PXG Wades Farther into the Ball Market

It’s not long since PXG’s first golf ball was released. The introduction of a second (two models), indicates the company is serious about this business segment

By Tony Dear

It’s just over 18 months since PXG introduced its first golf ball – the Xtreme – which sold for just $39.99 a dozen. With the growing number of direct-to-consumer manufacturers emerging and offering quality products at desirable prices, the cost of the PXG ball wasn’t all that astounding. But, because it came with the tagline ‘The ball that does it all’, it certainly did tempt several golfers to give it a try at least.

Like PXG, a few of the DTC companies – Monsta, 3up, Lightning – offered just one design. That was surely because one ball was as far as their R&D capabilities, marketing dollars, and distribution channels could stretch. Plus, each specified its ball was a ‘Tour-quality’ model or at least targeted at better golfers.

The better-known DTC manufacturers, meanwhile, have multiple designs in their line-ups. Snell Golf currently has four different models, while Vice Golf and OnCore both have five. Seed has six.
PXG was the only company, be it Direct to Consumer or traditional retail that offered one ball not because that was as far as its resources would go but because it believed the Xtreme was the one ball that would fit everyone. “The Xtreme delivers quality, consistency, and performance with every shot, from every lie, for every golfer,” it said ignoring the trade-offs (if a ball offers more of this, it inevitably has to offer less of that…) determined by current golf ball science and which every other manufacturer acknowledges.

It’s unlikely PXG has access to more advanced golf ball technology than Titleist, say, so “The ball that does it all” could just have been a catchy line that the ever-forthright and plainspoken Bob Parsons came up with. The golf equipment business…every business…relies on catchy lines to sell its wares, of course, so PXG and Parsons weren’t doing anything every other successful business hasn’t tried at some point.

It’s interesting, though, that PXG has not only come out with a new ball just a year and a half later but has released two, suggesting that neither of the new balls quite does it all.
Enough, though, of questioning PXG’s marketing claims. What are these two new PXG balls and how do they differ from their predecessor?

They are the Xtreme Tour and Xtreme Tour X and, not surprisingly given their names, PXG is asking for $10 more a dozen saying they are more durable, feel softer and still offer exceptional distance. Both are three-piece balls that possess a larger core and thinner 338-dimple urethane cover than the Xtreme.

The larger core gives the Xtreme Tour a little more ballspeed and the new ball spins less than the Xtreme flying, as a result, on a slightly flatter trajectory. The Xtreme Tour has a compression of 97 which makes it quite a bit softer than the original Xtreme (110). That said, 97 can still be considered quite firm. The Xtreme Tour X has a compression of 107, spins more and flies higher than its sibling (the Xtreme Tour is available in a yellow version which, interestingly, has a compression of 101 because adding color to a golf ball makes it very slightly firmer).
Both, says PXG, offer excellent greenside spin.

$50 (PXG also offers three dozen for the price of two)
Colors – White, Yellow (Xtreme Tour only)
Both models offer officially licensed military branding for the Marine Corps, Air Force, Army and Navy – $55.
pxg.com

Colorado AvidGolfer Magazine is the state’s leading resource for golf and the lifestyle that surrounds it, publishing eight issues annually and proudly delivering daily content via coloradoavidgolfer.com.

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