For a historic brand whose founding dates to 1914, Wilson Golf shows no signs that it’s stuck in the old ways of doing business.
Quite the contrary, it’s attacking 2025 and beyond like a hungry start-up with ambitious goals. Wilson Golf has rethought its entire business – from product creation to marketing to custom fitting and distribution – since Bob Thurman was appointed general manager of the golf division in 2023.
Trained as an aerospace engineer, Thurman joined Wilson in 1992 to work on golf ball research and development. Since 2010, he has been the company’s global vice president of research and development, overseeing product innovation for all sports categories at Wilson, which is the market leader in tennis, basketball and football equipment.
“I know what it takes to make great product,” he said.
Wilson’s decision to add the title of Golf GM to Thurman’s portfolio reflected the company’s recognition that it needs to elevate the quality of its equipment if it hopes to recapture the brand’s glory days and match its success in other sports.
“I promised my boss two things: We’ll be making world-class golf equipment, and we’ll get the brand right,” Thurman said.
Thurman has recruited engineering talent from around the industry to help Wilson Golf rethink its design philosophies. That used to be second nature for the company. When Thurman joined Wilson 32 years ago, he recalls that the company was No. 1 in irons and had more than 40 PGA Tour players on staff. But competitors such as Ping and TaylorMade, and aggressive start-ups such as Callaway and Cobra, crashed the party and knocked Wilson on its heels.
Under Thurman, Wilson Golf has set its sights on reclaiming its birthright. “Our North Star is to be No. 1 in irons,” Thurman said.
The first step in that direction will come in a major product launch on Jan. 29. While Wilson Golf is mum on specifics, the launch will be expansive, covering all product categories.
Thurman said the company has invested heavily in artificial intelligence hardware and computational software to maximize performance and expedite product design. Wilson also partnered with Blast Motion to develop an algorithmic fitting application, Wilson Fit AI, which cranks out 12,000 data points on each swing. (When longtime Wilson staffer Padraig Harrington, a notorious gearhead and club tinkerer, heard that, he quipped, “I know I’m obsessive, but 12,000 might be a little bit much for me.”) It sounds complicated, but the information is distilled into easily understandable terminology. Within three swings, Wilson Fit AI identifies the ideal club-shaft-grip combination.
This is all being supported by Wilson’s new “Play Original” marketing campaign, which taps into the visceral yearning that keeps bringing avid golfers back to the course for something approaching “enlightenment.” Voiced by Wilson ambassador Andy Roddick, the campaign’s imagery pointedly evokes Wilson’s Midwest roots and features serious young golfers.
Wilson Golf is rightfully proud of its heritage, but not bound by it. As in Wilson’s other sports categories, the golf division now believes it has positioned itself as a technology leader that is a natural choice for committed young ball-strikers obsessed with performance. Picture that strapping, sharply dressed youngster next to you on the practice range – grinding through his bag, tracking his distances, perhaps even his spin rates and trajectories, digging in the dirt not just for the best in his golf game, but also in himself.
The company’s research, according to Thurman, backs up that vision for Wilson Golf going forward. The company found “that there’s an emerging demographic, the next generation of golfers, they don’t remember our past, but they do know our current position in other sports,” Thurman said. He believes that has created “a little bit of a tailwind” with young athletes who are serious about golf and “don’t necessarily want to play the same equipment their father plays.”
Like that driven young bomber on the practice range, a sense of urgency permeates Wilson Golf these days. Thurman knows what it’s like to be on top of the industry, and he’s determined to get back there.
“When I came here, we were No. 1 in irons,” Thurman said. “When I leave, we’ll be No. 1 in irons. I’m going to make sure we finish this right.”
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Wilson Golf has iron-clad commitment to get back on top
