Featured Piece

Life of the Northwest

by Ben Fairhurst

Available after The Open · Royal Birkdale 2026

A giant golf ball, reimagined as a hand-welded steel sphere. Over a hundred hours from raw bar to white finish.

Life of the Northwest, the hand-welded steel sphere sculpture on its tapered stem.

The interconnected squares, each unique in size and angle, symbolise the different paths that shape us.

Life of the Northwest reflects the journey of life through the lens of golf in the northwest of England. Like golf, life brings moments of triumph, adversity, and reflection. The open spaces within the sphere represent those we have loved and lost, absent yet forever part of our story. Inspired by the region's landscapes and golfing heritage, the sculpture celebrates resilience, memory, community, and the enduring connections that define our lives.

Artist: Ben Fairhurst
Material: Welded steel, white powder-coat
Built from: ~1,400 pieces
In the making: 100+ hours
Inspiration: Golf and the northwest

Close detail of the interconnected welded squares, each unique in size and angle.

The Making

From raw steel to a finished sphere.

Fourteen hundred pieces, each one cut, bent and welded by hand over more than a hundred hours.

Raw square steel tube sections laid out at the start of the build.

Early welded sections forming the curve of the sphere.

The steel framework taking shape, interconnected squares visible.

Welding detail, sparks against the dark raw steel.

The completed sphere in bare steel before finishing.

The tapered stem base being fitted to the sphere.

The finished white sculpture, full view on a clean garden and sky backdrop.

The finished sculpture photographed in a second location.

About the Artist

Ben Fairhurst

A metal sculptor working from a small workshop in the northwest of England, turning raw steel into pieces made to be lived with.

He came to sculpture the long way round, after years of welding and fabricating for a living. Every piece is hand-cut, hand-welded and finished by eye, and a single sphere can take well over a hundred hours.

Based: Northwest England
Medium: Welded, powder-coated steel
Approach: Entirely by hand

Ben Fairhurst, metal sculptor, in his workshop.

Commissions

Or have something made.

Life of the Northwest is Ben's featured piece, but it is one of many things he makes. He builds to commission too, so if you have an idea for something in steel, whether for a home, a clubhouse, a course or a one-off gift, he can make it start to finish, by hand.

Talk to Ben about a commission

Enquire

A statement piece for anyone who loves the game.

One of a kind, over a hundred hours in hand-welded steel. Available to purchase after The Open at Royal Birkdale, 2026.

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With thanks

A piece like this is never made alone.

Becci My wife
Warren Fusion Hot Ltd
Paul APC Ltd