Abeles grew up in Glastonbury. His father Sigmund, now 97, is a physicist and avid learner. He frequently invited astronomers and oceanographers to dinner with the family.<\/p>\n
Abeles’s late mother, Rochelle, was a clinical psychologist who was compassionate and keenly insightful about the human spirit.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a wonderful blessing to have parents that loved each other very much, despite their deeply different views of the world,\u2019\u2019 Abeles says.<\/p>\n
Neither, however, played golf.<\/p>\n Abeles\u2019s neighbors – older, twin teenagers – did play golf, though, and were the first to introduce him to the sport. By age 12, Abeles was hooked and became a competitive state player in high school.<\/p>\n \u201cFor golfers like me, it is significantly more than recreation, more than sport. It is part of your DNA,\u2019\u2019 he says.<\/p>\n Long before he was old enough to drive a car, Abeles was caddying at Glastonbury Hills Country Club, learning the rules and etiquette of the game, picking up some business knowledge from the golfers, and occasionally hearing a few racy jokes.<\/p>\n Studying business at UConn proved to be an invaluable experience.<\/p>\n \u201cAt UConn I had wonderful, incredible classmates and professors. I remember some of my classes like they were yesterday,\u2019\u2019 he says. \u201cMy exposure in the business school helped me create an ideology of how a business should run.\u201d Having a marketing major, with a finance concentration, helped him view business from multiple perspectives.<\/p>\n In 1989, Abeles tried out as a walk-on for the UConn basketball team, but didn\u2019t make the cut. The decision to play club golf instead was an easy one, and that experience has led to a long-term devotion to the team. He is in regular contact with UConn Golf Coach David Pezzino, and Abeles invites the team to visit TaylorMade\u2019s test facility, known as \u201cThe Kingdom.\u2019\u2019 Occasionally, Abeles plays golf with Geno Auriemma.<\/p>\n \u201cDave\u2019s support of our program has been incredible, and his willingness to share ideas and talk through ways to build a team has meant so much to me and our young men,\u2019\u2019 says Pezzino, who has coached at UConn for 19 years. He describes Abeles as genuinely kind and thoughtful.<\/p>\n \u201cDavid and his team at TaylorMade have taken outstanding care of our program. Because of his love of UConn, our team has access to the very best equipment and expertise in our game,\u2019\u2019 Pezzino says. \u201cDavid and I talk often, and he always wants to know how the guys are doing, and what\u2019s up with our team. He genuinely cares about our program and all our sports. He\u2019s a massive fan.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n Abeles and his wife, Melody, have three sons, and the family members are all avid and competitive golfers. While he\u2019ll have his two oldest at Wake Forest next year, his sister, nieces, and nephews are all Husky alumni.<\/p>\n \u201cUConn means the world to me. Husky Nation never left me,\u2019\u2019 Abeles says. \u201cI always try to give back.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n Golf is Having a (Big) Moment<\/strong><\/p>\n Today there are some 80 million golfers worldwide, up 55% from a decade ago.<\/p>\n \u201cGolf is hot,\u2019\u2019 Abeles says. \u201cThere is a great deal of demand. Multiple generations are participating, and golfers are more diverse than before. We\u2019re drawing more women, youth, and diverse players to the sport.<\/p>\n \u201cOur industry is in a very good place. A silver lining to COVID was that everyone enjoyed outdoor sports because it gave them a chance to play in a safe environment. Its popularity soared because it\u2019s relatable, athletic, and fun. It is a hobby that embraces everyone. We believe the global influx to the sport is sustainable and will continue to grow over time.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n Advice to UConn Students: Work Hard, Take Chances, Innovate<\/strong><\/p>\n After graduating from UConn, Abeles was offered a job on Wall Street, but decided it wasn\u2019t for him. His father advised him to make his passion his vocation, so he accepted his first job selling equipment at Golfers\u2019 Warehouse in Hartford. Ironically, that company is now one of TaylorMade\u2019s best customers.<\/p>\n Over the course of his career, Abeles has been commercially focused, starting in sales, developing his brand marketing and product skills, and ultimately moving into general management. He has worked primarily in the golf-equipment industry, but also in sports-event management.<\/p>\n Abeles says if he could offer advice to UConn students and recent alumni, based on his experience, it would be to pursue a passion, take chances, and always strive to innovate.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is important to clearly identify what your specific objectives are, establish a viable strategy, surround yourself with great people, prioritize your resources, and work your tail off,\u2019\u2019 he says.<\/p>\n \u201cI would also encourage young professionals to master specific skills in their domain and leverage technology for their benefit. These areas of focus will be a differentiator,\u2019\u2019 he says. \u201cIt is also important for young people to recognize that the variable that each of us controls is our work ethic. No short cuts! Put in the effort and the results will follow.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n Company Culture, Partnerships, Technology<\/strong><\/p>\n Abeles is particularly proud of his company\u2019s ranking among the most loved workplaces.<\/p>\n \u201cOur culture is unique. The words above the door read: ‘We are golfers!’ It isn\u2019t just our workplace. We live it,\u2019\u2019 he says. The typical employee stays with the company for 14 years.<\/p>\n Abeles credits that to the values of originality and innovation, a highly competitive team, and a corporate spirit they refer to as \u201cgolf-o-mistic.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I\u2019m most proud of is our people, who tell the world that they love to work here, that they\u2019re inspired to work here,\u2019\u2019 he says. \u201cI think part of that is maintaining clear strategic plans and hiring people who are relentless in that pursuit.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cThe most important thing is the environment and culture we have here. When people walk in here the energy you feel is unique; unlike any other golf company in the country,\u2019\u2019 he says. \u201cSure, I worry about tariffs and energy prices, but the thing that keeps me up is the question: Is the culture more advanced than it was yesterday? Are we humble, focused, and passionate about what we do?\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n To nurture that enthusiasm, TaylorMade surveys employees every four months to identify problems before they grow. They also offer development, training, and AI classes at prominent universities in the area. Several UConn alumni work at TaylorMade, either as interns or permanent employees.<\/p>\n Abeles holds himself to the same standard. As the company\u2019s chief spokesman, he uses a coach to help him present his message in a clear and focused manner.<\/p>\n And while other companies talk about innovation, TaylorMade lives it. \u201cInnovation is in our cultural DNA,\u2019\u2019 he says, adding that the company is already planning products that it will launch five years from now.<\/p>\n The TaylorMade Qi4D driver was one of the most anticipated and widely discussed releases of 2026, and received high ratings from early users. \u201cCreating this driver is more complicated than building a ballistic missile,\u2019\u2019 Abeles says. \u201cYou\u2019ve got 30,000gs of force, it has to deliver at least 4,000 times without compromise, and consistently hitting launch conditions of 180 miles per hour,\u2019\u2019 he says.<\/p>\n TaylorMade also invested in PopStroke, a reimagined mini golf course\/entertainment experience where traditional windmills and waterfalls are replaced with next-gen technology. The establishments, now in more than a dozen cities, include lively bars and full-service restaurants.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re relentless in our pursuit of making things better,\u2019\u2019 Abeles says. \u201cWe want to be the best performance golf brand in the world and the most inspired, forward-looking company in the industry.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n Abeles, who recently attended the 2026 Master\u2019s at Augusta National, says no matter how often he\u2019s there, it is as thrilling as the first time. \u201cIt\u2019s an incredible privilege to do what we do,\u2019\u2019 he says.<\/p>\n \u201cI have no tattoos,\u2019\u2019 Abeles says, then chuckles. \u201cBut, if I had one, it would say \u2018TaylorMade!\u2019\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" ‘At UConn I had wonderful, incredible classmates and professors. I remember some of my classes like they were yesterday’<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121,"featured_media":245373,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[147,1712,2193,156,1862,2235],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[2105],"class_list":["post-245371","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-athletics","category-hartford-county","category-profile","category-busn","category-today-homepage"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-30 04:45:56","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245371","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/121"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=245371"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245371\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":245376,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245371\/revisions\/245376"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/245373"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=245371"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=245371"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=245371"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=245371"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=245371"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Portrait](\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/David-Abeles-Headshot-small-225x300.jpg\")
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