Take on the challenge and enter to become a 2026 Golf Digest Hot List club tester exclusively open to Rapsodo users & Golf Galaxy Scorecard Member.
HERE’S YOUR CHANCE TO MAKE THIS YEAR’S HOT LIST
The Golf Digest Hot List is the world’s most renowned golf-equipment review—a detailed examination of all the new drivers, fairway woods, hybrids, irons, wedges, and putters that hit the market every spring. Now in its 23rd year, the Hot List is the result of an annual six-month research process by the Golf Digest editors that culminates in an October/November testing summit. Rapsodo has been a trusted partner of the data collection process at the Hot List Summit for the past five years and counting. At the Hot List Summit, 32 hand-selected amateur club testers spend four day-long sessions trying out and reviewing more than 200 club models. The testers may be schoolteachers, lawyers, and accountants by trade, but they’re all golf nuts by heart—their love for the game runs deep and their interest in equipment is strong. Many of them have been on the panel for years, and they take pride in having secured and performed this coveted side gig with great integrity.
DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO BE A GOLF DIGEST HOT LIST TESTER?
In preparation for the 2026 Hot List Summit, Golf Digest is joining forces with Rapsodo and Golf Galaxy to launch a search for up to three new Golf Digest Hot List testers through a contest we’re calling “Making the Hot List.” Eligible participants should:
- Have a passion for golf and a repeatable swing
- Be unbiased, thoughtful, and articulate
- Carry a handicap Index between +2 and 16.4
- Be physically fit enough to hit (and putt) golf balls for six to eight hours per day for four days
- Play golf right-handed
- Be available the last week of October or first week of November 2025 (venue: TBD)
ENTRY PROCESS FOR CHALLENGE
To join our contest, please follow these steps:
Step 1: Sample Club Review (April 25th – June 1st)
- Before June 1st, visit a Golf Galaxy near you and ask to try out two drivers that made the 2025 Golf Digest Hot List. Spend five minutes in the hitting bay testing each club, then write a review of each (no more than 50 words per club), and save those reviews.
Step 2: Stamina Test (June 1st – June 30th)
- Before July 1st, spend 60 minutes hitting golf balls at your local range or at-home set-up and track your metrics on your Rapsodo MLM2PRO or MLM1. After the session, be sure to sync your data for official entry submission.
Step 3: Contest Submission (July 1st – July 14th)
- By July 1st, send in your two club reviews and your hour-long Rapsodo hitting-session data from your R-Cloud Member platform in the form of an excel document, plus a 50-word bio (including your name, age, hometown, handicap Index, and photo) and your GGXY / DKS Scorecard ID number to MakingTheHotList@WBD.com. If you do not have a GGXY / DKS Scorecard ID, please create one here.
Step 4: Interview (July 14th – July 18th)
- By July 14th, up to 10 finalists will be selected and asked to conduct video interviews with the Golf Digest Hot List editors.
Step 5: Winner Announcements (August 1st)
- By August 1st, our winning new testers will be announced.
See the Making The Hot List terms and conditions for more contest information.
