More Splashy Signings: Bubba To Volvik Ball, Lydia To PXG For $10 Million Over Five Years

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The high profile switches continue, and while we know Bubba Watson has moved the equipment needle before, can he make golf ball buyers go pink?

Golf.com's Michael Chawra says that's the color Bubba hopes to play even though the model he's selected is not sold in pink.

Bubba says it was his idea to play the Volvik ball after watching the World Long Drive. Jeff Babineau reports from Maui for Golfweek.com on Bubba's claim and notes this about world top ten golf ball usage:

With Watson playing a Volvik ball, five companies now are represented among the top 10 players in the world. With Rory McIlroy expected to return to Titleist (Pro V1x) when he competes in South Africa this month, Titleist will have four of the top 10 (two playing Pro V1, two playing Pro V1x). Also represented are TaylorMade (two), Callaway (two), Srixon (one) and now Volvik.

Continuing its high profile splash into the equipment business, my sources say PXG's Bob Parsons has signed Lydia Ko for a whopping $10 million over five years, while also adding Brittany Lang, Christina Kim and Ryan O’Toole as new members of the staff.

Beth Ann Baldry, reporting for Golfweek.com says Parsons is going after LPGA players in search of international sales:

“In 2016 we saw remarkable growth in international sales,” PXG founder Bob Parsons said in a news release, “but we recognize that we have only scratched the surface. Tour validation is important, and the ladies tour is wildly popular in many countries.”

Here is Lydia discussing her switch on Morning Drive, which will also include a PXG putter:

Ko also did a nice demo on Aimpoint Express, using Golf Channel's new virtual putting green.

The full PXG press release:

PXG Adds #1 Ranked Golfer Lydia Ko to Its Roster of Champions
2017 Tour Lineup Supports PXG’s International Growth Strategy
 
Scottsdale, AZ (January 3, 2017) – Today, PXG (Parsons Xtreme Golf) revealed a tour strategy designed to help accelerate and capitalize on global excitement surrounding the company’s brand and revolutionary equipment. In a bold move, PXG has focused solely on signing LPGA Tour talent for the 2017 season. At the top of the list is world number one, Lydia Ko.

“This year PXG is looking at golf and the tour from a global perspective,” said PXG founder and American entrepreneur Bob Parsons. “In 2016 we saw remarkable growth in international sales, but we recognize that we have only scratched the surface. Tour validation is important, and the ladies tour is wildly popular in many countries. We had five exceptional ladies on staff in 2016 and this year that number has grown to nine. These players, as well as our top-notch PGA TOUR pros, will help us bring PXG’s unmatched technology to passionate golfers around the globe.”

New #PXGTroops include:
    •    Lydia Ko, 14 time LPGA Tour Winner
    •    Brittany Lang, Reigning U.S. Women’s Open Champion
    •    Christina Kim, 3 time LPGA Tour Winner
    •    Ryan O’Toole, 2011 Solheim Cup Team Member

“It was always my dream goal to become world number one,” Lydia Ko shared. “Now that I have reached that benchmark in my career, I am focused on consistently playing the best golf I can. When I first hit PXG’s clubs I was extremely impressed by how they felt. They felt solid and the performance was – wow!”

Known for developing leading technology that delivers indisputable performance. The company invests heavily in research and development, and does not prescribe to traditional product cycles.

“I’ve had PXG clubs in my bag for several months and all I can say is they are the real deal,” said Christina Kim. “The wedges have got to be the best I’ve ever played and the rest of the clubs are simply excellent. I couldn’t be more excited about being part of a company that is disrupting norms and taking risks in the name of innovation and performance.”

PXG’s professionals represent some of the very best talent on the PGA TOUR and LPGA Tour. The new players will join current #PXGTroops James Hahn, Billy Horschel, Charles Howell III, Zach Johnson, Chris Kirk, Ryan Moore, Charl Schwartzel, Cristie Kerr, Alison Lee, Sadena Parks, Gerina Piller and Beatriz Recari.

“I have so much respect for PXG and Bob Parsons,” Brittany Lang said. “Being on staff is really a special opportunity.”

“From founder to fitter, every representative of PXG is passionate about golf and dedicated to making sure golfers are able to experience incredible results on the course. I have never been so impressed by a company,” Ryann O’Toole added. 

Public Service Reminder: The DJ Local Rule Is Now Available

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There have been many victims but none more famous than Dustin Johnson, therefore it's as much his local rule as anyone elses. Happy New Year DJ!

The full text of ball-accidentally-moves-on-putting-green rule. The USGA is also offering a video explanation and infographic on the rule and available for North American courses.

Granted, the accidental movement problem is generally only a regular issue at greens Stimping over 12 or where HD cameras are watching play.

Still, invoke the local rule, please...

Did Writer Trump-Up Account Of Trump Encounter?

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Politico's Kenneth Vogel does a nice job trying to figure out if President-elect Donald Trump had a former unauthorized biographer (understandable) and Koch brother/club member (not so understandable) removed from Trump International in West Palm Beach before they could tee off.

It seems writer Harry Hurt III, who took to Facebook to post details--in the third person--and gave the impression Trump had one of his members, David Koch, escorted off the property, actually did no such thing. That notion seemed unbelievable given Koch's status as a Trump club member and as an influential figure in American business and politics, albeit one that Trump has neutralized.

Here is the initial post:

 

 

Here is what Vogel concluded about the Koch portion of the story, which is the most incredible. If it had been true:

Another member of the Hurt-Koch foursome, fellow GOP donor John M. Damgard, told POLITICO that neither he nor Koch were privy to Hurt’s exchange with Trump, and that Hurt didn’t recount it to them in any detail.

“Harry just said he had been asked to leave,” said Damgard, a former president of the Futures Industry Association who has a house in Palm Beach. “I thought he was kidding. And then I learned that there had been some previous bad blood between them from back in the ‘90s apparently,” Damgard said, adding, “Unbeknownst to us, he had written a book or an article that was critical of Trump.”

So, Damgard continued, “rather than exacerbate something that wasn’t going to go very well, we just decided to get into the car and leave.”

Roundup 2016: Year In Review Stories And A Few Thoughts

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I've been taking in and enjoying the year-end golf summaries, mostly to shield myself from news that makes me want to have John Oliver's '16 tribute on a running loop. As is always the golf media custom, various writers emptied their notebooks and recalled moments that resonated long after they packed up their laptops. While taking in their thoughts I drew a few conclusions, which, if you'll indulge, I'll share before throwing a few good year-end links your way.

2016 lived up to its billing: a stellar-but-bloated schedule, plenty of sensational tournament venues and a continued refinement of course architectural tastes skewing toward the natural. But the sadness of Arnold Palmer's passing, which I'm not sure we got to completely take in quietly, just reinforced the sense that there is too much golf and it all went on way too long.

In spite of the pitiful WD's by Spieth, McIlroy and friends, The Olympics exceeded expectations while The Open Championship will go down as a classic (John Huggan and Dave Shedloski have put together a truncated oral history of Troon 2016).

For Golfweek's Alistair Tait, those were the two biggest takeaways in his eyes and he offers two anecdotes from each.

The women's side keeps producing young talent but now even Lydia Ko is showing signs of impatience that either could propel her to another level, or rapidly add her to a list of almost-legend status. This overall impatience by and for the youth to take center stage should be a more disconcerting sign for golf given how much damage it's done in tennis, but the desperation to ride some under 25-year-old coattails ignores that the average age of the men's major winners in 2016 was..34.

On a grander entertainment scale, fewer players and even fewer fans are clamoring for tournament officials to humiliate players via course setup to compensate for inadequacies in their own golf games. Woohoo! Yes, we still have too many green speed fiascos to mask the distance issue, but we also have fewer four-inch rough weeks and grind-it-out bogey-fests.

This increased clamoring for player-produced drama leads to a more positive energy when we tune in to watch golf. The effect has to seep down to the everyday game, no? 

Consider the incredible outrage over the USGA's difficult-to-rationalize handling of Dustin Johnson and how quickly the public response produced a local rule introduction that will restore some sanity (though it still won't slow down greens). A less cynical, more sensible golfing public should take a bow.

The sport saw minor inroads on the pace-of-play plague and with the greatest single roadblock to progress just a few hours from retirement (woohoo 2!), we may see real reform in 2017. I sense an overall shift in values for the sport: golf is no longer seen by its followers as a sport of inevitable punishment separated by bursts of fun.  It is now expected to be one that aspires to be a lifestyle activity that is fun, sensible and responsible to be part of. Progress!

Obviously this is generational and the infusion of many "millennial" values has meshed nicely with the "artisanal" trends that had already begun to reimagine design and experiential elements that inspire our passion for the sport. However, I can't help but think of 2016 without thinking of the incessant desperation the sport has shown in trying to appeal to a new generation while ignoring an aging demographic that loves the sport. In trying so pathetically to be cool to the kids the sport so often comes off as pathetic to the kids. If there's one thing we know about millennials, it's that we don't know what they really like. But they have shown a love for pursuits with soul, timelessness and some backbone. Golf should act more comfortable in its shoes.

Ultimately the genius of golf is that it can be played and loved by people of all generations. Probably never a huge audience, but one that spans generations. So perhaps the potential for Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson to duel one more time with a nice mix of young guns and veteran sticks joining the fight, a microcosm of this cross-generational meeting of minds will calm some of this desperation to get younger or die.

On that note...

If you need your memory refreshed, here are GolfChannel.com's newsmakers, with of course, that passing of Arnold Palmer in the top spot. We lost many others in '16 as Cliff Schrock notes at GolfDigest.com, but it was Palmer's death that will forever define the year.

Randall Mell steps back from the raw emotion of the initial coverage to consider what Palmer's passing means to the game. Brandel Chamblee also weighed in with this piece.

Jeff Babineau covered many topics in his year-end Golfweek.com thoughts, including Palmer's funeral. And GolfChannel.com's Mercer Baggs left the service feeling upbeat, thanks in part to the eulogy by Sam Saunders.

Doug Ferguson uses up his notes that weren't technically newsworthy, just entertaining. And while this Wayne Gretzky item is the best, the theme here is Palmer and he included this one:

The day after the U.S. Open, Arnold Palmer drove his cart to the back entrance of his office in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.

It had been a rough year. Palmer declined to a do his news conference or a TV interview at Bay Hill, instead taping an interview for the NBC telecast. For the first time, he did not hit a ceremonial tee shot at the start of the Masters the following month.

But he was sharp on this day. Dustin Johnson had won the U.S. Open, but only after playing the final seven holes not knowing if the USGA was going to penalize him one shot for his ball moving on the fifth green.

"What did you think of the Open?" Palmer said.

"Interesting," came the fence-sitting reply.

Palmer grinned and, as always, got straight to the point.

"The USGA really (messed) this one up, didn't they?" he said.

Beth Ann Baldry filed her favorite memories from a year on the road covering amateur and women's golf, with the NCAA's in Eugene still resonating strongly. For Mell, Se Ri Pak's emotional retirement cameo was the memory he won't soon forget.

Off the course, the equipment and business side proved fascinating, with more news soon on the way for 2017. David Dusek at Golfweek.com summed it up this way:

Where would you start in a year that included Jordan Spieth cracking the face of his driver on the eve of the Masters, Adidas announcing that it wants to sell TaylorMade, Adams and Ashworth and the USGA and R&A reporting that they don’t feel driving distance is a problem in professional golf?

Which brings us back to the proverbial question that inspired the start of this website 13 years ago and saw it morph into a blog 11 years ago. Will 2017 be the year anything is done? Probably not. But I'm encouraged enough by too many other big picture trends to never rule out some action. Shoot, we might even see a slow play penalty on the West Coast swing. Strap, it's going to be a wild year ahead.

Until then, Happy New Year,
Geoff

Forbes: Tiger's Net Worth At $740 Million, Phil $375 Million

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 Kurt Badenhausen explains that Tiger Woods is the youngest on their list of America's Wealthiest Celebrities and the second highest ranked athlete after Michael Jordan. Tiger sits on the list between Diddy and Dr. Dre.

Phil Mickelson is the only other athlete on the list of twenty at $375 million.

Forbes says on Woods:

Woods has earned $1.4 billion from prize money, endorsements and fees from appearances and golf course designs since turning pro in 1996. It is more than any athlete in the history of sports (Jordan earned more when adjusted for inflation). Less than 10% of Woods’ tally is from prize money with sponsorships his main source of revenue.

We know these dollar figures are a bit silly and likely bloated given that they may not take divorce settlements into full account. Still, even if cut in half, the numbers and success of two golfers over all other modern athletes, is noteworthy.

Video: Flipped (Over) Trick Shot

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What else is there to say but brilliantly conceived and executed by Ryan Rustand of the Virginia Golf Center with help from Pat Graves, gymnast and flip expert!

Nine Days Of Christmas: Seamus Tartan Ties And Special 20% Off Discount Code

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As we near Christmas day the gift recommendations are now strictly about buying yourself something Rusty the dog, who drew you in the family pool, would never buy.

Last year the craftsmen and women of Seamus Golf kindly offered a Christmas discount to readers of this site. And after noticing their dapper new ties I reached out to company co-founder Akbar Christi who kindly offered a holiday discount for all purchases. Enter code RUSTICCANYON to get 20% off.

Everything by Seamus is made with care, thought and class, but I'm digging their new ties in fabrics sourced from the best (Loch Caron, House of Edgar). They come in both skinny and regular sizes and the website notes the lineage of the patterns so that you can do your best Smails impersonation at your next cocktail party.

Personally, I love a good tartan tie because nearly all look good with a navy blazer, they are guaranteed to liven up an otherwise cookie-cutter outfit, all while giving you a fun story to tell about the tie's inspiration.

Pictured to the right is the granite, cream and black Dornoch Tweed Tie that harkens to the ancient days of the Scottish Highlands, home of the great Royal Dornoch (whose club tartan is a colorful design invoking all colors of the course in its gorse-blooming days).

So head to Seamus and scoop up a few ties or headcovers at 20% off (code: RUSTICCANYON) and encourage them to keep making cool stuff.

Also, this way I can lobby for a much-needed Musselburgh tie!

Roundup: Tiger's Mac Daddy Pic Spawns No Shortage Of Glorious Mocking

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I'm picturing agent Mark Steinberg, staring out the window at Excel headquarters listening to a pitch for Tiger, when a nervous assistant barges in and points at a cell phone, only to remember the boss is a Blackberry man. Just as Steiny had pushed back on the price to get Tiger into a new blue chip product endorsement deal, the assistant swipes off the dust on Steiny's desktop and brings up Tiger's Twitter account.

"Uh, I need to call you back, whoever I was just talking to," says Steiny.

There the image sits. For no rational reason, a stern, shirtless Tiger Woods is wearing a Santa cap, invoking his children and referencing Mac Daddy, a phrase Merriam-Websters defines as "a conspicuously successful pimp." Or option two, "a slick womanizer." The Urban Dictionary also weighs in (gloriously).

Steiny sighs nervously.

"At least it's the Thursday before Christmas, the Internet is on vacation, right?" he asks as the young assistant mumbles something about Grayson Allen just texted to tell Tiger thank you.

So in the interest of sparing that poor Excel intern the pain of presenting a roundup of Tiger's bizarre attempt at humor/coolness/something, here is the Busted Coverage roundup/slideshow, Des Bieler's take at the WaPo, and the GeoffShackelford.com favorites: