The Nicolette Story
Mike Nicolette is a former American professional golfer who won tournaments at multiple levels over the course of his career. As an amateur Nicolette won the Pennsylvania State Junior Title and as a college golfer the NCAA Division I Championship.
Nicolette won numerous mini-tour events before qualifying for the PGA TOUR where he competed for nine years (1979-1988) and secured nine top-ten finishes. His most notable victory came at the 1983 Bay Hill Invitational.
In 1989 Nicolette accepted a job with PING. During his 23 years with the company Nicolette designed clubs that have been used to win multiple Major
Championships, as well as countless PGA, LPGA and European PGA Tour events. He also contributed to nearly 150 golf related patents.
Nicolette was introduced to Bob Parsons during a casual round of golf and the two became friends. When Parsons decided to explore founding an equipment company, Nicolette was the first person he reached out to. Today, Nicolette is PXG’s Sr Director of Irons Research and Development. He is named on hundreds of PXG patents for golf clubs that have been played and won at every level of the game.
The Nicolette Journey
I spent nine years on the PGA TOUR, and what that time gave me was a deep understanding of the game under pressure. When you’re competing week after week, you start to recognize how small differences in equipment can influence confidence and performance.
Some weeks you’re searching, some weeks everything clicks, but you learn very quickly that the club in your hands has to earn your trust. That experience shaped how I look at golf equipment today. I’ve stood on enough tee boxes and over enough putts to know that performance isn’t theoretical—it has to hold up when it matters.
When my playing career started to wind down, I was incredibly fortunate to be given an opportunity at PING. I wasn’t a degreed engineer. I was a tour player with curiosity about why certain clubs worked better than others. Karsten Solheim and the team there gave me something that, in hindsight, was a true apprenticeship. I was able to learn the craft of club design from the ground up—materials, weighting, acoustics, how small changes influence ball flight and feel.
They trusted a player’s perspective and allowed me to grow into the engineering side of the business. I’ve always been grateful for that opportunity because it showed me that understanding the game and understanding the tools that shape it should live in the same place.
Over the years that work led to designs used to win major championships and hundreds of patents tied to golf equipment innovation. But the real foundation for all of that was the chance to learn the business the right way by listening, experimenting, and never losing sight of the golfer. The best ideas usually come from solving a real problem a player is experiencing.
When Bob Parsons and I started talking about PXG, it was clear this would be different. Bob wanted to build a company where performance drove every decision, not cost constraints or tradition. That kind of environment is rare in equipment design.
From the beginning, the goal was simple, use every tool available in modern engineering to make better clubs, and never stop pushing. What excites me about PXG is that the work is never finished. We’re still learning, still experimenting, and still trying to build clubs that give golfers the same thing every player is looking for when they stand over a shot: confidence and great results.
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You wake up in the morning, what’s the driving passion?
I love this game. Always have.
By the time I got into tournaments at age 14, I was hooked. Golf is hard, and that’s exactly why I love it. It demands something from you every single day.
Now my passion is designing clubs that actually help golfers play better. I put myself in their shoes. What are they fighting? Where are they losing strokes? How do we tighten dispersion? How do we pick up speed without sacrificing control?
If we can help someone hit it straighter, farther, and more consistently, that’s fuel for me. That’s what gets me up in the morning.
How difficult was it transitioning from PGA TOUR player to working behind the scenes in OEM?
Honestly? It felt natural.
When I was on TOUR, I was always tinkering. I was the guy in the truck asking questions. I wanted to know why something worked, not just that it worked.
I’m not a degreed engineer, but I had the privilege of learning under one of the greatest club designers ever. He taught me the fundamentals of mass properties, CG placement, energy transfer, and manufacturing realities. That education was priceless.
I’ve been at PXG for almost 13 years now. What makes it special is the freedom. No handcuffs. No “we can’t do that because of margin.” If it makes the club perform better, we do it.
That’s rare.
You’ve intersected with Karsten Solheim and Bob Parsons. What connects them? What separates them?
Both are disruptors. Period.
Karsten was an engineer’s engineer. He solved problems no one else even saw. He trusted math and intuition. He changed putters forever because he believed there was a better way.
Bob is the same in one key way, he refuses to accept average. But Bob operates with zero fear. No cost constraints. No time constraints. If it takes more machining, more iterations, more testing — we do it.
Karsten was methodical. Bob is a risk-taker and unapologetic. But the DNA is the same: innovate or get out of the way.
You had a close bond with Arnold Palmer. What did he mean to you?
Arnold Palmer was bigger than golf.
Winning the 1983 Bay Hill Classic in a playoff over Greg Norman, at Arnold’s place, that’s something I’ll carry forever.
But what meant more was who he was off the course. He treated everyone the same. Fans. Staff. Players. He understood that the game was bigger than him.
He taught me that character matters. That’s how you represent the game matters.
That’s stayed with me.
What separates PXG from others in the category?
Everything.
PXG is an R&D company that happens to sell golf equipment.
We don’t build to a price point. We build to a performance standard. If it’s not markedly better, it doesn’t ship.
No cost constraints. No time constraints. That’s not marketing, that’s real. It allows us to explore designs other companies won’t even attempt.
And then there’s fitting. We don’t sell clubs. We fit golfers. That’s a massive difference.
Our mission is simple: build the world’s finest golf equipment. Full stop.
Who is harder to fit — a Tour pro or a recreational player?
Neither. They’re just different puzzles.
Fitting is about listening, measuring, testing, refining. When you get it right, you see it immediately in ball flight. That’s the fun part.
What 2026 equipment innovation will resonate most?
Performance you can see.
With Lightning Woods, we introduced Frequency Tuned Face. That’s about optimizing vibration modes to maximize ball speed and tighten dispersion.
Combine that with our Spined Sole Design and you get stability, better acoustics, and more efficient energy transfer. Translation? More speed. More forgiveness. Tighter downrange pattern.
GEN8 Irons introduce Dual Perimeter Weighting. Two independent weight ports that let us fine-tune heel and toe mass for each golfer.
That’s real customization, not just marketing adjustability. Add QuantumCOR and you get explosive distance with a soft, solid feel.
On the USGA/R&A rollback — can it succeed and how will golfers react?
The game evolves. It always has.
Whatever the governing bodies decide, we’ll engineer within those parameters. That’s our job.
One course. Three playing partners. Where and who?
Forest Highlands – Canyon Course (Flagstaff, Arizona).
Paul Obermeyer – My golf coach on TOUR who also taught me to respect all walks of people no matter their standing in life.
Bob Parsons – More fun on the golf course than anyone I have ever played with. He also helped me through many tough situations and gave me the opportunity to be a part of something special – PXG.
Brad Schweigert – My best friend. I need to give him the opportunity to beat me when I’m at my best!
Best advice you ever received?
Bob Parsons: “Great opportunities may only come once in a lifetime. If one is in front of you — take it!”
That stuck. It’s easy to focus on competition and performance. But golf gave me a career, friendships, perspective, and now the chance to build a company and equipment that helps others enjoy it more.
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For more info go to:
Parsons Xtreme Golf | Custom Fit Golf Clubs
