GolfSpy WD Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 I just stumbled upon this article in golfweek: http://golfweek.com/news/2014/apr/17/taylormade-mark-king-legacy-james-achenbach/ Big shoes to fill. That is perhaps the shortest summation of the promotion of Mark King, who will leave TaylorMade Golf – effective June 1 – to become president of Adidas Group North America. It was announced Thursday that King will be replaced by 40-year-old Englishman Ben Sharpe, who for the past six years has been managing director of TaylorMade-Adidas Golf in Europe. Adidas owns TaylorMade, so it's not as if King is abandoning the company that has his fingerprints all over it. King, 54, joined TaylorMade right out of college and has spent the bulk of his professional career with the company. King became president of TaylorMade in 1999. He quickly launched a series of decisions and mandates that raised TaylorMade's visibility and profitability. • TaylorMade sales zoomed from about $349 million in 1999 to more than $1.7 billion in 2013. • Under King's guidance, TaylorMade's presence and success on the PGA Tour increased dramatically. Based on official equipment counts at each tournament, TaylorMade has been the No. 1 driver on the PGA Tour for more than 10 years. • King oversaw an aggressive marketing scheme, featuring PGA Tour players and promising significant performance benefits. Numbers were King's friends – if Justin Rose gained 17 yards with a new fairway wood, consumers were going to hear about it. • He pushed the boundaries of adjustable golf equipment. Once adjustability was given the green light by the U.S. Golf Association, King decided to move full speed ahead with various adjustable-weight schemes. • Along the way, King hired scientists and engineers who loved golf. TaylorMade became known for its abundance of brainy golf guys, and King never abandoned this principle. He never wavered from his steadfast philosophy: great people, great products. • In fact, new golf clubs were designed so rapidly that King escalated the unveiling of these products. This new cycle of multiple introductions per year would change the way golf companies do business. Of all the rivalries involving contemporary golf companies, the one between TaylorMade and Callaway is probably the most hotly contested. The two companies, located just a few blocks apart in Carlsbad, Calif., historically have been as different as balata and Surlyn. King's troops always played a lot of golf. TaylorMade is the only company with multiple wins in Golfweek's Industry Cup, which matches dozens of golf companies in team competition. King himself is an excellent golfer who plays in a number of golf tournaments each year. It came as no huge surprise in 2012 when Callaway hired a new chief executive, Chip Brewer, with the same type of competitive background and golf acumen as King. King, the benevolent golf general, set the tone for the California golf industry culture. King has been heavily involved in efforts to bring new players to golf. He pledged $5 million from TaylorMade for a Hack Golf campaign to encourage beginning golfers. He also is a member of the PGA of America task force that will study methods of increasing participation. Because King has been a high-profile public spokesman for growing the game, his role will continue. @GolfSpy_WD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walkerjames Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 Crazy! MY BAG- Driver- Taylormade SLDR 12* (Speeder 7.2vc tour spec S) 3 Wood- Taylormade R11(bimatrix prototype S) 3 Hybrid- Ping I20(stock S) Irons-Taylormade Tour Perferred MC ( C Taper S) Wedges- 50, 54, and 58 SCOR4161( KBS) Putter-Taylormade Ghost Corza. All Left Handed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpcgolf Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 I never thought he would leave Driver: Taylormade 2017 M2 9.5 degree head played at 8 degrees. Fujikura speeder evolution tour spec x flex shaft tipped 1/4 inch. 3-Wood: 15 degree M2 tour. Fujikura pro 73 tour spec X flex shaft. Mizuno H5 2 iron. 4 iron: mizuno mp h4 4 iron dynamic gold s300 5-pw iron: mizuno mp 54 dynamic gold s300 52, 56, 60 wedges: cleveland 588 rotex cavity putter: 34 inch nike method 00 half circle mallet putter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HighFade Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 Is he one of the guys we met? There is no spoon. WITB TaylorMade M3 Callaway Diablo 15° Callaway Diablo 18° Callaway Steelhead XR Pro 4-W Mizuno TP-4 50, 54, 58 TaylorMade Rossa Monza Spyder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GolfSpy WD Posted April 19, 2014 Author Share Posted April 19, 2014 Head guy we met was Sean Toulon @GolfSpy_WD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPY ZINGER Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 I'm shocked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jgolf Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 My dream job opened up and taken so quickly It'll be interesting to watch the company moving forward... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeeRed Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 Guaranteed he'll still be keeping an eye on things. Just moving up. PING i20 8.5*, TFC707D (S)Callaway RAZR Fit 15*, neutral setting, stock shaft (S)PING i20 20*, TFC707H (S)Adams Pro a12 23*, Matrix Ozik Altus (S)PING i20 5-PW, TT DG S300, 1.5* flat (purple dot)SCOR 50*,54*,58*, Genius 12 KBS Tour (S), 1.5* flat, -1/4"STX xForm 3, 35" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr_divots Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 Damage control? He's said some things to rile a lot of people the last few years. Being TMAG needs the USGA stamp of approval of their new gear, and King was pushing the bifurcation boundaries, maybe they needed a new face in there pronto? "Glute Activator" *Please accept my contributions of participation and intellectual property sharing as substitute for monetary renumeration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GolfSpy WD Posted April 22, 2014 Author Share Posted April 22, 2014 Damage control? He's said some things to rile a lot of people the last few years. Being TMAG needs the USGA stamp of approval of their new gear, and King was pushing the bifurcation boundaries, maybe they needed a new face in there pronto? Moving someone from CEO of TaylorMade to CEO of Adidas is a promotion, not damage control. @GolfSpy_WD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GolfSpy WD Posted April 22, 2014 Author Share Posted April 22, 2014 Guaranteed he'll still be keeping an eye on things. Just moving up. I really doubt it. Say what you will about their salaries, CEOs are busy folk. There'll be changes made a TM. Hopefully they don't do what Apple has done and try to do what they think Steve Jobs, or Mark King in this case, would have done. @GolfSpy_WD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr_divots Posted April 24, 2014 Share Posted April 24, 2014 Moving someone from CEO of TaylorMade to CEO of Adidas is a promotion, not damage control. CEO of Addidas EUROPE WORLDWIDE. Mark King has ruffled feathers in the industry a LOT. The timing of such a move is curious at best. You don't rock the old money power structure of the USGA. Especially when it involves needing your clubs approved by them. "Glute Activator" *Please accept my contributions of participation and intellectual property sharing as substitute for monetary renumeration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.