Equipment
Not Dead: Ben Hogan Golf Equipment Company announces restructuring
After rumors circulated this morning on social media that the Ben Hogan Golf Equipment Company had laid off all its employees and was going out of business, the company responded with a press release that calls the reports “greatly exaggerated.”
“While our organization does not look the same today as it did in 2016, we are confident that the changes we are making will make us a stronger and better company in the future,” said Ben Hogan Golf Equipment CEO Scott White.
According to the release, the Fort Worth, Texas-based company is going through a voluntary reorganization with the stated goals of minimizing expenses and streamlining operations — “approximately 30 [employees]” were laid off, according to Golf Digest, and “CEO Scott White said it hoped to rehire some as contract employees.”
“The company has not declared bankruptcy nor been foreclosed upon, and remains in the business of producing and selling the highest quality and most precise golf equipment in the world,” the press release said. Company representatives did not return calls from GolfWRX for comment.
The Ben Hogan Golf Company was re-launched under the leadership of golf equipment industry veteran Terry Koehler in 2014, who worked at the original company founded by nine-time major championship winner Ben Hogan. The company is best known for its lines of forged irons and wedges, which are sold in individual lofts (20-63 degrees) to help golfers improve their distance control and gapping.
Koehler stepped down as CEO this summer, and was replaced by Scott White.
Neal Shipley was the first to admit that he enjoyed his food while in college. But since his days at Ohio State, he’s slimmed down and earned a PGA Tour Card.
That hasn’t stopped him from having fun with his wedge stampings, though it’s led to some misunderstandings.
On the 54 (degree), we have ‘Big Fudge,'” Shipley told GolfWRX. “It was supposed to be ‘Big Fridge,’ so this happened a little while ago. ‘Big Fridge’ was a nickname between my college teammates and I, with ‘fridge’ meaning stomach, a big stomach.
“We told the Ping guys to put … ‘Big Fridge’ on it, and I think maybe some bad cell service or something, and they thought I said ‘fudge,’ so they put fudge on it.”
On Shipley’s 50-degree he also continues the food theme, this time with his go-to order at the “Golden Arches,” and his stamping “DONS 7.”
“The number 7 meal, the two cheeseburger meal, that was my McDonald’s order, back when I would have McDonald’s frequently,” Shipley shared.
At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals who all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.
It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.
Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, @raw10628 has a L.A.B. DF3 putter and Masters putter cover up for grabs.
From the listing: “Some great items here today, time to thin out and make room for next set of gear. All prices include shipping.
LAB DF3 Purple 33.5” 68° lie with TPT – $725. LAB Masters release DF3 cover – $150.”
To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link. If you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum, you can learn more here: GolfWRX BST Rules
Driver: Ping G440 LST (9 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 5-M4
3-wood: Ping G440 Max (15 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 6-M4
5-wood: Ping G440 Max (19 degrees @18)
Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 6-M4
Hybrid: Ping G440 (23 degrees)
Shaft: Oban Isawa Red Hybrid Shaft 04 Flex 70 Gms
Irons: Srixon ZXi7 (5-P)
Shafts: Aerotech SteelFiber Private Reserve i80
Wedges: Cleveland RTZ (50-MID, 54-FULL, 58-MID)
Shafts: Aerotech SteelFiber Private Reserve i105
Putter: L.A.B. Golf OZ.1i
Shaft: ACCRA Putter Shaft
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
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Maria Torres WITB 2026 (June)
Driver: Ping G440 LST (9 degrees) Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 5-M4 3-wood: Ping G440 Max (15 degrees) Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 6-M4 5-wood: Ping G440...
Eric Cole WITB 2026 (June)
Driver: PXG Lightning Tour Max (9 degrees) Shaft: Project X Titan Yellow 70 TX 3-wood: TaylorMade Qi4D (15 degrees) Shaft:...
Si Woo Kim WITB 2026 (May)
Driver: Callaway Quantum Triple Diamond (8.5 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X Mini driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Mini...
Wyndham Clark’s winning WITB: 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
Driver: TaylorMade Qi4D (10.5 degrees) Shaft: Project X Titan Yellow 60 TX 3-wood: TaylorMade Qi4D Tour (15 degrees) Shaft: Project...
Mike
Jan 28, 2017 at 1:03 pm
Need to get some bags out on tour so people can see the name. Most golfers don’t know the history of Hogan clubs. Need someone to come in and help with business model
rex235
Jan 12, 2017 at 7:30 pm
Dead?
The “new” Ben Hogan Golf Company has always been RH Only.
Apparently they chose to ignore what Ben Hogan wrote in “Power Golf”.
JThunder
Jan 9, 2017 at 5:05 pm
“Restructuring” = keep CEO and mgmt pay high, lay off and cut back on everyone/everything else.
Never works, just delays the inevitable. Allows the “company” to be milked another year or two.
As with Scor, the necessity of having a club for every single loft is both costly for the mfr and stores, and confusing for the vast, vast majority of non-super-tweak-Golfwrx golfers.
In other words, it’s a fine business model if you want to corner a niche and make a fair income. A horrible, awful idea if you want to “crush the competition” and become major. According to every “business” thread on Golfwrx, the latter is the only reason to get into business. See: Toulon selling out, Miura selling out, Nike giving up… etc.
John Schwartz
Jan 9, 2017 at 12:19 pm
Anyone know where I can purchase a set of Fort Worth iron at a discount?
Mike t
Jan 4, 2017 at 9:49 pm
Tough market under best of circumstances. Big 5 dominates and traditional blades are a hard sell.
Pavel
Jan 4, 2017 at 2:27 pm
Sorry to hear about problems at BH.
I got a few SCOR wedges a few years ago, really liked them.
Heard about BH ramping up, got some mid-irons, really like them.
After working a bit of a deal with BH, replaced the SCORs with BH wedges, really like them.
Realized that some of the clubs had the wrong grip size, worked with BH, got the right grips and credit off a new VKTR hybrid, which I really like, to pay for local regripping.
Overall price was no worse than the Ping i15s I got when I (re-)entered golf back in 2010.
I’m a happy camper, BH-wise. I hope they succeed, but will play these clubs regardless…
My 0.02.
BIG STU
Jan 4, 2017 at 1:39 pm
I do know that all but one guy on another site that tested them has dropped them. I looked at a set at PGASS and did not like the way they sat period and I am a blade player. I do know some of the devoted classic Hogan fans did not like them either. But hey I wish the company all the luck in the world
Mat
Jan 3, 2017 at 10:55 pm
New tech? No.
New sales method? No.
New fitting method? No.
New look? No.
Bespoke design? No.
Wide range of no-upcharge shafts? No.
But damn it, we have BH and the loft on there!
Pulling a Nike in 5…4…3…
Boobsy McKiss
Jan 3, 2017 at 10:06 pm
ROFL at the creative banter in here. +1 to you fellas.
Would not want to be in the business of making golf equipment these days. Have to move a lot of clubs to pay for all that overhead and R&D. Sounds like Hogan didn’t have much of the later though.
Rich Douglas
Jan 3, 2017 at 9:50 pm
I loved my Hogan Edge irons, the first cavity-back forged iron offered by a major manufacturer. But that was 1992. What’s changed? Individual loft numbers instead of club numbers? Really? That’s just a gimmick, and not a very good one. After all, you might find yourself tweaking lofts on a normal set anyway, and you can’t possibly know which exact lofts will provide the distances and gaps you need; you might find yourself tweaking these lofts, too.
I sold them when I realized I needed more help (I was a 16 back then, a 6 now) than those barely-cavity almost-blades could provide.
The company is going to need something else.
Jack
Jan 4, 2017 at 2:33 am
LOL yeah who remembers the loft of their 7 iron? and all 9 other irons? Terrible idea that required people to relearn something that made the game even more difficult.
farmer
Jan 3, 2017 at 9:26 pm
I have hit the new Hogan irons, and they were fine. There’s the problem, there are a bunch of irons that feel fine, with real distribution networks, a presence in the retail world. Hogan has none of these. Remember when Scratch was all the buzz? Same issues, and Scratch is no more, even though they made fine irons.
Lowell
Jan 3, 2017 at 8:38 pm
As everything else in life you either reinvent your product to attract new buyers or be left waiting for the traditionalist to buy your product. I loved Hogan clubs back in the day but lost touch and never had a reason to go back. I hope they make it but somebody is starting to write on the wall. I give them a dumb and dumbest chance. Go Loyd!!!
KK
Jan 3, 2017 at 6:50 pm
Anyone really surprised? Ben Hogan Golf Co. is trying to sell 80s clubs in 2016.
Buck
Jan 3, 2017 at 8:24 pm
By 80’s clubs, do you mean ones you can’t hit? Just kidding.
I don’t believe there’s anything wrong with the clubs themselves. As others have already stated, it was their business model that sealed their fate.
Matt
Jan 3, 2017 at 6:15 pm
They seem to be very expensive.
Lowell
Jan 3, 2017 at 8:40 pm
I remember in the early 2000’s when a buddy of mine flew to their home office, got fitted and left with a new set of clubs. I think it was somewhere in the neighborhood of $3000. Not sure what else you got.
bogeypro
Jan 3, 2017 at 4:09 pm
If they would just put iron numbers on their clubs….I’d probably look at them. Great equipment with a weird idea.
Brian
Jan 3, 2017 at 4:13 pm
They started doing that last year, in addition to the lofts.
McPickens
Jan 3, 2017 at 5:39 pm
“…started doing it…” poorly. Awful looking etch job. Should have stayed with traditional numbering with custom lofts.
John H. Brink
Jan 3, 2017 at 4:59 pm
Trying to deal with them directly was exasperating at best. Those who offered to help open sales territories were basically ignored. Flawed sales strategy and clubs priced to line someone’s pockets.
Feel the Bern
Jan 3, 2017 at 3:36 pm
Seems to me Ben Hogan would be rolling in his grave if he were still alive.
Captain Obvious
Jan 3, 2017 at 3:45 pm
Seems to me that if he were still alive, he wouldn’t be in his grave.
Double Mocha Man
Jan 3, 2017 at 3:47 pm
Ah, living up to your username, I see.
RanchoBob
Jan 3, 2017 at 4:02 pm
Actually, if he were alive he’d be in his grave scratching at the lid.
*ba dum tss*
Feel the Bern
Jan 3, 2017 at 5:02 pm
Just seems that news like this would make good ol’ gentle Ben glad he isn’t around to see his name tarnished.
Hawk
Jan 3, 2017 at 5:21 pm
I don’t believe that the word “gentle” was ever used to describe Hogan. Gentle Ben Crenshaw, yes. Gentle Hogan? Not quite.
the bishop
Jan 3, 2017 at 5:35 pm
A guy I know relayed a personal Ben Crenshaw story that might make you rethink the term “Gently Ben” as well.
Feel the Bern
Jan 3, 2017 at 9:06 pm
He’d be pretty ornery if he heard you say that. Hope he doesn’t have the internet in heaven.