What if together we could build a place where performance was the only thing that mattered? A place totally free from the influence of marketing.
What if we could eliminate promises of 10 more yards and replace all of it with cold, hard, quantifiable facts? Shoot you straight, give you real data, real information. Isn’t that the way it should be?
To us, there was no better way to realize the vision for educating and empowering the golfing consumer than to open our own golf performance testing and research facility.
That was the dream one year ago when we launched our #PowerToThePlayer Campaign. After more than a year of planning and hard work, we’re excited to announce that, with your help, we were able to make the MyGolfSpy research facility a reality.
About the MyGolfSpy Test Center
The new MyGolfSpy headquarters is a 1750 sq/ft. building located in Yorktown, VA. The facility is outfitted with two indoor hitting bays equipped with Foresight GC2 HMT Launch monitors. We installed a putting green for our putter tests, and just so everything stays as consistent as it can be, we’ve partnered with Bridgestone to ensure we always have plenty of tour-quality balls on-hand for testing.
The new facility may be where we go to work every day, but we built it for you.
The first test conducted entirely at the new facility, which will name 2016’s Most Wanted Driver, is nearing completion. As we ramp-up to full capacity, more #DATACRATIC research will follow. We’re talking about every club in the bag – driver to putter. Older models vs. the next big thing. More labs, more tests, more information to help you cut through the bullshit, make smarter decisions, save money (no more buying the wrong gear), and play better golf.
That has always been the MyGolfSpy mission.
A Truly Unique Space
The new facility is a one-of-a-kind space in the golf media world. I know, that sounds a bit like exactly the type of marketing hyperbole we built the facility to cut-through, but think about it for just a minute. It’s ours…it’s yours. A totally independent golf club testing facility built without so much as a single dime in advertising from the biggest names in golf. Nobody else can say that, and because of that simple and necessary fact, we remain beholden to no one but you.
We manage every step of our testing processes. Although we solicited input from members of the R&D teams at some of the biggest names in golf to help us develop testing methodologies and protocols that meet industry standards, our tests remain completely independent. We’re committed to testing golf clubs the right way. That means no shortcuts. It’s why you can trust our results. Anything less would be a disservice to you, our reader.
With your continued support, our plan is to expand the capabilities of the test facility over the coming months and years. We’re going to raise the bar; give you more data, more information, and more tools to help you find the perfect club for your game.
The test facility is the next step towards revolutionizing how information is delivered to the consumer and how you buy golf equipment.
Once again, thank you for your support.
With our new headquarters open, it’s time for us to get back to work for you.
Rob McGregor
4 years agoThumbs up, you have a very unique organisation equipped to carry out the work, with the; tech, knowledge, experience, ethics and above all devotion.
Don Deavers
4 years agoWOW! Maybe you could have a contest/drawing for visits to the “lair” to speed the day just playing around with all the cool stuff and equipment! Awesome Place- thanks for all you guys do!
Scott King
4 years agoI know you guys are up for visits. What is the protocol?
KevinE
5 years agoWith extreme envy, I say “Nice place”
SP0T
6 years agoGood lord I dream of this being my garage some day when I grow up.
Robert Penner
6 years agoIf you truly have your customers best interest at heart, there already are these places. I believe I own one. I don’t push any brand I sell over another one. Whatever performs the best is what the customer gets. It is unfortunate that is a rarity.
MyGolf Spy
6 years agoDifference is this is not a retail or open to public. This facility is purely dedicated to testing equipment and publishing the data for consumers.
barney loose
6 years agoThe fact that you are purely a testing facility and do not sell golf equipment is good evidence you are free from club maker influences. Too often I went to golf shops that want to steer me into equipment that they carry and promote.
Fred Molo
6 years agoWhere is this facility,looks great
Eric Pramick
6 years agoThis place looks fantastic! Best of luck with it.
Carolina Golfer 2
6 years agoJust now seeing this. Yesterday’s video peaked my interest. Great job on the testing lab. A visit from me will happen this spring, this I promise. I’ll also give you some notice, to allow you guys to lock the doors and head out for the day. Once in there, I may not leave…LOL
Frank Cruz
6 years agoCongrats! I usually don’t buy anything until I see your review. Keep up the good work.
George Jacobs
6 years agoThanks Adam for the update that is a great looking lab. I am wanting to replace my Taylormade M1 Driver but I think I will wait until I see your Testing on Drivers.
Jason Geraci
7 years agoCongrats on the new lab.
I am hoping that your research acumen will continue to grow and that you will be able to publish useful, scientific, data.
Todd Novotny
7 years agoParadise- but only if there is a kegerator on-site
Isaac Castillo
7 years agoYay!!
Tatsuro Oshimoto
7 years agoSolid facility
Derrick Brent
7 years agoCongrats! Keep up the great work.
Brandon Tonkovich
7 years agoWow, how does one get a job here?!
Jason Humes
7 years agoNICE… just curious… realize you’re in VA; how do you select your testers?
jt
7 years agohow do i sign up to be a tester everytime i try to get loged on it wont take it
Jeff reinke
7 years agoWhat brand of indoor putting greens did you use/recommend.
MyGolfSpy
7 years agoAfter much research we found that the majority of turf is made in the same place in Georgia. After our research we decided to go with STI Turf for our hitting bays, hitting mats and putting turf.
LINK: http://stiturf.com/applications/putting-greens-golf/
David Price
7 years agoany plans for Atlanta?
buckical
7 years agoLookin’ great!…Contrary to the time you’ve wasted trying to communicate with “Art”, I “again”, am asking if there are any of your original putter head covers still available. Someone “pilfered” my pride and joy and I have not been able to get any response from you guys! However, back to subject at hand, you fellows continue to amaze with your dedication to the important golf matters…which not only benefit all of us, but has proven to make serious inroads into my finances. Am now standing by awaiting further review of (among others of course) the latest Powerbilt Air Force One, Of course, I’d sure like to “obtain” another putter head cover..hint!
TWSoot67
7 years agoI’m about to retire in a couple years, if you ever need another body to help with testing products maybe I could help. Congrats again on your new space! Fantastic!
TWSoot67
7 years agoCongrats on your new testing facility.
MyGolfSpy
7 years agoThanks TW.
JimB
7 years agoI live in Portsmouth, VA. I’m retired Veteran and a competitive golfer. I would love to talk to you about the possibility of testing for you.
MyGolfSpy
7 years agoHey Jim – We are always looking for testers. Shoot us an email and we will keep you in mind for sure.
Gene Still
7 years agoMy faith when I contributed is vindicated ! Keep up the good work.
MyGolfSpy
7 years agoThank you for your support Gene, it definitely kickstarted the breaking of ground for the facility.
Bruce
7 years agoCongratulations Tony and well done to your team.The concept is excellent and the facility looks efficient and I would love to be a part of the tests etc .,Unfortunately living in Australia does present a problem but only in distance and it will not stop my interest in your tests,the results and possible improvements for a enthusiastic 13 handicap left hander! Best wishes to all.
Bruce
MyGolfSpy
7 years agoWell if you are ever over this way let us know we would love to have you. And be on the look out for other tests that might not require you to be in the US.
John Pelfrey
7 years agoCongratulations! I look forward to more reports!!
MyGolfSpy
7 years agoAnd we can’t wait to begin delivering them to you!
cksurfdude
7 years agoNice!!! Yeah, echo the ROOOAD TRIP! sentiment … especially when you put in that fridge/kegerator… 😉
MyGolfSpy
7 years agoCome on down!
Kerry Cole
7 years agoTotally Cherry………Looks Sanitary to me… you did a great job.. BUT, the only question is “where is the cigar and scotch tasting room?” and you could add a massage room also… I know I would complain if they buried me in a gold coffin..
Jason Geraci
7 years agoSo who are the scientists that will be running this lab and the research?
MyGolfSpy
7 years agoHave you not seen the lab coats with the names?
Sean C.
7 years agoSweet! Congrats on completing a deam. Now you just need to add a humidor and a bar. “Golfers can check in any time you like…but you can never leeeave!”
Raj LP
7 years agoCongratulations guys. Looks pretty awesome.
MyGolfSpy
7 years agoThanks Raj!
Kanoito
7 years agoWTF is this awesomeness??!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
Way to gooooo MGS!
MyGolfSpy
7 years agoIt is a start, can’t wait to start put in all the tools in we need to give you all the info you want.
randjf
7 years agoMan-cave deluxe! I wonder who’s more excited: The MGS staff? Or the MGS readers who stand to benefit? (P.S. Please show photo of fridge with keg inside and tap on door)
MyGolfSpy
7 years agoHopefully both. We hope you guys enjoy the content that will be coming out of this place soon.
Marcelo
7 years agoYou guys do such a great job to keep us informed on the newest technology in golf, you deserve to have a place that will allow you to keep grinding out your news and findings. Keep up the great work and I hope to be able to visit your site to really take in the awesomeness of your facility!
MyGolfSpy
7 years agoWe will do our best Marcelo. And ANYTIME you want to come visit just let us know.
Uhit
7 years agoGreat that you made this big step forward!
I hope to see loft measurements to ensure that all tested clubs in a comparison have really the same loft and not only (the junk number) that is written on the club by the manufacturer…
…b.t.w. have you already a name for the robot, and for the convenient couch?
art
7 years agoROBOT?!?! L.O.L.!!!! Uhit, why on earth would we want precise and reproducible data like that??
MyGolfSpy
7 years agoStill not a single expert that agrees with you.
MyGolfSpy
7 years agoNo names yet, you want to name them?
808nation
7 years agoGreat Scott! Now this is how I’d want my basement of my house to look like. Congrats to everyone at MyGolfSpy!!
MyGolfSpy
7 years agoThanks 808!
Jean Cullen
7 years agoCongrats Guys… keep up the great work !!!
MyGolfSpy
7 years agoWe will do our best.
Donovan Childers
7 years agoHope that comes with the ability to hit out to a range, and need trackman
MyGolf Spy
7 years agoForesight is more accurate and dependable for indoor testing. And when it comes to data we look for the most consistent data. We don’t care about launch monitor brand names as much as the accuracy of the data that comes out of the units.
Ken Mykietowich
7 years agoMy jaw is on the floor!!! What a place! ?? Nice!
MyGolfSpy
7 years agoThanks for being such a long time reader and supporter of MGS Ken.
Don
7 years agoPlace looks amazing!!! If this is where I had to go to work everyday I would be early… everyday.
Can’t wait for the Most Wanted articles to start flowing out!
MyGolfSpy
7 years agoWe can’t either!
Andy G
7 years agoI doubt I am the only one, but golf club testing indoors does little to nothing for me. Just my opinion, but I don’t trust anything on the indoor launch monitors when comparing clubs. People don’t swing freely indoors in these “stations”.
I find my testing on a range or course conditions is X times better. It costs more, so most places shy away from it.
Chet
7 years agoThis is awesome. I love all the data that this site puts out for the consumer to use when making purchase decisions. And not too far from me in central NC, too…
MyGolfSpy
7 years agoAny time you want to venture down from good ‘ol NorthCackalacky just let us know.
Troy Vayanos
7 years agoLooks a magnificent facility, you guys have done an awesome job.
Any jobs available?
MyGolfSpy
7 years agoSend your resume to [email protected]
billybogey
7 years agoGreat job. Look’s like a neat place to hang.
MyGolfSpy
7 years agoThanks BB!
LeftyBradd
7 years agoCongrats on the opening. Looks like a stellar facility. I have been playing on the GC2 for about a year now and cannot believe the accuracy. Your results are always unbiased and love reading all the articles written. Would love to know if you guys are open to the public, all that gear in one place may make our heads explode but it would be a lot of fun.
MyGolfSpy
7 years agoWe are not open to the public but will ALWAYS accommodate a reader.
Fred Grafton
7 years agoGreat start. One addition would be a version of an “Iron Byron”. I would love to see side by side results of clubs where each swing is identical! Then we could match the right shafts to swing profile and then see the difference of a club head. Thanks again.
art
7 years agoFred, the golf industry has already persuaded MGS they don’t need one. And you thought you were getting coverage that “extends far beyond the facts as dictated by the companies that created them.”
Tony Covey
7 years agoArt you adorable fountain of mischief, you.
For Fred’s sake I’ll go through this yet another time. We covered this in an article a couple of year’s ago. Here’s that link: http://www.mygolfspy.com/golf-club-testing-results-you-can-trust/.
The article covers the reason why robots aren’t the right tool for performance testing.
As for Art’s comical assertion that the golf industry persuaded us not to…yes, we spoke to R&D guys. Lots of them. Over the last several years we’ve had the conversations with R&D guys at Callaway, TaylorMade, PING, Cobra, Wilson, and NIke. We talked to Tom Wishon. We talked to guys designing for smaller companies, and we even consulted with Dick De La Cruz (who literally invented the golf robot). Safe to assume that the little guys, along with Wishon and De La Cruz don’t have any vested interest in towing the big company line.
These are guys who…shall we say…often have philosophical disagreements on design, technology, etc., and yet to a man, EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM was in complete agreement that a robot does not adequately represent what happens when a human hits a golf ball.
Those, Arthur, are the facts. If you are of a different opinion, by all means, tell us what the right way to use the robot is. What swing speed, impact position, and angle of attack should we use. Are you aware that properly setting up a robot test for a single point test can literally take hours?
But hey, if you’ve really got it all figured, out, by all means, state your qualifications, assuming they meet or exceed those of the actual experts we’ve spoken with. If not…probably best you skip along.
art
7 years agoWow, Anthony. Imagine that. The ‘best golf writer in the industry’ resorting to banal sarcasm, yet again. Yawn.
Thank you for posting the link to your previous chest-pounding on the topic of robots, along with your industry buddies. Not sure why you would want to contradict yourself in such glaring fashion, but again I say thank you.
Tony Covey
7 years agoOnce again, Art…state your qualifications, or admit you don’t actually know what you’re talking about.
art
7 years agoGosh, you got me. You are correct. Unlike all of your writers, and all of the brilliant commenters who follow your publication, I am not an industry expert.
In fact, I thought one of the main tenets here was to question the “industry experts”. It seems some of us been duped by MGS.
So in full and embarrassing disclosure, I’m just a golf geek who’s studied math, physics, engineering, and human biology, which go along with a career in the biomedical field. Clearly no scientific leg to stand on here. I stand in deference to all in this forum and publication.
But I am really curious about the video in the below link from “industry experts”!
MGS, are these your industry buddies we can believe? Or are these guys from the dark side?!? Only you can tell us, Anthony, you’re our only hope!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qxDdTecZV8
Tony Covey
7 years agoQuestion experts yes…assuming everything they say is a a lie, no. Again…well researched and we found universal agreement among people who generally don’t agree on much.
You’re an ad hominem machine, aren’t you. You’ve sarcastically attacked me, questioned our integrity, and yet have still managed to produce exactly ZERO evidence to support your argument that robot testing is a better way to determine actual performance characteristics. Zero. Have you spoken to anybody with any qualifications who agrees with your position? Again…you’re just a guy with an opinion (based on nothing than your gut apparently).
But hey…keep attacking us instead of making an actual case for robots. I’m sure nobody here will see through what you’re doing.
I’m sorry you feel duped, so by all means, feel free to take your business elsewhere, or better yet, start your own site and do a better job than we do. Based on your stated qualifications (which suggest you completed high school in the US), you’ll surely have no doubt putting what we do to shame. I can’t wait to see what you come up with.
As for the video you referenced… You got me. Those are industry experts…experts in golf club marketing. I can’t thank you enough for finding that. It’s a marketing video, where a robot is programmed to achieve the desired results. And that’s the thing about robots, they basically do whatever you tell them to do, which is why I asked you what you believe are the right conditions under which to test. I noticed you dismissed that question as sarcasm instead of providing an answer.
Because here’s the thing, when companies do robot testing for the purposes of making a specific performance claim, they’ve already determined the conditions under which they’ll get the best results. It’s why you never see a company come up short in independent robot testing. The testing itself may be independent, but the companies dictate the swing parameters for the robot. Beyond the fact that they don’t replicate human swings well, all you’ve done is provided more evidence against using robots, so thank you.
At the end of day, you’ve apparently decided that robot testing is better (I’d encourage you to check out the robot test Edwin Watts did a few years ago and then let me know how you think it held up to actual human scrutiny), so I guess we’re not the place for you.
Gary
7 years agoGreat job. I feel my contribution was well spent.
One question, do you request clubs be submitted for testing from “second tiered” companies (Wishon, Alpha, Hireko, Swing Science)? If so, how often do they comply with your request?
MyGolfSpy
7 years agoWe do include them in our testing requests.
David W
7 years agoThat looks great and I’m sure you guys are going to love it. We will to with all the data you guys produce there! Congrats!
David W
7 years agotoo
Jim Reif
7 years agoWhen testing drivers, if possible test the stuff from TPF golf. For me, they are the real thing.
Benjamin Lee
7 years agoAwesome. Looking forward to see the scientific data based on real world results.
McaseyM
7 years agoVery cool!
MyGolfSpy
7 years agoThanks!
Carl Franck
7 years agoDear Sir
I have a patent pending on a idea for a new design for a putter.
My question, will you do testing for the private sector , like myself, or just commercial
companies. ??
Secondly, if so how will you charge ??
Best regards
Carl Franck
revkev
7 years agoIt’s been a rough day – this was exactly what I needed to see! Best wishes.
MyGolfSpy
7 years agoThanks for being such a GREAT supporter of MGS RevKev!
Greg Smith
7 years agoThat is pretty damn cool!
Ray McPartlin
7 years agoAbsolutely love it. Thanks for all you do from an avid reader and from Nevada’s largest senior mens golf club webmaster.
MyGolfSpy
7 years agoThank YOU Ray!
Mike Berlin
7 years agoVery cool! Love the staff bags. How do I get one of them?
Pete S
7 years agoAwesome facility. Are you doing putter testing on that indoor green?
MyGolfSpy
7 years agoYes we specifically designed the green for the tests we do.
GilB
7 years agoLooks like a pretty nice facility. I’d like to offer a suggestion to attract a bigger audience for your site. I see the GolfSpy golf bags in the pics and thought that by offering either the GolfSpy bags and/or GolfSpy head covers, or hat/shirt or whatever you have to get inquisitive minds to look at and sign up for your site. I’d be happy to show off your advertising logo if you wish if you’d like to more viewers. I play 2-3 times per week and meet many strangers, vacationers, and snowbirds that would be good targets for your site. Just a thought.
Andrew
7 years agoI would definitely sport MGS branded gear, for that very reason…
MyGolfSpy
7 years agoSome on the way!
Ashton C Plumley
7 years agoLooks awesome!
MyGolfSpy
7 years agoThanks Ashton.
Eron L Cortes
7 years agoOh god, it’s beautiful!
MyGolfSpy
7 years agoThanks Eron!
Adam
7 years agoCongrats guys !! Looking forward to all the things to come
MyGolfSpy
7 years agoThanks Adam!
Fraser Beach
7 years agoPlease send me all contact details and address , thanks
Jackson
7 years agoI’m going to go ahead and request a visit for sometime in the near future! I have family in Stafford County so just an excuse to get away from them 🙂
MyGolfSpy
7 years agoLet us know when you are in town. Happy to have you.
chris w
7 years agoThis is truly Awsome! and I don’t use that word lightly.
Looking forward to all the real product testing in your new “lab”
Congratulations on the completion of your project
MyGolfSpy
7 years agoThanks Chris, really appreciate the kind words.
OH
7 years agoTo quote Darth Vader…”Impressive”
MyGolfSpy
7 years ago“It is my destiny.” – Darth Vader
MyGolfSpy
7 years agoWe would love to have you Matt. Email us if you are looking to come down.
MattF
7 years agoThanks, will do!
TJG
7 years agoSweet Man Cave for sure!
MyGolfSpy
7 years agoThanks TJG.
MattF
7 years agoWould visits of the HQ be happening?
MyGolfSpy
7 years agoAbsolutely.