Wilson Staff

Wilson Staff is the golf products division of Wilson Sporting Goods. Wilson designs and manufactures a comprehensive line of golf equipment, accessories and apparel using the Wilson Staff, Wilson, ProStaff, Profile, Ultra and Hope brands.

Wilson's other product lines are generally considered "big box," "value" or "economy" brands, while the Wilson Staff line offers higher-end equipment used on all major professional golf tours.

In the bag of many professional golfers

Products sold under the Wilson Staff brand include golf equipment (balls, clubs, gloves and bags) and apparel (polo shirts).

Many of the world's top professional golfers have used Wilson equipment, including Gene Sarazen (who had a 75-year relationship with the company, the longest running contract in sports history).

Impressive list

Other golfers who have used Wilson Staff equipment include Sam Snead, Walter Hagen, Arnold Palmer, Patty Berg, Nick Faldo, Payne Stewart, John Daly, Ben Crenshaw and Vijay Singh. Palmer and Crenshaw both used Wilson 8802 putters. Current Wilson Staff players include Open and USPGA champion Pádraig Harrington, Kevin Streelman and 2019 US Open champion Gary Woodland.

About the history: In 1932, Wilson Advisory employee Gene Sarazen was inspired by the aerodynamics of an airplane wing to develop a club head that would glide smoothly through sand.

New club: the Wedge

Sarazen welded a piece of steel to the sole of the club and grounded it, creating a "bounce."

This marked the introduction of the sand wedge, and in 1933 alone Wilson sold 50,000 of these clubs, which were marketed as the R-90 and later became the most popular sand wedge in golf.

Forerunner of the cavity back

In 1933, Willie Ogg, a member of the Wilson Advisory Staff, came up with a design to distribute weight away from the heel of the club head and move it toward the "sweet spot" of the blade. This design feature was used in the Wilson Ogg-mented irons, the forerunner of cavity-back irons.

In 1948, the then president of Wilson Sporting Goods, Lawrence Icely, provided Patty Berg and Babe Didrikson Zaharias with the financial support to establish the Women's PGA, the predecessor to today's LPGA.

In 1954, Wilson began producing the Wilson Staff ball, which was considered revolutionary for its ability to launch up to 40 percent faster than the golf club's head speed. In 2005, Wilson Staff claims to be the first golf company to use nanotechnology in golf equipment.

Wilson Staff claims that its iron line "has won more majors than any other brand." Players using Wilson Staff clubs have won a total of 62 majors.

Firm place in sports history

In general, Wilson has earned a firm place in sports history for nearly a century, influencing the development of many sports.

Wilson has always brought forth new technologies and produced classics that have helped the company build its reputation in its respective divisions around the world.

Three divisions

Today, Wilson is the world's leading manufacturer of ball sports equipment. Core sports are tennis, baseball, American football, golf, basketball, softball, badminton and squash. The company is divided into three business units: Racquet Sports, Team Sports and Golf.

Wilson is headquartered in Chicago in the USA and employs more than 1600 people around the world. The distribution network serves customers in more than 100 countries.

[Sources: https://www.wilson.com/de-de & Wikipedia]

Previous article in the series: Mizuno

Next article in the series: Titleist