What Winn does

Winn Incorporated is a privately held manufacturer of polymer-based sports grips and wraps, founded in 1977 by Dr. Ben Huang and headquartered in Huntington Beach, California. The company operates across four verticals — golf (its primary business since 1996), fishing rods, bicycle grips, and tooling handles — and serves recreational golfers, professional Tour players, OEMs (club manufacturers), junior golfers, and niche medical-use cases like golfers with arthritis or hand injuries. Winn pioneered the use of premium polymer compounds in golf grips, displacing traditional rubber, and has built a portfolio of patented proprietary technologies including WinnDry (tacky, all-weather performance), WinnLite (lightweight injection molding reducing grip weight from ~50g to ~25g), DuraTech (hybrid polymer/rubber), Advanced Vertical Seam (AVS), Polymer Cord Integration (PCi), and Advanced Integration (zone-specific tackiness). The product line spans Dri-Tac, Dri-Tac 2.0, Dri-Tac LT, Dri-Tac Lite, Dri-Tac Wrap, Excel Wrap, WinnPro X, NTP, and the 2020 VSN putter series, differentiated by firmness, size, and shape.

Winn's business model is hardware sales through a multi-channel distribution footprint: 32+ international distributors across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and Africa, a US dealer network, OEM supply to club manufacturers, a dedicated Tour Department for professional golfers, and a direct-to-consumer online storefront at winngrips.shop. The company does not sell grips directly to consumers at retail; pricing is set by dealers. Revenue is generated entirely from grip hardware across the golf, fishing, cycling, and tooling verticals. The company is founder-owned (Dr. Ben Huang serves as CEO), operates three factories, has no external institutional funding, and supports brand visibility through long-standing endorsements from Butch Harmon (since 2000) and Natalie Gulbis (since 2006), along with the AJGA Official Grip Partnership (since 2009).

Name

Winn

Legal name

Winn Incorporated

Website

https://winngrips.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1977

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Winn Incorporated is a privately held, founder-owned manufacturer of premium polymer grips for golf clubs, fishing rods, bicycles, and tooling handles, distributing through a global dealer network and OEM channel. Founded in 1977, headquartered in Huntington Beach, California.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Huntington Beach

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Operations, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Personnel, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Golf Grip Sales: Winn manufactures and sells premium polymer golf grips through a network of authorized dealers and international distributors. Products include grips for woods, irons, wedges, and putters in various sizes and firmness levels.
2. OEM/Manufacturer Sales: Winn supplies grips directly to golf club manufacturers (OEM) as original equipment on new clubs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Winn designs and manufactures polymer-based grips and wraps for golf clubs, fishing rods, bicycles, hockey sticks, baseball bats, tennis rackets, racquetballs, and tools. The company sells its grips to OEMs and through a network of dealers and international distributors, with consumers purchasing through dealer locators and authorized online partners rather than directly from Winn.

Product overview

Winn is a manufacturer of premium polymer golf grips, offering a comprehensive portfolio of products organized around three core technologies: WinnDry Polymer (tacky, all-weather performance grips), Excel Polymer (ultra-soft comfort grips), and WinnLite Technology (lightweight grips for increased swing speed). The product line spans standard club grips (Dri-Tac, Dri-Tac Lite, Dri-Tac LT, Dri-Tac Wrap, Excel Wrap, WinnPro) and dedicated putter grips (Dri-Tac Putter, Excel Putter, NTP, 2020 VSN Series). Products are differentiated by firmness levels (Ultra Soft, Performance Comfort, Responsive), grip sizes (Standard, Midsize, Jumbo/Oversize), and shapes (Pistol, Medallist, Wrap). The company pioneered polymer grip technology in golf, moving away from traditional rubber.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Golf Club Grips
• Fishing Rod Grips

Quantifiable outcome

• WinnLite reduces grip weight by about half (from ~50g to ~25g) to improve club head feel, swing tempo and solid contact
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Breast Cancer Research OrganizationsminorOthers · 1 January 2011Winn created pink ribbon grips with a portion of proceeds donated to breast cancer research. Products include men's black/pink G8 grips and women's grips supporting the cause.
• Gary Gilchrist Golf AcademycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2010Winn became the Preferred Grip of the Gary Gilchrist Golf Academy Junior All-Star Series. The partnership provides grip services at AJGA events including HP Boys Championship at Carlton Woods and Heather Farr Classic.
• Troops First FoundationminorOthers · 1 January 2010A portion of proceeds from Winn Hero grip sales (camo green/khaki grips honoring military personnel) is donated to the Troops First Foundation to support U.S. soldiers.
• American Junior Golf Association (AJGA)coreGTM or Marketing Partner · 12 July 2009Winn became the Official Grip Partner of the AJGA in 2009, providing complimentary grip fitting and replacement services at Junior All-Star events. The partnership supports the development of young golfers ages 12-18 and aligns with Winn's mission to enhance junior golf performance from the start.
• Natalie GulbiscoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 September 2006LPGA professional Natalie Gulbis signed as Winn's LPGA Player Advisor in September 2006. She won the Evian Masters in 2007 using Winn grips on all clubs, validating the product's tour-level performance.
• Families of Freedom Scholarship FundminorOthers · 2 October 2002Winn donated $100,000 to the Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund in October 2002 to provide educational scholarships to children and spouses of 9/11 victims. The donation was funded through sales of commemorative USA putter grips.
• Butch HarmoncoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2000Renowned golf swing coach for Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson has served as Winn spokesperson since 2000, lending credibility to the brand in the professional golf world.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights10 records

Broad incumbents

• Acushnet Holdings (Titleist/FootJoy): Golf conglomerate (Titleist, FootJoy) with grip and glove offerings; serves as both potential OEM customer and broad incumbent competitor in golf equipment accessories.
• Callaway Golf: Major golf OEM with broad equipment portfolio including proprietary grip offerings; a key customer for Winn's OEM channel and a competitor for grip real estate on new clubs.
• PING: Major golf club manufacturer with proprietary grip lines and selective OEM grip sourcing - relevant comparable as both customer for Winn's OEM sales and competitor in grip category.
• TaylorMade Golf: Large golf OEM that purchases aftermarket grips as OEM fitments and competes with Winn through proprietary grip specs. Comparable as both customer and adjacent competitor.

Direct peers

• Lizard Skins: Manufacturer of grips and wraps for cycling, golf, fishing, and baseball - directly comparable to Winn's multi-sport grip strategy, including a co-branded relationship referenced in Winn's history.
• SuperStroke: Specialist in oversized putter grips that competes directly with Winn's putter grip line (Excel Putter, NTP, Dri-Tac Putter). Notable for premium positioning and Tour adoption similar to Winn's strategy.
• Lamkin Grips: Long-standing golf grip manufacturer offering rubber and polymer grip lines with similar Tour endorsement strategy. Closely comparable to Winn in product mix, channel approach, and customer segments.
• Golf Pride: World's largest manufacturer of golf grips, owned by Eaton. Directly competes with Winn across rubber and polymer grip categories, supplies OEMs, and dominates Tour usage - making it the primary share benchmark for Winn.
• IOMIC: Japanese golf grip manufacturer with proprietary elastomer material technology (IOMAX), competing in the same premium polymer grip category as Winn with strong Asian-market distribution parallels.

Emerging players

• Karma Golf: Smaller putter grip brand focused on ergonomic/no-taper profiles, overlapping with Winn's NTP and arthritis-friendly product positioning but at much smaller scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/winngrips
• Facebookfacebook.com/WinnGrips
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/winn-incorporated

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Winn