How we grade

Pat's Grade is one person's opinion, with the reason written out. Here is what it covers, and what never moves it.

Lines, not companies

Most makers sell a pro line, a mid line and a budget or youth line under one logo. One grade per company would be wrong for half of what each maker sells, so Patrick grades each line. Where Patrick has a view of a maker as a whole, it appears as a labelled sentence beside the line grades, never in place of them.

Four tiers, and Not yet graded

A graded line is Best, Better, Good or Below standard, with a one-line reason. Tiers, not a score out of a hundred: the tier says where a line sits, and the reason says why.

Patrick grades a line only after swinging it in person. Until then it says Not yet graded, which is never a low grade: it only means the line has not been handled yet.

What a grade looks at

Gloves and cleats will get criteria of their own. Until they do, their lines say Not yet graded.

What never moves a grade

• A dealer or affiliate relationship. Where one exists, the page says so beside the grade. Today there are none. How we get paid
• Other sites' scores. Some sites' letter grades look formula-based, with several makers sharing the same scores, so we do not use them.

Public reviews and break reports appear in each product's Evidence block, kept apart from the grade, with who said it and a link.