Hi All:
I often teach research methods and research design to MBA students here at the University of Charleston Graduate School of Business in our MBAL program. I have been very fortunate to use a variety of golf related infomercials / commercials and advertisements to show how easy it is to manipulate statistics. One of my favorites includes showing a commercial that claims one club is longer than another -- however when you watch the test, you soon realize that what is going on is the rough equivalent of comparing a drive to a 5 wood,,, so of of course it goes longer :-):-):-) One of my favorite topics to discuss is the Placebo and Hawthorne Effects, and how the mere act of studying something can change perceptions and attributions of the topic under study. i never thought it would happen to me but the other day I had a rather strange experience and I was curious if others have had the same experience.
I went out to test the demo ball Titleist had been so kind as to send me. I have done this before and follow a fairly standard routine. Usually, I try to keep the ball type "hidden" so as I can write unbiased notes. This day, however, I was keenly aware of when I was hitting the PV1 and PV1x I usually play and the demo ball. Ironically, the dimple pattern on the demo ball seemed almost identical to the one's against which I was comparing so it should have been hard to tell the difference. Nonetheless, I knew when I was hitting the demo ball and my usual ball. Well, it happened for almost an hour in everything from chipping, pitching and putting to hitting full out drivers -- I managed to put the absolute most horrific swings / strokes on the demo ball. Dare I say it, I even managed to "shAnk" one and almost lost it :-( :-(. It was such an unfair test, it was like comparing a watermelon or png pong ball to a PV or PV1x!! t really got in my head and I wondered if I was doing /. eperiencing some type of reverse placebo or hawthorne effect. I only broke the cycle when I started to compare the demo ball to cally, swoosh and bridgestone. I am glad to report Titleist outperformed them as usual. But again, it got in my head, and I started to wonder - am I trying harder, concentrating more, etc. just to prove the Titleist ball is better. So all of this got me to wondering what my fellow testers experience. I was wondering?
1. Have any of you, ever found that you hit the demo ball substantially better or worse than the comparison ball -- so much so that it has more to do with your swing than any characteristic of the ball?
2. What protocols or methods do you follow when comparing balls so as to eliminate any potential biases?
3. Do you care about it being a blind test or do you actively know which balls are the comparison and which are the demos?
4. Would it be wise for Titleist to develop some type of testing protocol for us all to follow so that we are having roughly the same experience when offering feedback?
I am glad to report that I went out a couple of days later and re-did the test. This time, there was no noticeable effect and I hit a more normal patter of shots with both the demo and comparison Titleist balls.
Looking forward to hearing how others conduct their tests, I am glad Titleist gives us mere amateurs a chance to participate in tests. I think they should also include us in tests of Footjoy apparel.
Thanks, Namaste, Happy Golfing .... David "Doc" Luechauer