Many people who know the Yamaha brand associate it with excellent musical instruments. Some may wonder, though, "Why did Yamaha start making golf clubs?"
The occasion that sparked Yamaha's golf business came in 1953, when then-president Genichi Kawakami took a trip overseas. During that trip, President Kawakami observed people in the U.S. and Europe enjoying their leisure time in a way that made him want to encourage the same in Japan. His goal was "creating rich pastimes," whether through music or through sports. President Kawakami launched Yamaha into the business of archery equipment, skis, and tennis rackets, based on the company’s metal processing technology amassed through musical instrument production, and coupled with its expertise in the development of materials such as fiber-reinforced plastics. Then, in 1982, Yamaha Golf got off the ground with the world's first carbon composite clubhead.
Leveraging the input of top pros on the golf circuit, Yamaha pursued golf clubs and equipment worthy enough to take a place among the musical instruments and sporting equipment it had already been producing. Excellent performance was a given. The higher goal was "design that stimulates the senses." The new golf products were crafted by teams of planning, design, aesthetics, development, and sales professionals, with the designers visiting production plants in person to carefully check each step of the process. The results have won praise from a wide range of golfers, from top professionals to beginners.
In addition, Yamaha goes beyond golf equipment with its ownership of the Katsuragi Golf Club, which ranks among the best courses in Japan for its size and quality. While also hosting the Yamaha Ladies Open Katsuragi, which has been the stage for many historic performances, Yamaha is thoroughly committed to the sport and to devoting its efforts toward golf's development. While carrying forward the philosophy of "creating rich pastimes," which was the guiding principle that originally led it into the golf goods marketplace, Yamaha's golf equipment business continues to relentlessly challenge itself.
1982 | Yamaha enters the golf products market with the world's first carbon composite clubhead
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1984 | Chris Johnson, a Yamaha professional golfer, wins a major championship title on the U.S. LPGA Tour |
1985 | Premiere of the annual Yamaha Cup Ladies Open |
1986 | Hal Sutton, a Yamaha professional golfer, wins a major championship title on the U.S. PGA Tour Scott Simpson, a Yamaha professional golfer, wins the U.S. Open championship |
1987 | Launch of the EOS "Energy of Sphere" Driver with a spherical shape and horizontal principal axis of inertia |
1990 | Pat Bradley, a Yamaha professional golfer, wins a major championship title on the U.S. LPGA Tour |
1991 | Sales commence for EOS Ti-22, our industry-leading large-sized titanium-forged clubhead |
1993 | Sales commence for Proto Forged, our super-cavitated soft-forged iron with an ultra-wide sweet spot |
1994 | Sales commence for Proto Forged Titanium, our titanium-forged iron
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1996 | Sales commence for Power Magic, our long-flight driver with low COG and low spin
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1997 | Hiroyuki Fujita, a Yamaha professional golfer, wins a first championship title on the Japan Pro Golf Tour |
2001 | Sales commence for Grandis 602, our titanium iron with the world's best low-COG design, fitted with 100 g of tungsten
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2002 | Sales commence for our new "inpres" series that pursues maximum flight distance
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2004 | Sales commence for our Fairway Wood inpres i.F.F. series, with a wholly unconventional reverse COG distance flow design |
2005 | Sales commence for inspires, our long-flight driver compliant with SLE rules
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2006 | Launch of the Yamaha Pro-custom Analyzing System (YPAS), offering in-store custom fittings for clients
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2007 | Toru Taniguchi tops the Japan Pro Golf Tour money list, playing with Yamaha clubs |
2010 | Sales commence for our inpresX D Ladies series, incorporating our R for Ladies Concept and customized for female golfers with its R (regular) shaft design
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2011 | Sales commence for our lightweight, long-distance New Femina series with an ultra-light design customized for female golfers
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2012 | Sales commence for inpresX RMX, incorporating our new concept for the custom selection of heads and shafts before purchase
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2013 | Sales commence for our beautifully designed, high-performance inpres C's clubs
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2014 | Sales commence for inpres RMX UD+2, delivering the flight distance of two clubs lower
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2015 | Sales commence for Grandis LX
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2016 | Launch of the New RMX series, delivering maximum long-flight performance and functional beauty
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2017 | The new inpres UD+2 series—a full lineup of clubs that deliver that deliver two clubs longer distance
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2018 | Yamaha Golf 2018 New Models RMX Further Improved Kick Velocity and Trajectory Consistency Complete New Lineup, from Drivers to Irons
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2019 | Yamaha Released RMX 2020 models series with New BOOST RING Technology to Further Improve Flight Distance
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2020 | A new Golf R&D Center intended for golf club development has been established within Yamaha's Tenryu Factory
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2021 | Yamaha Released RMX 2022 models series with RMX VD weight system
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2022 | Yamaha Released all new inpres DRIVESTAR Series and inpres DRIVESTAR LADIES series
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