The Rise and Fall of Slazenger:The Golf Brand That Still Owes American Pros $2.3 Million
Persimmon Archive
17,578 views
In the summer of two thousand fifteen, a golf professional outside Chicago sat down to sort out his own retirement. His name was Tim O'Neal. He kept every financial statement anyone had ever mailed him, in order, in folders. And going through those folders, he noticed that one set of statements simply stopped.
What he found was roughly five million dollars belonging to American club professionals, sitting in accounts most of them had forgotten existed. Some of those men were already dead. Their widows had never heard of the program.
This is the story of Slazenger — the oldest name in sporting goods, the ball Bobby Locke carried to St Andrews, the sweater Seve wore at Lytham, and the only equipment company that ever tried to build a pension for the man behind the pro shop counter. Three hundred million pounds in 1996. Forty million pounds eight years later. And eighteen million dollars promised to people nobody at the end had ever met.
If you carried Slazenger in your shop or played the B51, the comments are the reason this channel exists.
Subscribe for more: @persimmonarchive
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KEYWORDS: slazenger golf, slazenger b51, slazenger founders club, bobby locke, seve ballesteros slazenger, dunlop slazenger, maxfli, cinven private equity, sports direct mike ashley, pga club professional retirement, vintage golf brands, golf brands that disappeared, rise and fall of golf companies, pro shop history, golf equipment history documentary
SOURCES:
Global Golf Post — "Lost And Found," Sean Fairholm (Slazenger Founders Club, Branon, Gorman, O'Neal, Stines, Ford, claim figures)
Slazenger Heritage company history (1890 first club, 1891 Guttie, Hilton Open wins, Horbury relocation, Locke, Ballesteros)
Wikipedia / Dunlop Slazenger, Slazenger, Maxfli, Carlton Sports (ownership chain: Dunlop Rubber 1959, BTR 1985, Cinven 1996, RBS 2001, Sports Direct 2004)
Let's Look Again — Dunlop Slazenger manufacturing history (Normanton, Barnsley, Manila, Maxfli sale)
Google Arts & Culture — B51 ball entry (1950, Patricia Borthwick attribution)
Heritage Auctions — 1957 Open winning ball and gold medal lot
Armchair Golf Blog / Alfred Pratt recollection — Locke at the Horbury works
USGA + R&A ball-size history (1.62 vs 1.68, 1974 Open bar, 1 January 1990 ban)
Britannica / World Golf Hall of Fame — Bobby Locke biography
17 Comments
My first equipment deal was with Slazenger. .during late 60s ,and early 70s I played Australaisian tour alternating using Dunlop and Slazenger equipment as the 2 companies had merged.
In 1980 I became the professional to Glenelg golf club in Adelaide South Australia, where I sold countless sets of both Maxfli and Slazenger. Nicklaus "power zone " clubs on special as a "close out model "
I sold a lot of B51 balls.
It’s always the corporate types that destroy a brand and pick the bones clean.
Of course they waltz out with a bag of cash, while the entrepreneurs and employees get destroyed.
Where’s the shame?
Where’s the eye on ethics and long term thinking?
Great video as usual.
The Rise and Fall of Slazenger:The Golf Brand That Still Owes American Pros $2.3 Million
Persimmon Archive
17,578 views
In the summer of two thousand fifteen, a golf professional outside Chicago sat down to sort out his own retirement. His name was Tim O'Neal. He kept every financial statement anyone had ever mailed him, in order, in folders. And going through those folders, he noticed that one set of statements simply stopped.
What he found was roughly five million dollars belonging to American club professionals, sitting in accounts most of them had forgotten existed. Some of those men were already dead. Their widows had never heard of the program.
This is the story of Slazenger — the oldest name in sporting goods, the ball Bobby Locke carried to St Andrews, the sweater Seve wore at Lytham, and the only equipment company that ever tried to build a pension for the man behind the pro shop counter. Three hundred million pounds in 1996. Forty million pounds eight years later. And eighteen million dollars promised to people nobody at the end had ever met.
If you carried Slazenger in your shop or played the B51, the comments are the reason this channel exists.
Subscribe for more: @persimmonarchive
MORE RISE AND FALL STORIES:
Adams Golf — The Rise and Fall of Adams Golf: The $70 M...
Spalding — The Rise and Fall of Spalding: The $1.1 Bi...
MacGregor — How Just One Mistake Destroyed Jack Nickla...
Ben Hogan — How Five Owners Destroyed Ben Hogan's Golf...
Nevada Bob's — The Rise and Fall of Nevada Bob's: The Veg...
Wilson — What Happened to Wilson Golf? | The Brand ...
KEYWORDS: slazenger golf, slazenger b51, slazenger founders club, bobby locke, seve ballesteros slazenger, dunlop slazenger, maxfli, cinven private equity, sports direct mike ashley, pga club professional retirement, vintage golf brands, golf brands that disappeared, rise and fall of golf companies, pro shop history, golf equipment history documentary
SOURCES:
Global Golf Post — "Lost And Found," Sean Fairholm (Slazenger Founders Club, Branon, Gorman, O'Neal, Stines, Ford, claim figures)
Slazenger Heritage company history (1890 first club, 1891 Guttie, Hilton Open wins, Horbury relocation, Locke, Ballesteros)
Wikipedia / Dunlop Slazenger, Slazenger, Maxfli, Carlton Sports (ownership chain: Dunlop Rubber 1959, BTR 1985, Cinven 1996, RBS 2001, Sports Direct 2004)
Let's Look Again — Dunlop Slazenger manufacturing history (Normanton, Barnsley, Manila, Maxfli sale)
Google Arts & Culture — B51 ball entry (1950, Patricia Borthwick attribution)
Heritage Auctions — 1957 Open winning ball and gold medal lot
Armchair Golf Blog / Alfred Pratt recollection — Locke at the Horbury works
USGA + R&A ball-size history (1.62 vs 1.68, 1974 Open bar, 1 January 1990 ban)
Britannica / World Golf Hall of Fame — Bobby Locke biography
-Slazenger B51
Slazenger sweater (the cheetah)
Slazenger irons
Never saw one