• Equipment

  • Wishon Golf - acquired by Diamond Golf International (UK) as of Oct 1st

The good news is, Tom is staying on as a technical advisor and club designer. But they will now be a European-based company shipping everything from the UK. I imagine that will help the Wishon brand in Europe and maybe even globally, but I can only assume the Wishon following here in the US will decline as a result. Well, at least he's going out on top after releasing the most in-demand design of his entire career - the Sterling SL irons. They certainly are the best set of irons I've ever played!

Here are the details:

"Big changes are coming to Wishon Golf... Mary-Ellen and I have made the difficult but joyful decision to ease down on our workload and move towards a form of semi-retirement.

We have decided that, as of October 1st, 2016, we will be handing over the rights to the Wishon Golf brand to Diamond Golf International, based in England.
[....]
Those of you who are my age can attest that lifestyle and health considerations always influence decisions like this. It is my desire to create more time to focus on activities that I enjoy, take care of my health, and leave the distribution of the Wishon Golf product line to the next generation.

That said, I am still not entirely out of the picture. Instead I am moving into a different role: performing technical support and club head, shaft, and product design for UK-based Diamond Golf International.

Diamond Golf UK is by far the oldest, largest, and most experienced clubmaking supply company in Europe. There is no other company in the world I would trust with the future management and distribution of the Wishon Golf product line. In fact, I have a 35-year relationship with Diamond Golf UK. During that time, Diamond Golf has been the UK/European distributor for almost every club head, shaft and clubmaking product that I have created in my career in the custom clubmaking industry.

Mary-Ellen and I wholeheartedly thank you for your support of Wishon Golf USA and our efforts to provide the best designs and clubfitting technology to custom clubmakers worldwide. It has been — and will continue to be — my privilege and joy to make my life’s work designing clubs and shafts, researching the technical and performance aspects of equipment, and sharing what we have learned to help you provide superior performing custom fit equipment to your golfers.
[....]
Again, thank you for your support of Tom Wishon Golf and for allowing Mary Ellen and me to continue the work that we love, albeit in different roles. If you have questions about any of this, please contact us and we’ll do our level best to give you answers.

Best regards,

Tom Wishon"

**I edited out some of the info that is only relevant to Wishon dealers/fitters.

Glad to see the semi in semi-retirement. Thanks to Tom and his company for putting out some great stuff over the last 15ish years!

He's worked hard over the years, hopefully this "semi" exit will leave him something .
Best to hold the birds in hand instead of pie in the sky. In other words, take the cash , not the stock option and future job position.

As a big Wishon fan and user and builder of many of his clubs over the years, I thank Tom for his unwavering committment to helping golfers and wish him the best .

This is almost too much to process! Taylor Made up for sale to god knows who, Nike bowing out of hard goods, Golfsmith filing Chapter 11 and now this. I understand the Wishon brand will live on but he's giving up day to day hands on management to someone else. I hope quality standards don't suffer for fans of the brand and clubfitters. That's not a knock on Diamond Golf Int'l either btw. Don't know anything about them but there is always that risk in these kinds of transfers. How's Geek golf doing these days?

    mcavoy Geek Golf is the same as it was the day it was sold, in fact I don't think they've even changed anything on the website other than contact info. There are no new designs, and there probably never will be since the people who bought it aren't club designers. Same thing happened with SMT - they stopped coming out with new designs, sold/licensed their name to Diamond Tour, and now even though they have released some new designs they have nowhere near the following that they used to. At least with Wishon, Tom is staying on to work in product development and club design. After all that is the cornerstone of any component company, without which any component brand will vanish into thin air in no time.

      mcavoy This is almost too much to process! Taylor Made up for sale to god knows who, Nike bowing out of hard goods, Golfsmith filing Chapter 11 and now this.

      Don't forget about the demise of FGI, too...

        Yep, got the email.
        As long as Tom is still involved I'm good!

        Wow this is huge news! Good luck to Tom. I have to admit I am bummed he is stepping down and hope the new designs are just as good going forward.

        As for the Sterling Irons, really glad I put a set in the bag a few months ago. Really looking forward to adding the 4i later this year when it becomes available.

        a year later

        The 560mc won out in the end over the Maltby TE's.....just by a smidge, but they win out as I was more consistent with them on full shots. Have pcf micro tour 56 in the back too!

        Tom said he was working on some single length fairways and hybrids to be released probably next spring, but perhaps teased this fall, for those interested........

          I'm still gaming (bought them used 3-4 years ago, and did an alcohol treatment on them, they're purdy!) Golfsmith Tour Cavities, an old Wishon classic from his days at Golfsmith.

            I don't have any Wishon clubs in the bag anymore. At one time I had Driver, fw, irons, hybrids and wedges plus a putter in the bag. My wife still has the 730 driver that I built for her when they first came out. I can't pry it out of her hands. I bought a PING and a Cobra driver and they are both sitting collecting dust. When I first started building clubs Tom was working at Dynacraft. Then he went to GS and when he left there I believe Callaway asked him to come work in their design department, but he stated Wishon instead. The rest is history. I do miss him and his lengthy and informative monthly missives. I hope he and his wire are doing well.

            puttnfool Those were not only beautiful heads, but were darn good as well. I had a set of Rifle flighted 5.5 steel shafts in them. Boy I loved those sticks. Unfortunately I gave them to our Junior program at the club I was at back then. I don't have the game to play them anymore, but it would have been nice to take them out for a quick 18 occasionally.

              therod did an alcohol treatment on them, they're purdy!)

              Alcohol treatment? Please share more details?

                Golf club ho's version of beer goggles?

                JeffTilley Appreciate the response. I know I'm an anomaly here, but I play hybrids to 30° (longest iron is a 31° 6-iron; right now I have the Nike CPR Woods 18-30° all at single length) so it sounds like it might not be what I am after.

                However, I have been eyeing the 775HS's with their bendable hosel and two weight ports for the SL hybrid idea...