Forgan of St. Andrews

Forgan of St. Andrews is a Scotish manufacturing company of golf equipment, based in St Andrews, Fife. Having been established in 1860, Forgan is the oldest golf club manufacturing company in the world.[1] Apart of golf clubs, Forgan commercialises bags and clothing, such as t-shirts, hats and jackets.

Forgan of St. Andrews
IndustrySports equipment
Founded1860 (1860)
FounderRobert Forgan
Headquarters
St Andrews
,
Scotland
Key people
Hugh Philp (club maker)
ProductsGolf clubs. golf bags
Websiteforgan.co.uk

In past years, Forgan was a subsidiary of American corporation Spalding in the 1940s, and then of Sports PLC, a European online retailer.[1][2]

History
Hugh Philp was commissioned to built clubs for Forgan. His products gained wide recognition and are considered handcraft items

The company owes its foundation to the Society of St Andrews Golfers, later The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, who hired local carpenter Hugh Philp to make golf clubs.

Philp used thorn, apple and pear woods as materials for its clubs, which were highly appreciated as craft items and gained him widespread recognition.[3]

It was Hugh Philp who first departed from the primitive models of the stone age and began to make golf clubs that looked as though they were intended for some gentler work (...) Philp had an eye for graceful lines and curves, and his slim, elegant models remain today things of beauty (...) Philp was the only man who ever knew how to make a perfectly balanced wooden putter.

— Harper's Weekly, 2 Oct. 1897 [3]

This genius made such beautiful and perfect wooden putters that he has come to be regarded as the Amati or Stradivarius of Golf, and a genuine "Philp" today is worth untold gold. The long narrow faces of these clubs and their perfect balance are well known to connoisseurs

— Golf Illustrated magazine, 5 Oct. 1900 [3]
The Forgan Club Works, c. 1880. Pictured are Robert Forgan with son

After Philp death in 1856, he was succeded by his nephew Robert Forgan, who established "Forgan Golf" four years later. The increasing demand for products caused Forgan took on golfer Jamie Anderson as apprentice. Anderson went on to win the Open tournament three times, nevertheless his work at the factory would not be interrupted.[4] Forgan was later appointed official club maker to the Prince of Wales.[4][5]

By those times, facilities had been reloated from Philp's original workshop to a fisherman's house, where the company set up during decades. Machinery brough saws an lathes to the production process enabling mass manufacturing. As Robert Forgan died in 1900, the company was passed to his son Thomas, who remained until his premature death in 1906, causing the company passed into the hands of his two sons, Lawrence and Robert. During their administration of the familiar business, Forgan hired agents to take orders from any country.[4]

During the World War II, American clubs flooded the market in the UK, causing a strong decrease of sales, which led American company Spalding to take over Forgan. Production resumed briefly in 1945. Nevertheless, in 1963 Spalding concentrated its production in Belfast, and the fisherman's factory fell into disuse.[4]

In 2008, Sports PLC, the European division for California-based "Confidence Sporting Goods, Inc.", acquired Forgan of St. Andrews.[2] Forgan Golf is now owned by Sports PLC.[1]

Sponsorships

Forgan Golf has endorsement deals with 1991 Masters champion Ian Woosnam, and European Seniors Tour player David J Russell.[1]

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References
  1. "Forgan of St. Andrews sign European Tour Veteran David J Russell". Golf Monthly.
  2. Sports PLC Expands Into Premium Golf Market with Forgan of St. Andrews, SPLC press release, April 2008
  3. Hugh Philp biography on Club Makers Art (archived, 4 Mar 2016)
  4. "History of Forgan". Forgan Golf.
  5. Forgan of St. Andrews, set of golf clubs, retrieved 28 December 2018
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