Fort Worth Business Press, May 12, 2014 Vol. 26, No. 18 | Page 19

fwbusinesspress.com | May 5 - 11, 2014 Ben Hogan brand returns home to FW Golfer’s company to produce line of clubs in 2015 n Robert Francis [email protected] See hogan u 20 photo courtesy of ben hogan foundation The Ben Hogan brand is coming home. Perry Ellis International, via a licensing agreement with Eidolon Brands LLC, announced May 6 that the iconic Ben Hogan brand will begin making golf clubs again in 2015, with the brand being based in Fort Worth. Terry Koehler, president and CEO of Victoria-based Eidolon Brands, is a lifelong Ben Hogan devotee and former director of marketing of the Ben Hogan Co. He is also the architect of the SCOR4161 product line, a line of wedges and set-match short irons. According to Koehler, a research and development team has already been working on the new Ben Hogan club designs, and the first offerings are targeted for introduction in 2015. “We are studying all the things Mr. Hogan believed about golf clubs, and dissecting early Ben Hogan designs to understand his performance principles and knowledge of what a golf club should do,” said Koehler. “There was a wealth of genius in those early clubs. Our commitment to the Ben Hogan legacy is to ensure that every product delivers unmatched precision and dedication to the art of shot making, providing equipment that allows golfers of all abilities the opportunity to optimize their skills.” For Koehler, creating the ‘new’ Ben Hogan Co. represents an opportunity to honor the legacy of two of his heroes: his father and Hogan. “My golf life began with an introduction to Mr. Hogan’s values and principles from my father,” Koehler said. “He played with Mr. Hogan before the war and considered him a true hero, so I did too. I grew Ben Hogan began the golf equipment manufacturing company in 1953, following his unprecedented season in which he won golf’s Triple Crown. 19