Tour News
Adidas sells TaylorMade to KPS Capital Partners for $425 million

Adidas has sold its golf brands TaylorMade, Adams and Ashworth to New York City-based private equity firm KPS Capital Partners for $425 million. The athletic-apparel giant had been actively seeking a buyer for its golf brands since this time May 2016.
The news was announced in a press release, which stated that the sale will be “half … paid in cash with the remainder in a combination of secured note and contingent considerations.” Completion of the transaction is expected later this year.
“This is the beginning of an exciting new era for TaylorMade, and our entire management team is excited to partner with KPS in this next phase of our growth and continued development of our brands, business and people,” said David Abeles, Chief Executive Officer of TaylorMade. “The TaylorMade team is deeply committed to making the most technically advanced performance-driven golf equipment, and this mission will never change. Given their strategic vision, operational resources and significant access to capital, KPS is the ideal partner to help TaylorMade build upon its strong momentum.”
KPS is a private equity firm headquartered in New York City. The company says it “generates investment returns by structurally improving the strategic position, competitiveness and profitability of its portfolio companies, rather than primarily relying on financial leverage.” It currently manages a family of investment funds worth approximately $5.3 billion.
TaylorMade’s annual sales reached a peak of $1.7 billion in 2013, but the sales have slumped in recent years. An article published by the New York Post in February stated that TaylorMade annual sales had slipped to less than $500 million and that the Carlsbad California-based company was losing between $75-100 million each year.
“TaylorMade is one of the preeminent golf equipment brands worldwide, with leading-edge products that consistently provide consumers a distinct performance advantage over the competition,” said David Shapiro, a Managing Partner of KPS. “We look forward to working with Chief Executive Officer David Abeles, his management team and all TaylorMade employees around the world to build on this great platform by driving growth both organically and through strategic acquisitions. The combination of this iconic brand and KPS’ track record of working constructively with talented management teams to make businesses better will provide the ideal foundation for TaylorMade’s future growth.”
While TaylorMade’s sales have slowed, its presence on the PGA Tour has not. Yesterday, the company announced that it had signed Rory McIlroy to deal to use its golf clubs and golf ball. It now has endorsement deals with the top-3 golfers in the world: Dustin Johnson (No. 1), McIlroy (No. 2) and Jason Day (No. 3).
In January, TaylorMade also signed 14-time major champion Tiger Woods to an endorsement deal. The company also has a deal with one of the hottest young golfers on the PGA Tour, 22-year-old John Rahm.
Adidas said last year that it planned to continue to produce golf shoes and apparel even after the sale of TaylorMade, Adams and Ashworth, and the press release mentioned no change in Adidas’ strategy.
Related: See what GolfWRX Members are saying about TaylorMade’s sale in our forum.
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Tour Photo Galleries
Interesting photos from the Arnold Palmer Invitational (plus links to all photo galleries)

This week, the PGA Tour is at the Bay Hill Club and Lodge in Orlando, Florida, and GolfWRX was on-site Tuesday to spy some interesting things from the grounds and around the practice area as players were getting ready to battle for the $9.3 million purse at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Don’t forget you can check out all our image galleries in the GolfWRX Tour Equipment forum.
Justin Rose’s new Axis1 (Blade) proto
Justin has been using an Axis1 putter for years, but this is the first time we’ve spotted him with a blade-style prototype version.
Rickie continues to tinker
Rickie Fowler’s bag is always interesting, and this week the Rev33’s are in play.
John Augenstein’s WITB
The 2019 U.S. Am runner-up turned professional in late 2020 has quite the club setup.
Camilo Villegas with new Srixon ZX7 irons
Camilo always has a very interesting club set up based on his unique dynamics into the ball—lots of forward shaft lean and low dynamic loft. Thanks to their more aggressive VT sole the new Srixon ZX7’s seem to be a perfect fit for the Colombian.
Justin Rose continues to test
It was exactly a year ago at the 2020 API, Justin Rose started to tinker with his club setup, and this week in 2021 it appears that he is still working to get dialed in and testings drivers.
Speaking of drivers, Rose was as caught talking to Jason Dufner about his new Cobra RAD Speed, and might have ordered one to test.
A story in 4 parts – the assumed conversation
Rose– “Oh, I like the look of this Duff!”
Duff– “It’s my new one. I like it”
Rose– “Interesting, what’s it all about?”
Duff– “It has all this weight to make it stable, & you adjust it here.”
Rose (on phone )- “Hey cobra can I test one of those Rad drivers?”
Kisner with a unique putting drill
Keith Mitchell continues to use HZRDUS T1100 in his driver
With all the talk about players including Adam Scott and Louis Oosthuizen moving to longer and much more flexible driver shafts, Keith Mitchell continues to buck the trend with one of the stiffest shafts available – the ProjectX HZRDUS T1100.
Here’s a look at Louis with his stock Ping ALTA CB stiff shaft.
Alex Noren loaded up with golf balls
We know there is a lot of water around the course this week at Bay Hill, and it looks like Alex Noren is prepared like an 18 handicap headed out to play from the back tees with four dozen balls ready to go.
Dufner putting with his wedge
Jason Dufner was seen working on his putting using the popular bellied wedge drill which forces you to work on producing a level stroke and precise center contact.
Hideki Matsuyama’s bag must be heavy
Hideki is the ultimate tester, which is why we love him at GolfWRX.
Bryson potentially testing grips
It looks like Bryson was getting ready to test some new Jumbo-Max grips, or just had a fresh set installed this week.
Paging Ping – Harris English needs a new putter headcover
That ratty old thing must hold some sentimental value to Harris based on its condition.
Charl Schwartzel back to Miura irons
Charl has gone through a number of iron sets in recent memory and at the API it looks like he’s back to a set of Miura 001 blades.
Spieth testing new utility
Jordan Spieth had a few extra Titleist utility irons next to his bag on the putting green, and it could be that he is working on his gapping because of the long par 3’s at Bay Hill.
Check out all the GolfWRX galleries from the Arnold Palmer Invitational
John Augenstein WITB – 2021 Arnold Palmer Invitational
Jason Dufner testing a new Cobra 3D printed putter – 2021 Arnold Palmer invitational
Rickie Fowler clubs – 2021 Arnold Palmer Invitational
Cameron T-11.5 putters – 2021 Arnold Palmer Invitational
New LA Golf driver & putter shafts – 2021 Arnold Palmer Invitational
Justin Rose – Axis putters – 2021 Arnold Palmer Invitational
New UST Mamiya Dart iron shaft – 2021 Arnold Palmer Invitational
2021 Arnold Palmer Invitational – Tuesday #1
2021 Arnold Palmer Invitational – Tuesday #2
2021 Arnold Palmer Invitational – Tuesday #3
2021 Arnold Palmer Invitational – Tuesday #4
2021 Arnold Palmer Invitational – Tuesday #5
2021 Arnold Palmer Invitational – Tuesday #6
2021 Arnold Palmer Invitational – Tuesday #7
2021 Arnold Palmer Invitational – Tuesday #8
2021 Arnold Palmer Invitational – Tuesday #9
2021 Arnold Palmer Invitational – Tuesday #10
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Tour Photo Galleries
WGC-Workday Championship Tour Truck Report: New putter for Rory, more AutoFlex experiments

First and foremost, prayers and love to Tiger Woods and his family.
TaylorMade
Rory McIlroy is going back to an older model putter this week at Concession swapping his Spider X for a TP Juno.
Robert McIntyre AKA “Bobby Mack” put a new TaylorMade Rescue ’21 Hybrid ([email protected]) in the bag with a Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black Hybrid 100 6.5 TX.
Matthew Wolff put a new TaylorMade (19) UDI in the bag with a Mitsubishi MMT 125TX.
Collin Morikawa was testing SIM2, SIM2 Max hybrids this week with Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 80 TX shafts.
Dustin Johnson alongside TaylorMade’s Keith Sbarboro was testing SIM2 drivers with Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X, Fujikura Speeder Evolution 661 and an LAGP Proto.
Callaway
Jon Rahm made adjustments to his Mavrik Sub Zero 5-wood to optimize launch. The 5-wood has 16.4 degrees of loft and a Black Graphite Design Tour AD DI 8X. The adjustments were to the lie of the club going from 59.8 to 58.9 and weight distribution from 12g Front/6g Back to 10G Front/6g Back. Dialed.
Min Woo Lee put a new Epic Speed ([email protected]) with a Fujikura Ventus Red 7X. Lee also debuted his new logo which is on fire.
Titleist
Genesis Invitational champion Max Homa tested TSi2 5-woods to give him some options for some of the tee shots at Concession. It’s equipped with a Graphite Design Tour XC 8 TX.
Lanto Griffin swapped into a shorter driver going from 45 to 44.5 in his TSi3 (10). Griffin’s driver has a Project X HZURDUS Smoke Black 70 6.5TX
Justin Thomas put a TSI3 (9) in the bag this week. The new set up is powered by a Mitsubishi Diamana ZF TX
Ping
Cameron Champ switched back into a shorter length Ping G425 LST this week going from 45 to 44.25 inches. The shaft is a Project X HZRDUS Smoke Green 70 6.5 TX (@44.25 , Tip 1.5, D4 SW).
Louis Oosthuizen did something interesting. He had a Ping build him a G425 LST (10.5 @ 9.4, Small -) with the company’s lightweight Alta Slate CB 55 stiff shaft. The 2010 Open Champion was looking for a softer feel with the driver, which isn’t surprising, considering he was seen taking a hard look at Adam Scott’s TSi with an AutoFlex. The whippy lightweight plot thickens…
Ping released a bunch of new putters this week for seeding. Multiple staffers tested them and we will see on Thursday if any go in play.
Cobra
Cobra’s Ben Schomin (and king of the mullets) is doing something to Bryson’s driver—wanted to post this because of the respect for Ben’s hair. Hair aside, Bryson did put a new LAGP Axis Blue 6X in his driver and was also testing new Rad Speed 3 Woods.
Misc/Free Agents
Tommy Fleetwood swapped out his Callaway MD5 Jaws wedges for a set of Titleist Vokey’s (52M, 56M, and 60T) with True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 shafts.
Adam Scott (Titleist staff) was testing long center shafted Odyssey Two Ball 10.
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Tour Photo Galleries
Interesting photos from WGC-Workday (plus links to all 9 galleries)

This week, the PGA Tour is at Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Florida, where we were on-site Tuesday and Wednesday to spy some interesting things from the grounds and on the range as players were getting ready to battle for a $10.5 million purse at the WGC-Workday Championship.
Don’t forget you can check out all our image galleries in the GolfWRX Tour Equipment forum.
Frankin 2-Ball
There is a lot going on with the center-shafted 2-Ball Ten. It has weight plugs epoxied into the sole cavity, a hand-drawn marker line on the alignment discs, and a White Hot OG insert—and did I mention it has a long grip?
Speaking of 2-Ball…
The aforementioned 2-Ball Ten caught the attention of Adam Scott, and he was spotted messing around with it around the putting green.
Iron covers: the new trend?
Before you start thinking Bubba Watson was the trendsetter, it was actually Aaron Rai who has been using iron covers longer. Indeed, he won while using them at the 2020 Scottish Open.
JT’s putter cover flex
JT with the full flex on his fellow players as he has his own “Inspired by” Justin Thomas cover in the bag.
Santa?
Does Santa moonlight as a caddy on the PGA Tour?
Xander: Always working
A few weeks ago it was a Quintic. This week, it’s an iPad on a very clever stand. Xander is always working hard on his putting!
Louis Loves that Callaway wedge
Louis Oosthuizen has been a long-time Ping guy, but the one club he can’t seem to shake is his Callaway PM grind wedge.
A couple of guys talking putters
Collin Morikawa—with his TaylorMade FCG Spider—was spotted talking to Rory McIlroy, who looks to have gone back to a TaylorMade Juno blade putter from his Spider.
Fleetwood hanging onto his TVD Vokey wedge
Tommy Fleetwood has transitioned almost his entire bag to TaylorMade, but a couple of the holdout include a classic Vokey TVD wedge.
More Autoflex testing on tour?
Adam Scott looks to be more than just a fashion influencer out tour. Louis Oosthuizen was spotted talking with Mr. Scott about his Autoflex shaft and even gave it a few wiggles.
DJ testing all kinds of shafts

Look at this action!
As reported last week in the Genesis Invitational Tour Truck Report, DJ was testing a new LA Golf shafts DJ Proto, and this week at the WGC, it looks like the testing continues. He was spotted hitting his tried-and-true Fujikura 661, a Ventus, and the LA Proto. What will go into play Thursday, nobody knows (I mean we will, of course…).
Testing looked to have continued on Wednesday—DJ was rotating through three different drivers on the range, along with some prototype putters on the green.
Laurie Canter with Honma blades
Although not a household name (yet), Laurie Canter is inside the top 100 in the official world golf rankings and has a very interesting bag of clubs—including Ping woods, Honma blades, and both Callaway and Titleist wedges.
New Ping putter line spotted
Ping loves to seemingly randomly drop new putters, and although we don’t have the tech story on these yet, we can conclude that there is some sort of insert technology to go along with some sort of heavy (likely tungsten) heel and toe weights to boost MOI.
Check out all of our galleries below
- 2021 WGC Workday Championship – Tuesday #1
- 2021 WGC Workday Championship – Tuesday #2
- 2021 WGC Workday Championship – Tuesday #3
- 2021 WGC Workday Championship – Tuesday #4
- 2021 WGC Workday Championship – Tuesday #5
- 2021 WGC Workday Championship – Tuesday #6
- 2021 WGC Workday Championship – Wednesday #1
- 2021 WGC Workday Championship – Wednesday #2
- 2021 WGC Workday Championship – 2021 Ping putters
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19th Hole3 weeks ago
Jordan Spieth pulls off incredible 4-iron tee shot on 100-yard par 3 at Pebble Beach
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19th Hole2 days ago
PGA Tour pro slammed on social media for not wearing Tiger red at WGC-Workday
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Tour News2 weeks ago
Genesis Invitational Tour Truck Report: DJ testing driver shafts, Xander’s new irons
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19th Hole3 weeks ago
‘Big Little Lies’ star Kathryn Newton showcases stunning golf swing at Pebble Beach
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Whats in the Bag3 days ago
Collin Morikawa’s winning WITB: 2021 WGC Workday Championship at The Concession
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Whats in the Bag1 week ago
Max Homa’s winning WITB: 2021 Genesis Invitational
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Whats in the Bag2 weeks ago
Daniel Berger’s winning WITB: 2021 AT&T Pro-Am
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Whats in the Bag2 weeks ago
Jordan Spieth WITB 2021 (Pebble Beach)
Darryl
May 15, 2017 at 7:57 am
TM signed Rory to deny Callaway the chance, if they hadn’t made an offer at least matching Callaways, he would have just signed for Callaway for the money and quietly put a disguised M2 in the bag, this way they get to shout it from the rooftops and damage Callaway all in one.
Rory shifting to the M2 will badly damage the sales of the Epic. If DJ, JD and Rory are all using one driver it will sell like free intercourse.
Callaway thought having Henrik and the prospect of Rory on the books would make the Epic a slam dunk best seller, but with Henrik off the boil (and still using his 3 wood a lot) and Rory deciding the TM product is better. That can’t be good for Callaway, so much so that I notice their Epic ad says that its the best selling driver of 2017 but has a very big visible disclaimer at the bottom saying “based on results from Jan – Mar 2017” so they clearly don’t think the Q2 numbers are going to be so good.
What TM have wasted money on is signing Tiger. He’s unlikely to play a major role in tournament golf again, so new young players wont know him any better than I knew Hogan or Snead, a once great player, now just a name in the record books. With Nike not making equipment any more, the Tiger fanboys that insist on playing whatever their hero plays would have to switch anyway and that number will drop year on year with him out of the game anyway.
Is this the final cycle of big money deals as golf settles into a post Tiger era? It’s unlikely any of the new crop of superstars will dominate as he did, so is it worth tying them down to 10 year $100M+ deals? 4 years ago everyone thought Rory was the heir apparent and would challenge the Major tallys of both Woods and Nicklaus, not so. 2 years ago everyone thought Speith was the T-Rex and would rule for a thousand years, not so. 18 months ago it was Jason Day, 12 Months ago DJ, 6 months ago Justin Thomas. But they all look like they will settle into a nice routine of 6 months each at the top and then a rest. That isn’t worth $10m a year.
Don Greco
May 12, 2017 at 6:32 pm
Love the press release; makes it sound like the world’s greatest golf manufacturing company….just pay no attention that is was sold at a firesale price. There are only so many golfers out there…..it’s a niche game, always will be. Mass marketing just not a good fit for the golf industry. ….there aren’t enough players who need new gear as frequently as the manufacturers had hoped. Every “grow the game” article in any golf magazine is really a marketing pitch for new customers.
munchies
May 11, 2017 at 8:02 pm
Three steps to black – 1. stop paying ridiculous endorsement fees to tour players, drop few of them 2. cut off management 3. stop dropping bucket loads in marketing, focus in quality offering…
David Ables
May 11, 2017 at 12:32 pm
Peace out guys. I’m off to run Adidas South America. Just like Mark King flooded the golf market then got a promo with Adi NA!
M-Herd4
May 11, 2017 at 9:54 am
Why would a struggling company like TM sign Rory to a $100M contract when the entire company itself is only valued at $425M?? They already have a stable of elite players that haven’t helped their financial health significantly…
Forsbrand
May 11, 2017 at 4:24 pm
Could Rory himself along with Tiger be part of the investment?
munchies
May 11, 2017 at 9:23 pm
I know unbelievable. Wouldn’t there be a point of diminishing returns? You have DJ and Tiger on the book already, would adding Rory will increase the club sales proportionally? I would venture to say no..
Tom1
May 12, 2017 at 10:47 am
100 mil, I searched and couldn’t find that info….?
rebfan73
May 11, 2017 at 7:21 am
Or WWE….
Mat
May 11, 2017 at 5:57 am
Here’s to hoping they break the release cycle madness. It is good IP, but the lack of price strength hurts the premium margins. And back off the damn lofts. 🙂
rebfan73
May 11, 2017 at 7:20 am
+1
Craig
May 11, 2017 at 4:47 am
Good to see the keyboard warriors at it again. A quick bit of research on the JPS website will actually show they have a history of INVESTING in companies by improving and streamlining supply chain and manufacturing and growing their investments . Could mean Taylormade might actually improve on delivery and custom build times!!! Time will tell
Simms
May 10, 2017 at 10:56 pm
Darn, I was hoping Ashworth would buy back his name and we could have some descent fitting quality golf shirts again…..
MMM
May 11, 2017 at 10:56 am
You should look at LinkSoul……that’s the company John Ashworth started after he got bought out.
alan
May 10, 2017 at 9:43 pm
as long as my next taylormade driver is 14 yards longer than the one i bought 6 months ago i dont care who owns taylormade.
toyzrx
May 10, 2017 at 7:13 pm
Nothing in economy suggests that investment into golf anything is money well spent. I see more layoffs and budget tightening coming to TM. I was hoping TM be bought by another big sport OEM, or merge with Callaway or Titleist.
jc
May 10, 2017 at 5:33 pm
now they will have to come out with a new driver every 4 months instead of every 6 months. And it will go 5 yards father of course.
Scott
May 10, 2017 at 5:32 pm
Yawn
IH
May 10, 2017 at 5:05 pm
I thought the amount would be biggerer lol
Adrien Jenot
May 10, 2017 at 4:55 pm
I bet they stop making new clubs every year now… (structurally improving the strategic position, competitiveness and profitability of its portfolio companies) I for one am glad the golf market is going back to reality. It reminds me of a recent crash lol
golfraven
May 10, 2017 at 4:55 pm
Does Rory need to worry about his next paycheque? Doubtful!
Jeb Springfield
May 10, 2017 at 4:27 pm
Fairly sure if you use he “word” “prolly,” you’re not clearing $25M.
NolanMBA
May 10, 2017 at 4:31 pm
That Facebook creator wears hoodies to board meetings…
Orvill
May 10, 2017 at 4:21 pm
Heck…. I wuldn’ta paid more than $375 Mill for TM….. and then sold it off in chunks ….. drivers… irons… putters… balls… bags… and prolly cleared $400 Mill with $25 Mill profit …. and then flipped off Ashworth and Adams ….!!
Joe
May 10, 2017 at 3:24 pm
No luck involved, the signing of Rory was most likely part of whatever deal they came to. Once a Private Equity firm takes hold it’s all down hill……
TCJ
May 10, 2017 at 3:19 pm
First!
Tyson Rochambeau
May 10, 2017 at 4:23 pm
Straight from mom’s basement
gwillis7
May 10, 2017 at 7:56 pm
lol