us an idea of what they prefer in their bag in order to give me an idea of how that corresponds to what I carry, prefer, or have tested myself.

I think I'd like to see things like this attached to each "testing" session..

Test Date: 08/31/2011
Testing Club: Nike VR Pro Hybrid 3|21* - Shaft: Project X - Flex: 6.0
My Club: Titleist 909H 21* - Shaft: Voodoo - Flex: Stiff -OR- Usually do not bag similar club
Ball Used: Titleist Pro-V1 | or Range Balls (Excellent, Good, or Should only be used to balance 18 wheeler tires Condition)
Environment: Light Breeze in face (if used on range) and any other significant info - for distance purposes

Stuff like that which I feel I'd like to know. Also...I really, really like the A, B, C, grade system for the standard topics!
 
Sweet!

http://www.thehackersparadise.com/f...R-Pro-Combo-Irons-Forum-Testing-Review/page19

Post #283

I loved the pictures and I thought the different shots of each angle of the clubs were perfect. From the topline to a full shot of the club and shaft it just gave a real sense of how striking these clubs were.

Loved the talk about turf interaction and why they chose the shafts they did.

The pictures are a must. No doubt the pics (especially when shown beside a current club as well) give one of the best first impressions....I'm really a "look of the club" type player and PERSONALLY if the club looked like a PING, I really wouldn't do much more research on it, but that's just me. I personally prefer the look of the new R11 irons...thus I've be drawn back to the testing forum to see what they're saying about them!
 
Here is a great initial write-up from a recent driver testing:

Spoiler
Well, I got out to hit the ML4 yesterday for about 30 minutes, got in about 20-30 shots with it. As far as initial honeymoon impressions, those will follow but I feel the need for a disclaimer first. I am NOT a yes man, for me, it either works or it doesn't, I like it or I don't. I do NOT want to come off as that guy that just likes something because he's getting to test it, in the immortal words of Austin Powers, "That's not my bag baby" lol.

OK then.

The conditions at the range were not ideal, 59 degrees with a 20-25 MPH wind in my face the entire time, yay.

Address: Wow. I wrote earlier that I thought the ML4 set up square indoors to which I was honestly a little disappointing as I battle the lefts. However, upon address for some practice swings on the range I can safely say my 10.5* is square to more likely about 1* open, that's a HUGE thing for me and my eye. The all black and pear shape looks great outside and the driver itself sits wonderfully at address of the ball. I will say after my first two swings I had to tee the ball lowed than I did with my S3, much more in the range of the way I used to tee the ball for my 4DX, big-time plus here. I HATE teeing the ball WAY up high, HATE, so the ML4 is a winner here for me. The lack of alignment aid does not bother me personally and in fact it may actually help a bit since I ground the club in my routine so if I were to align grounded with the middle of the club, bad bad baaaaaaad things happen. Since I ground the club and align at the toe, this is another plus, and to be totally honest I never thought all that much about the alignment aid detracting from my eye on other heads but I think it has.

Feel of the Head: Feel is subjective yes. I'm typically not a big "feel" player, but, the ML4 in its first outing was a very solid feeling head and DAYUM this thing feel HOT. I don't want to be the "comparison guy" in my review but early on its what I've got. WAY hotter than my S3 and 4DX, moreso than the Supertri I used to play too. Its hard to explain totally for me but the head has a very true solidness to it upon impact but the ball truly gets the heck out of there in a hurry for me, its that "trampoline" like feel you hear about sometimes so far.

Feel of the Shaft: The Fujikura was the biggest pleasantry for me so far as its what I was the most worried about coming from my Miyazaki C.Kua, add to that I'm not a big "Made For" guy, the key to this though is its not, intead it truly feels like its "Designed For" instead. The shaft loaded and unloaded well for my swing and I could feel the head the whole way with no twisting on impact, I'll be curious to see if this was just a "good swing day" or if it holds up after a couple months.

Sound: I know this is alot of guys big question with drivers and a big turn on or turn off. The ML4 s a "tweener" for me. Not tinny, not baseball bat like, not super muted, but not that ear splitting TING I hate, its a tweener. I know thats a crappy explanation so I tried something here.

1.mp3 - 0.31MB

That is a link to zShare where I posted up some audio of the sound of the club (and a VERY windy intro), please excuse my Okie accent lol. I know IE will play the sound there but I've had trouble with FF and Chrome. Its in mp3 format and is downloadable for you all too, no nasty stuff attached I promise. If there's a better way to post it feel free to let me know! I love the sound though, you really know when you did or did not get the ball solid.

Trajectory/Workability: Penetrating. Into a 25MPH wind this driver/shaft combo actually has that flight I've been looking for to be honest. Like Sean and Matty said, this thing gets UP in a hurry but the flight is purely penetrating with no ballooning. Great so far for sure. Workability always gets brought up too, I'm not big worker of the ball but for you all I'm going to do ti more to get a more complete review. I can actually play a draw and a fade with ease to be honest and the ball keeps that same penetrating launch. Pretty happy about this even though I'm not a worker of the ball.

Forgiveness: OK. last comparison, I swear. I come form the S3 that is maybe the most forgiving driver I'd played for my misses. The ML4 is moreso. My dispersion was WAY better today than I've had maybe ever. Still the occasional hook but thats all me and my damn hips. Outside of that, mishits provided distance loss yes, but they kept a very playable line, 90% of my misshits would have still been in great playing position for the courses I play, shorter yes, but in play.

Distance: OK, I don't like to talk about my driving distance alot on here because so many guys claim to be able to hit the ball way longer than they can. But, for full discretion, I'm every bit of a 260 guy and really have pushed the 275-280 range when I step on it. No reason to lie to my fellow THP'ers. With the ML4 I didn't get a full look at distance because of the 25MPH wind, but, I was carrying 230-240 straight into the wind, that's promising to say the least. But, because of the wind and range balls, I have no definitives on distance yet for you ladies/gents. Suffice to say like I said earlier this thing is hot hot hot feeling to me.

All-in-All: I'm not ready to say love yet, but I'll say lust. Another performance like yesterday but on course and my S3 is gone. I can't thank Nicklaus enough for letting us THP'ers put these through the paces, they have a damn good club on their hands in what I've seen so far and for them to be willing to do this they think so too. Can't wait to get you guys some on the course info and whatever else I can muster up. If there's anything in particular you're looking for info on, one of the three of us can surely get it for ya, I know I'll do my damndest for you all.
 
Here is some more feedback from the forum:

What I like to see in a review differs from person to person and from product to product. Some products can be reviewed adequately with text alone, but some are better with pictures and/or video. If something needs to be demonstrated, video is much better than text or photos, because you can see what to do or what needs to be done. Seems like THP is becoming quite into videos lately, which can never hurt. It could be overkill, but a review can't be bad because there was a video. Pictures help too, again, depending on the product. Text has to be there, obviously, but sometimes it can be the main part of the review, sometimes the text can be there to support the pics or videos.

What works for one person might not work for the next person. If explaining through text is not your strong suit, then definitely add in pictures or videos as well. If demonstrating works better for you, use the video camera. But elaborate some of what you've shown with text too. Same way with pictures. An exception would be if you are explaining while doing the video. The problem with doing that and relying on that exclusively, is that you wind up with a five or ten minute video that may not keep the audiences attention. Break it up into shorter vids if possible.

I wasn't sure what was going to work best for me, I've done pictures and I've done videos, and I like the videos for myself the best I think. I also usually prefer the video reviews, when it makes sense to use them. Again, it's going to be different for every person reviewing a product. Just make sure you are comfortable with whatever method you choose.
 
Thought I would take some time to write a detailed follow up now that I've played this club for about 6 months. Some may be aware that I actually reviewed the 19° 5 wood, but now have the 17° HT 3 wood.

The look of the Miyazaki C Kua really defines this club visually. I'll be the first to say that I wasn't a huge fan of the gold color when I first saw this club. In fact, I thought it was pretty bad. Over time, I've really grown to like it, especially the graphics. The head shape is just about ideal in my mind. Not too big, not too small, not too deep, and not too shallow. I think the sole looks great and it seems to have held up very well over time. The grip is still in great shape and I've never had any issues with it or considered replacing it. The headcover is excellent as I've come to expect from Cleveland Golf. From the Blue/White color combo to the actual functionality, it's difficult to beat.

My success with this club comes and goes with my swing. It truly is the easiest 3 wood that I've ever hit. That said, 3 woods as a rule are something that I'm not terribly consistent with and I often use them in situations that I really should pursue other options. When I first tested this club, I was a fader of the ball and that's the shot shape I hit most often with the FL. It was reliable and playable for me. Now that I am hitting the ball straight or drawing, I am doing that with the FL. My miss with it is either fat or a hook when I overcooking my draw with all clubs. I don't tend to get many surprise hooks.

Off of the tee I hit this club pretty high. I can move the ball back a bit in my stance and keep it a little lower if needed. Off of the grass I can hit it high, but generally will hit either a mid-trajectory shot or a low flying bullet that runs forever. I like that shot off of the fairway as I rarely am trying to hold a green with it. Instead, I'm usually trying to get yards back due to a poor tee shot or trying to get near the green on a par 5.

The sound of this club at impact is incredible. Really, really nice. As I said in the review, it's a little bit of a tinny sound that is very pleasing to my ear. I can tell immediately that I hit a good shot and then can enjoy the results while watching the ball take off. Through the swing, the shaft feels stable and I don't really notice the 'lightness' as much as some people may. The 43R shaft is a good match for my swing as I tend to do well with low kickpoints. The only thing that I have to remind myself is that the shaft is long (it is a 3 wood, of course), so I need to take my time and fully swing it. If I get quick and don't take a complete swing I tend to hit the ball poorly with it. That's something I have struggled on with many clubs, so it's not specific to the FL.

Distance with the 17° is very good for me. I can really crank it out there with a good swing and the best part is that it's easy to hit, so I actually hit it far a fair amount of the time. I can confidently use this club on many par 4's with the knowledge that I will hit it far enough to allow for a reasonble approach shot. If given the chance, I don't feel like I'd go with the 15° option as I enjoy the benefits of the extra loft too much. I'm able to hit the ball higher than I ever have with a 3 wood off of the tee and I'm able to actually hit the ball in the air off of the grass with it. Both are things that I have struggled to do with 3 woods in the past.

I don't really hit this well out of the rough, though I've tried more than a few times. I can hit it ok with the perfect lie (basically sitting on the top of the grass), but I just don't have the ability to get it through the thick grass with much success. That said, I really have no business trying that shot anyway. I rarely try any specialty shots (punch shots for example) with the FL as I have a club that works well for those purposes. I tend to have my best success off the tee or with good fairway lies.

In all, I think this is a club that could benefit many folks out there. Especially those that struggle with getting height or distance from their fairway woods. If I could change anything, it would probably be to chop an inch off of the shaft, but that would surely have some negative effects on distance.

Here's a great example of an all text post, there are many others like it, but this one just came up so it's fresh in my memory for an example. What I think is good about is, that even though it's lengthy, it is well written, and includes white space (IOW not just one long block of text). I think there have been some great posts that I ended up skimming because a huge block of text often seems like too much effort to read. Maybe it's just me, but I thought I'd point that out since this is an example thread. IMO posts don't necessarily have to have pictures or videos to be good and helpful.
 
Thanks, Triple B. I completely agree about paragraphs. I will not read (or will partially read) a giant block of text. Too tough on my eyes.
 
Thanks, Triple B. I completely agree about paragraphs. I will not read (or will partially read) a giant block of text. Too tough on my eyes.

No problem, I don't even mind if the breaks aren't logical paragraphs, just having the spaces in between really helps the readability. jmho
 
I'm not so great with paragraphs. I will be more attentive to it though. I've tried going back and finding examples of Griff's work in the blind ball testing. I just remember being really impressed by him in that thread. :sunmountain:
 
Thought i'd throw out my opinion on the equipment testing. I feel that the testers posts get buried to quickly in the equipment forum and are hard to dig up later. A seperate forum or sticky thread (there's one for "pondering") would seperate the testers posts so they could be easier read and researched. Perhaps even restrict that area for only those who are testing for THP. It was the testing of equipment that lead me to THP and I joined shortly after because I saw value in the site. Just my $.02.
 
I don't think a sticky would work as there would be a lot of sticky topics. A separate forum would however work very well in my opinion
 
Thought i'd throw out my opinion on the equipment testing. I feel that the testers posts get buried to quickly in the equipment forum and are hard to dig up later. A seperate forum or sticky thread (there's one for "pondering") would seperate the testers posts so they could be easier read and researched. Perhaps even restrict that area for only those who are testing for THP. It was the testing of equipment that lead me to THP and I joined shortly after because I saw value in the site. Just my $.02.

I completely agree...every time I go to look at what the testers are saying...first I have to "relocate" (although I know there are other ways of doing this)...and then I have to sort through everybody's banter about what club cover they intend to slap on. MY $0.02 is to have a seperate area for the testers and restrict that area for tester reviews only. If you want to shoot the do-do....start a viewer thread about the club. I don't need to see 50 "thanks for the reivew" comments so people can qualify enough posts to get into a drawing or contest.

I expect someone to respond to my comment with "well what if a question is posed that viewers might want to know the reviewer's response?" Well, if THP thought I was "old enough" to test/review a product, I would hope that THP would think I was responsible enough to answer applicable questions during my review post.

This would certainly begin to "trim down" the 74 page threads of equipment reviews into very precise, easy to locate, valuable threads.

To the THP staff...I have almost begun to not go back to equipment reviews/test threads once they've gone over X amount of pages because I don't want to spend time sorting though the off topic, back and forth, between 2, 3, or 4 users. I want to know what the guy/gal who has the club in hand has to say...

That said...I still use THP exclusively to review/look, because you're still the #1 place to find the proper information!
 
I completely agree...every time I go to look at what the testers are saying...first I have to "relocate" (although I know there are other ways of doing this)...and then I have to sort through everybody's banter about what club cover they intend to slap on. MY $0.02 is to have a seperate area for the testers and restrict that area for tester reviews only. If you want to shoot the do-do....start a viewer thread about the club. I don't need to see 50 "thanks for the reivew" comments so people can qualify enough posts to get into a drawing or contest.

I expect someone to respond to my comment with "well what if a question is posed that viewers might want to know the reviewer's response?" Well, if THP thought I was "old enough" to test/review a product, I would hope that THP would think I was responsible enough to answer applicable questions during my review post.

This would certainly begin to "trim down" the 74 page threads of equipment reviews into very precise, easy to locate, valuable threads.

To the THP staff...I have almost begun to not go back to equipment reviews/test threads once they've gone over X amount of pages because I don't want to spend time sorting though the off topic, back and forth, between 2, 3, or 4 users. I want to know what the guy/gal who has the club in hand has to say...

That said...I still use THP exclusively to review/look, because you're still the #1 place to find the proper information!
I hope no one responds negatively to this suggestion as you alluded to in your 2nd paragraph. While I may or may not agree with your thinking, this thread is for any and all suggestions for the admins to consider.
 
I completely agree...every time I go to look at what the testers are saying...first I have to "relocate" (although I know there are other ways of doing this)...and then I have to sort through everybody's banter about what club cover they intend to slap on. MY $0.02 is to have a seperate area for the testers and restrict that area for tester reviews only. If you want to shoot the do-do....start a viewer thread about the club. I don't need to see 50 "thanks for the reivew" comments so people can qualify enough posts to get into a drawing or contest.

I expect someone to respond to my comment with "well what if a question is posed that viewers might want to know the reviewer's response?" Well, if THP thought I was "old enough" to test/review a product, I would hope that THP would think I was responsible enough to answer applicable questions during my review post.

This would certainly begin to "trim down" the 74 page threads of equipment reviews into very precise, easy to locate, valuable threads.

To the THP staff...I have almost begun to not go back to equipment reviews/test threads once they've gone over X amount of pages because I don't want to spend time sorting though the off topic, back and forth, between 2, 3, or 4 users. I want to know what the guy/gal who has the club in hand has to say...

That said...I still use THP exclusively to review/look, because you're still the #1 place to find the proper information!

The threads can get pretty lengthy, but I don't mind the banter really, I think it helps a reader to get to know the person who is doing the testing a little bit. That being said, I'm probably one of the worst when it comes to getting off topic. lol
 
I don't think a sticky would work as there would be a lot of sticky topics. A separate forum would however work very well in my opinion

I like the idea of having a seperate forum for product testing, it would help keep them on the front page that way.
 
Only thing about a seperate forum is that it limits the 'passing traffic' to users who are particularly interested in that testing. Casual browsers might not take the time to navigate to that part of the forum, and this in turn would lessen the impact of the testing from the OEM's perspective.
 
Back
Top