In 1932 Wilson Advisory staff member Gene Sarazen was inspired by the
aerodynamics of an
airplane's
wing to create a club head that would glide smoothly through sand. Sarazen welded a piece of steel to the sole of the club and ground it producing 'bounce'. This marked the introduction of the sand wedge and in 1933 alone, Wilson sold 50,000 of these clubs, marketed as the R-90, which went on to be the most popular sand wedge in golf. In 1933 Wilson Advisory Staff member
Willie Ogg created a design for distributing weight away from the heel of the club head, moving it towards the "sweet spot" of the blade. This design feature was used in the Wilson irons, the forerunner of perimeter weighted or
cavity back irons. In 1948, then
Wilson Sporting Goods President Lawrence Icely provided the financial backing for
Patty Berg and
Babe Didrikson Zaharias to form the Women’s PGA, predecessor of today's
LPGA. In 1954 Wilson began producing the Wilson Staff ball which was seen as revolutionary due to its ability to launch up to 40 percent faster than the golf club's head speed. In 2005 Wilson Staff claims to be the first golf company to utilize
nanotechnology in golf equipment. == Major championships==