. this article has multiple issues . please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . learn how and when to remove these template messages this article contains content that is written like an advertisement . please help improve it by removing promotional content and inappropriate external links and by adding encyclopedic content written from a neutral point of view . november 2012 learn how and when to remove this template message this article may be in need of reorganization to comply with wikipedia s layout guidelines . please help by editing the article to make improvements to the overall structure . october 2012 learn how and when to remove this template message this article possibly contains original research . please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations . statements consisting only of original research should be removed . october 2012 learn how and when to remove this template message this article relies too much on references to primary sources . please improve this by adding secondary or tertiary sources . november 2012 learn how and when to remove this template message learn how and when to remove this template message taylormade adidas type subsidiary genre golf founded 1979 mchenry illinois founder gary adams headquarters carlsbad california u.s. key people david abeles ceo products golf products parent adidas website www.taylormadegolf.com taylormade adidas golf company tmag or tmagc is a manufacturer of golf clubs bags and accessories based in carlsbad california united states . it is a subsidiary of the german company adidas group . the company is currently the largest golf equipment and apparel company in the world with sales estimated eur 1.3 billion in 2012 . 1 taylormade s initial success came with the innovation of metal drivers which debuted in 1979 and have subsequently dominated the golf market . 2 taylormade continued to grow throughout the 1990s largely due to the introduction of the successful burner bubble franchise . in september 2012 outside magazine named taylormade one of america s best places to work ranking sixth out of 10 selected large companies and 32nd overall . 3 contents 1 history 2 tour professionals 3 current products 4 see also 5 references 6 external links history edit taylormade incorporated in 1979 after gary adams borrowed 24 000 on his house and leased a 6 000 square foot building in mchenry illinois . he originally had three employees and sold only one item his newly invented 12 degree loft metalwood . the metalwood was unique in its steel construction replacing persimmon as the primary material from which modern drivers are manufactured and adopted the nickname pittsburgh persimmon . 4 starting with 47 000 in sales in 1979 the company eventually reached its first billion dollars in revenue in 2006 marking only the second time in history that a golf brand had achieved this milestone . 5 taylormade was independently owned until 1984 when salomon s.a. acquired the company . at the time the union was strategically compatible for both companies which were innovators in their industries salomon wanted to diversify and made the decision to enter a three season market and taylormade benefited from the worldwide resources of salomon . this ownership maintained until adidas bought salomon in 1997 . shortly after the adidas acquisition the image and focus of taylormade were redirected to take over the driver market ; the company succeeded in achieving this goal in late 2005 when it officially became the top driver in golf . 6 currently the company markets taylormade drivers fairway woods hybrids irons wedges golf balls and accessories . it is claimed that pga tour professionals play more taylormade drivers than callaway cleveland cobra nike and ping combined . 6 the company s major equipment claims promoted in marketing materials with small no. 1 shields include no. 1 driver in golf no. 1 fairway in golf and no. 1 irons in golf . 7 tour professionals edit an accurate updated list of taylormade adidas golf s sponsored athletes who compete on the pga web.com european champions lpga and other major tours around the world can be found on the company s brand website . 7 as of the report released october 13 2014 taylormade sponsored six of the top 20 players in the official world golf rankings including the following . 8 justin rose dustin johnson martin kaymer sergio garc a jason day j. b. holmes other top tour professionals brendon todd bo van pelt carl pettersson robert karlsson robert allenby darren clarke martin laird lucas glover robert garrigus ryan palmer jeff overton sean o hair ryan moore camilo villegas d. a. points john senden brian harmon justin leonard trevor immelman retief goosen jim herman current products edit drivers fairways rescues irons wedges putters golf balls tour only the company s tour professionals have their equipment made and adjusted on a roving 42 foot semi trailer commonly known as the tour truck . in 2014 taylormade created a video series called tour truck confidential intended to educate golfers about its unique environment and function by way of an all access pass . 9 some tour only equipment manufactured since the year 2000 has been uniquely identified by serial numbers on the hosel of the club which begins with a t . some tour only product has also been demarcated by a dot marked in permanent marker near the loft of the driver head . one product that featured such demarcation was the r11 driver . 10 because product used in professional competition must conform to strict usga regulations tour issue clubs are absolutely tested and in some cases specially marked with specifications identifying their conformance . images of tour issue products with such specifications including unique bar codes can be found on the company s website . 11 equipment sold in the aftermarket and identified as tour issue can commonly be found on third party retailers such as ebay and other sites with inflated pricing particularly when compared with standard retail pricing for taylormade s products . the vault in 2014 taylormade launched a platform on its website called the vault 12 to market and sell authorized tour issue products . examples of such products include sldr tour heads tour preferred udi irons and tour preferred limited edition wedges . the vault is the only channel in which taylormade directly sells individual components such as driver heads . see also edit adams golf references edit taylormade golf company set to release 14 degree driver . yahoo finance . 2 december 2013 . history of taylor made golf co. fundinguniverse . taylormade named one of outside s best places to work . pga.com . golf equipment that changed the game . golf.com . mike camunas . taylormade golf history . a b taylormade the undisputed 1 driver in golf files lawsuit over nickent golf s false and misleading tour claims . golf business wire . retrieved 1 february 2012 . a b on tour taylormade golf . official world golf ranking ranking . tour truck confidential . r11 ... 2 versions pics added ... . bombsquadgolf.com . sldr white 460 tour head . the vault . external links edit taylormade golf adidas golf golfing magazine article on gary adams founder of taylormade retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title taylormade adidas & oldid 743766367 categories adidasgolf in the united statesgolf equipment manufacturerssporting goods manufacturers of the united statescompanies based in carlsbad californiacompanies established in 1979adidas brandsclothing companies of the united statessportswear brandsclothing brands of the united stateshidden categories articles with a promotional tone from november 2012all articles with a promotional tonewikipedia articles needing reorganization from october 2012articles that may contain original research from october 2012all articles that may contain original researcharticles lacking reliable references from november 2012all 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