Where Are TaylorMade Clubs Made?
TaylorMade, one of the biggest golf clubs and gear companies in the USA, has a storied and fascinating history.
Starting in a small building, TaylorMade burst onto the scene in the early 1980s, touting an innovative metal wood that revolutionized and changed the PGA Tour forever.
Since that splash onto the market, the company has grown exponentially, allowing TaylorMade to join up with one of the biggest shoe companies in the world, Adidas, to become a juggernaut and very attractive to capital partners.
Since its inception, TaylorMade Golf has been sold a few times, and its story offers insight into why it is one of the biggest sports companies in the country.
In this article, we’ll give you the history of TaylorMade Golf Clubs and interesting tidbits on how the company has become as large as other big golf companies such as Titleist.
Brief History of the TaylorMade Golf Company
A Korean private equity firm, Centroid Investment Partners, owns TaylorMade. The firm acquired TaylorMade from KPS Capital Partners in 2021.
Before KPS Capital Partners purchased the company in 2017, TaylorMade was a subsidy of Adidas for close to 20 years before the acquisition.
The partnership with Adidas enabled TaylorMade to expand its endorsement deals with professional golfers and become an absolute behemoth in the driver market.
TaylorMade’s R-series drivers, plus their stunning Stealth line, have been mainstays on professional tours and a symbol of excellence.
The company was founded by Gary Adams in 1979 when the club designer sought to build a metal driver that would offer superior performance to the day’s persimmon wood-based drivers.
In three short years, Adams had the metal driver on the PGA Tour, and his invention led to the move to metal drivers on all professional tours.
Who are Centroid Investment Partners?
Headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, Centroid Investment Partners keep a relatively low profile, but they’ve made a notable acquisition by purchasing TaylorMade Golf Clubs.
For a purchase price of $1.7 billion, the Korean private equity firm became a heavy hitter in the golf club manufacturing industry.
Centroid Investment Partners are run day-to-day by the company’s CEO, Jinhyeok Jeong. The company started under Jeong’s watch in 2015 and became a fast riser in Korea’s business market, growing assets to $2.1 billion from just $65 million in 2018.
The CEO witnessed the meteoric rise in golf participation during the COVID-19 pandemic and decided to purchase TaylorMade during this uptick in popularity.
“We believe the pandemic accelerated the growth of golf, just like remote working and virtual communication,” Jeong told Forbes in 2023.
In 2020, during the height of the pandemic, golf witnessed over 3 million new participants play the sport, a massive jump in participation in the USA.
Around the same time, Centroid Investment Partners acquired South Springs Golf Club, a prestigious and exclusive golf course in South Korea.
The move for South Springs signaled a significant move into the golf industry for Centroid, and the firm followed that with a partnership with Korean billionaire’s F&F firm to purchase TaylorMade from KPS Capital Partners for $1.7 billion.
Along with the acquisition of TaylorMade, the USA saw golf participation increase to a record 25.6 million Americans.
The increase came with the introduction of golf facilities with an entertainment slant, such as Callaway purchasing TopGolf and TaylorMade’s partnership with Tiger Woods for Popstroke.
Jeong believes the popularity of TopGolf and Popstroke will continue to fuel new golfers in the USA, placing TaylorMade in a prime position to dominate the golf club market in future years.
What golf clubs does TaylorMade offer?
TaylorMade Golf Company, home to golfing legends Rory Mcilroy and Tiger Woods, has dominated the driver market in recent memory.
Their latest offering, the Qi10 Driver, has made a tremendous splash on the PGA and LPGA Tour.
The new club offers the company’s popular innovations, such as the Speed Pocket behind the face and Twist-Face Technology, plus premium graphite shaft material and adjustable weights that offer total customization.
When it comes to irons, the company produces some of the best players and game-improvement irons on the market today.
The club models include the very popular P770 and P790 forged iron sets that have become extremely popular among mid and low handicappers. Their new Qi10 irons are popular among mid and high handicappers.
TaylorMade golf clubs also offer forged irons that professional golfers play on the links. These new clubs are expertly milled, offering premium workability with penetrating flight.
When it comes to wedges, TaylorMade offers the MG series, which is short for milled grind.
Which golfers have received endorsement deals from TaylorMade?
Some of TaylorMade’s biggest endorsement deals came in 2017 after Nike folded their golf equipment department. TaylorMade signed Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods to long-term deals to promote and play the company’s golf clubs.
Tiger created his iron line, the P7TW irons while playing the company’s top drivers on the course.
Other professional golfers under TaylorMade’s umbrella include Dustin Johnson, Collin Morikawa, Nelly Korda, Tommy Fleetwood, and Jason Day.
These famous golfers have dramatically increased the company’s exposure, allowing TaylorMade to become one of the top companies in the golf world.
Who founded TaylorMade?
Gary Adams founded TaylorMade in 1979 in McHenry, Illinois. The inventor, hoping to create a metal wood that far outperformed persimmon woods, took out a $24,000 loan on his house to rent a 6,000-square-foot building that would serve as TaylorMade headquarters.
The driver, a 12-degree model using only metal, was unveiled at the PGA Merchandise show the following year. With only three mock metal heads in his briefcase, Adams found interest that led to increased production.
The metal wood took off in 1982 when a journeyman PGA Tour pro named Jim Simons first used a TaylorMade metal club in tournament play. By the end of the 1982 season, roughly half of the players on the PGA Tour adopted the new metal wood.
Two years after its explosion onto the PGA Tour, Simons sold TaylorMade to the Salomon Group, a ski manufacturer located in France.
Adams’ struggle to expand the company internationally forced the sale to Salomon and allowed the inventor to secure the health of TaylorMade for generations to come.
The Salomon Group owned TaylorMade until 1997 when they sold the company to Adidas. Under the company known for its athletic shoes, TaylorMade flourished, becoming a top worldwide golf equipment manufacturer.
What are TaylorMade’s most popular golf clubs historically?
TaylorMade’s first driver, the Tour, upended professional golf due to its metal construction.
Looking back at the driver, the club head size isn’t much bigger than a hybrid, but for pros playing persimmon wood-based drivers, the boost in distance and accuracy was jaw-dropping.
In 1995, TaylorMade introduced the Burner Bubble Drivers series. The copper Bubble shaft, made from graphite, offered a lighter feel and helped increase swing speed. Over the last 30 years, the Burner Bubble shaft has inspired all golf clubs from various brands.
The company has replicated the Bubble Burner driver with their recent release of the BRNR Mini-Driver. The compact driver, with the loft of a fairway wood, has become popular on the PGA Tour with players who want more accuracy from their mid-range golf clubs.
In 2004, TaylorMade Golf Clubs introduced the first-ever hybrid, the Rescue Mid. The hybrid gave players a golf club that bridged the yardage gap from fairways to irons. For seniors and slow swing speed players, the hybrid offered an accurate weapon that worked well from any lie.
TaylorMade’s R7 Quad Driver, introduced in 2004, was the first golf club with moveable weight technology. The company’s current Qi10 Driver has elevated the moveable weight game with sliding weights to customize the shot shape.
And one of the company’s most important innovations came in 2010 with the first 5-layer golf balls. Much like TaylorMade’s TP5 golf ball, their Penta TP made a huge splash with pro and serious players due to its combination of soft feel and firm distance.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is TaylorMade golf equipment made?
TaylorMade has moved its manufacturing process to China and Vietnam. At these locations, TaylorMade produces its popular golf clubs and golf balls.
Although TaylorMade’s headquarters are in California, these other countries in Asia handle the bulk of its manufactured equipment. By hosting its manufacturing plants in these countries, TaylorMade can lower the final club cost for the consumer.
How do I know if my TaylorMade clubs are authentic?
Although there are several ways to tell if your TaylorMade golf clubs are authentic, the easiest method is to check the serial number placed along the hosel.
The serial number is tiny, so you may need additional light or a magnifying glass to find the number. Once you’ve found the number, you can enter it into the TaylorMade website to authenticate the specific piece of equipment.
Where does Ping make their clubs?
Unlike TaylorMade, Ping golf clubs are manufactured in America in the state of Arizona. While the company sources its components from other countries, all manufactured equipment is completed at its Arizona facilities.
The company’s ability to manufacture high-quality products in the United States makes it an outlier in the golf equipment market.
Where are PXG clubs made?
PXG golf clubs are also manufactured in the United States. The company assembles and puts its club through quality control in Scottsdale, Arizona.
At their Scottsdale facility, PXG produces drivers, fairway woods, irons, wedges, and putters using high-quality materials and offering graphite shafts and steel shafts for most of their clubs for purchase.
Final Thoughts
TaylorMade golf clubs are some of the best and most innovative available to consumers and professional golfers.
Along with golf companies such as Callaway, Mizuno, Tour Edge, and Cleveland, TaylorMade has built a reputation for creating golf clubs with increased forgiveness, exceptional distance, and jaw-dropping accuracy.
Currently, the company boasts some of the most popular golf clubs in both the professional and amateur realms, headed by the Qi10 Driver, P770 & P790 irons, MG4 Wedges, and Spider Putter series.
The company’s TP5 golf ball is among the most played on the PGA and European Tour.
Although the company produces its clubs across the world, its headquarters and professional quality control facilities are in the USA. The company continues to produce some of the best golf clubs on the market today and will be a major player for many decades to come.