THE PROCESS Research with our scientists and testing with players like you
The Hot List is a massive effort by the Golf Digest editorial team, but the voting is fuelled by the contributions of two groups who aren’t getting paid. Our team of scientists advises the judges on what technologies show the most promise, and our panel of 32 golfers lets us know which clubs are working and how. Together, they make up the foundation for our three criteria: Performance, Innovation, Look/Sound/Feel. Player testing was conducted at the Reunion Resort in Florida during three weeks in late 2023 with five clubfitters on-site.
INNOVATION 30%
In consultation with our tech- nical panel and based on our interviews with company R&D teams and our review of com- pany technical documents, this grade reflects how a particular technology advances the cat- egory in all aspects, to what degree the commitment to fit- ting the vast majority of golfers is executed, and how that tech- nology is explained to the pub- lic and to our editors. In short, the best clubs in Innovation are changing what’s possible in their respective categories. LOOK• SOUND• FEEL 20% Using input from the panel- lists, our judges evaluate the relative excellence of the visual, auditory and tactile ex- perience of using a particular club. The more the club reso- nates with our understanding of what a golf club should be, the higher the grade it re- ceives. In short, this is a grade of what the player experiences when viewing, holding and swinging the golf club. ALL JUDGING IS BASED ON A 100-POINT SCALE FOR EACH CRITERION UNDER EACH CLUB CATEGORY. GOLD Products earned a score of 93 to 100 . SILVER Products earned a score of 88 to 92.99 .
MLM2Pro launch monitors are used at every hitting station, and this year more than 24 000 shots were recorded. Fitters work with players so that they are evaluating clubs that are a match for their swing speci- fications. (For example, an individual player most likely will hit only the driver model within a driver family that is ideal for his or her game.)
Also, our low-handicap players do not evaluate super-game- improvement irons, just as our high-handicap players do not evaluate players irons. This year we expanded the Hot List to include more model reviews for the driver, fairway-wood and hybrid categories. All drivers are tested for confor- mance before player evalua- tion begins.
PERFORMANCE 50% Based on interviews with our player panellists and their evaluations of the clubs within a category, the judges assess the utility of each product. In other words, this is a grade of what happens to the ball when a player hits it. Rapsodo
RORY McILROY TIGER WOODS NELLY KORDA SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER
97-100 ★★★★★ 88-96 ★★★★ 70-87 ★★★ 51-69 ★★ ≤ 50 ★
© 2024 Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc.
5 GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRICA
HOTLIST 2024
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