TaylorMade golf equipment first appeared in 1979 when the company, founded by Gary Adams, launched the TaylorMade Metalwood. The club marked a massive step forward for driver and fairway wood technology and it wasn’t long before the world was sitting up and taking notice. In 1984 the Metalwood helped Lee Trevino to win his second US PGA title, the last of his six majors.
Gary Adams was a keen golfer who enthusiastically tried to improve the performance of his golf clubs. In the 1970’s he discovered that the new two-piece golf ball travelled further and straighter when a metal wood was used. From that discovery TaylorMade was born.
With Trevino’s victory – and a string of other victories in the mid 1980’s as professionals discovered the advantages of TaylorMade drivers – the company began to grow in the public consciousness.
TaylorMade Golf Clubs Grow
The company diversified into other golf products and grew to become the second largest manufacturer of golf equipment in the United States. TaylorMade irons and TaylorMade putters, sold under the Rossa putter brand, soon joined TaylorMade drivers and TaylorMade fairway woods on both the professional tours and the bestselling lists. TaylorMade golf balls and TaylorMade golf bags were also becoming increasingly common on the fairways of the world.
In the 1980’s TaylorMade had been acquired by the French company Salomon S.A, a move which increased the global reach of TaylorMade golf equipment. Towards the new millennium TaylorMade’s corporate horizons were expanded once again in billion dollar takeover by the sports equipment giant Adidas.