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Review perceptions

emart2173

emart2173

#journey2017
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If someone providing input, review or feedback in the various equipment threads has an experience that is different from your and/or large majority of others on a regular basis do you look past or somehow have a bias against their input?

To be honest for me I have a bias against input from some people based on how their experience with several clubs seem to be outliers from mine and several others experience with the same club(s)
 
I usually just chalk up my differences with other peoples thoughts to the differences in swings. The way they swing and what I do are completely different so I assume they will have different results. Input is input and I appreciate everyone's effort to share.
 
I think when you've been an active member of a board like THP for a long time it's natural to slowly gravitate one way or the other when it comes to other's reviews.

There are so many different swings, attack angles, speeds etc etc that the same equipment just doesnt perform the same for everyone.
 
i think i gravitate toward reviews from people who seem to swing similarly to me. no two swings will be the same, but if a reviewer talks about how they are a high ball, high spin player, i'm not going to follow their reviews very much because i don't think their experience will be applicable to me and my needs.

if i'm going to have a bias against someone, it's when their feedback seems to have blinders on and the fanboydom keeps them from being objective. still give honest feedback.
 
I do my best to give an honest review and try to think up ways to explain it. But admittedly I have a beginner's perspective, so that's what I try to give. And finding a woman's review is really difficult, so you have to really learn to read between the low HI lines.

I try to find the reviews from the low speed swing players on here, but there aren't as many as you ultra jocks lol. But the only bias I have is if it's obviously a fanboy or a troll.
 
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I think the THP writers do a great job of staying objective for their reviews. When reading equipment reviews from events and such yes I think there can be bias. People are different, have different swings and different handicaps. Doesn't mean one is right or wrong but I can pretty much guarantee that the OEM's do not want everyone to blow smoke up their a$$, if the product is no good then tell them. This is our forum to be able to do so and they want to know the truth.
 
Good question!

If we all had the same game, we'd all have the same equipment. Every piece of equipment will work for somebody, but no piece of equipment will work for everybody.

Good points by some posters here that it's useful to understand how the reviewer swings and what kind of shots are typical for him/her. And yet, I find good agreement with several reviewers here and I am sure our swings are nothing alike. I also think fanboys are fairly easy to spot. When reading any review, it's important to remember "YMMV" as well as "trust but verify."
 
There are some posters that I read through their feedback more than once, and others that I skim and even others that I skip past. It is natural, there are some people who's views you won't agree with and others that your swings have nothing in common so there is not much to learn from them. I am sure there are many people on here who skim or skip my posts and it doesn't bother me
 
Interesting question. I am prone to certain peoples style of writing within THP. If Ducati Girl writes about a club I would probably read her words carefully. I enjoy her wit and style of wording. Also I know there are certain people who can flat out play and like to share their thoughts. I respect their ability to the point that they are my Good Golf Keeping Seal of Approval. Doesn't mean I need the item being written about or can even afford it but it earns my trust. Can't say that i have read many things where the writer turns me away. Occasionally I land on a certain ongoing thread where I feel the writer has '"a my way is the only right way" attitude.I just move on. Also, I don't love negativity but that doesn't happen very often in this happy place.
 
jdtox said:
I think the THP writers do a great job of staying objective for their reviews. When reading equipment reviews from events and such yes I think there can be bias. People are different, have different swings and different handicaps. Doesn't mean one is right or wrong but I can pretty much guarantee that the OEM's do not want everyone to blow smoke up their a$$, if the product is no good then tell them. This is our forum to be able to do so and they want to know the truth.
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I heart this post.
 
I'm looking for reviews from someone who's swing is as similar to mine as possible. Even then, I treat the info as a starting point.
 
jdtox said:
I think the THP writers do a great job of staying objective for their reviews. When reading equipment reviews from events and such yes I think there can be bias. People are different, have different swings and different handicaps. Doesn't mean one is right or wrong but I can pretty much guarantee that the OEM's do not want everyone to blow smoke up their a$$, if the product is no good then tell them. This is our forum to be able to do so and they want to know the truth.
Click to expand...

Could not have said it any better.
 
-CRW- said:
I'm looking for reviews from someone who's swing is as similar to mine as possible. Even then, I treat the info as a starting point.
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And, IMO, that is what it should always be. It's why I'm not a fan of reviews who give absolutes about something being better/best, instead it SHOULD be a starting point for the individual to go out and see how it fits their game.
 
I read most all of them if it is an iron I am interested in. Sometimes someone could be way off or just have a bad experience with an iron and those can be ignored for the most part.
 
... I learned early in my reviewing career that there are huge differences between say a hard hitter with a quick transition and a short explosive swing and a smooth swinger with a longer swing and a smooth transition. It even effects feel, especially with shafts. So I always cover this in my reviews. While a driver head like the F8 can be universal for a smooth singer or hard hitter a shaft like the Even Flow Blue can vary greatly in the same head. So an F8 can appeal to both type players with an Even Flow Blue or a HZRDUS Black, but of course a smooth swinger may demo a F8 with HZRDUS Black and dislike it and the same for a hard hitter with an Even Flow Blue. As long as the reviewer is aware and takes these differences into account when writing the review, it should be easily relatable to all readers.

... Of course there are outliers that should fit perfectly into what is being reviewed and for some reason they just do not work out. A perfect example is the Srixon 545's. I hit them on demo day at the pga show and really liked them. But on the course I pretty much didn't like anything about them. From the thicker topline to the chunky feel and poor performance for me, they just didn't work out, even though they are right in the middle of what kinds of irons I play and love. I realized in this case, I was the outlier so no need to write a review.
 
If someone has a history of being contrarian just to be a contrarian then I’ll just skip past and ignore the post. I already know they provide no value to the discussion and are just trying to stir the pot.

For those that may not experience the same as I do I don’t dismiss. This game is hard and as amateurs we are all too inconsistent to get caught up on someone’s results that might not line up with our games or experiences .
 
c.a.eleric said:
i think i gravitate toward reviews from people who seem to swing similarly to me. no two swings will be the same, but if a reviewer talks about how they are a high ball, high spin player, i'm not going to follow their reviews very much because i don't think their experience will be applicable to me and my needs.

if i'm going to have a bias against someone, it's when their feedback seems to have blinders on and the fanboydom keeps them from being objective. still give honest feedback.
Click to expand...

I agree completely with this. I'll add to it though, a reviewer may have a different swing that doesn't relate to mine but they may have the same preferences in feel, sound, setup, etc. as I do which is still beneficial to me even though our games may not compare well at all.
 
THP does a great job keeping bias out of their reviews and being objective, especially when compared to other online sites.

That being said, I know from experience that I need to test equipment and shafts on my own by hitting balls on the range and actually playing some rounds with the equipment before I really know how it performs.

I also realize that I spin the ball more than most and also prefer a certain feel boardy "feel" from a shaft that is difficult to put in words or pick up on by reading a review.
 
I’m more likely to listen to the views of someone close to my hcp and / or hits it similar to how I hit it.

The review of someone off +2 who carries it 280 is probably irrelevant to me, as is one from a 28hcp who hits it 170 with a big cut.
Having said that, I do like reading reviews in general. It’s just I need to filter stuff out so I get the best info for me.
 
No bias towards anyone's input. We all have vastly different swings, abilities and games. What works for some does not work for others which, IMO, is natural for anything in life.
 
I have a tendcy to gravitate toward reviewers that I trust, folks that take personal bias out of the equation. Any reviews I read come from THP and no place else. I don’t swing like the guys doing the leg work but I know from their reviews what I might expect. Then it’s just a matter of getting said item in my hands.
 
As a newbie who is just getting back into golf i love the THP reviews. It is great getting to see items or company's i did not know about. There is so much gear in the marketplace it is hard to keep up. So i appreciate any feedback i can read.
 
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