I have had many “pinch-me” moments from the beginning to work in golf. I have interviewed famous athletes, traveled to Golf courses in Top-100 and holiday destinations. And how could I forget the mountain of golf shoes I compiled in the process?
But when it comes to that “wow” factor, those things fade compared to my last time last inside the Adidas archive. Located at the Adidas Headquarters in Herzogenaurach, Germany, the archive is not open to the public, and rarely people from selected employees receive ventures in its large relics corridors.
Among 40,000 articles plus ranging from the first shoes created by founder Adi Dassler to the World Cup football balls used in the game, was amazed again to me again and again how dedicated, dare to say fixed, Adidas is with performance.
Like players’ players, we are worried about improving and gaining an advantage. My time spent in the Adidas archive further cemented the idea that perhaps the most iconic sports brand in the world is, indeed, everything for performance.
Because I was privileged to experience something such that very few people sometimes would, I would forgive you not to share the three things I learned about Adida’s heritage and how it is worth it today.
1. Golf is important for the brand
For a brand founded on the right track and the field (and probably the most popular in football/football), Adidas is a serious player in the golf space. This amount was evident when I was held to hold and handle the first Adidas Golf shoe created in 1975.
For 50 years, Adidas has repeated and evolved on it (very successfully, I can add) to bring shoes focused on player performance. And if the past is any indication of the future they will continue to perform admirable in our most sought after testing.
Why? Because it is besides their DNA.
2. Ok is good to be different
Someone has to take the step. Why don’t you have to be?
It is clear to me after studying the part of the Adidas archive that the brand is not afraid to try something new. Adidas Golden Gold Golf shoes from the 80s are evidence that sometimes different is really, really delightful.
The same design philosophy resonates throughout their main offers today, nearly 50 years later. Adidas has never been removed from being unique and this is part of the reason they continue to push envelope in both performance and culture.
3. The few inspire a lot
One thing that stood me repeatedly was this idea that Adidas develops products for world -class (little) athletes, however those same products are built to perform for everyday (many) athlete.
Take for example this shoe worn by Sandy Lyle on the 1988 masters. Of course, Adidas makes a great golf shoe for the best players in the world, but they also ensure that any shoes they also work for golf It will never get the opportunity to wear a green jacket.
Heritage
The rich sports heritage of Adidas, as well as their ability to enter the old archives, set them to continue a reign of the prevailing shows in the golf shoe space. If my time in their archive were in some way a predictor of what comes, I can only imagine what the next adidas will be designed.
office 3 things I have learned to visit the Adidas Archive first appeared in MygolfSSS.
