Ben Hogan brand lays off 'large percentage' of workers

The Ben Hogan golf brand has been forced to lay off “a large percentage” of employees at its Fort Worth-based factory, thought to be around 30 staff.

The Hogan brand, which re-entered the market in 2015, says it has “voluntarily implemented” a reorganisation and streamlining process.

However, CEO and Hogan President Scott White said the company wishes to retain some employees as contract workers.

The re-launch of the previously successful Hogan brand was originally overseen by Terry Koehler, a former director of marketing for the organisation in the mid-1990s.

While the new kit was well received by the industry and players alike, many were aimed at better players, which negates a large segment of the market.

Our investors remain committed…but as with any investment group, they expect to see a positive return on investment at some point,” White told Golf Digest.

“These initiatives will help us achieve profitability more quickly. We needed to right-size and re-tool the organization for future success. Though we’ve been pleased with our success over the past three years since we re-launched the Ben Hogan brand in the equipment market, the cost to run the ‘machine’ had gotten out of balance compared to our revenues.”

Products are available through the Ben Hogan website.