Tim Clarke Out At Wilson

Interesting news out of Chicago this morning: Tim Clarke is out as president of Wilson Golf.

Clarke had been with Wilson for more than 25 years and president since 2007, making him one of, if not the longest-tenured, leaders in the golf equipment industry.

Neither side is providing details on the decision. Global R&D Director Bob Thurman is taking over as interim golf GM.

Seventeen Years at the Helm

Clarke started with Wilson in the 1990s in sales and was elevated to president in 2007. At that time, Wilson was at its nadir. Bad decisions, a revolving leadership door and a quickly evolving golf market had made Wilson an also-ran. When Clarke took over in 2007, Wilson’s market share in irons was roughly one-half of one percent and annual losses ran into the $15-million range.

Wilson was in grave danger of going the way of other ill-fated legacy OEMs such as MacGregor, Spalding, Hogan and others. In fact, Wilson’s parent company—Amer Sports of Finland—was seriously considering shutting down the golf division. This was the situation Clarke inherited.

Among Clarke’s first moves was to rebuild the brand by refocusing in premium irons. The FG59 blades, along with Padraig Harrington’s three major championships in a little over a year, helped re-establish a pulse. Next, Clarke moved to “right-size” Wilson Golf. Sales shrunk considerably but that was by design in order to re-scale the company. Wilson Golf would ultimately return to profitability. But a return to its former glory, or anything close to it, would not happen during Clarke’s 17 years at the helm.

Driver vs. Driver

Clarke was a central character in Wilson’s two seasons of Driver vs. Driver. Say what you will about the program and the drivers it produced but it did generate plenty of buzz for Wilson. That buzz, however, hasn’t led to substantial growth.

Today Wilson remains on the outside looking in despite the fact it has made solid and often outstanding equipment over the past decade. Wilson irons have been consistent performers in MyGolfSpy’s Most Wanted testing. The D7 Forged was 2020’s Most Wanted player’s distance iron while the FG Tour V6 forged cavity-backs were the Most Wanted player’s iron in 2017. Wilson putters and golf balls have also performed well in our testing.

Drivers have been a weak spot for Wilson. The new Dynapower Carbon did finish above average for distance in this year’s testing. The Titanium version was in the upper tier for forgiveness.

Equipment aside, Wilson is like every other OEM outside of the Big Five in that it faces an uphill battle for golfers’ attention. Companies such as Callaway and Acushnet might be able to spend more money on marketing in a year than Wilson can in a decade. The Big Five have the wherewithal to dominate the equipment conversation. Smaller OEMs struggle to get a word in edgewise.

Wilson Going Forward

Chinese athletic apparel giant ANTA Sports and billionaire Chip Wilson, the founder of Lululemon, purchased Amer Sports – and Wilson – in 2019. At the time of the sale, Clarke told MyGolfSpy that new ownership identified golf as a potential growth segment, particularly in Asia.

We’ve noticed efforts toward that end, with golf equipment included in Wilson’s new Chicago and New York retail outlets. Despite the emphasis on and, we presume, investment in golf by ownership, Wilson still faces a challenge. We’ve said it before: the golf OEM status quo is powerful and resistant to change. Major market share gains for challenger brands are almost impossible, no matter how good a company’s irons, drivers, balls or marketing efforts may be.

As for Tim Clarke, his efforts to stabilize a ship that probably should have sunk can’t go unrecognized. Wilson was in dire straits when he took over in 2007. Considering the changing golf equipment landscape of the time, the company stayed afloat and became profitable during his tenure. That stands as an impressive achievement for one of the industry’s legitimate “good guys.”