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player-testers quickly learn, you need to be in good shape and protect your hands. Band-Aids become a popular item by the third day. “It’s not for the faint of heart,” said Musser. “It’s a full-day’s work.”


material science presented by the manufacturers. Four grading categories were cre- ated: performance, innova- tion, look, sound and feel and demand. “The process is extremely


thorough,” said Ken Morton Jr., who has been involved in every “Hot List” and over- sees merchandising at four Sacramento-area golf courses. “I was sitting in a room with retailers and they do about $100 million in business each year. We talk about the trends with manufacturers, models, designs and shafts. The sci- entists prove out or debunk new products.”


In 2004, a handful of editors loaded their cars with equipment and drove to Cranwell, Massachusetts to test clubs. Now, the clubs that make it to the fi nal stage of evaluation fi ll a tractor trailer truck and have to be transported across the country to a testing site. “It’s a huge undertak- ing,” said Stachura. “We start in July and wrap up in December. We’re working on it every day.” Ultimately, Stachura and fellow editors Mike John- son, Stina Sternberg and Max Adler, make the fi nal


WINTER 2011 / NCGA.ORG / 37


decisions on the top clubs. Musser will never forget walking on the practice range the fi rst morning of testing and seeing dozens of oversized golf bags fi lled with new clubs.


“Being able to hit all the clubs I had been reading about before they go out on the shelves is pretty cool,” Musser said. “I’m thinking, ‘Hey, what club am I go- ing to hit next?’ It was like information overload.” And, as


For most, the camara- derie is instant. “I made a whole new set of friends sprinkled around the coun- try,” said Musser. “For me to hang out with people in the golf industry. ..I was like a kid in a candy store.” Hurter agreed. “There’s a bonding now between the panelists,” he said. “Every- body looks forward to it. It’s a working vacation.” Morton thinks golfers


are the big winners in the process.


“Ultimately, it helps the consumer the most,” he said. “They start with 1,000 clubs and narrow it down to a dozen in each category. If you trust them and believe in their process, and I do, it helps validate those prod- ucts in our store.” Stachura is the fi rst to admit the “Hot


List” wouldn’t exist without the help of the equipment companies. “It’s pretty impossible to rate golf clubs that are maybe months away from being in the market- place,” he said. “But we’re asking the manufacturers to give us a product that might not launch until January, February or March. And yet they’ve been on board almost from the get-go.” It’s certainly not a guaran-


tee. It’s something of a risk. Whether it’s a Taylor- Made, a Callaway or Utopia putters, big or small, they’re giving us product. Not that they’re always happy with the results.” All player-testers must sign a confi dentiality form before they can participant. Only the four judges know the results until the “Hot List” issue is published. “I really look forward to seeing what the surprises are,” said Hurter.


Mark Soltau is the editor of tigerwoods.com and contributing writer to Golf Digest.


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