By AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION NEWS The breakthrough made headlines in 2003: Scientists had mapped the DNA sequence that makes up the genetic code of humans. Since then, scientific discoveries and transformative technologies have ushered in a genomic era that continues to peel back layers of information about traits and diseases […]
The post The future of heart disease prevention? How your genome expresses itself appeared first on News on Heart.org.
If you play Game Improvement irons and don’t play Game Improvement wedges, Cleveland says you’re doing it wrong.
Wrong. Plain and simple.
Take a look at the bag drop the next time you play. What kind of irons do you see in those bags? Most likely it’s some variety of large, light, cavity backed, perimeter weighted Game Improvement iron – Cleveland says as many as 84% of you are bagging GIs.
Then check out the wedges. Vokeys? Cleveland RTX’s? A set-matching Gap wedge?
Cleveland says 84% of you are doing that, and 84% of you are doing it wrong.
And Cleveland thinks it has a solution.
“Blades wedges don’t make sense for the Game Improvement golfer,” says John Rae, Cleveland’s VP or Research and Development. “They’re significantly heavier, the shaping’s different, and it doesn’t have any of the Game Improvement features the iron set has.”
Set matching wedges, according to Cleveland, aren’t any better.
“Those wedges don’t have high-tech grooves or high-tech face roughness,” says Rae. “And to be totally honest, there’s very little thought put into their sole design by different manufacturers. In most cases, the Gap wedge is just slapped onto the end of the set. The Pitching wedge is basically your 10-iron, and the Gap is your 11-iron. They’re making a 4, 7 and pitching wedge and just extrapolating all the other lofts off those.”
So if you’re a GI player, you likely have either blade wedges that aren’t as forgiving as and don't match your irons, or you have set-matching wedges that don’t offer the requisite wedge-ness to do what you need to do from 100 yards and in.
Cleveland’s solution? The CBX Game Improvement wedge.
Now before you start crying nothing new here, yes, we know – and Cleveland knows - all about its previous cavity back wedges, including the RTX-3 CB option.
“If you go back in time, we did have cavity back wedges in our line – the CG 16, CG 14, CG 11. But the trap we fell in to was even though we were making cavity back wedges, they were still based on our better-player wedges. They were close in head size, the sole width was similar, and the total club weight was similar to a standard blade wedge.” – John Rae, Cleveland VP of R&D
Cleveland says the CBX has been designed from the ground up to be a true Game Improvement wedge. There are some tech stories you’ll want to consider, and we’ll get to those in a sec, but first, let’s review the visuals.
The first thing you’ll notice is the good sized cavity that allows for more perimeter weighting. You’ll also notice even though the head is noticeably larger than, say, your standard RTX, Vokey or Mack Daddy, and the wedge itself is lighter. Flip this puppy over, and you’ll see a sole that starts out wide at the heel and gets significantly wider as you move from heel to toe.
Oddly, it doesn’t scream “shovel.”
The CBX wedge shares several features with Cleveland’s RTX-3 offering: Feel Balancing Technology, the V-Sole and Cleveland’s Rotex face. As mentioned earlier, CBX gets its GI on by modifying the V-Sole and with perimeter weighting.
The sole gets significantly wider as you transition from heel to toe. Cleveland says the shape will sacrifice some shot-making flexibility compared to a blade-style wedge, but it will help the GI player get the club through the turf and help with forgiveness.
Want to win a…
Enter MyGolfSpy’s Giveaway!
Lower handicap golfers who want wedge flexibility, and have the skill to open up the face and pull off a variety of shots, probably won't like or need the CBX sole. Mid-handicappers, says Rae, don’t open the face up as much and may need more help on full, square face shots.
“The wider sole isn’t as much of a negative for the mid- to high-handicap golfer, but it’s a big positive in that it helps them with the shots they hit most often. As the V gets narrower towards the heel, it allows you to open the face a little, but the wider sole isn’t great for the massive open-faced flop shot kind of thing. In reality, high handicappers won’t be trying that shot anyway.” – John Rae, Cleveland Golf
The modified V-Sole also helps with weight distribution and Cleveland’s Feel Balancing Technology, which is a fancy term for moving the club’s center of gravity away from the heel and more toward the center of the face.
“A fundamental flaw in wedge design is that they have this big, long hosel,” says Rae. “As a result, you end up with a bunch of weight in the heel section, and the CG ends up being heel-biased.” Cleveland introduced Feel Balancing Technology in its RTX-3 wedges last year in an effort to move CG closer to face center (Vokey and Callaway were already heading in that direction). The CBX sole shape and cavity back allow Cleveland to get the CG almost dead center.
“When you get the center of gravity in the middle of the face, you’ll get only a little bit of performance drop off in terms of spin and distance if you hit it a little on the heel or on the toe,” says Rae. “If your CG is to the heel side, like a normal wedge, you’ll get more spin and distance if you hit it towards the heel, but as you move towards toe hits you’ll get a big decrease in performance.”
“A traditional wedge is much more inconsistent if you’re trying to hit the middle of the face. A little bit of a miss-heel or a miss-toe will have two radically different results. Better players tend to figure that out. What we’re doing with CBX is giving that average golfer – the mid-handicapper – the most consistent performance across the face of a wedge he’s probably ever seen.” – John Rae, Cleveland Golf
Cleveland’s internal testing shows more consistent ball speeds heel to toe with CBX compared to a traditional blade wedge – the very definition of forgiveness - as well as tighter dispersion, compared to blade wedges and set-matching wedges.
Spin-wise, you won’t see much – if any – difference between the CBX wedge and Cleveland’s RTX-3’s. The CBX features Cleveland’s Rotex face, with Zip Grooves, Micro Milling, and Laser Milling. The stock shaft is the Dynamic Golf 115, which has the same step pattern and flex and bend properties as the standard Dynamic Gold but is lighter to better fit in with Game Improvement irons. That means you won’t have such a dramatic jump from a 90 to 100-gram shaft in your GI irons to a 130-gram shaft in your wedges.
The CBX does have a taper-tip hosel, so in theory, nearly any shaft can be installed. Rae says you’ll be able to order custom option from Cleveland, but the target market probably isn’t thinking along those lines.
“Besides,” he says, “the heavier the shaft, the more you’re taking away from the purpose of the product.”
You’ll notice there aren’t a lot of bounce options with the CBX. Again, that’s intentional to make it easy for the target market.
“It’s a single finish and a single bounce option – basically mid-bounce,” says Rae. “We don’t want to confuse the average golfer by making the process so difficult that he just goes back and buys the set wedge or a blade wedge.”
CBX is meant to be a high-performance wedge designed to fit with Game Improvement iron sets. Is the golf world ready for that? Cleveland (and others) already has offerings for the high handicap golfers with its Smart Sole wedge offering, but will the middle of the bell curve want a CBX?
“It should be our biggest seller,” says Rae. “The only reason it wouldn’t be is the golfer. I think it’s going to take a few generations to really convince golfers they need to play a cavity back wedge.”
Rae says the target market is any golfer with a handicap ranging anywhere from 8 to 10 up through 20. How you integrate CBX into your set depends on what your handicap is what it is.
“A lower handicapper who’s playing GI or Super GI irons may be the guy who’d switch out his pitching wedge he’s been using for a lot of bump and runs for ours. It’ll give him more spin and control with a better sole. He might want to take out his Gap wedge and replace it with one of these, but keep his blade style sand and lob wedge if he has the skill set and wants the versatility those offer.” John Rae, Cleveland Golf
A practice session with the CBX shows a few things. On full shots, this thing is as forgiving as advertised and is silly easy to hit, and distance control is fairly consistent compared to a blade wedge. The wider sole makes it pretty easy to pick it clean and hit down on the ball, but on the downside is you have limited ability to open the face up if you need to. But then again, that’s not what the wedge is designed for.
If you’re a chronic chili-dipper around the green and simply want to get the ball in the general direction of the hole, you may find a friend in the CBX. If you have the skill and short-game creativity to play high spinners, low rollers or anything in between, you’ll find the CBX a little limiting.
The CBX wedge gives Cleveland the broadest short-game offering in the business – everything from the better-player suited RTX-3 all the way to the Smart Sole offering for the high handicapper. CBX sits right in the middle, where an awful lot of golfers – 84% of you – reside.
OEM’s are constantly trying to design equipment that packs in as much GI tech as possible while still looking like a golf club. The challenge facing Cleveland is the preconceived notion of what a wedge is supposed to look like. Visual familiarity equals comfort, and if golfers aren’t comfortable with the looks, they may never consider a club, even if it’s good for them.
Cleveland’s CBX wedges are available in men’s and women’s models. Men’s wedges are available in eight lofts in two-degree increments, ranging from 46 to 60 degrees. Stock shafts include the steel Dynamic Gold 115 wedge shaft and Cleveland’s 90 gram Rotex wedge shaft in graphite. Cleveland’s Lamkin BlueCap grip is standard.
Womens’ wedges are available in seven lofts (48 to 60 degrees), with Cleveland’s Women’s Action Ultralight 50 wedge flex shaft and Women’s CBX grip standard.
MSRP is $129.99 in steel, $139.99 in graphite. Pre-sale beings August 28th, and in store availability is September 15th.
This article is part of our Bakery Business Startup Guide—a curated list of articles to help you plan, start, and grow your bakery business!
Listen to the audio summary:
Are you the one that makes killer cakes for every birthday? Do you churn out to-die-for donuts? If you’re ready to turn your talents into a profitable bakery, you’ve come to the right place.
We’ve teamed up with a few amazing bakers who were willing to share their great business advice. This guide is meant to give you all the ingredients you need to plan, start, and grow a successful bakery.
To get your piece of the pie, combine these tips with your impressive baking talents and you’ll be on your way to success.
Michelle Green started baking when she was a teen, but it wasn’t until she was well into her corporate career that she realized baking was her true calling. Fed up with the stale muffins that seemed to be standard fare at all of her board meetings, this baker and mother of triplets decided to ditch the business suit and open her own shop in Australia called Three Sweeties.
Barbara Batiste was also baking treats at an early age for her close-knit Filipino family, and after years of amazing her relatives with her creations, she decided to turn her love of all things tasty into a business. She started in her home, and her business continued to expand. She has outgrown three commercial kitchens since, in part due to her creative business modeling, which includes both a catering service and a mobile dessert food truck. Now, she’s preparing to open a storefront in West Los Angeles called B Sweet Dessert Bar.
Victoria Roe started baking over a decade ago when she was asked to make a carrot cake for her mother in law’s birthday. She runs her business from home, a cottage industry, in a small village in Ohio. Most of her customers find her through word of mouth or learn about her business when they taste one her creations at a local coffee shop. She focuses on gluten-free and vegan–but you’d never know it to taste them. Running Three Leee Cupcakery from home gives Victoria the flexibility be present to her young family and pursue a degree in business while bringing in income.
With Michelle and Barbara’s help, let’s get the planning process started.
One of the first decisions you’ll have to make is the kind of shop you want to open. To do this, you’ll want to assess your talents, budget, and goals. Be sure you’re not making this decision in a bubble—you will want to have your ear to the ground on national trends in the industry—remember the cupcake shop craze (and the cupcake-focused reality TV shows) a few years back? But don’t simply take your findings at face value either. It’s equally important to do local market research to figure out how national currents will affect your particular location and demographic. From there: take a look at the list below and decide which one is right for you.
Once you know what kind of bakery you want to open, you need to create a business plan. This will force you to look at the business from every angle. It will help you define your business, set goals, find ways to generate revenue, list expenses, identify your customer base, and examine your competition.
As part of your business plan, you’ll dive into finances. One of the numbers you’ll need to generate is startup cost.You’ll need to compile a list of equipment, from appliances like ovens and refrigerators, to smaller items like utensils and pans. Make sure you create a full list of tools. The equipment will be a one-time hit, but you’ll also need money to live on while the business gets established.
You won’t make profits overnight, so you need to sit down and figure out when you’ll break even and how much money you’ll need to survive until that time.
If you’re running a bakery from your home, you’ve already got your space figured out. If you plan to invite customers into your shop, you’ll need a formal spot with a kitchen and an area for the public. Some bakers decide to rent out commercial kitchen space only. It’s a good option if you don’t want customers to walk through your shop, and just need a bigger, more equipped kitchen.
Whatever your needs, be picky. Shop around, compare prices, talk with neighboring businesses, and research the area to make sure you find the right space. It’s never a bad idea to look into small business incubator programs that might offer space and business training or mentorship at a reduced rate. Do not forget to consider the legal necessaries—which will vary state to state—such as obtaining a license to bake out of your own kitchen.
Roe says that following some simple guidelines laid out by the USDA lets her earn an income, develop wholesale relationships with local restaurants, independent hotels, and coffee shops, but still enjoy the benefits of being a stay at home mother. “Baking from home at sometimes can be a challenge, Mainly in the realm of time management and little fingers wanting to try all the frosting. I am also limited on certain ingredients that I am allowed to use depending on their acidity ratio and their storability because I am not a commercial kitchen,” she says.
Wherever you decide to run your bakery, be sure to think through the pros and cons and their related costs.
Most bakers base their retail price points on the cost of supplies and the time it takes to make the goods, but Green says this formula is flawed.
“Your prices should include things like clean up time, packaging, and time spent promoting your business on social media,” she says. “The biggest hidden cost in a bakery is time. It’s easy to forget the time you spent making flowers because you were watching TV while you did it. There is nothing worse than realizing afterward that you earned 50 cents an hour on a fabulous creation.”
Before you sell your first scone, be aware that friends and family will probably ask for a discount.
When you’re selling cakes and cookies as a side gig, it’s fine to give the neighbor or the PTA president a discount, but when you start your business, it’s different. “All those wonderful people who previously bought cakes off of you for the cost of ingredients are going to need to be re-educated about what you’re doing now,”
Green says. “Those who really love and support you will also understand your need to feed your family and pay your rent.” If you want to offer a 10 percent discount to friends and family, that’s fine, but whatever your policy is, make sure it’s consistent.
Speaking of friends and family, a support system is crucial in the baking business, Batiste says. Opening a business is time-consuming. Time spent baking is only half the commitment. You’ll need to market your business, take orders, help customers, and do an array of administrative tasks.
If you don’t have someone cheering you on, it can be hard. Whether it’s your spouse, a colleague, or business mentor, you need someone in your corner. Roe says, “To say it is just me would be a lie. Though I do all the baking, my husband helps me tremendously, from delivering to running out late for some organic butter.”
What’s the one ingredient every successful small business needs? Customers. This next segment will help you find and retain customers.
Be original. These two words might seem like generic advice, but to survive, you can’t be a carbon copy of your competitors. “Be the best, the first, or the only one baking the kind of treats you make,” Green says. “If you can be all three of those things, that’s even better.”
Know what kind of competition you have in your area and work to set yourself apart. Green’s bakery, for example, is the only one in the area that sells nut-free cupcakes.
Roe’s focus is on gluten-free and vegan baked goods made with organic and local ingredients. “I really find happiness in seeing any child be able to have a decadent cupcake or piece of cake on their birthday that otherwise would not be able to because of food allergies. I have experimented relentlessly to create recipes that taste amazing, even know they are free of animal by products, gluten, pesky preservatives and all that other nasty stuff.” It’s an approach that resonates in her community where so many people value natural and locally sourced food.
One of Batiste’s original twists is a food truck. You know the food trucks that sell sandwiches and pizza to folks during the lunch hour? Well, Batiste has her own dessert trucks that travel the streets of Los Angeles selling all kinds of tasty treats. The trucks even have their own Twitter handle, so customers can locate them at any time.
Batiste’s mobile dessert trucks.
You can spend all day and night in the kitchen creating the next best cake, but if no one knows about it, it doesn’t matter. That’s why you have to set aside time and money to market your business.
“Being a fabulous baker doesn’t guarantee success,” Green says. “You also have to be a fabulous marketer too.” Too many bakers get wrapped up in technique, but “perfect ganached edges mean nothing if you have no actual orders on which to have perfect ganached edges.”
Your customers are your key to success. Happy customers become repeat customers, so work to make each customer experience memorable, Batiste says.
Ask your customers for feedback, talk with them at the counter, and ask for product suggestion once in awhile. Green agrees. “Make the customer experience count,” she says. “That’s the best way to get repeat customers and money in the register.”
Once the bakery is up and running, you can start thinking about growth. We’ve got a few tips to make sure it continues to thrive.
Most bakeries are busy during the warm months. Shoppers that are out and about are likely to wander into your shop on sunny summer days. Plus, summer is full of parties like graduations and weddings. The end of the year will be busy too, Batiste says, as the holidays are always a hectic time for bakers.
To even out your revenue stream, you might consider diversifying your business. Batiste offers catering, for example. Her corporate clients keep a steady stream of orders coming through year round. Of course, adding products could increase your expenses and change your workflow, so make sure you weigh all of your options if you plan to branch out.
When the orders pile up and you need more hands in the kitchen, you’ll have to make your first hire. Batiste says she had a hard time hiring help because she didn’t want the quality of her products to suffer.
She did bring several employees on board, but she did so cautiously. “Don’t hire anyone immediately and put new hires on a probation period. You want to make sure they are trustworthy and have the capability to learn,” she says. “Really delegate the way you want your business [to run] and how you want your food cooked and baked. Set the bar really high.”
Your initial marketing strategies will hopefully result in a steady stream of repeat customers, but that doesn’t mean you should let up on your marketing efforts.
Try new marketing tactics. Buy ads on social media, participate in charity events, and hand out business cards as often as possible. You should always be looking for new ways to get your name out there, Green says.
When you’re first starting out, you’re thinking about breaking even. Putting away money for retirement is usually pretty far down the list of things to accomplish, but you shouldn’t let it linger.
Once the business is functioning, you should sit down with a financial advisor and talk about saving for retirement. As a business owner, it’s your responsibility to make long-term financial plans.
Do you have experience opening your own bakery? What worked for you, and what didn’t? Share this article on Facebook or Twitter and let us know what you think.
By AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION NEWS Diets and other weight-loss programs didn’t stick for Edris Patterson. To lose weight and kick off a healthier lifestyle, she took a drastic step — gastric sleeve surgery. The surgery, plus regular exercise and a healthier diet, helped her drop 70 pounds. “It’s about trying […]
The post Louisiana woman loses weight with help of surgery, fights family history of heart disease appeared first on News on Heart.org.
One thing I’ve always wondered is just what does the O in Odyssey’s O-Works putter line stand for. Is it O for Odyssey or is it O for “O wow, the putter face has hinges?”
In either case, Odyssey’s O-Works putters are just the latest in Odyssey’s long line of top-selling flat sticks. In fact, the #7 copped 4th place in MyGolfSpy’s 2017 Most Wanted Mallet testing.
And just last week, Odyssey announced the O-Works Red and Black series selected O-Works putters being released in, you guessed it, red and black.
Whether you like your O-Works in black and white or red all over, Odyssey is convinced they have a putter that’ll work for you. They’re also sure the unique Microhinge Insert Technology that’s co-molded into Odyssey’s Thermoplastic Elastomer Feel Layer will help you roll the biscuit into the basket, and make you feel good doing it.
Does this tech really work? Do color schemes help you put better? MyGolfSpy is looking for three avid golfers to test, review and keep an O-Works putter of your choice and let the golfing world know what you think.
As you know, MyGolfSpy takes its product testing very seriously. All of our reader reviews are published in our Community Forum (click here to check them out). We expect a lot from our reviewers – writing a thorough, detailed and honest review is a full two-month commitment, requiring extensive range and on-course work as well as participation in the Forum itself to answer questions and discuss product performance with other golfers.
That means to be a potential reviewer you must be a registered member of the MyGolfSpy Community Forum, where you’ll find thousands of like-minded golfers from all over the world anxious to talk about golf equipment.
To apply to test, review and keep an Odyssey O-Works putter, here's what you have to do:
- First, if you haven't already, please sign up for the MyGolfSpy Community Forum (click here to register).
- Second, apply ONLY in the Odyssey O-Works Putter Test/Review Application Thread in the MyGolfSpy Community Forum (click here).
We'll announce the testers in the Community Forum next week.
By AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION NEWS When the crushing headache and other sudden problems first hit Brooke Bergfeld, she assumed they were childbirth-related. The pain came on just a week after her new son was born, after all. Fortunately for Bergfeld, her mother knew better. She quickly called 911 after recognizing […]
The post More strokes among younger people worry experts appeared first on News on Heart.org.
Dean Snell wants to answer your questions.
It's hard to believe 2 years have passed Snell Golf took all of us by surprise when the company's My Tour Ball dominated our Direct To Consumer golf ball test. Your tremendous response to that review has not only helped drive the growth of the Snell brand, I believe it has changed the ball market for the long haul, and for the better.
That test proved that you can get a tour-quality golf ball for less than $35 a dozen and a growing number of consumers have come to realize as much. It's having an impact on the OEMs as well. Callaway and Srixon launched their current flagship balls for less than $40 a dozen, and Titleist - in addition to offering a buy 3 get 1 free promotion shortly after the launch of the 2017 Pro V1 - is restocking store shelves with Prior Generation Pro V1s at discount prices ($39.99).
When prices can be cut so easily, it makes you wonder what you're actually paying for and how much difference there actually is between tour-quality balls.
We've gotten to know Dean Snell a little bit over the last couple of years. One thing I can tell you about Dean is that he's as much of a straight-shooter as anyone you'll find in the golf equipment industry. Dean also shares our commitment to doing right by the consumer. In the case of Snell Golf, that means offering a quality product at a consumer-friendly price. It also means doing his part to educate the consumer and helping to cut through some of the BS that permeates the golf ball market.
Wouldn't it be nice to know what's real and what's mythology?
If you have a question about Snell Golf, its golf balls, or golf balls in general, post them in the comment section below. In a couple of weeks, we'll post another video wherein Dean answer your questions.
By AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION NEWS Saturated fats found in butter, fatty meats and tropical oils raise LDL, or “bad” cholesterol, which contributes to heart disease, and they should be replaced with healthier options. It seems a simple statement. But reaction to it – and the American Heart Association advisory issued […]
The post Cutting through the saturated fat – meats, butter and tropical oils still need limits appeared first on News on Heart.org.
The curtain came down on the Ben Hogan Company last winter, as the 2-year old venture collapsed under its bloated infrastructure and overly optimistic - some say delusional - business plan when the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Forth Worth, Texas.
It certainly looked like the end of the line for Hogan. Founder Terry Koehler had been ousted/voluntarily retired months earlier, and the company had laid off nearly its entire staff. Market share and sales were virtually nonexistent, but accounts payable certainly were very existent.
Dead and gone. All that was left was the funeral and the slow singing and flower bringing.
No one figured there’d be Third Act in this play.
Sometime this week, or perhaps next, you can expect the curtain to come up on Act III of the Ben Hogan Company. Call it Hogan 3.0.
“The company has been sold and refinanced,” says Hogan CEO Scott White. “We have a new business model and business strategy. It’s not novel to commerce, but it’s fairly new to our industry. We’re going to sell premium Ben Hogan products at factory direct pricing.”
What that means is you’ll be able to buy Hogan equipment directly from the company via its new website, and only directly from the company via its new website.
“Consumers will be able to buy ultra-premium Ben Hogan products at dramatically lower prices than they’d ever see at retail. There will be no retail markup.” - Scott White, Hogan CEO
Hogan is cutting out the middle man. There's no MSRP, no retail partner pricing or margins to protect. White says the current lineup will be the same, forged FT Worth blades and PTx players cavity backs, TK 15 wedges, VKTR hybrids and FT Worth 15 hi utility irons.
“They’ll be offered at prices that will allow us to make a decent margin - not a greedy one by any stretch of the imagination - but again, there’s no retail markup.”
White says you’ll be able to buy TK wedges for $95.00 each or a set of FT Worth irons for $665.00. Consider that when it launched, Hogan’s wedges sold for upwards of $150.00 each, and iron sets for well over $1,000.00.
White says management did flirt with the idea of just closing the brand down and calling it a day.
“That was the worse possible scenario. We didn’t want to do that.”
During the bankruptcy proceedings, the Hogan brand was purchased - sort of - by ExWorks Capital of Chicago. ExWorks is, among other things, a capital investment firm and had been listed as a secured lender for Hogan in bankruptcy court. White says ExWorks did a credit bid on the assets and basically bought Hogan for what they were owed.
Recent court documents show significant changes in the Hogan bankruptcy case. Within the past few weeks the name of the debtor has been changed from the Ben Hogan Company to Eidelon Brands LLC. To get to the bare bones of the story, Eidelon was Terry Koehler’s company (SCOR wedges), which he rebranded into the Ben Hogan Company in 2013. ExWorks has essentially purchased the brand name out of bankruptcy, but none of the debt. Eidelon is now the company of record in the bankruptcy proceedings and has applied to transfer the case from Chapter 11 to Chapter 7. That's a procedural manuever and means any assets Eidelon has left will be liquidated, and the remaining creditors will get whatever they get.
Perry Ellis, the owner of the Hogan brand, was one of the largest creditors in the original Hogan bankruptcy case. White says Hogan is still a licensee of Perry Ellis, but the structure of the deal is vastly different. Perry Ellis now has an equity stake in the new organization.
White has been nothing if not consistent about Hogan’s prospects. Back in January, the day most of the staff was let go, White said it’s a reset opportunity. He said the same thing last spring when Hogan started liquidating product, and he’s saying the same thing now.
“We’ve spent a lot of time restructuring,” he says. “We’re in the old Callaway building in Fort Worth, and we’re going to maintain our headquarters here, but it’s going to be a very small structure.”
“One of the challenges we had was our overhead was so out of whack. We’ll have manufacturing, R&D, assembly and a few other functions at Fort Worth, but we’re going to outsource a lot of other functions, like marketing, finance and accounting.” - Scott White, Hogan CEO
We've written about how and where Hogan went wrong - and White is very frank about the fact the original Hogan concept was flawed from the get go.
“We’re not going to make the same mistakes we made in the past. Not again,” he says. “ We’re going to be very calculated, very nimble and will grow as needed. But we’re not going to build something and bet that if we build it, they will come. We’re going to do our best to minimize costs and pass the reduced overhead on to the consumer.”
There’s still a 2-person R&D team in place, and White says you can expect some new Hogan equipment perhaps by the end of this year or early next. The plan is to expand its hard goods offerings - drivers and fairway metals were in the works before the bankruptcy - and add accessories.
“We’re never going to have an enormously wide or deep product line,” says White. “But we are committed to bringing new product to market.”
Well that depends on what you mean by "work."
If you're thinking Hogan will try to rival TaylorMade, Callaway or PING right out of the gate, then no, that's not going to happen.
And I don't think anyone in Fort Worth is thinking anything of the sort. This game plan, unlike the original Hogan relaunch, seems a bit more - shall we say - realistic. Start small, keep overhead limited and build slowly, with no delusions of grandeur.
But will golfers buy premium product at a direct-to-consumer pricing? This past spring Hogan tried just that by selling off inventory at, comparatively speaking, bargain-basement prices. White says no one was expecting what ultimately happened.
“Consumers had the opportunity to buy directly from us with no real retail markup,” he explains. “The response was more than we could keep up with. We had to hire outside help to field all the calls and emails we were getting. It really took us by surprise.”
Hogan’s new model of online only with no retail does mean the If-I-can’t-try-it-I-won’t-buy-it crowd will be out of luck.
“The demo and trial thing is something we’re going to have to figure out. In the short term we’re counting on our primary audience of pretty serious golfers. They know us, they know what they like and they know their specs. There will be an issue with people absolutely committed to fitting and demo and trial, but it’s something we don’t have an exact answer for right now.” - Scott White
Consumers are funny beings. Price makes a statement and while it’s not always the case, a high price does carry with it the impression of high quality and premium performance. But with golf equipment high prices tend to heighten emotions. Every time MyGolfSpy runs a story on PXG, for example, we see Torch and Pitchfork Nation screaming with genuine anger in the Comments section about how ridiculous the pricing is. This new Hogan seems to be taking the opposite approach - offering what the company considers premium product at a lower price by cutting out standard retail markup.
We all might jump at the opportunity to buy a set of $1,200.00 clubs for $700.00. But will you jump at Hogan irons priced to move at $665.00 per set? Would that pricing devalue the clubs in your mind, or make you think of Hogan as a discounted brand?
“That’s something we’re going to have to get over,” says White. “How do you retrain people to understand that when they go into a retail store, they’re paying 40 to 50% markup off the top, for nothing? It’s not a discounted brand if it was never marked up in the first place. This isn’t discounted product. It’s factory-direct product.”
The new Hogan website should be up within the next few days. White says there are still a few I’s to dot and T’s to cross.
“I had hoped to get it going before The Open starts this week, but there are still some details to figure out. But we’re 90-plus% there.”
Ben Hogan famously said the most important shot in golf is the next one. After being all but dead and buried in January, Hogan’s namesake company is getting another shot, maybe its last shot.
The cynic in you may say Hogan is down its last strike. The optimist may say the curtain is rising on Act III, and we’ll see what happens next.
Which are you?
