Finding gold in Silverado.
That’s where Dr. Ben Huang, rocket scientist and the inventor of Winn grips, took an unexpected turn from the game of tennis to the world of golf.
Winn Golf Grips
In 1986, Huang, a newcomer to golf, enrolled in a weeklong session at The Golf Digest Academy in Silverado, California. Under the tutelage of Jim Flick and Paul Ryan, Huang submitted himself to a virtual boot camp. The grueling training may have left Huang’s shoulders sore and his hands blistered and aching, but it also left him determined. The rubber grips on his clubs were so slippery and uncomfortable that he had to overcompensate by holding his clubs too tightly. The tension translated into a stiff and labored swing. Frustrated and fed up with the strain, Huang resolved to use the vast expertise he’d gained from developing a successful tennis grip line to create a golf grip that would provide better shock absorption, improved slip-resistance, and unparalleled feel.
Over eighty patents later, Winn golf grips now bring greater comfort and enjoyment of the game to golfers worldwide. And Huang, who has long stopped strangling his clubs, has never had so much fun whether on the course or in the lab.
Winn Golf Grips Timeline
1963 – Dr. Ben Huang assists Dr. Wernher von Braun at NASA in design of Saturn V Rocket which eventually takes man to the moon in 1969.
1964 – Dr. Huang pioneers the Aerospace Engineering PhD program at The Georgia Institute of Technology. Produces 16 PhD graduates.
1973 – Dr. Huang leaves teaching. Develops Winn tennis balls.
1976 – Winn synthetic tennis strings. Gutex, Gutite.
1977 – Incorporation of Winn.
1980 – Winn synthetic polymer tennis grips revolutionize the sport, marking a shift from leather to synthetic. SuperTech. Absorb-Mor. Anti-Shok.
1996 – Winn’s first golf grip: The Classic. Elastom ETM technology.
1999 – Excel golf grip. ETX15 material.
2000– Famed former Tiger Woods coach, Butch Harmon, becomes Winn spokesperson.
2001 – Winn opens its fourth factory that includes state-of-the-art material production, quality control and R & D facilities.
2002 – Winn putter grips played by 23 winners on the Tour, including 3 Majors champions.
2004 – V17-AVS polymer with Advanced Vertical Seam technology.
2006 – Natalie Gulbis becomes Winn LPGA Player Advisor. Captures Evian Masters title in 2007 using Winn grips. Advanced Integration (AI) technology.
2007 – Dura-Soft V17 material.
2008 – Polymer Cord Integration (PCi) Technology. The feel of polymer; the control of cord.
