Columnist image

TSN Senior Reporter

| Archive

January not only means the start of the new golf season, but also the annual musical chairs of players switching allegiances with equipment companies.

Since most contracts expire on Dec. 31, the announcements of who is playing what are made with the arrival of the new year.

No company has made as big a splash in the early going as Parsons Xtreme Golf (PXG). Its 2016 lineup of staff players, announced Monday, includes Open champion Zach Johnson, Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III, Chris Kirk, Billy Horschel, Charles Howell III, James Hahn and LPGA players Cristie Kerr and Gerina Pillar. Ryan Moore was the company’s first staff player, signing on at the start of last year.

You can be forgiven if PXG doesn’t sound familiar. The Arizona-based high-end manufacturer was founded just over a year ago by Bob Parsons, who made his billions with GoDaddy, the internet domain registrar and web-hosting organization.

Parsons, a golf fanatic, has thrown his weight behind the new venture, prying two top designers away from PING and giving them carte blanche to build new clubs. The result is a set of utensils that promises a lot and comes with a hefty price tag. A set of woods and irons is reported to run about $5,000, with drivers in the $700 range, putters going for $400 and irons going for $300 apiece.

While PXG made the most news, it wasn’t the only company to announce new player deals. Two rising stars joined Nike as the swoosh company signed up Brooks Koepka and Tony Finau. Koepka had been with Titleist while Finau was a Callaway staffer. Nike added another slew of lesser known players from around the world to bolster the staff headed by Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods.

Expect more changes in the coming days.