TO SAY GOLF is more entwined with its equipment innovations than other sports isn’t opinion. It’s numbers. During the past 40 years, of the tens of thousands of patents granted in sports, golf ideas have numbered twice as many as those for football, baseball, basketball, hockey, tennis, swimming, bowling, soccer, lacrosse and skiing combined.
Feverishly anticipated by many, decried by others, golf products have relentlessly pushed forward technologically throughout Golf Digest’s 70 years, a time that’s likely seen more innovation in each successive decade than in the preceding century.
Of course, with that kind of progress, choosing one representative for each of the past seven decades meant leaving out memorable inventions (Softspikes, hybrids and launch monitors, to name three). But whether you’re a major champion or a beginner, the seven…
