Tour News

PXG announces its 2016 Tour staff

Published

8 years ago

Jan 4, 2016

PXG has finally put the rumors to rest by announcing the additions to its 2016 Tour staff, which includes five new PGA Tour golfers — Zach Johnson, Billy Horschel, Chris Kirk, James Hahn and Charles Howell III — and four new LPGA Tour golfers: Christie Kerr, Alison Lee, Beatriz Recari and Gerina Piller.

They will join Ryan Moore (PGA Tour), Rocco Mediate (Champions Tour) and Sadena Parks (LPGA Tour) who ushered in PXG to their respective Tours in 2015, and will remain on staff in 2016.

Off-season club changes and sponsor switches are usually grounds for speculation, but in the case of PXG, the conversation is even more intriguing. Rarely is there a new equipment company that makes such a big splash on Tour.

Parsons was introduced on the PGA Tour in 2015, and didn’t have retail offerings until later in the year. But with Monday’s announcement from the Parsons camp, the PXG Tour staff has officially grown to 12 golfers across the three major tours.

“Being part of PXG is like being part of a very special movement in golf,” Horschel said. “What the company has accomplished in its first generation of equipment is mind-blowing. I’ve been playing some really incredible golf with PXG clubs and I feel very confident that great things are to come.”

The clubs Horschel will play in 2016, from the PXG website:

0811 Driver, 9 degrees with True Temper Project X HZRDUS Yellow 65X; 45.25 inches
0341 3-wood, 15 degrees with True Temper Project X HZRDUS Black 75X; 43 inches
0341 5-wood, 18 degrees with True Temper Project X HZRDUS Black 75X; 42.5 inches
0311T Irons 4-PW with True Temper Dynamic Gold AMT X100; +¼ inches
0311 52 degrees wedge with True Temper Dynamic Gold AMT X100
0311 56 degrees Wedge with True Temper Dynamic Gold S400; +¼ inches
0311T 60 degrees Wedge with True Temper Dynamic Gold S400; +¼ inches
Brandon 2 Putter; 35 inches

For Johnson, two-time major winner and 2015 Open Champion, the decision was strictly about performance.

“The decision to put PXG clubs in play was not one I took lightly,” Johnson said. “My entire team, from caddie to coach, was part of the discernment process. We all agree that PXG is undeniably the best equipment to help me achieve my goals on the course.”

The clubs Johnson will play in 2016, from the PXG website:

0811 Driver, 9 degrees with Mitsubishi Rayon Diamana Blue 73X; 45.25 inches
0341 3-wood, 15 degrees with True Temper Project X HZRDUS Red 75X; 43 inches
0341 5-wood, 18 degrees with True Temper Project X HZRDUS Red 75X; 42.5 inches
0317 Hybrid, 19 degrees with Fujikura Motore Speeder 8.8HB X-Flex; 40.25 inches
0311 4-iron with True Temper Dynamic Gold X100 (soft-stepped); +¼ inches
0311T Irons (5-PW); True Temper Dynamic Gold X100 (soft-stepped) +¼ inches
0311 54 degrees Wedge with True Temper Dynamic Gold S400 shaft; standard length
0311T 60 degrees Wedge with True Temper Dynamic Gold S400 shaft; standard length

Who’s not on the list of new additions in 2016? Surprisingly, Davis Love III, who we spotted gaming the clubs in late 2015. A PXG representative says Love III is not on staff with PXG, but is currently playing the clubs simply because he likes them and they perform well.

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Andrew Tursky

He played on the Hawaii Pacific University Men's Golf team and earned a Masters degree in Communications. He also played college golf at Rutgers University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism.

47 Comments

jgpl001

Jan 15, 2016 at 12:59 pm

Everyone is saying Zach J is not doing it for or needs the money, so what’s the reason???
Does anyone think these will perform even 0.001 percent better than Titleist club????
NONSENSE, I haven’t a clue what he is thinking here

Reply Report comment
digitalbroccoli

Jan 14, 2016 at 3:50 pm

I love all of the “only doing it for the money” comments.

Zach Jonhson was already getting paid to play Titleist clubs. How much more could Parsons give him to make him switch, where he would disregard whether the clubs were any good? Keep in mind, if the clubs don’t perform, he doesn’t get paid as much on the course, and his odds of leaving a legacy by winning more majors is lost.

I think it’s far more logical to say that these guys can get paid to play whoever’s clubs they want, and that maybe they choose to play what they think will fit their game. There are exceptions, obviously (Tiger, Rory) but are you really telling me that Parsons is paying THAT much more than other manufacturers for Zach Johnson and Rocco Mediate? It just doesn’t make sense. These guys aren’t the type of big names that mean big sales for the club maker. Especially at the Parsons price point.

Reply Report comment
JP K

Jan 12, 2016 at 4:46 am

…with lower lofts than my Taylormade CBs. Great. just what i need is “longer” irons and more gap wedges.

Reply Report comment
Bert

Jan 11, 2016 at 8:51 am

Who Care? I’m confused does it really matter what they play? Not the same equipment anyway you will purchase.

Reply Report comment
- Bob
  
  Jan 11, 2016 at 10:56 am
  
  PXG might actually be early enough in it’s growth cycle that you can actually get exactly what the tour players do, which is not the case with TM/Cally/korean private equity.
  
  Reply Report comment
Scott

Jan 10, 2016 at 6:33 pm

Awesome chats here. Awesome.

Reply Report comment
Bobby

Jan 10, 2016 at 12:30 am

Even if I had the dough I wouldn’t touch this company with a long tom driver. Sorry, but there’s just no room for this brand. I’d like to support a brand with tradition, like Titleist or Ping. Or a respectable company like Mizuno. Even Nike, because of their evolution around Tiger. No a big Callaway or T-shwag fan.

Reply Report comment
SDG

Jan 7, 2016 at 6:24 pm

HOLES TOO MANY

Reply Report comment
Duncan Castles

Jan 7, 2016 at 7:48 am

They are both using 45.25 inch shafts in their drivers? That’s unusually long for Tour players.

Reply Report comment
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maatchka

Jan 6, 2016 at 9:53 am

Makes me recall Nick Price going with Goldwin AVDP System years ago!

Reply Report comment
Bobby

Jan 5, 2016 at 10:56 pm

It doesn’t matter what clubs these guys play. This is not about technology. they are switching for the money and the allure of a cool brand that is new and different. It’s attractive to be with them from the start of the brand and be the face of the company. lets face it, with the exception of ping, all irons and wedges are pretty much the same, with minor differences. Same thing with putters. For example, Rory didn’t switch to Nike because of “better technology”. These guys can get any specifications they want, even down to a glossy or matte chrome finish. It’s purely marketing and image. Titleist, mizuno, Nike, miura, pxg, it doesn’t matter what I play with these brands, the difference is minor.

Reply Report comment
Courtney

Jan 5, 2016 at 4:45 pm

By the way – I don’t get all the complaints about the look of the clubs. True, they are odd looking in the bag, but you can’t see the screws when you’re setting up over the ball. They look great at address and feel terrific at contact. They may be out of my price range, but don’t knock the quality of the clubs.

Reply Report comment
Courtney

Jan 5, 2016 at 4:43 pm

Best story is Cristie Kerr getting the line’s first win before she was officially signed. She had everything in the bag except putter and driver, and she was working on the driver.

Reply Report comment
Jack Nash

Jan 5, 2016 at 12:40 pm

So, when’s Danica gonna do a commercial in a skimpy bikini pumping these clubs?

Reply Report comment
Steve

Jan 5, 2016 at 9:23 am

If anyone thinks they signed because it is better equipment you have to be kidding yourself. Just like any other sport, you become free agent and you sign for the most money period. Financial security is the main reason. Horchel, Zack, Moore and Kirk are not going to move alot of clubs. Go Daddy most likely has a time frame and/or allocated a certain part of his money to this project to meet certain sale goals. When the money/timeframe is up and goals arent meant this will be over. This is a extremely hard buisness to squeeze a profit. And his business model targets 1/10 of 1 percent of that business. Either he will go personally bankrupt, extremely doubtful. Most likely he will bankrupt the business and sell the scrapes.

Reply Report comment
- Fred
  
  Jan 5, 2016 at 5:19 pm
  
  Exactly, Steve. Zach says the decision to switch was strictly about performance. With at least 10 wins on tour, two of them being majors, I would say his Titleist equipment performed pretty well for him. It’s about money, nothing else. Will be interesting to see if he does any better than Billy Horschel did last season with XPG equipment.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - jaypeegolf
    
    Jan 7, 2016 at 12:02 pm
    
    With 10 wins on tour, two of them being majors does Zach really need the money? Can’t believe he’d change to a lesser performing brand just some extra dough! He’s got more than he can ever spend. Same with Horshel.
    
    Reply Report comment
    - Benny
      
      Jan 7, 2016 at 7:18 pm
      
      I agree with JayPee, these guys don’t need the money so I highly doubt PXG is paying them more. I suspect these guys are looking to be the mew top players on a new team. They dig the look, feel, fitment and technology. All you guys feel everyone is a sell out but anyone playing on Titleist is making far less than any of the other teams. Sure they can make some big bonuses but I would say anyone playing Titlesit are the opposite of sell outs. Maybe its the same for PXG?
      
      Reply Report comment
    - Billy
      
      Jan 21, 2016 at 5:04 am
      
      I agree, these guys are just speculating. Who cares anyway, they are using the product and that’s that.
      
      Reply Report comment
- Mike
  
  Jan 5, 2016 at 9:51 pm
  
  That would be 0.01%
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Mike
    
    Jan 5, 2016 at 9:53 pm
    
    0.1% damn iPad
    
    Reply Report comment
bogeypro

Jan 4, 2016 at 11:32 pm

Good for them,but I find their equipment very unappealing. I just don’t care for the look or the price tag.

Reply Report comment
gunmetal

Jan 4, 2016 at 7:41 pm

That’s really cool with all the signings. Only shocked about ZJ – I thought he was a Titleist guy for life, but obviously he’s found something special.

Still won’t be shelling out 2K for OTR irons. Any other irons that command that price (Miura, etc) includes in depth custom fitting and custom builds.

Reply Report comment
- Kevin
  
  Jan 4, 2016 at 9:17 pm
  
  Except they arent really OTR clubs, at least not in california. The only places that sell them are the custom fitting companies.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Heads
    
    Jan 5, 2016 at 3:34 am
    
    Yeah, they’re more than 2k. More like 3200. And that’s just for heads.
    
    Reply Report comment
west

Jan 4, 2016 at 4:58 pm

They should really just call it: “GoDaddy Golf Clubs”

Reply Report comment
- Bobby
  
  Jan 4, 2016 at 10:30 pm
  
  Clever……not
  
  Reply Report comment
BRS

Jan 4, 2016 at 4:55 pm

I think many of these players that have switched equipment companies in the past after big years (Rory and GMac among others) did so strictly for the money. It didn’t work out well initially for them but Rory did fine with Nike after his first year. GMac…..he’s done very little contrary to what Forsbrand wants you to believe. He’s currently ranked 57th in the WORLD. Anyway….I think it’s different with PXG. Their equipment is different than all the other equipment out there. I think guys are switching mainly because they think PXG is superior to their old equipment. I’m sure they’re being well paid too but it’s not the main reason like most of the big moves in the past. Rory didn’t think Nike had better equipment than Titleist when he switched but he wasn’t going to get much money from Titleist to stay with them. Titleist equipment sells itself. They don’t need to overpay players like many of these other companies (Nike, Cleveland, etc.). I’d be curious to see what these players are getting from PXG compared to what they could have gotten from other companies. I wouldn’t be surprised if PXG wasn’t offering them as much as other companies would have.

Reply Report comment
- john
  
  Jan 4, 2016 at 9:08 pm
  
  titleist sponsors every kid coming out of college with a glove shoe and ball deal, making people believe that they don’t pay big bucks for their players because so many lower end players have their logos/gear.
  
  Reply Report comment
- Heads
  
  Jan 5, 2016 at 3:36 am
  
  You’re crazy to say that about GMac. I doubt he would be anywhere he is if he had not won the US Open, and he knows it. He rode a nice wave there, and he might win a tournament every now and then, but he’s always been a middle average tour guy. His success at the Ryder Cup is exemplary, but that’s also during his wave, and I don’t think he will ever be that guy again, no matter how hard he tries. So that’s a bad example.
  
  Reply Report comment
John

Jan 4, 2016 at 2:57 pm

Interesting they took 1 guy from each of the 5 biggest OEMs. The only didn’t touch Nike and Cleveland guys.

Reply Report comment
- No more
  
  Jan 4, 2016 at 3:17 pm
  
  And?
  
  Reply Report comment
Desmond

Jan 4, 2016 at 2:53 pm

I sense a disturbance in the force…

Reply Report comment
- John
  
  Jan 5, 2016 at 1:00 am
  
  I’ve felt it too.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Jack Nash
    
    Jan 5, 2016 at 12:43 pm
    
    I thought so too, but it was just gas.
    
    Reply Report comment
G G

Jan 4, 2016 at 1:41 pm

How can the USGA or the PGA condone this? I thought the whole purpose was to get America to play golf. Now people gonna wonder why they can’t buy these clubs at cheaper prices, and that the USGA and the PGA are lying when they tell poor people they can play golf too.

Reply Report comment
- John
  
  Jan 4, 2016 at 2:32 pm
  
  There are plenty of cheap clubs out there. Plenty of other options. You’re making it seem like PXG is the only option now and therefore everyone has to pay $2K for irons. It’s not like everyone was saying we all had to play Miuras or use AP2s before.
  
  Reply Report comment
- Git
  
  Jan 4, 2016 at 2:44 pm
  
  Good one, you WUM
  
  Reply Report comment
- ron
  
  Jan 4, 2016 at 3:26 pm
  
  Just because Ferraris and Lamborghinis exist dont not mean we can (or should) all buy them.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Dr Troy
    
    Jan 6, 2016 at 10:58 pm
    
    Was about to type the same thing, Ron…If you cant afford a Bugatti, then drive a corvette.
    
    Reply Report comment
Double Mocha Man

Jan 4, 2016 at 12:58 pm

I see from the list that no putter is mentioned for Zach Johnson. Guessing he is still gaming his SeeMore. Can’t blame him.

Reply Report comment
Greg V

Jan 4, 2016 at 11:24 am

Zach Johnson wins the Open Championship and cashes in with PXG. I hope that it works out for him, but there have been major winners before him who switched equipment companies and it didn’t work out. I am thinking of Graeme McDowell for one.

Reply Report comment
- Forsbrand
  
  Jan 4, 2016 at 3:16 pm
  
  Your joking aren’t you? GMac has performed very well indeed wih is cleveland Srixon deal
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Heads
    
    Jan 5, 2016 at 3:38 am
    
    VERY well? You mean not win a thing for two years? You WUM
    
    Reply Report comment
    - Dave C
      
      Jan 5, 2016 at 12:48 pm
      
      What does WUM stand for?
      
      Reply Report comment
Tom

Jan 4, 2016 at 11:12 am

Wow raking em’ in.

Reply Report comment

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