Equipment

Club Champion acquires TXG

Published

2 years ago

Jan 11, 2022

Club Champion has today announced the acquisition of Canadian fitter and builder Tour Experience Golf (TXG), bringing the two most prominent custom club fitters on the continent together.

This integration marks the first time that Club Champion will bring their club fitting services beyond USA borders.

Speaking on the merge, Nick Sherburne, co-founder of Club Champion, said

“We are incredibly excited to bring Ian and his crew into the Club Champion family. We’re looking forward to bringing the best of both our capabilities together to serve every golfer.”

According to the press release, the intent behind the merger is “to further expand custom club fitting services across the Canadian golf market and to bring some crossover to the fitting content available for all golfers from both brands.”

On the acquisition, Ian Fraser, TXG’s founder, stated

“There has always been a mutual admiration between TXG and Club Champion. We share a similar belief that every golfer deserves the best possible equipment for their game, and now we get to work together to further that message.”

Club Champion currently has an in-house studio and production crew, while Fraser and his team at TXG have built a digital platform through social channels, including YouTube. TXG has amassed millions of views across the digital board, with 175K subscribers on YouTube alone at the time of publication.

Per the release, TXG’s existing content strategy will lend itself well to Club Champion’s growing presence, and both brands plan to lean on each other to produce quality content for golfers of all levels.

“We’ve got a podcast, they’ve got a podcast. They’ve got awesome video content and we’ve only just started dipping our toes into that lake. This partnership is about so much more than just the masterful club fitting and building services we both offer. It’s about bringing two of the most prominent names in the golf equipment industry together to promote the best possible clubs, the best possible experience, and the best possible service you can find this side of a Tour card.” – Adam Levy, CEO of Club Champion

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Gianni Magliocco

Gianni is the Managing Editor at GolfWRX. He can be contacted at [email protected].

26 Comments

Tom

Jan 13, 2022 at 12:02 pm

That sucks .. fitting off mats and hitting into a net sucks anyway!

Reply Report comment
B

Jan 13, 2022 at 11:16 am

So TXG no longer associated with True Spec who was building clubs for them

Reply Report comment
Golf Mikey

Jan 13, 2022 at 5:04 am

I wonder if the original owner of Tour Experience Golf in the UK that allegedly got “shafted” by IF some time ago is shedding any tears?

Reply Report comment
Paul Runyan

Jan 12, 2022 at 9:02 pm

All about the Benjamin’s!

I won’t be watching anything or buying anything from Club Champion.

And that fake Scottish accent! Won’t have to listen to that anymore…

Best of Luck to Matty!!

Reply Report comment
BB

Jan 12, 2022 at 11:15 am

In principal, this is like the Saudi government trying to launder their reputation by shelling out big bucks to those golfers with good reputations.

Reply Report comment
gdb99

Jan 12, 2022 at 10:07 am

I had a Club Champion fitting a year ago. I was not happy.
I was hoping to get a TXG fitting, because I think they have a different approach to the fitting process. TXG came across as listening to the player more, whether that be budget, feels, etc.
I think this merger is bad for TXG, it kind of eliminates a competitor to CC in the fitting world.

Reply Report comment
- hoganben
  
  Jun 7, 2023 at 10:02 pm
  
  why would u then go get another fitting for gosh sake? All the guys i talk to on the range who have custom fitted clubs still suck and they would still suck after another fitting.grow some cajoles and dig it out of the dirt..
  
  Reply Report comment
Vas

Jan 12, 2022 at 9:58 am

Home run for Club Champion for sure. Whatever it cost to buy an inside path into the Canadian market and bolster your horrendous reputation with TXG’s impeccable reputation was worth it.

Reply Report comment
Skip

Jan 11, 2022 at 11:32 pm

Sorry boys, but Matt’s gone and he was never a business part of the channel. Only creative and production. Likely Ian’s investors wanted out, and this was his best course of action. CC gets a smooth path to expansion into Canada

Reply Report comment
Justin

Jan 11, 2022 at 9:19 pm

This is a shame. Don’t fault Ian for cashing in, but Ian and Matt were what led to TXG’s growth and online presence. Sad it’s over.

Reply Report comment
SMU

Jan 11, 2022 at 8:47 pm

Young Matty Boy, just got a hard street lesson on Capitalism, Ownership, Equity, and Contracts, which is my specialty! Fortunately, he is young and very bright so he will only be better for it.

As far as Club Champion goes, they do NOT have a sustainable business model. For example, here in San Diego, our Del Mar Club Champion thinks because they have the component parts and can assemble your desired shaft / head combo, that they get to charge 3 X MSRP from the manufacturer. It’s utterly absurd. Use Club Champion for the value they truly offer, pay $150 to go test out shaft / head combos, and then order direct from the manufacturer and save yourself from being gouged to the tune of thousands.

Reply Report comment
SMUgamer

Jan 11, 2022 at 8:22 pm

Young Matty Boy, just got a hard street lesson on Capitalism, Ownership, Equity, and Contracts, which is my specialty! Fortunately, he is young and very bright so he will only be better for it.

As far as Club Champion goes, they do NOT have a sustainable business model. For example, here in San Diego, our Del Mar Club Champion thinks because they have the component parts and can assemble your desired shaft / head combo, that they get to charge 2 X MSRP from the manufacturer. It’s utterly absurd. Use Club Champion for the value they truly offer, pay $150 to go test out shaft / head combos, and then order direct from the manufacturer and save yourself from being gouged to the tune of thousands. Like I said, as the public becomes more educated (along with tech advancement), Club Champion will either pivot or die. Sure hope Ian checked out and documented his escape hatches (or better yet, got cash up front) if Club Champion files BK.

Reply Report comment
SMUgamer

Jan 11, 2022 at 8:12 pm

Young Matty Boy, just got a hard street lesson on Capitalism, Ownership, Equity, and Contracts, which is my specialty! Fortunately, he is young and very bright so he will only be better for it.

As far as Club Champion goes, they do NOT have a sustainable business model. For example, here in San Diego, our Del Mar Club Champion thinks because they have the component parts and can assemble your desired shaft / head combo, that they get to charge 2 X MSRP from the manufacturer. It’s utterly absurd. Use Club Champion for the value they truly offer, pay $150 to go test out shaft / head combos, and then order direct from the manufacturer and save yourself from being gouged to the tune of thousands. Like I said, as the public becomes more educated (along with tech advancement), Club Champion will either pivot or die. Sure hope Ian checked out and documented his escape hatches (or better yet, got cash up front) if Club Champion files BK.

Reply Report comment
Brandon

Jan 11, 2022 at 7:10 pm

Hope Ian got a big payday and Matt as well.

Reply Report comment
Allen Parsons

Jan 11, 2022 at 6:13 pm

Don’t you mean PXG?

Reply Report comment
- Tony Johnson
  
  Jan 11, 2022 at 6:58 pm
  
  Wow, I would have thought PXG with all it’s money from Bob Parsons wouldn’t have to sell out like this?!!!!! I was just starting to like where the company was heading, shame on you PXG, and I wish complete shame on you Ian Fraser and that weirdo Matt on youtube!
  
  Reply Report comment
- Pat Perez' bestie drumpf
  
  Jan 12, 2022 at 9:24 am
  
  Maybe read up on things before saying stupid things…
  
  Reply Report comment
Jake

Jan 11, 2022 at 3:21 pm

Club Champion obviously has some counterfeit paper behind it that keeps them alive to prey on better companies. I’ve never heard a good thing about their workmanship.

Reply Report comment
- Jack Nash
  
  Jan 12, 2022 at 12:58 pm
  
  If their paper is counterfeit then they fooled Jordan Speith as he’s signed a multi year deal with them.
  
  Reply Report comment
Ryan Mextorf

Jan 11, 2022 at 12:19 pm

Very sad to hear this news. Ian deserves all the success in the world but unfortunately it comes at the cost of losing Matty and being sold to a company that prides itself on charging customers beyond top dollar for half baked fittings. I imagine the YouTube channel will tank without Matty but club champ will get everything it wants out of this deal.

Reply Report comment
- Joey5Picks
  
  Jan 11, 2022 at 1:23 pm
  
  Who says Matty is going anywhere? Cynical speculation, or do you know something?
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Ryan Mextorf
    
    Jan 11, 2022 at 2:01 pm
    
    He posted on his Instagram he was stepping away from TXG.
    
    Reply Report comment
    - E
      
      Jan 11, 2022 at 3:54 pm
      
      or rather stepping away from Club Champion from the sounds of it
      
      Reply Report comment
- bossofthemoss07
  
  Jan 12, 2022 at 2:22 pm
  
  Such a shame, TXG’s channel was my favorite for golf and will definitely decline now. Mike is ok but the shows were nowhere near as good when Matt was out for a few weeks. I understand why they did it but it sucks they sold out like that
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Mark
    
    Jan 17, 2022 at 9:09 am
    
    I respect Mike but he is just so annoying. Just hates on munis and is a CC snob. “I only play private clubs” He needs a good ass whooping
    
    Reply Report comment
- Justblewbyyou
  
  Jun 7, 2023 at 9:41 pm
  
  oops..somehow cli cked on report comment and it wont let me.fix it..oops
  
  Reply Report comment

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Equipment

Spotted: Tony Finau’s driver shaft change at the 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open

Published

58 mins ago

Mar 27, 2024

Brian Knudson

Tony Finau has always been known as one of the longest players on the PGA Tour, but he has recently been working on adding a little more distance. Last year, Finau averaged 118.3 mph club head speed and 178.08 mph ball speed, all while playing a Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 70 TX driver shaft. This year, he has increased his club head speed to 123.93 mph and his ball speed to 183.32 mph.

However, Finau’s overall distance has decreased by two yards in that time. From a fitting perspective, something was up. We asked Tony about the shaft change at the Texas Children’s Hospital Open.

“[I’m seeing] better numbers with the spin. My driver’s been a little high spin for me over the last month or so, and so I just figured it was time to probably check out the equipment,” Finau said. “And it definitely showed me that I was using a shaft that’s maybe a little too tip-stiff for me, the way I load the club now. [I’m seeing] better numbers with the spin.”

Finau switched from the Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 70 TX into the Diamana GT 70 TX. The newer Diamana GT has a slightly different profile than the D+ Limited with the stiffest handle section in the Diamana lineup. The mid sections between the two are similar stiffness but the tip is just slightly stiffer in the Diamana GT. Both shafts are within one gram of each other in the 70 TX. The torque rating on the GT is 0.1 higher than the D+Limited’s 2.7 measurement.

Mitsubishi lists the Diamana GT as a shaft between the mid-launching Diamana TB and the new low-launch Diamana WB shafts. For most players, it would be considered a mid/low launch and low-spin shaft option. Mitsubishi’s Xlink Tech Resin System makes sure the maximum carbon fiber content is there for smooth feel without reducing the strength of the shaft. MR70 carbon fiber is used for reinforcing the shaft and boron is used in the tip for its high strength and compression properties.

Finau is still using his trusty Ping G430 LST driver in 9 degrees and has the adjustable hosel set to -1 degree of loft (standard lie angle). Finau’s long-time favorite Lamkin UTX Green grip is installed. He definitely has a few extra wraps of tape under that grip as you can see the bulge down where the grip meets the shaft.