How Do You Review?

JB

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Albatross 2024 Club
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Interesting question just came up at the office and I thought since we send out so much golf equipment to THPers to review, I would pose it here. The question is really fairly deep, but you can make it as deep as you would like honestly. At its basic level, it is exactly how the the title reads.

Let's say THP sends you a new golf club, shaft, etc.

How do you review it?

Not how do you like to read reviews or what you expect in reviews, but your actual reviews. Im sure many on here have written them, on THP or Amazon or anyplace else.

Thought it would be a fun discussion.
 
With golf review for THP I try to show what the particular club/item is doing for my skill level and try to translate that to as many as I can without getting to deep into numbers. I know we all have different skill levels, so I try to be as broad as I can, but at the same time provide enough details so everyone can have an idea of how the product might perform for them.

For non THP/golf reviews I just provided feedback based on what the manufacturer claims it will/should do and what it is doing for me. In a way it's the same approach with the golf stuff, but not as detailed.
 
With golf review for THP I try to show what the particular club/item is doing for my skill level and try to translate that to as many as I can without getting to deep into numbers. I know we all have different skill levels, so I try to be as broad as I can, but at the same time provide enough details so everyone can have an idea of how the product might perform for them.

I completely agree with this. While so many golf products are produced for a certain skill-level, that doesn't mean that the products cannot work for ANY skill-level. Therefore, I like to 1) share an honest assessment of my skill-level as a golfer so that people reading reviews can process the information accordingly, and 2) be specific enough about what I'm seeing with the products so that readers can attempt to get a realistic sense of what is happening. Golf is such a game of feel & preference that it is hard for anyone to TRULY understand how it will work for them without the reviewer providing meticulous detail to the best of their abilities.
 
I like to keep it simple and straightforward. I'm not a technical guy so I'll keep it in layman's terms but gladly deep dive further when a reader is seeking that. I tend to compare it to what I'm currently playing or have recently played as it makes it more easily relatable for many.

I don't focus too much on range performance as it often doesn't translate well to course for me. And keeping an open mind is critical, clubs don't work for everyone so try to see past just what it can do for me.

And honesty....critical.
 
Reviews are something I always take a lot of pride in. I try to give extremely honest feedback every single time i have the piece of equipment in play, either a practice session or at the range. I try to review the equipment for as long as it is a question to me and i think that is where i find official reviews tricky is that point, say 5 or 6 weeks into the review where updates stopped coming in from all testers and i feel like im just popping in and saying the same thing over and over, is the "official" review over? Am i expected to keep giving updates? Years back a post was made that the official testing is over but feedback can continue to come in and it made it easier in terms of expectations. The atmos testing comes to mind. It wasnt long into the review where i knew it wasnt a good fit for me but i kept gaming it and giving my feedback, all honest, and then pretty much all reviews stopped so i figured it was ok to move on back to my previous gamer. But there wasnt any clarity if I had provided enough for thp or fujikura. I think something like that is my only question with reviewing. Other than that, Im usually always chiming in every equipment thread that I had in play
 
For Clubs I would review it from my perspective as a high handicapper and provide pictures. Anyone can read the specs online, but maybe going over how some of the specs effect my experience with them would come into play. I think it could basically be broken down into 3 parts. First Impression: Mostly related to the look, weight and feel of the club. Inital Use: How it differs from what you are currently playing, what good things and bad things stand out in your first 3-4 rounds with it. Final Observations: After spending some time with the product, you get a better idea of the ins and outs of what your testing/reviewing. Kind of like a conclusion. That's how I tried to approach the Cleveland putter I received.
 
I try to give a good comparison to what I have tried that IMO would be a similar product, as well as trying to figure out if the product works as intended. There have been plenty of products I've tried that personally I don't favor, but they work really well for what they are going for, so I like to keep that in mind.
 
I know how I have typically done it, which pales in comparison to what Dean, James and Dan do!
 
first, i love the opportunity to review clubs. it gives me a whole new respect for how good ddec, canadan and jman are.

my process is to first report my initial impressions of aesthetics and quality of build. then i will take the club to the range and focus on my good swings, and report what i saw. i will report what stands out to me on slightly off swings, but it seems irrelevant to discuss swings that no club could help.

then i will head to the course for in-round testing. i'll try to hit different shots and compile my thoughts.

after that i will provide ongoing feedback as i have more opportunity to test. i might get on a launch monitor if the opportunity presents itself.


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I will be getting the opportunity soon to take part in Wilson Staff Iron reviews.

My plan is to:
Offer insight on my game, and how the review will be affected ( a low handicap and my person game differ, and so might the usefulness of the review)
Describe the Irons
Explain the tech in the Irons
Offer comparisons to other Irons through my portable launch monitor. Posting the pictures of actual results
Offer questions for others to ask, and try to answer those questions, or find the answer for them.
Play the irons, offer insights on how they help/hurt my personal game
Offer long term durability of fit and finish

I think by doing this, these irons will get a thorough review, and others will be able to gain information from my review to determine if these would be a club they would like to try.

THP also sends other items for review that the above may or may not apply to such as apparel and electronics.
For these type of items, I would offer personal likes/dislikes about the item, again taking questions and doing my best to answer them.
I would describe and post pictures of: durability, comfort, battery life, features, ease of use, usefulness, among other important aspects to be useful in review.
 
In the forum reviews, I like to chime in as often as I can to give my thoughts almost like stream of consciousness. I've had the chance to review a number of clubs, and in my reviews I've tried to determine a) if it's a good fit for me, b) if it outperforms my current gamer, c) if it does what the manufacturer claims it can do. This has been pretty easy with some clubs (drivers) but not so easy with others (putters), when it depends so much on subjective measures.

So basically, if there are objective measures the manufacturer claims to improve or change, I try to measure and report, otherwise I try to give a fair assessment of the subjective measures.
 
I've had the pleasure of testing a few things from this site over the years, and I tend to be pretty forthcoming with my thoughts on a product. Do I like it or not? Is it helping or hindering? If I'm not playing as well as I should is it penalizing or forgiving? If I am playing well is it doing what I want or not? Do I like the looks of it or is it something that doesn't really appeal to me? I think of questions other people might have and try to give my thoughts, as well as be available to answer other questions anyone else might have. I play often, so getting out to look at something in particular for someone usually isn't a problem.
 
When I reviewed my Cobra irons I wanted to give a lot of background information on myself because knowing if the reviewer is 32 year old male who has played for 6 years changes a lot if the reviewer were instead a 65 year old male who has played for 30 years. I went to the range and got a feel but I really want to review a club/equipment on the course after playing several rounds. That really changes a lot compared to hitting on a screen and getting spin numbers. On the course my typical pressured misses and bad swings come into play and I get to see how the equipment performs in those real world situations.
 
There are a few things I try to do when I am lucky enough to review equipment for THP

  • First, I try to get my initial thoughts down as soon as possible. As I've tried more equipment, I realize that thoughts can evolve pretty quickly, but first impressions I think are important to capture. I think this is especially true when they change - if someone has the same initial thoughts looking at something on the rack, knowing how my thoughts changed over time might be even more useful to them. This includes both aesthetics/quality and performance. I'll try to reference these as I write additional updates to see what, if anything, has changed since I started reviewing
  • I try to poll the forum to find out what people are interested in before I head out with the equipment, and try to focus on any aspects that are requested the next time out
  • I try to think about performance in the context of what the product is advertised/designed to do, and I try to get my thoughts down at least every 2-3 times out, even if my thoughts aren't changing all that much. I think there's value in knowing a product is performing consistently.
  • Since I can only really talk personally about the performance of the product with my preferences and tendencies, I try to qualify my thoughts with these preferences. I'll use the King OS hybrid that I'm currently reviewing as an example. That's a spot in the bag that I am not trying to do anything other than hit the ball that distance as consistently as possible - not looking to move the ball in any way. So the high/straight max forgiveness design is perfect for me there. I've tried to express those preferences, since I've been pretty glowing about that club. Someone who likes to move and flight the ball might have a different experience.
  • I try to learn from others reviewing - both the guys who write the top notch reviews on the home page and others that are forum testing.
 
I take plenty of pictures, and as much of a description as I can. I'll be as unbiased as possible, and as thorough as I can be. I give as much detail as I can about what I like, and don't like about the product (like the Elevado putter I just received... love the putter, hate the grip.) In the case of clubs (not including putters,) I'll try to get some LM data, and compare it to some of the other equipment Ive used. I'll also try to give updates on my progress with the equipment, and answer any questions that come up during the reviewing process.
 
I would start off with a little background of my game and my experience with different equipment over the years.
I would the give a review based on what I thought of the product. I would test the product against my existing product by getting some numbers on the launch monitor to compare. These number would really be just for a baseline of what piece of equipment against another.
My final review would come down to how the equipment feels to me. I always try equipment and hit on a launch monitor before I buy it but my final purchase always comes down to how the club feels to me. After playing for 25 years and going thru plenty of equipment I really feel that I have a great feel for how various clubs hit.
Also, being 62 years old I would like to add a bit of a senior's perspective to the club...
 
Guys, this is less about how would you review if clubs were sent to you, and more how you do review. Everybody has clubs in their bag, how do you review them?
 
I'm not very technical, so I tend to focus more on aesthetics, feel, sound, etc. I try to relay some of the experiences that I have with the product on course and share how it is working for me.
 
I usually try to explain how the club or ball or whatever it is works for me. Thats kind of the beauty of THP testing in my opinion, if someone similar my swing speed or overall golf game to me finds my reviews maybe they can relate. The really detailed reviews are done and done very well by our staff here so I don't think that needs to be rehashed personally. I feel like if I went into too much detail during a review it could get lost in the thread anyways.

I also like when others ask the reviewers specific questions that can be answered or attempted. I think in hand photos are helpful and even a video when possible, but it doesn't always work. For example l tried to get a slo mo video of the ball off the face of the Black 7s putter vs another putter showing the forward roll, but my camera just didn't pick it up.
 
The last club I was lucky enough to review (The Indy Wedge) I went and took video showing how much spin I was getting vs my regular wedge over the course of many balls hit. I love the visual vs the written but a mix of both is perfect!
 
I still remember the first big review I ever did on this site: Taylor Made RBZ irons. I was a kid in a candy store when that box arrived and really enjoyed reviewing those clubs from start to finish. I never wanted it to end. I just went back and looked at some of the reviews in that thread, mine, mward and others. We all were so excited reviewing those clubs and you could tell.

So with that being said, I love the quick hit reviews; good points, good data, good comparisons and leave 'em wanting more in your next review/follow up. I can hang with a longer review but it's got to keep me engaged from the start in order for me to finish it. Some great reviewers on this site that I've learned a lot from and incorporated into my own style.
 
For me I'm reviewing based off feel and performance. I want to take the club to the range, hit a couple balls with it and take note of ball flight, feel, sound etc. From there, I'd take with me on my next round and put it in play. Do my best to ensure it's a non busy day, so that I can hit several balls with it, to see how it works for me. Give my thoughts from there.
 
Guys, this is less about how would you review if clubs were sent to you, and more how you do review. Everybody has clubs in their bag, how do you review them?

Since I answered the wrong way the first time, to answer this question specifically I review my clubs based on a couple things. The first being performance, second is looks and finally feel. I can maybe get past the looks if it performs but I can't get past lack of performance no matter how good it looks.
 
After reading through everyone's process I feel that I am going about my review process the wrong way.

First I start with looks. I think looks are very important as if it looks good it's going to grab my attention.

This is where I feel I may be going about the process in a bad way. When I review a piece of equipment I do give my general thoughts but then it's directly going against whatever I am gaming. Whether is a shaft, wedge or a set of irons it basically turns into a competition as to what's in my bag.

Time to get a better game plan moving forward


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There is no wrong way scarnici.
Well there is, but that involves not doing the review.
 
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