ORLANDO, Fla. — PXG Golf made its long-awaited debut at the PGA Merchandise Show last week.
Founder Bob Parsons stayed in Arizona, home to a company with humble roots and a bold vision.
Unpredictable, eccentric and idiosyncratic, Parsons conducted interviews via hologram.
“I will do the best I can,” he said.
Parsons can draw a crowd.
Passersby at the Orange County Convention Center became spectators. Since its founding in 2015, the company’s brand has incorporated this unique setting as it has moved towards unique beats.
A decade after Person Extreme Golf rose unflinchingly in the $100 billion industry, the company stands out among nearly 1,200 participating brands, and attendance at the annual event, which covers more than 1 million square feet at OCCC, was the highest in decades.
“I thought it was about time,” Parson said. “We were approached over and over again about exhibiting at the PGA Merchandise Show. The staff said, ‘Bob, we really think we should do this. It would be another way for us to reach our customers.’
“Based on what we’ve experienced so far, we’re going to be here for a while.”
With Parsons at the helm, PXG evolved from a curious company to a serious player in a competitive market.
A bold black logo and a brazen TV ad with a gravelly voiceover that says, “No one makes golf clubs the way we do. Period.”
This line, written by Parsons himself, captures the spirit of PXG. This company was born out of the will of a man who grew up in extreme poverty in Baltimore, failed fifth grade, served in Vietnam, and became a millionaire.
Rather than focus on market research or industry practices, the mid-major golfer, worth over $4 billion, simply wanted to lower his score.
Parsons’ unprecedented path, Midas touch, and entrepreneurial spirit epitomize the American Dream. The founder of GoDaddy.com was living this life long before he turned his attention to a sport with Atlantic roots.
When Parsons entered the golf business, he refused to follow his previous strategies. This approach was facilitated by his extensive resources and willingness to take risks.
“We wanted to do something different than everyone else,” he said. “If we had gone in and gone about our business like everyone else, we would have been wrecked. What I learned when I was in the Marines in Vietnam is that you don’t get hit by machine guns.
“Run around and attack from the side.”
Although PXG had financial freedom, it was facing an uphill climb.
The first project, Slick Golf, patented a golf ball, but no clubs were manufactured.
Renamed PXG, the company entered an industry dominated by household names like Titleist, Ping, TaylorMade, Mizuno, Cobra, and Cleveland. These companies held most of the market share and determined how equipment was designed, priced, and distributed.
PXG, on the other hand, began as a boutique brand based in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Rather than selling clubs through major retailers, PXG required customers to visit a retail store. The brand offered premium-priced adventures with custom fittings, rare for the time, and a focus on personal attention over volume.
“When we released our first golf club, the Gen1, we had two guys fly in from New Delhi for fittings,” Parsons recalls. “They bought three sets of clubs. They gave us their credit card, never asked for the price, and left right away.
“You have to start somewhere.”
Our focus on experience remains central to PXG’s identity.
For $30,000, the company is offering The Experience, a three-day golf escape that combines PXG’s custom-fitted clubs with the luxury of Scottsdale National Golf Club, a private members-only oasis in the Sonoran Desert. In addition to getting new clubs, guests can enjoy unlimited golf on 45 wide-open holes with no tee times, spa treatments, tours of PXG headquarters, apparel fittings, and five-star dining.
However, PXG is becoming increasingly available to the masses.
More than 200 fitting locations are available, in addition to approximately 25 dedicated fitting studios, including one in Orlando. The company also sponsors players on all professional tours.
But the real test comes courtesy of Parsons, who ponders PXG’s forgiveness, feel and technological advancements with every round.
“I’m the chief examiner,” he said. “If our club helps me every time, we’ll be there and we’ll know instantly if we’ve made a step forward and when we haven’t.”
Prices for the GEN8 irons ($1,603, 5-gap wedge), Lightning Driver ($649), and Sugar Daddy III wedges ($299) remain higher than their competitors, but they are much more competitive than before.
The cost comes with a personal guarantee.
“If it doesn’t improve in every way, we won’t release it,” Parsons said. “We’re very different in that respect. We’re not constrained by price point or release date.”
PXG takes advantage of the essence of the game that even elite players don’t fully understand, and provides fun for players who struggle to break 100 points.
“Golf is a game unlike any other,” Parsons said. “I don’t care how talented you are; you’ll never master it. But every once in a while, you’ll hit a shot as good as the best professional golfers. It takes you completely outside of yourself.”
“How many things can you say for that?”
Parsons himself is unique. The 75-year-old, who was shaped by hardship long before his success, is quick to downplay his genius.
“I didn’t pass the fifth grade,” he said. “A fluke didn’t hold me back. I came into sixth grade with the school skills of a third or fourth grader, and I probably still have the school skills of a third or fourth grader.”
Losing direction and on the verge of dropping out of high school, Parsons enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps at age 17. He served as a rifleman in Delta Company, 1st Battalion, 26th Marines, and was wounded in combat during a tour of Vietnam in 1969, where he received the Purple Heart.
“During my senior year, I failed most of my subjects,” he said. “I discovered both the opposite sex and alcohol. Neither of them had ever put anyone on the dean’s list. I was a handy head. The Marines turned me around. The Marines taught me everything. They taught me everything.”
“I give 100 percent credit to the Marine Corps for what we’ve accomplished so far.”
After returning home, Parsons earned a degree in accounting from the University of Baltimore, graduating magna cum laude. He then pursued a career in IT and software sales, culminating in the founding of Parsons Technology in 1984.
In 1994, he sold his housing accounting company to Intuit for $64 million. This was the first step to the wealth that would create GoDaddy.com in 1997 and later YAM Worldwide Inc. with PXG.
Parsons’ success led him and his wife, Renee, to establish a foundation that has donated to more than 96 charities. The Parsons have donated approximately $150 million to organizations that support U.S. military veterans and their families.
Parsons’ philanthropy comes from his experience growing up with nothing in East Baltimore.
“My parents were gambling addicts. We didn’t have anything,” he said. “If I wanted something, I had to plan how I was going to get it: mow the lawn, run errands, do construction work. More often than not, I was in the right place at the right time.”
This sense of responsibility beyond the business world is “the right thing to do,” Parsons said.
Part of our mission is to bring more fun to golfers.
“It’s worth it to help people play golf,” Parsons said.
At the end of the day, doing things differently at PXG isn’t a marketing slogan; that’s the point.
