Miura Golf was created by Katsuhiro Miura, who officially founded the company just over forty years ago, in 1977. Prior to the start of Miura, Miura-san learned all there is to know about building a golf club business and forging high quality irons with state-of-the-art forging techniques at other companies in the club manufacturing industry. He began his career in 1957 at Morita Golf, where he worked on the manufacturing line, learning how to grind and adjust irons.
Then, his career took him to Kojima Iron Works for ten years, where he learned how to process metals. His last professional stop before he began his company was to Kyoei Golf Industry, where he saw firsthand how to forge a golf club. These experiences vitalized one central goal for Miura-San: to forge the perfect golf club. So, he officially began his own company in 1977 in Himeji, Japan. In his first thirteen years of business, he successfully navigated the golf industry due to his existing relationships and his charisma, and began to subcontract his equipment to other countries and golf companies.
A New Forging Process is Born
After thirteen years of business, Miura-san realized that the iron forging process he had learned did not permit the right manipulation of a club head’s grain structure. In other words, the forging process that had been the industry standard was inherently flawed. So, he got to work creating a new forging and design process, and despite his well-articulated design, the forging company rejected it and refused to make clubs in his way.
Miura-san was at a crossroads. He could continue with the way that he had been taught - the way that the forging company created clubs - or he could forge a new path. He chose the latter, and built a proprietary machine to reimagine the club head in a way that would permit the correct manipulation of the grain structure. It worked, and was met with great success. That was the beginning of Miura’s independent and proprietary success.
The Development of the Miura Giken Brand
In 2004, he shifted from subcontracting to solely building equipment for the Miura Giken brand, and focused his other efforts on growing the Miura brand beyond Japan. These efforts provided the building blocks for the prestigious, world-renowned reputation that Miura has today.
Since its founding over forty years ago, Miura-san has been deeply involved with every aspect of the Miura name, company, and forging process. Though he formally retired in 2010, he still serves as the company’s Chairman and remains hands-on with the forging process in the Miura factory.