Opinion & Analysis

Report: Golfsmith files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

Published

10 years ago

Sep 14, 2016

Waves of doom and gloom continue to wash over the golf equipment world.

The latest news is that Golfsmith, the North American golf equipment and apparel retailer, officially announced on Wednesday that it will be filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, according to Bloomberg Markets.

The Austin, Texas-based company, which has 109 stores in the United States, is “hoping to attract a buyer willing save the chain of golf clothing and equipment stores,” as stated in the report, and “listed debt and assets of as much as $500 million each in Delaware court.”

Golfsmith and its Canadian equivalent, Golf Town, which has 50 stores currently in operation, merged in 2012 and are both owned by OMERS Private Equity Inc.

“(OMERS) owes $100 million on an asset-backed loan and C$125 million ($95 million) in second-lien notes that come due in 2018,” the report says.

Golf Town is said to have an offer from a joint venture (Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. and CI Investments Inc.) willing to purchase the business, but that will be handled in a separate bankruptcy case, Bloomberg says. Golfsmith, on the other hand, “will try to restructure its operations by closing weak stores and refinancing debt.”

This news, of course, comes on the heels of Nike Golf closing its hard goods sector, and Adidas announcing its wishes to sell off TaylorMade.

Opinion & Analysis

AVL: My U.S. Amateur local qualifying experience

Published

6 days ago

Jun 5, 2026

Andrew Von Lossow

This past Monday, I played in the U.S. Amateur local qualifier at Rock Creek Country Club in Portland, Oregon. A full tee sheet from 7:30 a.m. to 1:55 p.m., the top 11 scores would make it to the U.S. Amateur final qualifying.

I teed off at 10:48 a.m.. With the 7:30 am tee time, you can get a feel for the leaders’ pace, and they were off and running on the challenging setup at Rock Creek.

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Getting to the highlight of the round on the par five 17th, a drive up the left side and 212 yards left to the front hole location. I took out a 5-iron with plans of middle of the green. The ball ended up 8 feet left of the hole, pin high. A slight downhill putt dropped in for an eagle 3 on the 17th. With the cut line looking to be anywhere from -2 to even par. This was the boost I had been waiting for all day.

With making par from the trees on 18, it was time to wait for a potential playoff with a posted score of one under par 71.

Three hours later, it was playoff time. 8 players for 6 spots. I made par on the playoff hole, which was good enough to advance to the U.S. Amateur final qualifying in July. USGA qualifiers sure deliver on all of the emotions in golf!

Club Junkie

Building my 2026 gamer WITB: Ranking the contenders and new putter projects – Club Junkie Podcast

Published

7 days ago

Jun 4, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

The annual What’s In The Bag build is underway, and on this episode of Club Junkie, Brian breaks down the clubs currently leading the race for a spot in his 2026 gamer setup. From drivers and fairway woods to irons, wedges, and shafts, he ranks the equipment that’s performing best and explains what’s separating the front runners from the rest of the field.

Brian also heads into the workshop to discuss several putter projects currently on the bench. From head options and shaft choices to build ideas and testing plans, he shares what he’s working on and which putters could become serious contenders for the bag this season.

If you’re a gear junkie who loves equipment testing, club building, and the never-ending pursuit of the perfect setup, this episode is for you.

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Club Junkie

Tour Edge Exotics mini driver review + TaylorMade Spider ZT Max first look – Club Junkie

Published

2 weeks ago

May 28, 2026

Brian Knudson

On this episode of Club Junkie, I put the new Tour Edge Exotics Mini Driver to the test and break down the performance, forgiveness, distance, and where it fits compared to a traditional driver or strong fairway wood. If you have been curious about adding a mini driver to the bag, this one is worth a look.

I also dive into the new TaylorMade Spider ZT Max putter that was recently spotted and discuss the growing zero torque putter trend. Plus, there is a closer look at the new Project X Titan Yellow shaft showing up on the PGA Tour and what makes it different from other profiles currently out there.