LPGA star Lexi Thompson didn’t have to wait long for a new golf ball deal.

DICK’S Sporting Goods is today announcing that it has signed Thompson to an exclusive golf ball endorsement deal. Thompson will be the Maxfli Tour Series ball throughout the 2024 season and, presumably, beyond that.

Thompson will also serve as a brand ambassador and spokesperson for Maxfli. She’ll also be involved in the development of the next generation of Maxfli Tour golf balls, due out in 2025.

Folks, this is a certifiably big freaking deal on many levels. But first, let’s unpack the details.

From Bridgestone To Maxfli

As MyGolfSpy first reported this past weekend, Thompson and Bridgestone officially split after their six-year agreement concluded at the end of 2023. The 28-year-old Thompson is a 13-year veteran of the LPGA Tour, with 11 victories and two majors on her resume.

“I’ve been testing the Maxfli Tour Series for a few months now, and the Maxfli Tour ball exceeded my expectations,” Thompson says in a prepared statement. “The ball fits my game extremely well, increasing my ball speed without sacrificing control.”

The new deal begins immediately, as Thompson will put the Maxfli in play this week at the LPGA Drive On Championship in Bradenton, Florida.

In a press release, DICK’S Sporting Goods says Thompson will be the face of Maxfli in its marketing efforts and will participate in product testing and innovation.

“Lexi is a remarkable golfer, and I can’t think of a better player to have join the Maxfli family as an exclusive partner,” said Aimee Watters, Vertical Brand Marketing VP for DICK’S Sporting Goods. “Becoming only the seventh woman to compete in a PGA event is so impressive, and we know there is more to come.”

Why Is This a Big Deal?

Make no mistake, this is a big deal for DICK’S Sporting Goods. It marks the company’s next step in its efforts to be a player in golf equipment. And Thompson is the first “big name” Tour pro to put Maxfli, or any of DICK’S other brands, into play.

DICK’S has put much effort into both the Maxfli and Tommy Armour brands, rescuing both from the scrap heap of being labeled basement-level store brands. Both brands have been solid-to-outstanding performers in MyGolfSpy testing in recent years. And now Maxfli at least is getting much-desired Tour validation.

In fact, Thompson’s deal with DICK’S Sporting Goods may very well be the first deal between a Tour pro and a store brand since Golfsmith signed Payne Stewart and Ben Crenshaw to Lynx equipment deals in 1999.

Tour validation matters in the golf equipment space. While there are certainly high-performing balls and clubs that aren’t played on Tour, every one of those manufacturers regularly faces the same question from consumers: If this is so good, how come no one plays it on Tour?

Maxfli doesn’t have to answer that question anymore.

The Maxfli Journey

The Maxfli brand is one of the oldest in golf. In the early 1920s, A.E. Penfold, then working for the Dunlop Company in England, developed the very first golf ball bearing the Maxfli name in 1922. Maxfli quickly became Dunlop’s flagship and turned into a mid-century powerhouse as part of the Dunlop-Slazenger partnership.

Maxfli remained a premium brand well into the 1990s. In early 2002, Dunlop-Slazenger entered into a licensing and distribution agreement with TaylorMade-adidas. By the end of that year, TaylorMade-adidas exercised its option to my the Maxfli brand outright. The arrangement made TaylorMade an instant player in the golf ball market. At the beginning of 2002, the company’s ball market share was less than one percent. By the end of the year, it had grown to 7.5 percent.

TaylorMade-adidas supported both the TaylorMade and Maxfli brands through 2007, ultimately selling the Maxfli brand name to DICK’S in February 2008. TaylorMade retained the Noodle brand name and all of Maxfli’s golf ball patents.

Maxfli became DICK’S store brand, selling serviceable but unremarkable golf balls until 2019 when it introduced the Maxfli Tour and Tour X lines. Maxfli was the surprise performer in MyGolfSpy’s 2019 Golf Ball Test and has been a consistent-to-exceptional performer ever since.

What This Means for Maxfli

Other than Tiger, there aren’t many needle-movers in golf. While her Tour success has been spotty, Thompson is one of the best-known American golfers on the LPGA. Whether this deal instantly boosts Maxfli sales is unknown, it does offer that much sought-after Tour validation.

And Thompson most likely won’t be the last Tour pro to sign on with DICK’S Sporting Goods.

Cynics may say any deal is only about the money, and there is plenty of history to support such cynicism. Payne Stewart’s famously ill-fated deal with Spalding/Top-Flite in the mid-’90s almost killed his career. And Bubba Watson’s multi-year arrangement with Volvik didn’t make it past year one.

But Thompson’s Maxfli deal might just be the outlier. As we’ve shown in our ball tests, Maxfli’s Tour Series balls perform on par with the established names. And Maxfli has also scored remarkably well in our Ball Lab testing for quality and consistency. So this deal isn’t a matter of a mid-level brand outkicking its coverage. It can be viewed as an aspiration and a rising brand taking the next step in its journey.

Even if that brand is a store brand.

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