The development course of Ben's golf

Golf was a new sport in Japan in the 196s. By chance, my brother became the staff of the golf course. Their work is very complicated, such as picking up the ball, teaching the guests to play, and repairing the guests' clubs. Of course, most of the clubs at that time were imported.

in January p>1958, our school opened a golf driving range in yokohama. In the second year, a factory was set up and HONMA was founded. At the beginning, Ben's idea was simple and lofty, which was to create clubs suitable for Asians and break the situation that imported clubs dominated the world. At that time, their products had been well received by amateur players.

in p>1962, after trying various materials, our workshop selected persimmon wood imported from the United States and successfully trial-produced a persimmon wood hair club. This kind of club has a unique touch and crisp hitting sound. HONMA became the only manufacturer of persimmon wood poles in the world at that time. Today's young people may not have much memory of the time when the wooden club head was made of wood, but before they came to this world, our golf club had begun to make artistic clubs out of persimmon wood, and embarked on the road to success with persimmon wood.

In the era of persimmon wood poles without design drawings and models of clubs, to create the shape of a club head can only rely on the feeling and skills of technicians. The operator of the company stood next to the technicians and said what the shape of the club head should be. They chewed the operator's words and cut the club head with their own skills, experience and feelings. Recalling the scene at that time, Ruoshanjin, who worked in this golf club for 38 years and was in charge of club maintenance, said: "Although the manufacturing and repair skills were very low at that time, with everyone's hands, the work was finally done well. All the adjustment of club specifications are handled by hand. The adjustment of the direction of the club head, the inclination angle of the club face and the shape of the club head is handled by grinding the club face and implanting lead into the club. "

At that time, there was a story that originated from the very popular persimmon wood club in our golf club: there was a famous Japanese golfer who would replace the club with his beloved persimmon wood club after each game. If it is a steel shaft, it is a piece of cake. But if it is a carbon fiber shaft, it is necessary to pull out the shaft embedded in the club head. Over time, the persimmon wood club has worn its materials and cracks began to appear in the neck because of the repeated replacement of the shaft. Even so, the player continued to use this club in the game, and if there was a crack, he used cement to repair it. One year later, he used this club to win a grand slam championship in China.

of course, in the next few years, the surface layer of the sweet area of persimmon stems changed from paper fibers to carbon fibers, so it became much easier to replace the surface layer of that part, and a welder was needed at first. Nowadays, as long as the length and weight of the counterweight nail buried in the club head are changed, the swing weight can be changed. Such a unique adjustment method can only be compiled by this golf club with its own factory. Our superior technology has attracted many professional players who are active at home and abroad to visit our golf factory in Tsunami, Kanagawa Prefecture.

In addition to professional players, many students also come to our factory to learn from their teachers.

in the spring of p>1981, 2 new employees walked into the crane factory in order to learn the manufacturing process of persimmon wooden clubs. At that time, there was no work manual or guidance. Everyone was as busy as a bee, and no one had time to guide them. Most of the time, they could only watch and explore on their own, silently watching their predecessors' work. At that time, one of the interns said: "Although it is said to be learning, it is actually stealing teachers." In the factory, there are piles of persimmon blocks that have to wait for five years before they can be used after being soaked in oil. At that time, technicians had to cut those hard persimmon blocks into the shape of a club head. The new employee took the club head made by his predecessors, carefully observed it, then fixed the club head with pliers and began to try cutting. They are too nervous, leading to hand shock, or excessive force, wasting countless club heads. If those wasted club heads are piled together, they will be as high as a hill. When they thought that they had cut out a good club head and excitedly showed it to their predecessors for inspection, they were hit hard: "You can't sell it at all!" " They had to continue practicing more diligently. It is in such diligence and countless repetitions that every club made in this golf club exudes unique charm.

In the 199s, the materials used to make clubs changed from persimmon to metal, and the time when all the specifications of clubs were adjusted by hand became a "good memory of the past". Today, HONMA, founded half a century ago, has become a top club manufacturer, supported by constantly updated blood and continued tradition.

in April, 1982, 1 new employees were welcomed in the newly completed polishing department building. In the face of these young people, the founder of this golf club said, "From today on, you will help to polish." No one can predict that these new employees have grown into the mainstay of this famous brand under the strict gaze of the old technicians. At the beginning, these people were amateurs who had no understanding of polishing technology. At that time, Doi, who was only 29 years old, became the person in charge of the polishing process now. He had never even touched a golf club before.

The technical requirement for these novices is to polish boxes filled with black iron heads next to the grinder into clubs like works of art.. Doi smiled and said, "I felt very uneasy at that time! Just like what happened yesterday, I still have new memories, but now it's just a joke. "

At that time, our golf club invited several technicians from the outside polishing factory to guide the 1 newcomers for a week. The new people took notes of all the words of the technicians. They followed the technicians with rapt attention and gradually began to grasp the essence of polishing. Later, they went to an outside factory for an internship for another week. The technicians there calculate their wages according to the number of polished club heads, so their polishing speed is particularly fast and they can polish the club heads in an instant. Ten new people froze when they saw it. The technicians asked them, "Can you really do it?" Many people will give up when they encounter difficulties, but they don't. The technicians admire: "What a responsible young man!" "

After the internship, they went back to Sakata Factory to do polishing exercises with abandoned club heads. You should use a tire-like grinder to grind the tiny parts of the iron. When you want to grind one part, you will grind other parts, and sometimes even hurt your hands. Even if they wear work gloves, they will not be spared, because the heat of friction will make their fingers blister, but it is too dangerous not to use work gloves, so they have to wear gloves to continue their work. Every time they polish one, they will blacken the club head with a magic pen, so as to record that they have polished countless iron heads.

When the old technicians who often come to inspect saw those poles, they only said, "This kind of thing won't do!" This gave them a heavy blow. In fact, the old technicians say this in the hope that they can keep making progress. These clubs can be turned into pieces of art, all of which can be made by their hard hands.

in the wine field, after the late spring, summer comes instantly. The water surface of the river reflects the dazzling sunshine, and the trees grow sturdily. Two months ago, these people with no experience in polishing technology, in the form of hard self-study, worked hard to study polishing technology and even spent twice as much time as others. Finally, their technical level has reached the point where they can be applied to the products on the market.

doi said, "I saw those goods, which are works of art polished by my hands." Leading by example and working hard, this learning process taught Doi the attitude of doing things. Even now, as a leader and polishing master, he still said, "Now I still feel that it is not enough! I want to keep improving, and I often think: I can do better, I can do better. "

besides the young students who continue the traditional blood, the old technicians are the treasures of HONMA. Ruoshanjin, who is in charge of club maintenance, is one of them.

If Sugijin joined our golf club in 1973, he was one of the longest-serving members. At that time, everyone worked in a workshop with less than 1 people and a family-oriented operation in Hejian District, Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture. In the same year, Japan's economy experienced the impact of inflation caused by changes in oil prices, and it entered a steady growth stage from a rapid growth stage. At that time, the average working person only had a starting salary of about 5, yen, but a set of 16, local golf clubs sold out. For Ruoshan, it was a dream-like time. At that time, there were five employees in charge of repairs, including Ruoshan. Ruoshan, who is still a low-level employee, is only responsible for a job called "rolling skin" (rolling the handle part of the shaft with leather). At that time, even the rubber handle was not popular.

Now, if Sugijin becomes an old master in charge of club maintenance, he talks about Kan Kan, the club repair technology. "When repairing the club, you can't make unauthorized claims. Repair is not to completely change the club, but to restore it to its original state. A club that has been adapted by the player is still irreplaceable to the player even after it has been repaired. Therefore, even if we encounter something that must be changed in the process of repairing the club, we will not ignore the requirements of the guests. " This is the aim of our golf maintenance team led by Ruoshan.

when Wakayama entered HONMA, the number of employees in this golf club only reached three figures, and before you know it, the golf team in this club has increased to hundreds. In 1982, this golf club moved its manufacturing and repair department to Sakata City, Yamagata Prefecture, and then hired many technicians there, among whom was Naoki Abe, the workshop director. In this golf sakata workshop, there is a person called "God of Electroplating". He is Naoki Abe, the director of the workshop. Twenty-two years ago, when Sakata Workshop started internal electroplating, he was hired as the person in charge of the project. It took him 35 years to study electroplating technology, so that our golf club could become a "work of art".

Abe came into contact with electroplating by chance. Abe, who has a strong interest in machinery, worked as an engineer in a bus company in Tokyo after graduating from an industrial middle school in Wakaoka, Yamagata Prefecture, his hometown. At that time, it was the heyday of sightseeing bus, and he and other engineers of similar age had a happy urban life. Abe said with a smile: "There were many beautiful female tour guides at that time, and I was really happy!"

However, after working in Tokyo for several years, Tsuoka's parents sent him a letter saying, "Come back!" " Abe didn't go back immediately at that time. A few years later, he finally returned to his hometown because of his parents' pleading. It was this return to his hometown that made Abe enter this workshop and become an electroplating technician. At that time, there were only gold-plated clubs in Japan, and Abe believed that Japanese people who like to pursue new things would one day feel that gold-plated clubs were not enough. So Abe began to study different electroplating methods and made black and red samples. But this was far from enough, so he mobilized the developers of Sakata Factory to look at the women's fashion magazines they were least familiar with, and even went to some famous shops in person to investigate the colors of handbag buckles, belt buckles, earrings and rings. At that time, pink series, gold series and silver series were the most popular, so they prepared more than ten kinds of electroplating solutions according to these colors and began to experiment.

after three months' experiment, Abe finally made gold series, pink series, black series and silver series with 24K gold, 14K gold and nickel alloy, and then applied them to HONMA clubs after some adjustments. When you pick up HONMA irons and appreciate its beautiful colors, you can definitely feel Abe's painstaking efforts in electroplating for most of his life.

among all the manufacturers of golf products in the world, there are two technologies that can only be mastered by this golf club. One is to gild the head of a golf club, and the other is to gild the head electroplated to increase durability, and then mass-produce this kind of head. The HONMA gold-plated cue that players dream of makes the cue go from the field of sporting goods to the field of art, thanks to the "God of Electroplating".

In p>1992, when the production of gold-plated clubs changed from dozens to 2, a day, the taciturn Abe finally smiled. In the 198s, Japan's economy was in a downturn, which also affected the golf industry. At that time, golf course operators in Japan were overwhelmed by the huge debts owed during the real estate bubble. The business of golf course is going from bad to worse. Many members have asked to withdraw from the meeting and return their membership fees because of their enterprises' difficulties, but the golf course can't afford it, so they have to declare bankruptcy. The number of closures of golf courses in Japan has gradually increased since the 199s.

in the early 199s, with the influence of the economic bubble, our golf club, which specializes in producing high-priced clubs at that time, suffered the greatest impact and pressure than other manufacturers. First of all, the introduction of stainless steel has greatly reduced the popularity of persimmon wood clubs. And this golf club started to use stainless steel materials one year later than other companies, and the demand for clubs in the market has regressed, which has led to the emergence of many relatively cheap emerging brands in the market.

However, under these impacts, the quality and reputation of our golf have not diminished, and the introduction of new products has stimulated this depressed golf market. "LB-28" hardcore is one of the masterpieces.

"lb-28" iron rod, in order to hit a longer distance than the previous products, has a strong inclination angle, which not only feels good, but also makes it a popular commodity by clever design such as polished upper edge. The "LB-28" iron core with both performance and appearance, just like the high-priced cars at that time, has been increasing in sales. At that time, this golf club created a slogan "HONMA all the time" for business users. The production line of gold-plated series has also expanded accordingly, and the business is booming.

In the 21st century, the trend of golf course closure has become more and more obvious, but many people are still optimistic about the prospects, and HONMA has also followed the "trend" to buy two courses. In fact, the golf economic bubble is getting more and more serious-in 22, 12 golf courses in Japan went bankrupt due to business failure, which was the first time in history to break through the 1 mark; The total debt of the bankrupt golf course is about 2.436 trillion yen, nearly double the previous record of 1.41 trillion yen in the previous year.

In Japan's depressed economy, the price of golf and the production gear are gradually falling into an uncoordinated state. Even so, under these impacts, the quality and reputation of our golf have not diminished. HONMA adjusts the price in time according to the needs of the market, while still making unremitting efforts to introduce new products, injecting surprises into this retrogressive market.

Japan's sluggish domestic economy has made HONMA gradually shift its target from the domestic market to foreign countries, and HONMA clubs in South Korea and Thailand.