"Bob Parsons had a real passion for challenging the status quo. We talked about how product was currently being designed, manufactured, distributed and marketed and believed that by doing things differently, we could figure out how to create a place in the market."
Mike Nicolette - who at that time worked for me at Ping - met Bob Parsons by chance playing nine holes of golf on a Friday afternoon. They had a good time and traded numbers afterwards and Bob would then call Mike all the time asking questions about golf equipment. Fast forward two years later, Bob had divested from GoDaddy and had an idea that he wanted to do something to change the golf industry.
Mike tried to talk Bob out of it because at that time in 2013 the golf industry had been flat and down for more than a decade. Bob told him to think about it and then Mike started to discuss the venture with me. At first I wasn't interested as Ping had been very good to me and I believed that I would retire there.
We want to thank our Episode Presenting Partner Golf Genius Software who have supported The ModGolf Podcast since 2019!
https://files.fireside.fm/file/fireside-uploads/images/1/1ea879c1-a4a2-4e10-bea4-e5d8368a3c7a/K9NPjjAv.jpg (https://www.golfgenius.com)
Golf Genius powers tournament management at over 10,000 private clubs, public courses, resorts, golf associations, and tours in over 60 countries. So if you’re a golf professional or course operator who wants to save time, deliver exceptional golfer experiences, and generate more revenue, check them out online at golfgenius.com (https://www.golfgenius.com).
PXG is active on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/pxg) where you can see their staff pros, clubs, equipment and apparel in action.
Click on the image below to watch Colin's unboxing of PXG irons and hybrid that arrived after his club fitting experience on The ModGolf Youtube Channel (https://youtu.be/pyK09dEmXfo)! We'll be posting the full PXG fitting experience video at Haus of Golf in Vancouver very soon.
https://files.fireside.fm/file/fireside-uploads/images/1/1ea879c1-a4a2-4e10-bea4-e5d8368a3c7a/SnQX1w1S.png (https://youtu.be/pyK09dEmXfo)
"I decided to go talk with Bob and after leaving that meeting I knew what I was going to do. It felt that if I said no that I would regret it for the rest of my life. It would be so hard to move on knowing that I passed up on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It was a huge decision and a lot of people thought that I was crazy to leave Ping but I felt that I had to give it a go."
Episode Chapters
[01:50] Brad's first golf experience and who introduced him to the game
[03:00] How Brad's education as a Mechanical Engineer led him to a career in golf club design
[05:00] The creation of PXG and how Bob Parsons incentivized both Mike Nicolette and Brad to leave Ping to join his quest to make the world's best golf clubs.
[09:30] The culture Bob immediately created around PXG by giving Brad and Mike an open budget and schedule to design and create great golf clubs.
[14:00] Brad discusses their interative design process, rapid prototyping and mistakes made that lead to material and design breakthroughs.
[16:30] Colin and Brad take a deep dive into material elasticity and how that informs club impact, energy transfer and foregiveness.
[20:40] The different club lines that span the spectrum of 14 handicappers like Colin to PXG staff pros like Christina Kim (who was our guest on the previous episode!)
[24:00] We learn how Bob Parsons' experience as a rifleman in the Marine Corps has influence the club numbering at PXG.
[26:00] The culture at PXG that combines passion, fun and the entrepreneurial spirit.
[28:00] PXG's core tennet and philosophy as they expand their product lines.
[30:30] The future for PXG and where they look to be in 10 years time as they expand their distrubution centers and fitting partners.
[33:00] Brad shares some of the designs that didn't work out but they learned a lot from.
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