TaylorMade golf balls are made through a global network spanning three countries. The company's flagship 120,000-square-foot Liberty, South Carolina, facility handles final assembly and urethane cover application for premium lines like the TP5 and TP5x. However, core and mantle components come from their Korean plant in Cheongju and a Taiwan facility. So when you see "Made in USA" on a box, that's technically referring to final assembly—the full supply chain story is more intricate.
When golfers debate where TaylorMade golf balls come from, they often assume everything ships in from overseas factories, but that's not the full story.
TaylorMade's North American golf ball production headquarters sits in Liberty, South Carolina, a rural community of just 3,200 residents tucked about two hours north of Augusta. The company established this facility in 2013, replacing a 51-year-old plant in nearby Westminster. By July 2014, the changeover was complete. The $13 million facility spans 120,000 square feet, giving TaylorMade the space needed to improve production quality and margin position. The state-of-the-art plant is located in Pickens County Commerce Park, which local officials championed as part of South Carolina's pro-business environment.
Here's what matters: this isn't some token assembly operation. The Liberty plant churns out 3.2 million dozen golf balls annually, which is 38.4 million individual balls per year. Operations run 24/7 with approximately 300 employees working rotating shifts. Every TaylorMade ball destined for the PGA and LPGA Tours passes through this facility before reaching professional competition. This domestic manufacturing approach differs from competitors like Srixon, which relies on a global production strategy combining facilities in Japan and Indonesia to meet worldwide demand.
Although Liberty handles the lion's share of TaylorMade's North American production, the company's global operation extends deep into Asia through two specialized facilities.
The Korea plant in Cheongju, acquired through the 2021 Nassau Golf purchase, isn't just assembly; it's a full-scale manufacturing hub producing everything from core to cover. You'll find your TP5, TP5X, Tour Response, and SpeedSoft balls rolling off these lines, including those eye-catching Pix and MySymbol visual technology versions. This facility represents TaylorMade's third global golf ball plant, joining its established operations in South Carolina and Taiwan.
Meanwhile, Taiwan's Neihu District facility focuses on core and mantle layer production, feeding components to other plants for final assembly. Both facilities handle cast urethane and ionomer production, giving TaylorMade serious flexibility. This isn't outsourcing, it's strategic vertical integration that lets them respond quickly to global demand spikes. The Korean facility also benefits from being approximately two hours south of Seoul, giving it access to an educated workforce and advanced manufacturing infrastructure. This approach contrasts with competitors like Ping, who maintain domestic production in Phoenix for all its golf equipment manufacturing.
Every TaylorMade golf ball passes through roughly 30 distinct manufacturing steps before it lands in your bag, and understanding this process reveals why premium balls cost what they do.
The expedition starts when workers mix butadiene rubber with proprietary additives, then roll it through a two-roll mill to create sheets. These sheets become compression-molded cores that undergo centerless grinding for perfect roundness. Next, injection molding applies mantle layers using retractable pin techniques. The construction features three layers of thermoplastics that progress from soft outer material to increasingly stiff inner layers for optimal performance.
Here's where it gets interesting: TaylorMade uses a patented cast urethane process with dimpled molds resembling muffin pans. Workers inject urethane into cavities, creating half-balls that join together and cure for several hours. The TP5x features a cover thickness of 20,000 of an inch, comparable to 10-11 human hairs. The seam buffing that follows removes flash material, while mechanized measuring devices verify every ball meets compression and dimensional standards. This level of precision mirrors the rigorous manufacturing standards that leading competitors like Titleist employ at their dedicated ball plants in Massachusetts.
Several premium TaylorMade ball lines share a common birthplace: the Liberty, South Carolina, facility that's been humming along for roughly a decade. You'll find TP5, TP5x, and Tour Response balls all passing through this plant; it's the exclusive source for every ball you see on the PGA and LPGA Tours. These are the same balls trusted by elite players like Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, who represent the brand on tour.
Here's where it gets interesting. Check your box carefully. You might see "MADE IN KOREA" or a longer label explaining the urethane cover's assembled stateside while cores and inner layers come from Taiwan. The reality? Mantle and core components ship from Asia, then Liberty handles the critical cast urethane process, dimple shaping, buffing, painting, and stamping.
The 300-person facility runs 24/7, churning out the global supply of TP5 and TP5x balls for both retail shelves and Tour bags. The plant currently produces 3 million to 3.2 million dozen golf balls annually, with ambitious plans to increase output to 4.2 million dozen within the next couple of years. The state-of-the-art facility was established in 2013 and serves as TaylorMade's North American golf ball production headquarters.
Behind every TP5 sitting on a retail shelf, there's a complex web of factories, shipping routes, and assembly lines that most golfers never think about, and that's exactly where the "Made in USA" claims get murky.
TaylorMade owns facilities in Liberty, South Carolina, and Nassau, South Korea, plus they acquired Foremost to expand their manufacturing footprint. Here's what actually happens: core and mantle components get manufactured in Asia, specifically Korea and Taiwan, then shipped to the Liberty plant for final assembly.
You're getting a ball assembled in America, not manufactured from scratch there. The Liberty facility handles urethane cover application, quality control, and finishing for North American products. That's a meaningful distinction when you're paying premium prices expecting domestic craftsmanship. The supply chain spans multiple continents before your dozen arrives at the pro shop. This contrasts with competitors like Callaway, whose Chrome Soft line is manufactured exclusively at their Chicopee, Massachusetts, plant from core to cover.
You won't find a precise total time because TaylorMade doesn't publish it, but here's what we understand: each workpiece carrier completes one physical lap around the molding machine in 12–15 minutes, and the urethane cover alone requires several hours to cure before further processing. Add painting, multiple buffing stages, stamping, and quality control, and you're looking at a multi-day process from start to finish.
Yes, you can tour the TaylorMade Liberty, South Carolina factory, but don't expect to just show up. Tours aren't regularly open to the public; they're occasional, require registration, and availability is limited. The plant hosted a behind-the-scenes tour on March 27, 2024, and the golf media got exclusive access. Your best bet? Check TaylorMade's official channels for announcements or watch video tours from Golfweek and GolfMagic.
Partially, yes. TaylorMade's Liberty, South Carolina, plant handles final assembly, urethane casting, finishing, and quality control, which costs more than fully overseas production. But here's the catch: their cores still come from Korea and Taiwan. So you're paying a premium for American labor on the finishing steps, not a fully domestic product. That hybrid model keeps prices competitive while letting them claim a US manufacturing presence.
I can't give you a definitive answer here because TaylorMade doesn't publicly document custom logo services specifically from their Liberty, South Carolina, facility. The available information focuses entirely on their standard production and tour ball manufacturing. You'll need to contact TaylorMade directly to find out if their US plant handles custom branding work or if that's outsourced elsewhere in their global operation.
TaylorMade's hybrid model gives you supply chain resilience that fully overseas competitors can't match. While Srixon manufactures everything in Japan, TaylorMade assembles and finishes urethane balls in South Carolina, meaning shorter lead times and fewer tariff headaches for US golfers. You're getting final quality control on American soil, which matters when shipping delays or cost fluctuations hit overseas-only producers. That's a practical advantage worth considering.
You're paying for performance, not a "Made in USA" sticker, and that's perfectly fine. TaylorMade's global manufacturing network combines South Carolina craftsmanship with precision overseas production to deliver consistent quality across every product line. Whether your ball rolled off a Liberty assembly line or was shipped from Korea, the technology inside remains identical. Focus on finding the right ball for your game, not its passport.
