About the Hot List

When we launched this golf-equipment evaluation enterprise 20 years ago, we said the buying process should start with the Golf Digest Hot List. For the team here that puts it together, it’s an unwavering commitment to providing a comprehensive guide that makes the golfclub universe intelligible for you. It takes us nearly a year to get it right. Multiply that by 20 and you have the knowledge behind this year’s list. The two lead editors responsible for the Hot List have each been covering equipment for the past 30 years. They live for moment of inertia, carbon-composite fibers and artificialintelligence algorithms, meeting with R&D folks of every level to find, as we said in 2004, “the clubs you should try right now.” Our 20th Hot List, fueled by three weeks of research and testing at Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club in Maricopa, Ariz., has 134 winners that are universally better than they have ever been.