The Oldest Golf Companies in the World – A Special Club
The first game of golf was played in Edinburgh, Scotland, in
1456, but it took awhile for manufacturers to develop
products for the sport. In fact, about 450 years passed
before companies noticed its popularity. Though the the
first permanent golf course originated in Scotland, as did
the first written rules, and the 18-hole course, it was good
ol' American ingenuity to grab the first slice of the golf
industry pie.
The oldest golf companies aren't off course when they insist
on claiming the title of "most innovative." The firms who
invested early on changed the way amateurs and pros play the
game today. A 1927 ad stated that "Spalding Discovered That
'Mild Steel' Banishes Finger Fatigue." In 1922, The Wilson
Sporting Goods Company added golfer Gene Sarazen to its
advisory board, beginning a 75-year relationship. The
legendary Dunlop "65" golf ball was number one for an
unprecedented 50 years. And though MacGregor Golf sounds a
tad Scottish, the 110-year-old company is based in Albany,
Georgia, and has always modeled its products on emerging
technology.
Contemporary companies came into the manufacturing game with
materials unknown in the 20th century, developing products
that the trail blazers couldn't have imagined. But being one
of the firsts has its rewards -- how many brands can brag
about financially backing legends Patty Berg and Babe
Didrickson Zaharis to found the new women's PGA? (Wilson,
1948.) Or how about working for a company started by a
Hall-Of-Fame baseball pitcher, who developed the first
dimpled golf ball? (Spalding, raising the bar in golf ball
engineering.) Those first brands continue a mission that
still drives the golf market: Stay the course with high
standards.
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