Wilson Staff

Wilson Staff
Industry Golf
Founded 1914
Headquarters Chicago, Illinois
Products Golf equipment
Website wilsonstaff.com

Wilson Staff is the professional and advanced amateur golf products division of Wilson Sporting Goods. Wilson designs and manufactures a full range of golf equipment, accessories, and apparel using the Wilson Staff, Wilson, ProStaff, Profile, and Hope brands. Wilson's other lines are generally considered to be "big box," "value," or "economy" brands, while the Wilson Staff line provides higher quality equipment used on all major professional golf tours.

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). Other golfers who have used Wilson Staff equipment include Sam Snead, Walter Hagen, Arnold Palmer, Nick Faldo, Payne Stewart, John Daly, Ben Crenshaw, and Vijay Singh. Palmer and Crenshaw both used Wilson 8802 putters, with Crenshaw's receiving the moniker Little Ben due to his proficiency with it. Current Wilson Staff players include Open and USPGA champion Pádraig Harrington as well as Kevin Streelman.

Wilson Staff's place in golf history

In 1932 Wilson Advisory staff member Gene Sarazen was inspired by the aerodynamics of an airplane's wing to create a club head that would glide smoothly through sand. Sarazen welded a piece of steel to the sole of the club and ground it producing ‘bounce’. This marked the introduction of the sand wedge and in 1933 alone, Wilson sold 50,000 of these clubs, marketed as the R-90, which went on to be the most popular sand wedge in golf.[1]

In 1933 Wilson Advisory Staff member Willie Ogg created a design for distributing weight away from the heel of the club head, moving it towards the “sweet spot” of the blade. This design feature was used in the Wilson Ogg-mented irons, the forerunner of perimeter weighted or cavity back irons.[2]

In 1948, then Wilson Sporting Goods President Lawrence Icely provided the financial backing for Patty Berg and Babe Didrikson Zaharias to form the Women’s PGA, predecessor of today's LPGA.[3]

In 1954 Wilson began producing the Wilson Staff ball which was seen as revolutionary due to its ability to launch up to 40 percent faster than the golf club's head speed.[4]

In 2005 Wilson Staff claims to be the first golf company to utilize nanotechnology in golf equipment.[5]

Equipment

Wilson Staff currently markets the following equipment.

Drivers

Fairways & Hybrids

Irons

Wedges

Putters

Balls

Miscellaneous items and Accessories

Major championships

Wilson Staff claims that its line of irons has "more majors won than any other brand."[6] Players using Wilson Staff clubs have won a total of 61 majors.

Year Tournament Winner
1922 U.S. Open Gene Sarazen
1922 PGA Championship Gene Sarazen
1923 PGA Championship Gene Sarazen
1928 U.S. Open Johnny Farrell
1932 The Open Championship Gene Sarazen
1932 U.S. Open Gene Sarazen
1933 PGA Championship Gene Sarazen
1935 The Masters Gene Sarazen
1935 PGA Championship Johnny Revolta
1936 PGA Championship Denny Shute
1937 PGA Championship Denny Shute
1937 U.S. Open Ralph Guldahl
1938 U.S. Open Ralph Guldahl
1939 The Masters Ralph Guldahl
1941 PGA Championship Vic Ghezzi
1942 PGA Championship Sam Snead
1946 U.S. Open Lloyd Mangrum
1946 The Open Championship Sam Snead
1947 PGA Championship Jim Ferrier
1948 The Masters Claude Harmon
1949 The Masters Sam Snead
1949 U.S. Open Cary Middlecoff
1949 PGA Championship Sam Snead
1951 PGA Championship Ben Hogan
1952 The Masters Sam Snead
1954 The Masters Sam Snead
1955 The Masters Cary Middlecoff
1956 U.S. Open Cary Middlecoff
1958 The Masters Arnold Palmer
1959 The Masters Art Wall
1959 U.S. Open Billy Casper
1960 The Masters Arnold Palmer
1960 U.S. Open Arnold Palmer
1961 The Open Championship Arnold Palmer
1962 The Masters Arnold Palmer
1962 The Open Championship Arnold Palmer
1963 U.S. Open Julius Boros
1965 PGA Championship Dave Marr
1966 U.S. Open Billy Casper
1968 U.S. PGA Championship Julius Boros
1969 The Masters George Archer
1970 The Masters Billy Casper
1974 U.S. Open Hale Irwin
1976 U.S. Open Jerry Pate
1976 The Open Championship Johnny Miller
1978 U.S. Open Andy North
1979 U.S. Open Hale Irwin
1981 The Open Championship Bill Rogers
1984 The Masters Ben Crenshaw
1985 The Masters Bernhard Langer
1985 U.S. Open Andy North
1989 U.S. PGA Championship Payne Stewart
1990 U.S. Open Hale Irwin
1991 U.S. Open Payne Stewart
1993 The Masters Bernhard Langer
1995 The Open Championship John Daly
1998 PGA Championship Vijay Singh
1999 The Open Championship Paul Lawrie
2007 The Open Championship Pádraig Harrington
2008 The Open Championship Pádraig Harrington
2008 PGA Championship Pádraig Harrington

Sponsorship deals

In the past, Wilson has had many of the world best golfers under contract, including 6 time major winner Nick Faldo. Wilson Staff currently has endorsement deals with many professional golfers who compete on all the major tours.[7]

Players

European Tour

Ladies European Tour

PGA Tour

Advisory Staff

Former players

References

  1. ↑ Gene Sarazen develops the Wilson R-90 Wedge
  2. ↑ Wilson Ogg-mented irons
  3. ↑ Lawrence Icely of Wilson Sporting Goods financial backing for Women's PGA
  4. ↑ Wilson Staff Ball
  5. ↑ Wilson Staff introduces nanotechnology
  6. ↑ More Majors Won Than Any Other Brand
  7. ↑ Golf players sponsored by Wilson
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