MacGregor Golf is a

sports equipment Sports equipment, sporting equipment, also called sporting goods, are the tools, materials, apparel, and gear used to compete in a sport and varies depending on the sport. The equipment ranges from balls, nets, and protective gear like helmets. ...

manufacturing company based in

Albany, Georgia Albany ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Georgia. Located on the Flint River, it is the seat of Dougherty County, and is the sole incorporated city in that county. Located in southwest Georgia, it is the principal city of the Albany, Georgia ...

, which specializes in

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

. MacGregor currently produces a wide range of

golf club A golf club is a club used to hit a golf ball in a game of golf. Each club is composed of a shaft with a grip and a club head. Wood (golf), Woods are mainly used for long-distance fairway or tee shots; iron (golf), irons, the most versatile class ...

s, bags, and accessories. The company roots can be traced to 1829, with the establishment of "Dayton Last Company", a maker of hand-carved wooden

last A last is a mechanical form shaped like a human foot. It is used by shoemakers and cordwainers in the manufacture and repair of shoes. Lasts typically come in pairs and have been made from various materials, including hardwoods, cast iron, and ...

s for footwear. Adding partners in subsequent decades, current company was officially founded in 1897 as the "Crawford, McGregor & Canby Company", becoming one of the first American manufacturers of

golf clubs A golf club is a club used to hit a golf ball in a game of golf. Each club is composed of a shaft with a grip and a club head. Woods are mainly used for long-distance fairway or tee shots; irons, the most versatile class, are used for a variety ...

—items which also included heavy percentages of wooden components.

History

Origins

MacGregor Golf dates its corporate origins to 1829, when Archibald and Ziba Crawford arrived in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...

, to begin the manufacture of hand-carved wooden footwear lasts for the manufacture of shoes.Carl V. Roberts
"This Centennial is Second Some Firms Have Seen,"
Dayton History Books Online, www.daytonhistorybooks.com/ Their product was successful and they expanded the operation to include four or five hired workmen under the firm name Dayton Last Works, with a concentration on shoe lasts, which firm continued for a number of decades."MacGregor, Dayton, Ohio,"
Antique Golf Clubs of Scotland, www.antiquegolfscotland.com/ The firm was joined by John McGregor in 1874 and Edward Canby in 1886 so that by 1897 the company had taken the name "Crawford, McGregor & Canby", with its base of operations remaining in Dayton, being officially constituted. Golf shafts of the early 20th century being made of wood rather than the metal,

fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass cloth ...

, and other materials of today, in 1897 the company made the transition from footwear lasts to clubmaking, becoming one of the first American manufacturers of golf clubs. During the 1930s Crawford, McGregor & Canby was acquired by the Goldsmith Company to form MacGregor-Goldsmith. The new owners found the name "MacGregor" to be stronger than "Goldsmith" in the marketplace and subsequently changed the name of the firm to MacGregor.

Ownership changes

Having previously been owned by the Wickes Corporation, and before that the

Brunswick Corporation Brunswick Corporation, formerly known as the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, is an American corporation that has been developing, manufacturing and marketing a wide variety of products since 1845. Today, Brunswick has more than 13,000 employ ...

Amer Sports Amer Sports Oyj is a Finnish sporting goods retailer and holding company overseeing equipment brands Salomon, Arc'teryx, Peak Performance, Atomic, Suunto, Wilson, Armada, ENVE Composites, Louisville Slugger, DeMarini, and Sports Tracker.

acquired a majority 80% stake in MacGregor from

Jack Nicklaus Jack William Nicklaus (born January 21, 1940), nicknamed The Golden Bear, is a retired American professional golfer and List of golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus, golf course designer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest go ...

in the mid-1980s for a reported $8 million. With MacGregor's fortunes deteriorating, in 1997 Amer sold the company to a British-led

consortium A consortium (plural: consortia) is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations or governments (or any combination of these entities) with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources for ...

. The firm changed hands again the following August with its acquisition by equity investment company The Parkside Group. In 2003, MacGregor regained control of MacGregor Golf Japan from

Suntory (commonly referred to as simply Suntory) is a Japanese multinational brewing and distilling company group. Established in 1899, it is one of the oldest companies in the distribution of alcoholic beverages in Japan, and makes Japanese whisky. Its ...

, and in 2006, along with

Greg Norman Gregory John Norman AO (born 10 February 1955) is an Australian entrepreneur and retired professional golfer who spent 331 weeks as world number one in the 1980s and 1990s. He won 89 professional tournaments, including 20 PGA Tour tournament ...

co-acquired the Greg Norman Collection brand of sports apparel from

Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized as adidas since 1949) is a German multinational corporation, founded and headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, that designs and manufactures shoes, clothing and accessories. It is the largest sportswear manufactur ...

. In May 2009, MacGregor was acquired by Golfsmith International and Norman stepped down as chairman. Golfsmith owned the company until the retailer fell into bankruptcy in 2016.Golfsmith's bankruptcy rumors were true
on Fortune.com, September 2016 Golfsmith's assets, including MacGregor Golf, were later acquired by

Dick's Sporting Goods Dick's Sporting Goods, Inc. (stylized as "DICK'S Sporting Goods") is an American sporting goods retail company, based in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania. The company was established by Richard "Dick" Stack in 1948, and has approximately 854 stores an ...

Sponsorship deals

In addition to its long association with

, MacGregor has had endorsement deals with many top

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

s including

José María Olazábal José María Olazábal Manterola (, ; born 5 February 1966) is a Spanish professional golfer from the Basque region who has enjoyed success on both the European Tour and the PGA Tour, and has won two major championships, both at The Masters. ...

and

Lee Janzen Lee McLeod Janzen (born August 28, 1964) is an American professional golfer who is best known for winning the U.S. Open twice in 1993 and 1998. He currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions, and was an eight-time winner on the PGA Tour. Early y ...

Footnotes

External links