TaylorMade Golf Company is an American

sports equipment Sports equipment, also called sporting goods, are the tools, materials, apparel, and gear, which varies in shapes, size, and usage in a particular sport. It includes balls, nets, rackets, protective gears like helmets, goggles, etc. Since th ...

manufacturing company based in

Carlsbad, California Carlsbad is a beach city in the North County area of San Diego County, California, United States. The city is north of downtown San Diego and south of downtown Los Angeles. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. 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, golf divot tool, golf ball marker and devices that aid in the sport. Equipment Balls Originally, gol ...

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 variety o ...

s, balls, and

clothing Clothing (also known as clothes, garments, dress, apparel, or attire) is any item worn on a human human body, body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin s ...

. TaylorMade Golf is currently a

subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company, or daughter company is a company (law), company completely or partially owned or controlled by another company, called the parent company or holding company, which has legal and financial control over the subsidia ...

of Centroid Investment Partners after it was purchased from

KPS Capital Partners KPS Capital Partners is an American investment company that manages KPS Special Situation Funds, a family of investment funds. KPS specifically invests out of two funds raised in October 2019: KPS Special Situations Fund V ($6.12 billion) and KPS ...

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 McHenry is a city in McHenry County, Illinois, United States. It is located about 46 miles northwest of Chicago. Per the 2020 census, the population was 27,135. McHenry was at one time the county seat of McHenry County, which once included adj ...

. He originally had three employees and sold only one item, his newly invented 12-degree loft metalwood. 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 Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

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 goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...

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 in all lowercase since 1949) is a German athletic apparel and footwear corporation headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. It is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the ...

bought Salomon in 1997.

Sale to Adidas (1997)

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 but sold them to KPS Capital Partners in 2017.

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 List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins, PGA Tour wins, ranks second in List of men's major championships winning golfers, men's m ...

and

Rory McIlroy Rory Daniel McIlroy (born 4 May 1989) is a Northern Irish professional golfer who plays on the European Tour and the PGA Tour. He is a former world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking and has spent over 100 weeks in that position du ...

had signed with TaylorMade after Nike's golf division closed. On May 10, 2017 it was announced that

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, who had been with the brand for 15 years.

Sale to Centroid Investment Partners (2022)

On February 3, 2022, the New York Times reported that KPS had hired

Morgan Stanley Morgan Stanley is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered at 1585 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. With offices in 42 countries and more than 80,000 employees, the firm's clients in ...

to run a sale of TaylorMade with a value estimated around US$2 billion. On May 11, 2022, Centroid Investment Partners - a Korean private equity firm - signed a definitive agreement to purchase TaylorMade from KPS.

Sun Day Red (2024)

On February 12, 2024, TaylorMade partnered with

to launch the golfer's apparel line, Sun Day Red. As of January 7, 2025, the tiger logos for Sun Day Red have been challenged by Tigeraire and Puma. Both Oppositions were filed with Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, however, the Tigeraire case has been suspended pending federal litigation.

Parent companies

Salomon Group Salomon SAS is a French sports equipment manufacturing company headquartered in Annecy, France. It was founded in 1947 by François Salomon in the heart of the French Alps and is a major brand in outdoor sports equipment. Salomon is owned by ...

(1984–1997) *

(1997–2017) *

(2017-2022) * Centroid Investment Partners (2022-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 pr ...

s on the leading

tours Tours ( ; ) is the largest city in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabita ...

, including past world number ones such as

, and

Scottie Scheffler Scott Alexander Scheffler (born June 21, 1996) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. He is currently ranked world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking, and has held that position for over 100 weeks. He has won th ...

. Most contracted players will have the majority, if not all, of their playing equipment supplied by the company, including Collin Morikawa, Tommy Fleetwood, Nelly Korda, Brooke Henderson, Charley Hull, and Kai Trump. A few are only contracted for one item.

References

External links

* {{Tiger Woods 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