According to the ‘Dallas News’ only weeks after US equipment company Ben Hogan Golf made the majority of its workforce in Fort Worth redundant, the company filed for bankruptcy over the weekend, reports Golf Industry Central
The Chapter 11 petition, filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Fort Worth on Saturday, lists both assets and liabilities between $1 million and $10 million. Among its top creditors are Perry Ellis International, which licensed the Hogan name to the company, owed $267,500, and Conti Edgecliff-Sias LLC, its landlord in south Fort Worth, owed $77,256.74.
The Fort Worth maker of premium golf clubs, backed by Corbett Capital in Fort Worth, brought the revered Hogan name back to the marketplace two years ago under the leadership of industry veteran Terry Koehler. The company introduced its first set of irons, the Fort Worth 15, in 2015, and a second set, called PTx, a year ago.
Introduced at a time when the golf business has been in the rough, the new Hogan clubs took the novel approach of numbering irons by loft — anywhere from 20 degrees to 63 — instead of the traditional 2-9 plus wedges.
Last August, Koehler was replaced as president and CEO by Scott White, who previously worked as an executive at both Callaway Golf and TaylorMade. In November, the company said it would add the traditional 2-9 numbers on the hosels of the clubs.
On Jan. 3, about 30 workers were laid off, leaving less than 10 employees at its facility near Interstate 35 and Interstate 20 in south Fort Worth. In a statement at the time, Hogan called the action, “Re-tooling and right-sizing in an effort to become more nimble and profitable.”