TaylorMade Golf Company is an American

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

Carlsbad, California Carlsbad is a coastal city in the North County region of San Diego County, California, United States. The city is south of downtown Los Angeles and north of downtown San Diego. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 114,746. ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. The company focuses on the

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, ...

market, producing

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 variet ...

s, balls, and

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 natura ...

. TaylorMade Golf is currently a

subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a ...

of Centroid Investment partners after it was purchased from KPS Capital Partners in May 2021. TaylorMade's initial success came with the innovation of metal drivers, which debuted in 1979 and have subsequently dominated the golf market. In September 2012, ''Outside'' magazine named TaylorMade one of America's "Best Places to Work".

History

Origins in Illinois

TaylorMade incorporated in 1979 after Gary Adams borrowed $24,000 on his house and leased a 6,000 square foot building in McHenry, Illinois. He originally had three employees and sold only one item, his newly invented 12-degree loft

metalwood Metalwood is a Canadian jazz band from Toronto, Ontario. the band was active in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and reunited in 2016. The members are saxophonist Mike Murley, pianist/trumpeter Brad Turner, bassist Chris Tarry and drummer Ian Fro ...

. The metalwood was unique in its steel construction - replacing persimmon as the primary material from which modern drivers are manufactured - and adopted the nickname "

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

Persimmon". Starting with $47,000 in sales in 1979, the company eventually reached its first billion dollars in revenue in 2006, marking only the second time in history that a golf

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 an ...

had achieved this milestone.

Purchase by Salomon Group (1984)

TaylorMade was independently owned until 1984, when Salomon S.A. acquired the company. At the time, the union was strategically compatible for both companies which were innovators in their industries: Salomon wanted to diversify and made the decision to enter a "three-season" market, and TaylorMade benefited from the worldwide resources of Salomon. This ownership maintained until

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 manufacture ...

bought Salomon in 1997.

Sale to Adidas (2005)

Shortly after the Adidas acquisition, the image and focus of TaylorMade were redirected to take over the driver market; the company succeeded in achieving this goal in late 2005, when it officially became the top driver in golf. TaylorMade bought golf clothing companies Ashworth in 2008 and Adams Golf in 2012.

Sale to KPS Capital Partners (2017)

In 2017 it was announced that

Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in PGA Tour wins, ranks second in men's major championships, and holds numerous golf records. * * * Woods is widely regarded as ...

and

Rory McIlroy Rory Daniel McIlroy (born 4 May 1989) is a professional golfer from Northern Ireland who is a member of both the European and PGA Tours. He is the current world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking, and has spent over 100 weeks in ...

had signed with TaylorMade after Nike's golf division closed. On May 10, 2017 it was announced that KPS Capital Partners acquired TaylorMade for US$425 million. The deal was completed in November of 2017. Days after the deal was completed, TaylorMade released a statement to say it had parted company with

Sergio García Sergio García Fernández (; born 9 January 1980) is a Spanish professional golfer. He has played on the European Tour, PGA Tour and LIV Golf Invitational Series. García has won 36 international tournaments as a professional, most notably th ...

, who had been with the brand for 15 years.

Sale to Centroid Investment Partners (2021)

On February 2, 2021 the New York Times reported that KPS had hired

Morgan Stanley Morgan Stanley is an American multinational investment management and financial services company headquartered at 1585 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. With offices in more than 41 countries and more than 75,000 employees, the fir ...

to run a sale of Taylormade with a value estimated around US$2 billion. On May 11, 2021 Centroid Investment Partners - a Korean private equity firm - signed a definitive agreement to purchase Taylormade from KPS for a value of US$1.7 billion.

Parent companies

* Salomon Group (1984–2005) *

(2005–2017) * KPS Capital Partners (2017-2021) * Centroid Investment Partners (2021-present)

Endorsements

As with most golf equipment companies, TaylorMade maintain endorsement deals with many

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 p ...

s on the leading

tours Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the prefecture of the department of Indre-et-Loire. The commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabitants as of 2018 while the population of the whole metro ...

, including past world number ones

, and

Dustin Johnson Dustin Hunter Johnson (born June 22, 1984) is an American professional golfer. He has won two major championships, the 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club with a 4-under-par score of 276 and the 2020 Masters Tournament with a record score ...

. Most contracted players will have the majority, if not all, of their playing equipment supplied by the company. A few are only contracted for one item, such as

Rickie Fowler Rick Yutaka Fowler (born December 13, 1988) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. He was the number one ranked amateur golfer in the world for 36 weeks in 2007 and 2008. On January 24, 2016 he reached a career high fourth ...

whose deal only extends to golf balls.

References

External links

* {{Sports equipment brands 1979 establishments in Illinois 1984 mergers and acquisitions 2005 mergers and acquisitions 2017 mergers and acquisitions 2021 mergers and acquisitions American companies established in 1979 Clothing brands of the United States Companies based in Carlsbad, California Golf equipment manufacturers Golf in the United States Manufacturing companies based in California Manufacturing companies established in 1979 Retail companies based in California Retail companies established in 1979 Sporting goods manufacturers of the United States Sportswear brands