Event gear: How long is long enough?

McLovin

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THP events are second to none. And the 10-year anniversary this year has been witness to some incredible stuff. There are more events to come this year, some of which include gear.

I was lucky enough to participate in the 2018 Morgan Cup in which participants received 13 custom-ordered clubs from Cobra Golf. I don't consider myself a club ho, but I definitely have a wandering eye. I promised myself that regardless of the results, I would game my Morgan Cup clubs for at least 6 months from the date I received them. During that time, I wanted to review the gear as often as possible. I enjoy ongoing feedback as perceptions change, sometimes for good and sometimes not. That 6-month promise ends next month, and there are a couple spots in my bag that will get changed up. Maybe permanently, maybe not.

If you are lucky enough to get into an event - whether that event includes a single club like a putter or a full bag of brand new clubs - how long do you feel is long enough to give the gear a fair shake, and also provide the valuable feedback each OEM wants when participating in an event?
 
Not having been in an event yet that received equipment I can’t exactly answer that (ask again in 2 weeks)

I think 6 months is a fair shake... however changes can occur.

With your event all being about the clubs, keeping the clubs for 6 months but swapping shafts to find the best fit would be ok as long as the heads stayed the same.

With my event, I may swap out heads to find the best fit for me, but keep the TT shafts as that is what I was there to test.


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IMO, it is whatever you feel comfortable with, when you believe you have done your due diligence as far as reviews and such then IMO you are good to go.

Not going to be the most popular answer here with some, but its always been my stance on it.
 
Still have my 2017 Grandaddy equipment....all 14 clubs. Changed a few shafts, about it. Once the new release stuff comes out I start "considering" a few changes here and there.
 
c.a.eleric,
It depends on the event. Some events come with a prerequisite and criteria that you must review the gear you receive for an extended period of time. Some people blow that off too. All we can hope is that there are enough good people to continue to do what they say they will, so these once in a lifetime opportunities can continue.
 
c.a.eleric,
It depends on the event. Some events come with a prerequisite and criteria that you must review the gear you receive for an extended period of time. Some people blow that off too. All we can hope is that there are enough good people to continue to do what they say they will, so these once in a lifetime opportunities can continue.

Why would anyone disregard criteria and jeopardize these opportunities? Makes absolutely no sense.


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Unless specified pre event in my mind I would think one golf season, especially for a grand event such as the Morgan Cup or The Grandaddy. I realize this is different for everyone because the season is location dependent. I think as long as you have fulfilled your responsibility to the sponsor to review the equipment you are ok to change out.
 
i certainly welcome any feedback on my own guidelines, but the gist of the question is to ask how past participants - really in ANY gear event - have treated it, and also to ask how people like @dwchockey will be approaching an upcoming event since it may be their first.

we have had threads like this in the past, but i thought it would be a good time to revisit since we have some pretty amazing events coming up soon.
 
Why would anyone disregard criteria and jeopardize these opportunities? Makes absolutely no sense.


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Some people lack integrity. Sad? Yes. Unfortunately, it's all too true and not hard to believe.

Gone are the days where a man's good word and a handshake were all you needed.

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Being 100% honest, I think the participant has the right to go home from the event and play what they want to play from there. I say that with the caveat that I believe those participants should still be active in those equipment threads whether it is talking about their experience with said club, or the knowledge they learned about it from said event.

I have had the privilege of being in 5 full THP events where I have gotten a full bag of gear(6 if we count a media event). There have been times where I enjoyed the whole bag of clubs, and others where there were some areas that just didn't jive with me. For example, my first ever MC, I wholeheartedly hated the Callaway Jaws CC wedges that we received. I got them 2 days prior to the event, played 2 practice rounds and the entire weekend with them. When I got home, I used that bag for my next few rounds of golf, and then started to pick the bag apart, starting with those wedges. Just because they were not in my bag didn't mean that I couldn't talk about the tech, the shape, the feel, the performance of them. In fact I'm confident if anyone wanted to ask my about those bags or equipment from those lines from Callaway, TaylorMade, Bridgestone, or Cobra, I'm confident I could so so because I made sure to learn about the equipment.

I have had people say to me, well I got back from the event and it was winter, what am I supposed to do? My answer is always simple, talk about your experience with them and what you saw. When you remember a good shot, talk about it. Talk about the clubs in general. Not every review needs to be a shot by shot analysis of your most recent round. When guys from the Northeast return from something like the Grandaddy, it's the middle of December. But they can still chat about what they got and how they liked or didn't like it.

Chris, you have done a great job with the MC gear this year. Whenever you feel you are ready to swap something out, I say feel free to do it. Just because it's not in your bag doesn't mean you need to be excluded from the conversations.
 
I have only been to one event, and I reviewed that equipment on and off for over a year. (Wedges) Personally I think if there is a prerequisite then you should fill that, if not then you should do what you feel comfortable with. That doesn't mean go home and never be hear from again though after the event. I understand it is different for everyone but at least make the effort.
Looking forward to attending another event when the opportunity arises.
 
Being 100% honest, I think the participant has the right to go home from the event and play what they want to play from there. I say that with the caveat that I believe those participants should still be active in those equipment threads whether it is talking about their experience with said club, or the knowledge they learned about it from said event.

I have had the privilege of being in 5 full THP events where I have gotten a full bag of gear(6 if we count a media event). There have been times where I enjoyed the whole bag of clubs, and others where there were some areas that just didn't jive with me. For example, my first ever MC, I wholeheartedly hated the Callaway Jaws CC wedges that we received. I got them 2 days prior to the event, played 2 practice rounds and the entire weekend with them. When I got home, I used that bag for my next few rounds of golf, and then started to pick the bag apart, starting with those wedges. Just because they were not in my bag didn't mean that I couldn't talk about the tech, the shape, the feel, the performance of them. In fact I'm confident if anyone wanted to ask my about those bags or equipment from those lines from Callaway, TaylorMade, Bridgestone, or Cobra, I'm confident I could so so because I made sure to learn about the equipment.

I have had people say to me, well I got back from the event and it was winter, what am I supposed to do? My answer is always simple, talk about your experience with them and what you saw. When you remember a good shot, talk about it. Talk about the clubs in general. Not every review needs to be a shot by shot analysis of your most recent round. When guys from the Northeast return from something like the Grandaddy, it's the middle of December. But they can still chat about what they got and how they liked or didn't like it.

Chris, you have done a great job with the MC gear this year. Whenever you feel you are ready to swap something out, I say feel free to do it. Just because it's not in your bag doesn't mean you need to be excluded from the conversations.

I’m with you here pretty much. Feel free to play your old bag, new bag of other clubs a mix of all of them. I think in that time one should game the free stuff for whatever a golf season is in their area so that they can provide review/feedback to questions. In the case of your wedges I would say if they just aren’t working no need to hurt game and keep them in the bag, but at least stay active in the appropriate threads to talk about what didn’t work, why & answer questions related to your experience.

We are internet golfers do we are always on the lookout for the holy grail club but I would think in cases where ittijgsxwee involved it could be hard to find a new club that would outperform the fitted one and we know performance trumps new and shiny :alien2:
 
IMO, it is whatever you feel comfortable with, when you believe you have done your due diligence as far as reviews and such then IMO you are good to go.

Not going to be the most popular answer here with some, but its always been my stance on it.

I treat it all as if I did buy them myself...as someone with a good number of clubs in the garage (part fo recovery admitting your hoarding)....I have bought clubs and they were mazing on the monitor and for a couple weeks, then they went weird on me (yes I know it is me) and I leave them in the garage...

If I am testing it, and get the comparisons and feel for them, then communicate about them, then I am absolutely doing what is intended....

The goals Is not to be unhappy or guilty, the goal is to get a feel, and communicate the why, and the how...our observations are likely felt by others as well, and what we experience is equally as important as others....that is where I try to not make it competitive on reviews, my swing, and my game are unique to me, and my jobs when testing is to share those details so that others can make informed decisions...

just my opinion...
 
Funny you post this topic, as it was something that had popped in my head last week, which is part of the reason that I gave some "final" thoughts on my Grandaddy gear. I'm not sure what the pre-req for the Grandaddy is/was but as new releases are starting to ramp up, I figured the Rogue gear we received would start to fade to the back. I'll still answer whatever questions folks may have here and there, and I'm still subscribed to those threads for alerts when new posts happen, but if I want to experiment with something new I hope I've fulfilled my commitment to the Grandaddy, and it wouldn't be frowned upon.
 
Personally, I don't feel any need to change anything nor want to haha. Sure I may have dabbled around with the Rogue Pro but it isn't enough for me to change irons. And friends of mine who have decided to change whatever in their bag, so what, it's their golf game.

I actually like reviewing the clubs after a given round or 2 because I'm happy with the performance of the clubs in a given round. Now with the new stuff coming out, I'll still continue to review the equipment I currently have, I don't mind at all.
 
i certainly welcome any feedback on my own guidelines, but the gist of the question is to ask how past participants - really in ANY gear event - have treated it, and also to ask how people like @dwchockey will be approaching an upcoming event since it may be their first.

we have had threads like this in the past, but i thought it would be a good time to revisit since we have some pretty amazing events coming up soon.

Honestly I’ll be open in my feedback, I’ll test out the shafts with the heads they were put in for at least 5-6 rounds before I make any changes, If I’m getting flight or distances I don’t like I’ll first try swapping out the heads, but I’ll be honest if it’s a shaft issue for me and that I need to go to a different shaft. It wouldn’t be a knock on TT as I won’t be fitted to the shafts I grab, but after each round I’ll try to post in the respective threads my honest feedback. If at the end of the day the shaft isn’t for me, I’ll swap out. Doesn’t matter how many rounds that is or how long that takes. I should have an idea quickly.


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those are some super thoughts @ddec. and a great perspective for anyone getting into an event soon, but going back home to a wintry wonderland void of much opportunity for ongoing testing.

i'm not disparaging your approach at all by saying the following and i mean it with sincerity, but i do envy your ability to put something in play for a few rounds and fully know the club's characteristics. that's probably one of the reasons you're so good at being a reviewer. for me, it takes me a looooooong time to get into a groove with a club. heck, my first time out with the ftb irons was pretty damn atrocious. now they're virtually automatic for me and i have more confidence in them than any iron in recent memory.

i really enjoy reading everyone's thoughts on how to approach the post-event gear "responsibilities" whether express or implied. keep it coming!
 
Being 100% honest, I think the participant has the right to go home from the event and play what they want to play from there. I say that with the caveat that I believe those participants should still be active in those equipment threads whether it is talking about their experience with said club, or the knowledge they learned about it from said event.

I have had the privilege of being in 5 full THP events where I have gotten a full bag of gear(6 if we count a media event). There have been times where I enjoyed the whole bag of clubs, and others where there were some areas that just didn't jive with me. For example, my first ever MC, I wholeheartedly hated the Callaway Jaws CC wedges that we received. I got them 2 days prior to the event, played 2 practice rounds and the entire weekend with them. When I got home, I used that bag for my next few rounds of golf, and then started to pick the bag apart, starting with those wedges. Just because they were not in my bag didn't mean that I couldn't talk about the tech, the shape, the feel, the performance of them. In fact I'm confident if anyone wanted to ask my about those bags or equipment from those lines from Callaway, TaylorMade, Bridgestone, or Cobra, I'm confident I could so so because I made sure to learn about the equipment.

I have had people say to me, well I got back from the event and it was winter, what am I supposed to do? My answer is always simple, talk about your experience with them and what you saw. When you remember a good shot, talk about it. Talk about the clubs in general. Not every review needs to be a shot by shot analysis of your most recent round. When guys from the Northeast return from something like the Grandaddy, it's the middle of December. But they can still chat about what they got and how they liked or didn't like it.

This.

I have been to three THP events so far, two that have included gear. What is said above is about as accurate to answering the OP question as it gets. IMHO

One thing I will point it is, if you aren't able to timely and accurately test and review your equipment you receive I don't think that person should enter the event or contest in my opinion.

For example. If a contest comes up for iron shafts and you happen to win but cant afford the cost to swap them out....don't enter.
 
Being 100% honest, I think the participant has the right to go home from the event and play what they want to play from there. I say that with the caveat that I believe those participants should still be active in those equipment threads whether it is talking about their experience with said club, or the knowledge they learned about it from said event.

I have had the privilege of being in 5 full THP events where I have gotten a full bag of gear(6 if we count a media event). There have been times where I enjoyed the whole bag of clubs, and others where there were some areas that just didn't jive with me. For example, my first ever MC, I wholeheartedly hated the Callaway Jaws CC wedges that we received. I got them 2 days prior to the event, played 2 practice rounds and the entire weekend with them. When I got home, I used that bag for my next few rounds of golf, and then started to pick the bag apart, starting with those wedges. Just because they were not in my bag didn't mean that I couldn't talk about the tech, the shape, the feel, the performance of them. In fact I'm confident if anyone wanted to ask my about those bags or equipment from those lines from Callaway, TaylorMade, Bridgestone, or Cobra, I'm confident I could so so because I made sure to learn about the equipment.

I have had people say to me, well I got back from the event and it was winter, what am I supposed to do? My answer is always simple, talk about your experience with them and what you saw. When you remember a good shot, talk about it. Talk about the clubs in general. Not every review needs to be a shot by shot analysis of your most recent round. When guys from the Northeast return from something like the Grandaddy, it's the middle of December. But they can still chat about what they got and how they liked or didn't like it.

Chris, you have done a great job with the MC gear this year. Whenever you feel you are ready to swap something out, I say feel free to do it. Just because it's not in your bag doesn't mean you need to be excluded from the conversations.

The Dean has spoken. Brilliant response.
 
I try to give as much feedback as possible but I'm not shy when it comes to kicking clubs out of the bag if they're not working for me (whether received at an awesome THP Event or not). Unless there are specified agreements in place that I must review such and such club for a period of time, I'll move on if I don't think the club is working for me--and I'll explain why I moved on so that others can see the positive and negative aspects of the club. This post reminds me that I need to stay on top of those posts actually, as I have recently moved on from certain clubs I received at the Cleveland Game Changer.
 
I try to give as much feedback as possible but I'm not shy when it comes to kicking clubs out of the bag if they're not working for me (whether received at an awesome THP Event or not). Unless there are specified agreements in place that I must review such and such club for a period of time, I'll move on if I don't think the club is working for me--and I'll explain why I moved on so that others can see the positive and negative aspects of the club. This post reminds me that I need to stay on top of those posts actually, as I have recently moved on from certain clubs I received at the Cleveland Game Changer.

i think is very important. and in EVERY SINGLE gear event i've been in, the sponsors say they crave honest feedback. just talk about the gear and how it is or isn't working. it can be just as beneficial for everyone else to read about struggles as it is to read about success. when one guy says a particular driver is spinning way too much for him, that's music to my ears because i generally need spin. so going above and beyond just a simple, "club wasn't for me" or "this club is great!" is really important.
 
i think is very important. and in EVERY SINGLE gear event i've been in, the sponsors say they crave honest feedback. just talk about the gear and how it is or isn't working. it can be just as beneficial for everyone else to read about struggles as it is to read about success. when one guy says a particular driver is spinning way too much for him, that's music to my ears because i generally need spin. so going above and beyond just a simple, "club wasn't for me" or "this club is great!" is really important.

You will NEVER EVER hear from THP or from one of our event partners anything else.
We believe this is one of the most crucial aspects and a cornerstone to our entire event platform.
Outside of being involved, that is the most crucial.
 
I think maybe it depends on how much effort was put into testing the clubs/making them work and also how much effort went into reviewing/spreading knowledge.

It seems like 6 months might be a little on the short end, but at the same time, you've put in a ton of work trying to get your F8 to work for you, and it just hasn't happened. But you've consistently given us insight into the changes you've made, how the club has and hasn't worked for you, and your game in general.

I think that's a big difference from realizing it doesn't work and then just killing time until you replace it. You've genuinely tried everything you can to make the club work and also provide as much value to the community as possible. And maybe this isn't the best way to look at it, maybe I would change my thoughts if I get in an event, but as someone following along, I feel like you've held up your end of the bargain, so to speak.
 
As it relates to the Grandaddy, here’s what I’ve been asking the team: If you gave away let’s say $8000 worth of stuff plus provided an experience that literally cannot be purchased, how long would you want that person to review the gear?

Non-GD, I think we have an obligation to play the clubs long enough that we truly experience them, so that we can continue to discuss them in the threads and provide meaningful / intelligent feedback on them even if we’re not playing them.


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It’s the gear that has actually put me off putting my name forward for events. I’m lucky enough that I can afford to buy the clubs I want. I have now what I believe is the perfect set up for me. I don’t want to have to play another set of clubs, and at the same time, I couldn’t go to an event, get a full set then just stick em away, or sell them. I actually look for the events where there is minimal swag LOL.


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