In case you missed it, PXG officially announced its new family of Gen6 products this week. Prior to the launch, GolfWRX.com’s Andrew Tursky sat down for a one-on-one conversation with Bob Parsons, the founder and CEO of PXG (Parsons Xtreme Golf).
Throughout the interview, Parsons and GolfWRX discussed the new PXG Xtreme golf balls, LIV vs. PGA Tour golf, and the new Gen6 drivers and irons. Enjoy the conversation in its entirety below.
GolfWRX: I wanted to start with the golf balls. There’s been rumors flying around for years about a PXG golf ball in the making. I heard stories years ago of people finding them in the wild…
Bob Parsons: Here’s what we did. The guys had some made up, and I don’t even know where in the hell they got ’em. I think they got them from the Acme golf ball company, and they were blanks so they put our name on it. They were just to screw around with.
I didn’t even know about it until I went down and started hitting putts on the putting green [at Scottsdale National] and all the sudden there’s a PXG golf ball. I was like, ‘We make golf balls?!’ No.
GolfWRX: Is that what sparked your interest in making a golf ball?
Parsons: We’ve been playing around with this since 2015, and we first made a golf ball early on, and it had the brand name Slick on it. It wasn’t a bad ball, but it wasn’t a great ball. For us to put our name on it, it has to be a great ball.
GolfWRX: How did you get to this point. Are you manufacturing your own golf balls, are you outsourcing to a third party? How is that process been for you and what have you learned?
Parsons: We’re having them manufactured. We have a partner in it. It’s excellent.
GolfWRX: Brad (Schweigert) was showing the full robot numbers comparing the PXG golf ball to others on the market, which blew me away. One, because of how poor some of the other companies did, and two, how well PXG did in testing in comparison. What was shown in the robot testing, you know, great spin around the greens, which I saw in my personal testing, as well. Are you happy with the results?
Parsons: Well, the cover is a little thicker than, say, a Titleist. We did that to make it more durable. And then, of course, we like bright white color so it’s easier to spot, and there ya go. You know, Titleist makes a nice golf ball. So do we. When we announced this, we had pretty good inventory, and we sold out in two days.
GolfWRX: Wow, congratulations. That’s a great launch. Is the sale of the golf ball similar with the golf clubs? Is it all direct to consumer? How does that work?
Parsons: Yeah, it’s direct to consumers. We will have golf courses – we have a number of them – put their logos on the balls, and we’ll do that. The economics are a little different, but I would say our big advantage here is that performance is right with the best balls, but $15 less a box…because we sell direct. We don’t sell through Dick’s or PGA Tour Superstore or Vans golf and the like.
GolfWRX: I was curious about the direct to consumer model, in general, just looking back at you guys flipping into that mode. That’s obviously a big decision that you made.
Parsons: We’ve been doing that since the beginning. We have Dick’s coming to us all the time, we have PGA Tour Superstore, just to name two, that would love to carry our products. We just decided not to take a bite out of that, because the one edge that we have is marketing direct. That goes away if we’re with them, then we’re the same store as everybody else. Off the rack shit. That’s not us.
GolfWRX: With the PXG stores, where are you at now in terms of number of locations, and are you still expanding that model?
Parsons: I think now we have 21 stores. We should shortly open one in Cincinnati and another one in Kansas City. We’re looking to open three in California – San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego.
GolfWRX: When PXG started you guys made an absolute explosion because it was so different in so many ways. And I think it’s still so different in so many ways right now, too. How would you describe PXG if you had to say a sentence or two about what PXG is?
Parsons: I would say as far as golf is concerned, we are a research and development experiential company. I believe we deliver an experience, certainly in getting fit for your clubs, that is second to none. And we continue to work on that every year, getting better and better and better. Understanding more and more. When someone leaves with a set of clubs, they’re going to be exactly they need. Quite often, I hear from customers and they say, ‘I just got fit for a set, and this has to be the best experience I’ve had related to golf.’ I love hearing that, because that’s what we’re all about.
GolfWRX: Are you guys expanding the engineering team? I know Brad and Mike (Nicolette) had mentioned introducing more people to the media. Have they been around the whole time?
Parsons: Yeah, they have. You know, I like our research and development team right where it is by providing the top guys with the support they need, and bringing young guys up through the ranks, and teaching them our business. Developing a golf club, there’s a lot you have to know. Last thing I wanted is to have guys working in that area, especially in positions of responsibility, where they haven’t yet acquired the knowledge they need to really do what needs to be done at the senior level. I think the big goal always, always, always is to deliver the best product. And now what we’re looking to do – we changed things because the economy is changing. We’re looking to deliver the very best product, the same quality…the reason this golf ball moved the way it did is because our customer base knows that if we put our name on something, it’s going to be good. We just have to make sure that we always honor that, and make sure we always deliver what we say we’re going to. When they step up to something we’re selling, they’re going to be glad they did. I’m just excited to be in the business, I love it.
GolfWRX: When you look at golf right now, especially the professional game, you have the LIV tour side, you have the PGA Tour side. Obviously you sponsor some golfers on the PGA Tour, so you’re involved in the pro golf circuits. How has the introduction of LIV changed your view of professional golf, whether it’s valuing the sponsorship of professional golfers…
Parsons: Well, it’s changed not at all. I believe LIV is going to be a flash in the pan. The Saudi Investment Fund has got a reputation when it gets involved, and when something doesn’t seem to be working out, they pull the cord and walk away in an instant. I know that, but the thing that’s more important, I think back to 9/11, and I can’t bring myself to be involved with it. A large part of our customers are military, law enforcement, fire fighters, EMTs, and most of those people, more than anything, they’re patriots. I think if I did [anything with LIV] I’d let them down. I wouldn’t do that.
GolfWRX: I know PXG offers discounts to military, and people in the service; what would you say are your proudest ways that you give back through the sport of golf?
Parsons: Well, I love the fact that we do it. We also do it financially. We support the Semper Fi fund – or thefund.org – which is for injured military, all services, we give them $10 million a year. We name our products, we give them military names. We are very much a military based company. The fact that I was in the Marine Corps and carried a rifle in the Vietnam War, had half my ass blown off, you know. I’m with the boys.
GolfWRX: A lighter question: Gen5 versus Gen6. What were some of the challenges and do you think it’s a successful family of products that you’re proud of this time around?
Parsons: One hundred percent. I think first of all the Gen6 driver is now the best driver ever made. I don’t think anything out performs it in terms of dispersion, distance, all of those other factors. I think if you want something you’re going to hit long and down the middle, it’s the Gen6 driver. It’s something we’re very proud of. The irons, you’ve hit ’em, so you know. They’re so soft when you hit them. Warm butter on a soft biscuit, brother. We already had the thinnest face in golf, but the Gen6 face is thinner. It helps with feel, distance, dispersion, forgiveness. I mean, I rest my case.
GolfWRX: I was particularly impressed with the driver. You guys have knocked a lot of spin off – that’s probably been the one drawback over the years. In recent years, that’s kind of been corrected. But this driver is helpful for the high speed guys looking to knock spin off.
Parsons: Yeah, but you know, low speed guys like it, too.
GolfWRX: Fair enough! Well, congratulations on a great lineup, and thank you for the time.
