The company that generates the data that enables golf equipment companies to make claims about professional tour equipment usage is in a serious dispute with the PGA Tour, one that could bring an end to a decades-long business arrangement.
The Darrell Survey conducts weekly equipment counts on the PGA Tour and other circuits and sells the data it collects from players to golf equipment companies. This helps ensure that tour pros are abiding by contractual equipment-usage agreements, and it also enables equipment manufacturers to make marketing claims about usage of their implements among the best players in the world.
The Los Angeles-based company, owned since 1980 by Susan Naylor, employs people to stand on the first and 10th tees at professional and amateur tournaments to collect usage information. On the PGA Tour, it has done so under what is essentially a handshake agreement.
In February 2025, the PGA Tour approached Naylor to inform her that the tour would require a more formal relationship with a written agreement affirming that the tour owns the equipment data collected at its tournaments, according to PGA Tour and equipment industry sources. The tour sought to maintain the existing arrangement and offered Naylor a multiyear agreement under which the tour would receive a nominal fee.
Naylor and her legal team have delayed responding to the tour, and the parties have yet to sign an agreement; at one point, Naylor brought in a new legal team and the conversation went from a typical business negotiation to one marked by hostility, according to the sources. In response, the tour has informed the Darrell Survey that it would accept bids from other providers starting April 27 and will consider its proposal for services on equal footing with other providers after that date.
The Darrell Survey does not agree with the sources’ presented timeline, nor with the characterization of the tone of the conversations, which is not accurate, a company spokesperson said. The company released the following statement regarding the dispute to GGPBiz:
“For over 80 years, Darrell Survey has served as the golf industry’s independent auditor for equipment manufacturers – collecting, verifying, and reporting in-the-bag and other data in connection with player sponsorship agreements. That independence is the foundation for the trust players have placed in Darrell to review and report on their most confidential equipment information.
“Players, not Darrell, control their equipment data. Darrell does not use or share that data beyond its auditing obligations. Darrell’s commitment is to those players.
“Darrell remains committed to finding a workable path forward with the PGA Tour – one that serves the legitimate needs of the tour, manufacturers, and players alike.”
In the modern era of equipment marketing, the data has enabled equipment makers to make claims about tour usage, such as the No. 1 ball in golf, the No. 1 driver on tour or the most-used iron brand at a specific tournament.
The PGA Tour’s position regarding ownership of players’ equipment data is grounded in the equipment survey data policy outlined in its player handbook and tournament guidelines. The policy states:
“Consistent with historical practice and the terms and conditions of the credentials issued to players and their representatives, the PGA Tour retains ownership of all competition-related data collected onsite at PGA Tour, Korn Ferry Tour, PGA Tour Champions, and PGA Tour Americas events including, but not limited to information pertaining to player equipment for purposes including, but not limited to reflecting competitive conditions at its events. The Tour does not intend to commercialize or monetize individual data in a manner that would interfere with or compromise the relationship between a player and their equipment manufacturer.”
Equipment usage and adoption among tour players closely correlates with consumer purchasing behavior. Eddie Darrell started the survey bearing his name in 1932 by traveling with the PGA Tour and manually recording the clubs and balls used by every professional player. He operated the business with his wife, Virginia, until his death in 1972. Virginia Darrell took over road operations following Eddie’s death. She was later joined by Naylor (formerly Susan Minkley), who helped run the survey as they traveled to tournaments.
Naylor purchased the company from Virginia in 1980. Along with her brother, John Minkley, she modernized the business by establishing permanent offices in Los Angeles and computerizing data management.
Today, the Darrell Survey collects data from tournaments on the PGA Tour, PGA Tour Champions, Korn Ferry Tour and LPGA Tour, as well as USGA amateur and professional events, the Open Championship and NCAA championships. It does not collect data from the DP World Tour; that service is provided by Sporting Insights.
Representatives observe and record every item in a player’s bag – including clubs, shafts, grips and balls – before the first round begins. The data is quickly tabulated and delivered overnight to equipment manufacturers, who pay an annual license fee for the service.
Originally, the survey was a tool for manufacturers to audit sponsorships, ensuring that players were actually using the equipment they were contracted to play. In the modern era of equipment marketing, the data has enabled equipment makers to make claims about tour usage, such as the No. 1 ball in golf, the No. 1 driver on tour or the most-used iron brand at a specific tournament.