Top 100 Businesses in Golf 2025
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KBS
Corporate Headquarters: Carlsbad, California

Company Overview

Founded in 2008 and created by renowned shaft designer Kim Braly, KBS has evolved from a Tour-driven vision into one of the fastest growing and most innovative golf shaft brands in the industry. Since its inception, over 150 professionals have adopted KBS shafts, validating the company’s commitment to performance and innovation.

Manufactured in partnership with FEMCO Steel Technology (FST), KBS’s current product line encompasses over 30 different shaft models. The company’s products are available through major golf club manufacturing partners, retailers, dealers, golf club fitters, and aftermarket consumers, as well as directly through their website.

The company’s heritage is deeply rooted in golf innovation. Braly, an accomplished amateur golfer and the son of the inventor of DynaPhase golf clubs (the first mass-market titanium clubs), brought decades of experience to KBS. Prior to founding KBS, Braly was responsible for developing proprietary steel shafts for several OEMs and holds patents for Frequency Matching in graphite shafts. He was also the creative force behind the revolutionary stepless RIFLE and Project X shafts.

Innovation and Technology

KBS shafts incorporate unique and advanced designs to provide golfers maximum feel and performance throughout their entire golf bag. The company’s commitment to innovation is validated through partnerships with leading manufacturers including Titleist, TaylorMade, Callaway, PING, PXG, Mizuno, and Bridgestone, among others.

The company’s focus on tour feedback and testing remains a cornerstone of their development process, continuing the legacy of Kim and his father, who operated one of the PGA Tour’s first “tour vans.”

Recent Developments

The KBS Golf Experience in Carlsbad has emerged as a world-class fitting and shaft analysis facility, offering complete new equipment builds and retrobuilds for existing clubs built to tour standards. The facility provides one-on-one sessions with highly trained KBS fitters and master builders, emphasizing the company’s commitment to custom fitting and performance optimization.

KBS has also launched an Education Center, serving as the official KBS resource for PGA Professionals and club builders. The comprehensive coursework covers the entire KBS product line, fitting, and club building, offering MSR credits and professional certifications to participants.

Strategic Vision

“Our mission remains steadfast – Player Driven, Tour Proven,” says Kim Braly, Director of R&D and Tour Operations. “The trust from our partners validates every product we create at KBS. These partnerships demand that we continue to create best-in-class products that translate to confidence in every swing. As we look to the future, we’re focused on maximizing the performance of players’ equipment by providing the most technologically advanced golf shafts on the market.”

KEY TAKEAWAYS

KBS continues to set new standards in steel shaft technology, maintaining its position as one of the fastest-growing steel shaft brands in the industry. The company’s combination of innovative design, tour validation, and comprehensive fitting capabilities has established it as a trusted leader among PGA Professionals worldwide. Through its extensive network of manufacturing partners and dedication to advanced shaft technology, KBS is poised to continue its trajectory of growth and innovation in the golf equipment sector.

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Top 100 Businesses in Golf 2025

The following are the businesses included in the latest version of the NGF GOLF 100, an effort to highlight the vitality, size and diversity of a $102 billion-a-year industry. This is an alphabetical list, not a ranking, of companies and brands that deliver products and services primarily targeted to commercial golf and conduct all or a majority of their business within the U.S. Find an issue with a company profile? Whether it’s information, staffing or logo that needs to be updated, please contact our editorial director, Erik Matuszewski, at erikm@ngf.org.

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