Golf Manufacturing

When it Comes to Manufacturing World Class Golf Equipment, San Diego Has Cornered the International Market

From Primitive Clubs to NASA Tech

Golf is a game that was first played in 15th century Scotland in the Kingdom of Fife, where early enthusiasts would hit a rock or pebble around a natural course of sand dunes and animal tracks using a stick or primitive club. It’s has come a long way from its origins along the eastern Scottish shores hundreds of years ago and has since evolved into a highly technical game of great precision in both skill and design, where clubs and equipment are now aerodynamically crafted from the same durable products employed by NASA.

Across The Pond – Carlsbad, CA Becomes Golf Central, USA

Hundreds of years after its original creation, golf manufacturing has meandered its way across the Atlantic and the expanse of the United States to find a home in sunny Carlsbad, California, now recognized around the world as the home of the golfing industry – Golf Central, Titanium Row or Titanium Valley. In this article we caught up with SCL Subject Matter Expert and Industrial Products and Services Consultant, Jon Seymour about SCL’s role in golf manufacturing and assembly of some of the best homegrown equipment on the planet. Seymour worked for 13 years in the golf industry in San Diego for Callaway Golf where he did quality control on head and shaft manufacturers to ensure that they were to spec. At Callaway he met his wife, Melissa Seymour – currently executive administrator to Roger Cleveland, founder of Cleveland Golf – known for the most played wedge in the world, the “588,” which remains to this day one of the best selling golf clubs of all time. Cleveland is now a consultant with Callaway, designing their wedge line.

If It’s Good Enough For a Jet, It’s Good Enough For a Club

At SCL we provide Chemetall’s Tech Cool 35052 and 795 B Houghton, both Boeing-approved coolants for the machining of club components, along with way oils and greases to a variety of golf manufacturers in the area. “For CNC machining,” says Seymour, “there is a whole line of 795 products for aluminum and steel – Honda-approved, Rolls Royce-approved, but our customers really love the 795 B Houghton International metalworking fluids because if it’s good enough for Boeing, and good  enough to be run in a jet, it’s good enough to be used in the aerodynamics of golf equipment.”

All The Key Players

Says Seymour, “There was a time when putter heads were made from wood and over time it became clear that the center of the golf club head technology is essential. Modern clubs are made with a sweet spot for the weekend warriors and an emphasis on lighter and more durable materials, engineered for maximum aerodynamics for professionals.” Callaway, Cleveland, TaylorMade, Cobra/Puma and Titleist along with a smattering of other equipment manufacturers that specialize in putter heads, shafts and grips call Carlsbad home. They have sophisticated R&D departments where they work their space age, aerodynamic magic, as LA Times writer Patrice Apodaca writes,“Testing (clubs) made from advanced composite materials–similar to those used to make Stealth bombers… designed by a crack team of engineers, scientists and metallurgists employing computer modeling and customized rapid-prototyping machines.”

The Ongoing Legacy of Golf

According to Seymour, “The scope of what North San Diego County – Carlsbad, Oceanside and Vista has done for the golf manufacturing industry is impressive and it truly is the golf capital of the world in terms of research, design and assembly  with Callaway, Taylor Made, Cobra/Puma, Cleveland, Titleist, Ping and a handful of others. Manufacturing of the golf shafts, heads and assembly was once primarily done right there in Carlsbad, but over time the personality of the industry has changed and Calloway, along with other big companies has moved much of its manufacturing to other locations such as Tijuana. They no longer make the steel shaft or graphite shafts, filament wound shafts, steal heads and aluminum heads in Carlsbad, but instead focus on research and development and assembly. Golf manufacturing is big business, and the products manufactured and assembled in San Diego find their way into the hands of the world’s best golfers and to the most prestigious competitions. As a solutions and logistics provider for the golf industry, we are proud to be a part of that continued legacy.”  

Contact an SCL Consultant Today

In a wide range of industrial sectors, if there’s metal touching metal, oil is involved. At SCL, we’re here to protect and optimize the machines that keep our country moving and we pride ourselves on providing superior logistics and solutions, extensive product and industry knowledge and total performance satisfaction for our customers. For information on how we can assist your fleet in choosing the optimal products at a competitive price, contact an SCL consultant today.