Decline and ownership changes
In late 1979, AMF appointed a new president of the company, who reduced Hogan's role in the business and removed him from its commercials. The company also shifted focus from selling in shops at golf courses to off-course stores; the strategy was unsuccessful and the business began to struggle financially.[22] Hogan disagreed with the company's mass merchandise approach. He believed consumers should receive fitting from a golf professional before buying clubs and was enraged upon learning that Hogan clubs had begun to be sold in discount stores. As he lacked support from AMF executives at the time, Hogan was unable to reverse the company's direction.[23] AMF sold the Ben Hogan Golf Company in 1984 to vulture investor Irwin L. Jacobs for $15 million (equivalent to $ million in ). This was part of Jacobs' hostile takeover of AMF, which was completed in 1985.[24] The company reported losses of $2.5 million in the year following the takeover. A new president was hired, who convinced Hogan that the company should release a line of easy-to-hit, cavity-backed irons for high handicap golfers, similar to ones marketed at the time by Ping. Hogan advertized the new clubs in television commercials and the company returned to profitability.[25] In 1988, the company was acquired for $55 million (equivalent to $ million in ) by Cosmo World, a group of Japanese investors who later bought Pebble Beach Golf Links. After the acquisition, Hogan said: "Mr. Isutani, you've bought the family jewels. Don't fuck it up."[26] The company began primarily focusing on the Japanese market and Hogan's influence on the company decreased. In 1992, Cosmo World was in financial distress and sold the company to Bill Goodwin, who had bought AMF Bowling in 1986.[27] Sports Business Journal stated that Goodwin paid $61 million (equivalent to $ million in ).[28] Goodwin had no background in golf and began cost-cutting measures, including the move of manufacturing from its long-term base in Fort Worth to a plant in Richmond, Virginia, in order to avail of non-union workers.[15] Hogan's secretary Sharon Rea recalled: "It very much saddened him when the company moved out of Fort Worth. He didn't have any children and this was his baby."[29] Less than a quarter of the company's employees moved to the new factory in Virginia, and revenue declined from over $60 million to around $10 million during Goodwin's ownership.[15][29] Following Hogan's death in 1997, the manufacturing returned to Fort Worth after Spalding bought the brand,[29] for $14.6 million (equivalent to $ million in ).[30] Spalding attempted to rebuild the company with former Hogan employees who had left under Goodwin.[29] In 2002, Spalding announced the release of the Ben Hogan Apex Tour golf ball. PGA Tour players such as Luke Donald, Bernhard Langer, and Hal Sutton signed contracts to play the ball.[30] In January 2003, a partnership with Bettinardi Golf was created to produce Hogan-branded putters. The company also announced plans to release Hogan-branded woods and expand the range of accessories.[29] Jim Furyk won the 2003 U.S. Open in June using Hogan clubs.[4] That same year, Spalding (then reorganized and renamed as Top-Flite) filed for bankruptcy.[29]
Callaway Golf Company bought the Top-Flite, Strata, and Ben Hogan brands out of bankruptcy, paying $169 million (equivalent to $ million in ) to outbid Adidas-Salomon.[31][32] Callaway subsequently announced that it would move the Ben Hogan manufacturing from Fort Worth to Callaway's headquarters in Carlsbad, California.[33] Callaway's chief executive officer Chip Brewer said in 2014 regarding the acquisition of the brands: "These were not necessarily strategic mistakes, but they never bore fruit."[34]
