Architect Brandon Johnson, formerly of Palmer Design, launches own golf course firm

Harvard-trained architect Brandon Johnson hangs out his own shingle with new design firm.

Golf course architect Brandon Johnson has made it official: After 17 years working for Arnold Palmer Design Company, he is hanging out his own shingle with today’s introduction of Brandon Johnson Golf Course Design.

The Harvard-educated Johnson joined Palmer Design in 2006 when that firm moved to Orlando. Johnson and Thad Layton were the design leads in recent years for Palmer, which wound down operations late in 2023. Layton announced the formation of his own firm in September.

Johnson has worked on several dozen courses around the world for Palmer involving everything from renovations to new courses.

“I’m excited, and as I’ve explained it to people, it feels like I’m graduating college again,” said Johnson, who interned for the PGA Tour as a course designer in the mid-1990s before taking a job out of college with The First Tee. “There are a lot of opportunities, and there’s a lot of excitement.”

Palmer Design built more than 300 courses in 37 states and 27 countries, including many listed on Golfweek’s Best ranking of top modern courses in the U.S. and the state-by-state rankings of public and private layouts. The company really took off in the 1980s and has been one of the most recognized brands in course architecture ever since. But business, especially in constructing new courses, slowed for the company following Palmer’s death in 2016. Layton and Johnson had mostly worked on renovations since.

Old Tabby Links
Brandon Johnson led the renovation to Old Tabby Links in Okatie, S.C., which was originally created by Arnold Palmer Design Company. It was one of many jobs Johnson undertook as one of the lead designers for Palmer Design.  (Jason Lusk/Golfweek)

“I’m a very seasoned professional, but you know, I’m still young in the business,” said the 50-year-old Johnson, a native of Charlotte, North Carolina who did his undergrad in design at North Carolina State before attending Harvard for graduate school. “I had a professor in my junior year that said it’s going to take you 25 years to master this profession of landscape architecture. I think that we’re always learning and we’re always growing, so now I have this incredible kind of background in my career that I’m able to apply to my own firm.”

Johnson is busy lining up jobs and plans several announcements of renovations and possibly new courses in the coming months. He intends to spend as much time as possible in the field working with course shapers – generally speaking, shapers are the highly skilled heavy equipment operators who turn an architect’s plans into reality.

“It’s interesting, in my early days at the Tour, Pete Dye had a lot of influence,” Johnson said. “He was almost always on-site, and there was always that mentality that even though we might be in the office some, how we thought about projects was the work being done in the field. Even in my time at Palmer, we certainly transitioned when Thad and I were running the company to be much more involved in the field through every step of the process. I think, for me, that’s the way I will be starting out on my own, and it’s always kind of been my mentality.”

Golf has boomed in recent years as more players took up the game during COVID, and there has been a greater interest in course architecture as well. Johnson said it’s a great time to strike out on his own.

“People are seeking out fun, new and interesting architecture,” he said. “To me, what fun means is golf is going to have a lot of variety, and it’s going to allow you to think and maybe execute a shot in several different ways. It’s drawing you in, and it’s going to make you want to get back on the golf course. I think of the feelings that I had as a kid and I just couldn’t wait to get to the golf course. …

“You hope you have the opportunities to show the golfing world what you can do as an architect, and I’m really excited about that opportunity and look forward to working with some really good clients on some unbelievable pieces of property, working with people who are equally as passionate and in love with this game as I am.”

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ANWA host club Champions Retreat being sold to Texas-based Arcis Golf

Arcis Golf expands on its portfolio of nearly 70 clubs around the country.

Champions Retreat in Evans, Georgia – the host club for the first two rounds of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur each year – is being sold to Dallas-based Arcis Golf.

Terms of the deal, slated to close Friday, have not been released. News of the impending sale was emailed to Champions Retreat members, as first reported in the Augusta Press. The impending sale was confirmed independently by Golfweek, although an official statement has not been released to news organizations.

The private Champions Retreat near Augusta consists of three nine-hole courses designed by Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player. The ANWA is played each April on Palmer’s The Island nine and Nicklaus’ The Bluffs nine before moving to Augusta National Golf Club for the final round the Saturday before the Masters begins. The club also features oversized and luxurious cabins with a top-notch food and beverage program. The club has opened its gates to guests during Masters weeks in recent years.

Champions Retreat was founded in 2005. Its reputation began to take off in 2014 when it was purchased by Bill Forrest, founder of the Connecticut-based private equity firm Tower Three Partners.

Arcis Golf, founded in 2013, owns or operates nearly 70 private, resort and daily-fee clubs around the United States. Its properties include TPC River’s Bend in Ohio, Cowboys Golf Club in Dallas, Grayhawk Golf Club in Arizona and Tijeras Creek Golf Club in California. Atairos, an independent private company focused on supporting growth-oriented businesses, acquired a substantial ownership position in Arcis in 2020. Fortress Investment Group LLC also maintains a significant ownership stake in Arcis.

Arccos raises $20 million in funding from PGA Tour and equipment makers

The funding will allow Arccos to accelerate the release of products and data-driven services for recreational golfers.

Golfers on the PGA Tour have nearly all their shots tracked by ShotLink, which uses a sophisticated system of laser measuring devices, radar and an army of volunteers. You don’t have access to that technology, but Arccos has been enabling recreational golfers to track their shots and collect data on their game since 2012, and on Monday, the company announced that as a part of a $20 million Series C fundraising, it had become the “Official Game Tracker” of the PGA Tour. 

Along with the investment by the Tour, other investors include Ping, TaylorMade, Cobra Puma Golf and Topgolf Callaway Brands.

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Arccos, which is based in Stamford, Connecticut, is a shot-tracking system that uses a series of small screw-in tags to tether a golfer’s clubs to a smartphone app, which then uses GPS to track the location of every shot a player hits, along with information on the club used and the location of the bullet hit (fairway, sand, rough, the green). Using that data, Arccos develops ShotLink-style stat packages that can reveal information about player tendencies, strengths and weaknesses, along with suggestions on what to practice. The Arccos Caddie app can also use that data to provide caddy-style club recommendations too.

Arccos data
Data provided by Arccos

“This investment shows that data is here to stay and that it is going to help everybody,” said Sal Syed, Arccos Golf’s CEO and co-founder in an exclusive interview with Golfweek. “Whether you are a player looking to improve or an instructor looking to teach better, a fitter looking to be smarter or even a manufacturer looking to make better tools for golfers, this data is going to help every aspect of the industry. That’s why you are seeing the industry kind of coalescing behind Arccos. It’s going to help everybody.”

To date, Arccos members have used the system to track more than 750 million shots during over 16 million rounds in 162 countries. That database provides the foundation for the power of the system.

Asked what Arccos plans to do with the capital it has raised, Syed said the infusion of money will allow the company to accelerate its product roadmap.

“We can invest more in data science, make the system more accurate, easier to use and more available to a wider array of golfers.”

Arccos Gen3+
Arccos Gen3+ (Arccos)

Players on the Tour now create strategies for how they will play specific holes using data collected by ShotLink, and many modify their schedules to include courses that data shows match their game especially well. In some cases, they skip tournaments where data shows they might struggle. Syed hopes that as Arccos grows, recreational golfers will be able to make data-based decisions like the pros.

“Every decision that is made in golf should be based on your on-course, real performance,” he said. “Eventually, we want to be able to show, using data, which putter is better for you, what shoes you should play with. Today, no one is basing those kinds of decisions on actual performance data. What we have touched is not even the tip of the iceberg.”

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Management company Troon takes the reins at Tobacco Road in North Carolina

The world’s largest golf management company takes the reins at one of the most interesting courses in the U.S.

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Troon, the Arizona-based golf management company that has seen rapid expansion in recent months, has been selected to manage one of the most interesting courses in the U.S.: Tobacco Road in Sanford, North Carolina.

Designed by the late Mike Strantz and established in 1998, Tobacco Road has built an almost cult-like following of players looking for something different. The layout’s sometimes-extreme greens and incredible terrain have kept the tee sheet full for years, and Tobacco Road ranks No. 6 in a stacked North Carolina on Golfweek’s Best 2023 list of top public-access courses. It also ties for No. 79 on Golfweek’s Best list of top public-access courses in the U.S.

Those rankings don’t necessarily express the views of diehard fans, many of whom would rank what is in many ways a non-traditional layout among the top handful of modern courses in the U.S.

Such players tend to love that Tobacco Road plays almost like a video game, presenting shots and strategic challenges not seen at many other courses. Think semi-blind shots to frequently crazy greens featuring dramatic contours and run-offs – Strantz wasn’t interested in the status quo of golf design, and he wasn’t afraid to turn up the volume with his designs.

Tobacco Road
No. 18 at Tobacco Road, with the clubhouse in view (Courtesy of Tobacco Road Golf Club)

With the right frame of mind, it’s all incredibly fun – judged by many to be as much art as a golf course. And after decades of family management, the course 25 miles north of Pinehurst will now be under the management of Troon, the largest golf and golf-hospitality management company in the world.

“After thoroughly evaluating our options for management of Tobacco Road, we are excited to select Troon as the steward of Mike Strantz’s uncompromising design,” Tobacco Road Golf Club founder Mark Stewart said in a media release announcing the news.

Troon has been on a tear lately, acquiring several other management companies. The company now manages the equivalent of 840-plus 18-hole golf courses. Under its care are multiple top-tier daily-fee courses and private clubs.

“Troon is proud and honored to partner with Tobacco Road and founder Mark Stewart,” Troon director of operations Dana Schultz said in the media release. “This Top-100 golf course has been a successful family-run operation for decades. We look forward to carrying on the Stewart family vision and welcoming golfers to Tobacco Road Golf Club.”

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Jon Rahm extends his contract with Callaway Golf

The extension of Rahm’s contract includes an equity position in Topgolf Callaway Brands.

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On the eve of the 151st Open Championship at Royal Liverpool, Callaway announced that it has reached an agreement with Jon Rahm that will extend the Spaniard’s relationship with the brand and ensure that the golfer who is currently ranked No. 3 in the Official World Golf Ranking will be using Callaway gear for years to come.

Rahm, 28, won the 2021 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines and the 2023 Masters using Callaway equipment.

While the complete financial details of the endorsement deal were not disclosed, the extension of Rahm’s contract includes an equity position for Rahm in Topgolf Callaway Brands.

“We’re so proud to have Jon on our staff, and we couldn’t be more excited about this extension of our long-term partnership. Jon is an amazing talent, and he’s driven to be one of the very best to ever play the game,” said Topgolf Callaway Brands president and CEO Chip Brewer. “Equally important, he is a man of strong integrity and a brand ambassador who shares our passion for making a positive impact on our global sport. It’s a pleasure to work with him, and we look forward to focusing our considerable resources on his continued success.”

This season, Rahm has won The American Express, The Genesis Invitational, the Sentry Tournament of Champions and the Masters to earn more than $15 million in prize money.

Jon Rahm's Callaway equipment
Jon Rahm’s Callaway equipment. (Photo: David Dusek/Golfweek)

Rahm’s contract extension will require him to use Callaway and Odyssey equipment, wear Callaway headwear, TravisMathew apparel and footwear, and help to promote Topgolf. Below is a list of the clubs he has been using in 2023:

DRIVER: Callaway Paradym Triple Diamond (10.5 degrees), with Aldila Tour Green 75 TX shaft

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FAIRWAY WOOD: Callaway Paradym Triple Diamond (16, 18 degrees), with Graphite Design Tour AD DI 8X shafts

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IRONS: Callaway Apex TCB (4-PW), with Project X 6.5 shafts

WEDGES: Callaway JAWS Raw (52, 56, 60 degrees), with Project X 6.5 shafts

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PUTTER: Odyssey White Hot OG Rossie S

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BALL: Callaway Chrome Soft X

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Course management company Troon keeps growing with second acquisition this week

Troon acquires Applied Golf Management’s and its portfolio of 13 courses in eastern U.S.

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Golf course management company Troon has been busy with acquisitions in recent years, and it shows no sign of slowing down after announcing Thursday it has acquired Applied Golf Management.

The Scottsdale-based Troon also announced this week it will acquire the management or consulting contracts of 18 clubs previously under the Invited (formerly ClubCorp) umbrella.

The New Jersey-based Applied Golf Management’s portfolio includes 13 public-access and private golf facilities in New York, New Jersey and Florida. Among those are St. Petersburg Country Club in Florida, Putnam County Golf Course in New York and Trenton Country Club in New Jersey.

Troon said in a media release that members of the 13 clubs will continue with the same service, and plans are for Applied Golf Management to maintain its office in Millstone Township with all associates remaining in their positions.

“We could not have chosen a better organization than Troon to help carry on what we have built over the past 17 years,” Applied Golf Management founder and president Dave Wasenda said in the media release. “This acquisition closes a great chapter in our company’s history, while beginning an amazing new one for our clients and associates. With Troon’s resources, expertise and growing portfolio of managed properties, it is an exciting time for all of us to become part of the Troon family. We look forward to continued success and contributing to the company’s strong growth.”

Troon – the world’s largest golf and golf-related hospitality management company – has completed 13 acquisitions since 2014, including 11 since 2018. It now manages the equivalent of more than 840 18-hole courses in 45-plus states and more than 30 countries, the company said in the media release.

“Dave Wasenda, for whom I have the utmost respect, and his team have cultivated a superb portfolio of club’s throughout New York, New Jersey and Florida by working hard and developing customized solutions for clients – tenets both companies share,” Troon president and CEO Tim Schantz said in the media release. “With the addition of Applied Golf, we significantly expand our footprint and management capabilities across the Northeast.”

Troon to acquire Invited’s club-management division as part of strategic partnership

The management of 18 golf clubs will transfer to Troon as part of a strategic partnership.

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Troon and Invited, two of the world’s largest golf course operators, announced Saturday a strategic partnership in which Troon will acquire the management or consulting contracts of 18 clubs previously under Invited’s umbrella.

The Dallas-based Invited, which rebranded from the name ClubCorp last year, owns and operates more than 200 clubs and has more than 400,000 members. That doesn’t change.

It’s Invited’s Management Services business, which served as a third-party operator and consultant for the 18 clubs included in the deal, that switches hands to Troon. The Scottsdale, Arizona-based Troon specializes in third-party club management and hospitality, with more than 760 18-hole equivalent courses around the world under its banner.

Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Among these managed clubs is PGA National Resort in Florida – Invited managed the PGA National Members Club, the private country club element at PGA National Resort, longtime home to a PGA Tour event.

As part of the deal, Invited and Troon will introduce a program that allows Invited members to play participating Troon-managed resort and daily fee courses as well as Invited’s portfolio of more than 150 clubs and 200 courses. Members of the former Invited Club Management facilities will continue to enjoy Invited’s XLife benefits, playing a network of hundreds of private clubs and renowned resorts.

The management teams and all employees of the clubs to be managed by Troon will retain their roles in the new arrangement, the companies said in a media release announcing the news. Invited senior vice president Seth Churi and regional vice president Peter Faraone will move to similar positions within Troon, continuing to support operations at the 18 clubs with the backing of Troon’s resources.

“We are excited to welcome these outstanding clubs, their members, management teams and associates to the Troon family,” Troon president and CEO Tim Schantz said in the media release. “We have long respected Invited’s contributions to our industry. This relationship creates new opportunities for each organization and perfectly aligns with our respective missions and focus.”

Troon and Invited said in the media release they have planned additional collaboration to leverage their mutual expertise.

“We are thrilled to embark on this historic relationship with Troon. By working together and pooling together our strengths, we can become even more dynamic in providing resources and infrastructure to our members and clubs,” David Pillsbury, CEO of Invited and the former president of the PGA Tour’s TPC network of clubs, said in the media release.

In 2017, Invited was purchased and taken private by Apollo Global Management in a deal valued at $2.2 billion. TPG Capital is a major investor in Troon. Each company also has PGA Tour golfers involved, with Jordan Spieth as an investor and ambassador for Invited, while Rory McIlroy is an investor in Troon.

Troon has not shied away from large acquisitions in the past 16 years, having purchased 13 companies since 2007.

The full media release is posted below, including the names of the clubs involved:

PXG founder Bob Parsons says he ‘cannot bring myself to do anything’ with LIV Golf

“With the stuff that went down at 9/11, I have a hard time getting involved with them.”

Bob Parsons, the founder of GoDaddy and Parsons Xtreme Golf (PXG), was not a Vietnam War protester in the 1960s. The Baltimore, Maryland, native enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and was a part of the 26th Marine Regiment before serving as a rifleman in Vietnam in 1969. He spent two months in a naval hospital after being wounded in action and earned a Purple Heart, the combat action ribbon and the Vietnam Vietnam Gallantry Cross.

But in a recent interview in Esquire, Parsons, who is now 72, made it clear that he is with the people who have protested outside LIV Golf events against the Saudi-backed tour.

“I will say this here, on the LIV tour, I consider myself a patriot,” Parsons said. “With the stuff that went down at 9/11, I have a hard time getting involved with them. I know, sometimes, bygones got to be bygones, and I’ve forgiven a lot of people. One of them is Jane Fonda for what she did during the Vietnam War. I’m no longer angry at her. I get it. She was young and stupid. But I just cannot bring myself to do anything with [LIV], and the guys who are heroes, they all agree with that.”

Bob Parsons
Bob Parsons, founder of PXG, at Scottsdale National Golf Club (Photo: Tracy Wilcox/Golfweek)

Parsons is a fan of wearing all black, riding powerful motorcycles (he owns Harley-Davidson dealerships) and loves nothing more than supporting American veterans. He has donated millions of dollars to veteran-related charities, give members of the military and first responders get a discount on PXG gear and even gave holes at Scottsdale National Golf Club, which Parsons owns, military-inspired names and plaques.

Knowing that, LIV golfers should not bother calling Parsons or PXG regarding future sponsorships.

“Well, we really don’t have guys on that tour,” Parsons said. “I mean, we’ve had some guys that had contracts that went on that tour, and I honored the contracts. But now that the contracts are up, I have no contract with them, and I don’t think they can contract with sponsors with the LIV tour, at least. I don’t know. I could be speaking out of school, but if I had an opportunity to come up and do it, I wouldn’t do it.”

Pat Perez had previously had an endorsement deal with PXG and Patrick Reed signed a deal with PXG in January 2022. Both players are now with the LIV Golf League and neither appears on the PXG website. The company’s current staff is headlined by U.S. Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson, along with Joel Dahmen, who was a star in the Netflix series “Full Swing.”

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PXG lays off more than 125 workers, restructures retail stores

PXG’s retail stores will be transitioning from being open seven days a week to five.

Parsons Xtreme Golf (PXG) made a name for itself a decade ago by releasing ultra-premium woods and irons, boldly advertising them and making the claim that, “Nobody makes golf clubs the way we do. Period.” An apparel line soon followed and last month PXG released its first line of golf balls.

Monday, however, the brand informed its employees that approximately 125 workers would be laid off as part of a restructuring operation.

The story was first reported by mygolfspy.com.

According to PXG, the company’s retail stores will be transitioning from being open seven days a week to five, and with that move, about 65 people would be laid off. PXG currently has 21 retail outlets.

The other 60 people who are being laid off work in other areas of the Scottsdale, Arizona-based PXG. According to a brand spokesperson, the company is “rightsizing” itself as the golf equipment market contracts and the pandemic-spurred boom in golf equipment sales slows.

The total number of employees being laid off represents approximately 10 percent of PXG’s workforce.

According to the National Golf Foundation (NGF), on-course participation was up in 2022, with a net increase of 500,000 golfers to 25.6 million. However, according to Golf Datatech, a service that tracks golf equipment sales and other industry information, equipment sales were down over 12 percent year-over-year in January 2023, continuing a downward trend.

“January 2023 was a continuation of what we saw in the fourth quarter of 2022, with significant headwinds such as inflation, asset value declines, and the threat of an impending recession impacting woods, irons, putters, bag and shoe sales,” said John Krzynowek, the co-founder of Golf Datatech. “At the same time, ball and gloves – products that correlate more closely with levels of play and are lower in cost – held close to level.”

That would imply that people who play golf are continuing to play, but golfers who bought equipment during the COVID-19 boom in the sport may not be looking to buy new gear right now. If that is the case, PXG’s layoffs could be a sign of the golf equipment industry, like other parts of the economy, contracting slightly in the months ahead.

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Bryson DeChambeau’s Cobra Puma Golf contract ended in 2022

“Bryson is not currently on staff with CPG [Cobra Puma Golf] as his contract was up in 2022.”

Bryson DeChambeau, the winner of the 2020 U.S. Open, raised eyebrows among golf equipment fans on Thursday when he put a TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus+ driver into play at the Asian Tour’s PIF Saudi International at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club in Saudi Arabia. DeChambeau, a member of 2018 and 2021 United States Ryder Cup teams, has been a staff player and brand ambassador with Cobra Puma Golf since turning pro at the PGA Tour’s 2016 RBC Heritage.

In preparing its story on DeChambeau using the TaylorMade driver, Golfweek reached out to representatives of Cobra Puma Golf for comment but did not get an answer. Then, late Thursday evening, a text message was returned from an executive at Cobra, stating, “Bryson is not currently on staff with CPG [Cobra Puma Golf] as his contract was up in 2022. We are in discussions about 2023 and the future.”

If DeChambeau’s contract with Cobra Puma Golf ended in 2022, then he is an equipment ‘free agent’ and is not obligated to use any brand’s clubs. Last July, after joining LIV Golf, Bridgestone and DeChambeau also parted ways.

Titleist confirmed to Golfweek that DeChambeau is using a Titleist Pro V1x Left Dash ball this week in Saudi Arabia.

Bryson DeChambeau
American golfer Bryson DeChambeau tees off during the PIF Saudi International in King Abdullah Economic City, north of Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coastal city of Jeddah, on February 2, 2023. (Photo by Amer Hilabi / AFP) (Photo by Amer Hilabi/AFP via Getty Images)

The topic of Bryson DeChambeau’s golf equipment future has two important things to consider.

First, what value does Bryson DeChambeau now have to golf equipment makers? While he is exempt into golf’s major championships through 2025 thanks to his win at Winged Foot in 2020, he is suspended from PGA Tour events, which means he will also not be a part of the Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup going forward. Golf fans will only see DeChambeau play in LIV Series events that stream mid-week on The CW app and The CW channel itself on the weekends, so his visibility will be significantly down.

Bryson DeChambeau
Bryson DeChambeau’s 6-degree Cobra driver at the 2019 Arnold Palmer Invitational. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

DeChambeau also uses highly-specialized golf equipment that most golfers would not buy. His drivers typically have only five or six degrees of loft while most recreational golfers need at least nine or 10 degrees, and he has been openly critical of his custom-made gear on several occasions, most notably at the 2021 British Open.

“If I can hit it down the middle of the fairway, that’s great, but with the driver right now, the driver sucks,” he said after an opening-round 71 at Royal St. George’s Golf Club. “It’s not a good face for me, and we’re still trying to figure out how to make it good on the mis-hits. I’m living on the razor’s edge, like I’ve told people for a long time.”

That outburst drew pushback from Cobra and initiated internal discussions within Cobra Puma Golf about Bryson’s future with the brand.

Bryson DeChambeau
Bryson DeChambeau’s 55-degree Cobra wedge at the 2019 Arnold Palmer Invitational. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

The second consideration when discussing DeChambeau and equipment is, does he even want an endorsement deal with a company?

When DeChambeau confirmed that he had signed with LIV last July, he said that it was for four and a half years and the deal was worth more than $125 million. His career PGA Tour earnings are $26,519,235 and he has signed numerous endorsement deals with not only Cobra Puma Golf and Bridgestone. He lists LA Golf, Rolex, NetJets, LocaliQ, NetReturn and Zen WTR as partners on his website and has also had Microsoft, Club Champion and Veritex Bank on his golf bag over the years.

Would signing an equipment deal for a few million dollars a year motivate DeChambeau to sign with a brand?

The downside of remaining an equipment free agent for DeChambeau, aside from the loss of revenue, would be not getting the level of service that Cobra has provided for six years.

Cobra’s PGA Tour rep, Ben Schomin, told Golfweek in 2021 that the brand was continuously designing and making custom driver heads for Bryson. He also plays one-length irons, with each club being the approximate length of a 7-iron (37 1/2″). Schomin himself made significant modifications to Bryson’s clubs over the years.

Without being affiliated with a major brand, getting equipment that fits his swing and style will be challenging.

DeChambeau has viewed the golf world differently for years, but moving forward as an equipment free agent could make getting things in focus much more challenging.

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