Spalding is a sports brand that is often associated with basketball but if you are a golf enthusiast, you might know that Spalding and several other brands were once major brands in this sport.
More than a century old
Long before there was modern technology, Spalding was selling golf balls and this was in 1905. Then, it would be the first brand to sell its own golf clubs in the USA.
This came through their manufacturing plants in London and Scotland that forged iron heads for Spalding clubs.
That would continue to become one of the most significant brands in golf, especially from its widely popular ‘baseball mark’ which was made popular by baseball.
Pouring out with innovation and end of the era
Technology in golf is not new. Back in the day, Spalding was making aluminum fairway clubs that used aluminum bronze and they also made lead-faced putters that players loved then.
Over the next decades and throughout the history of the sport, more and more brands began to imitate the strategy by putting in more technology and innovation.
While Spalding was hugely popular in the 90s, its popularity started to decline as players have more choices as well as sponsorships from other richer brands. By the early 2000s, the golf market has inflated and mismanagement has driven Spalding to stop its production of golf products.
Adams Golf
Another popular golf brand that has since disappeared is Adams Golf. The company was started out in 1991 by Barney Adams but only lasted 21 years on its own.
Adams Golf was an international golf brand based in Plano, Texas. They mainly make golf equipment and started out with custom-fitted golf clubs. Later on, it would be associated with high-profile figures like Jack Whittaker and Bill Rogers.
The decline of Adams Golf
TaylorMade Golf, which was then owned by sports giant adidas bought Adams Golf in 2012 for $70 million. It was then promised that the headquarters of Adams Golf in Texas would remain operational and that there would be further growth of the brand.
This did not materialize and hence the acquisition was seen as more about buying over Adams Golf’s technology and subsequently killing the brand off.
