The Acushnet Company is an American company focused on the

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 ...

market. The company operates a series of

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create ...

s that manufacture

golf equipment Golf equipment encompasses the various items that are used to play the sport of golf. Types of equipment include the golf ball, golf clubs, and devices that aid in the sport. Equipment Balls Originally, golf balls were made of a hardwood, s ...

, clothing and accessories. The principal brands operated by Acushnet are

Titleist Titleist (pronounced "title-ist") is an American brand name of golf equipment produced by the Acushnet Company, headquartered in Fairhaven, Massachusetts, United States. The Titleist brand, established in 1932 by Phillip E. Young, focuses on gol ...

, best known for balls and

clubs Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a '' Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...

; Footjoy, an apparel brand with particular focus on shoes and gloves;

Scotty Cameron Scotty Cameron is an American sports equipment brand established by Don T. "Scotty" Cameron (born 8 November 1962), a golf club manufacturer primarily known for making putters. Scotty Cameron is part of the Acushnet Company brand portfolio since ...

, a leading

putter A putter is a club used in the sport of golf to make relatively short and low-speed strokes with the intention of rolling the ball into the hole from a short distance away. It is differentiated from the other clubs (typically, irons and woods ...

brand; Vokey Design, a leading brand of

wedge A wedge is a triangular shaped tool, and is a portable inclined plane, and one of the six simple machines. It can be used to separate two objects or portions of an object, lift up an object, or hold an object in place. It functions by converti ...

; Union Green, a golf ball and accessory brand marketed to casual players; and Pinnacle, a brand of distance ball.

History

Founded in

Acushnet, Massachusetts Acushnet () is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 10,559 at the 2020 census. History Acushnet was first settled in 1659. It has been included as a part of three separate towns throughout its history. It ...

by Philip E. "Skipper" Young in 1910, the "Acushnet Process Company" focused on deresinating

latex Latex is an emulsion (stable dispersion) of polymer microparticles in water. Latexes are found in nature, but synthetic latexes are common as well. In nature, latex is found as a milky fluid found in 10% of all flowering plants (angiosperms ...

and supplying

rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Thailand, Malaysia, an ...

to industry, and over time began to make their own rubber-based products including water bottles and bathing caps. Eventually, Acushnet Process became a manufacturer of golf equipment, principally, golf balls. In 1932, the company sectioned into two divisions: Rubber and Golf, both of which became quite successful. Three years later, the Golf division produced the

golf ball, which has consistently been the company's most successful product. In 1976, the company was purchased by American Brands (now known as Fortune Brands). In 1995, Fortune sold off the Acushnet Company's Acushnet Rubber division, which was Acushnet's original business (circa early 1900s). Fortune Brands announced on December 8, 2010, that it planned to focus on its liquor business, and would spin off or sell other parts of the company — including home furnishings and hardware, and Acushnet (which includes

, FootJoy, Scotty Cameron, and other golf product brands).Aaron Smith
Jim Beam, neat, is company's new strategy
''CNN Money'', December 8, 2010.
''The Wall Street Journal'', December 8, 2010.
, ''Lake Country News-Sun'', December 9, 2010. On May 20, 2011 it was announced that a Korean group associated with Fila Korea, Ltd. and Mirae Asset Private Equity would purchase Acushnet for $1.23 billion in cash. The deal was completed on July 29, 2011. On October 28, 2016, Acushnet was listed on the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed ...

via an

initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investme ...

. In August 2018, Fila Korea acquired a controlling stake with the purchase of an additional 20% from several other investors, including Mirae Asset, to take their holdings to 53.1%.

Operations

Acushnet employs roughly 3000 people in Massachusetts, making it one of the largest employers in the region. It is headquartered in

Fairhaven, Massachusetts Fairhaven (Massachusett: ) is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is located on the South Coast of Massachusetts where the Acushnet River flows into Buzzards Bay, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean. The town shares a harbor wi ...

alongside its Packing and Distribution Center about three miles (five kilometres) south of its original location. They also have two golf ball manufacturing plants and an R&D Technology Center located in the New Bedford Industrial Park, as well as a Custom Golf Ball plant located in New Bedford. Acushnet currently operates several facilities, many of which are in Massachusetts, as follows: * Ball Plant 2: Acushnet Company, 256 Samuel Barnett Boulevard, North Dartmouth, MA 02747 * Ball Plant 3: Acushnet Company, 215 Duchaine Boulevard, New Bedford, MA 02746 * Ball Plant C: Acushnet Company, 700 Belleville Avenue, New Bedford, MA 02746 * Ball Plant 4: Acushnet Titleist (Thailand) Ltd. Hemaraj Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate/Free Zone, 500/40 Moo 3 Tambon Tasit, Amphur Pluakdaeng, Rayong 21140 * Distribution: Acushnet Company, 333 Bridge Street, Fairhaven, MA 02719 * R&D Center: Acushnet Company, 181 Samuel Barnett Boulevard, North Dartmouth, MA 02747

Brands

Acushnet Company's primary brands are Footjoy,

and Vokey.

FootJoy

FootJoy is a golf

clothing Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials and natural ...

company based in Massachusetts and founded in 1857. Footjoy was acquired by the Acushnet Company in 1985 from

General Mills General Mills, Inc., is an American multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded processed consumer foods sold through retail stores. Founded on the banks of the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in Minneapolis, the company orig ...

. Currently, FootJoy is the number one seller of golf shoes and gloves in the United States. FootJoy products include

athletic shoes Sneakers (also called trainers, athletic shoes, tennis shoes, gym shoes, kicks, sport shoes, flats, running shoes, or runners) are shoes primarily designed for sports or other forms of physical exercise, but which are now also widely used fo ...

, golf gloves, clothing ( shirts,

shorts Shorts are a garment worn over the pelvic area, circling the waist and splitting to cover the upper part of the legs, sometimes extending down to the knees but not covering the entire length of the leg. They are called "shorts" because they ...

pants Trousers (British English), slacks, or pants are an item of clothing worn from the waist to anywhere between the knees and the ankles, covering both legs separately (rather than with cloth extending across both legs as in robes, skirts, and ...

, socks,

sweater A sweater (North American English) or pullover, also called a jumper (British English and Australian English), ...

, jackets,

hoodie A hoodie (in some cases spelled hoody and alternatively known as a hooded sweatshirt) is a sweatshirt with a hood. Hoodies with zippers usually include two pockets on the lower front, one on either side of the zipper, while "pullover" hoodie ...

s,), and accessories ( bags, gloves,

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

umbrella An umbrella or parasol is a folding canopy supported by wooden or metal ribs that is usually mounted on a wooden, metal, or plastic pole. It is designed to protect a person against rain or sunlight. The term ''umbrella'' is traditionally use ...

s).

Scotty Cameron

Scotty Cameron is a

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. Woods are mainly used for long-distance fairway or tee shots; irons, the most versatile class, are used for a variety ...

designer who specializes in high-end putters. Cameron currently resides and has based his company, Scotty Cameron, in California. Cameron made his first putters using his mother-in-law's garage as his factory. After working with several golf companies, Scotty would accept a deal with Titleist. Later, Cameron created a "Custom Shop" where users and collectors can customize their putter by ordering a custom paint fill, engraving, shaft band and grip along with other options. Players can also bring in their older Scotty Cameron Putter and have them repaired. Cameron's putters, the most storied of which are inspired by Karsten Solheim's (PING) original designs (Anser, Zing, B60) are named after popular California beach towns (Newport Beach, Laguna Beach) and Northern California counties renowned for their golf, wine, and leisure tourism (Sonoma, Napa, Monterey). His original designs, usually mallet putters, are often named using ad hoc wordplay. Cameron is a master of prestige branding, going so far as to trademark (under the Acushnet name) the acronym "G.S.S." or German stainless steel. "G.S.S." is simply 303 stainless imported from Germany and used in Cameron's more exclusive releases. It is molecularly identical to other 303 steels.

Titleist

Established by Phillip E. "Skipper" Young, a graduate of

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

in 1932, the brand is focused on

golf balls A golf ball is a special ball designed to be used in the game of golf. Under the rules of golf, a golf ball has a mass no more than , has a diameter not less than , and performs within specified velocity, distance, and symmetry limits. Like g ...

. The ''Titleist'' balls have been produced by Acushnet since 1935. Titleist's balls were also the most used balls at the 1949 U.S. Open.

Vokey Design

The Vokey brand was established by Bob Vokey (b. 1939), a Canadian craftsman who left his home country to establish in the U.S. As his attempts as a golfer failed, Vokey started manufacturing

s.Who is Bob Vokey
on Vokey website 24 Aug 2020

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 1910 establishments in Massachusetts 2011 mergers and acquisitions 2016 initial public offerings American companies established in 1910 Clothing companies established in 1910 Companies based in New Bedford, Massachusetts Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange Fortune Brands brands Golf equipment manufacturers Manufacturing companies established in 1910 Shoe companies of the United States Sporting goods manufacturers of the United States