Callaway is one of, if not the biggest company in the golf industry having a dominant presence since the mid 1980’s. Callaway was founded by Ely Callaway Jnr who was successful in the wine and textiles industries, but was also a keen golfer.
At that time, Hickory Sticks was his favourite club brand and when they reached out to investors, Ely Callaway jumped at the opportunity. He had just sold his vineyard for $9 million and he bought half of Hickory Sticks which was a fraction of his net worth. In 1983 Callaway moved their headquarters to Carlsbad, California where they have remained ever since.
Callaway’s claim to fame was undoubtedly the Big Bertha driver which took the golf world by storm in the early 1990’s and have manufactured a vast number of successful counterparts.
Callaway Brand Profile
Quick Facts
- Founded: 1982
- Founders: Ely Callaway Jnr
- Headquarters: Carlsbad, California, USA
- Revenue: $1.2 Billion (2018)
- Employees: 2,200+ (2018)
- Major Professional Endorsements: Jim Furyk, Phil Mickelson, Henrik Stenson, Sergio Garcia, Xander Schauffele, Alex Noren
- Website: www.callawaygolf.com
Recent Callaway Product Reviews
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Callaway - Brief History
Callaway have made their mark over the years with drivers in particular and the Big Bertha was the first of its successes. The bigger Great Big Bertha was their next release followed by the Biggest Big Bertha.
At that time these clubheads were sub 250cc head size, but were considered massive in comparison to what golfers were used to. Nowadays clubhead sizes are 400 cc’s and some even bigger. It makes you wonder what size they’ll get to in 30 years from now.
In 1992 Callaway went public on the New York Stock Exchange and had a market capitalization of $250 million. Callaway’s current valuation is $2.3 Billion.
In 1996, Callaway hired Roger Cleveland (Cleveland Golf) as their primary wedge designer and released forged wedges with U grooves. He remains with Callaway to this day and his latest release is the Callaway Mack Daddy 4 Milled Wedge which is available in a number of different specific models.
Callaway purchased Odyssey Sports in 1997 and thus expanded its line of putters, the most famous of which was and is still the White Hot. Today Odyssey is partnered by Toulon Design which became a part of the Callaway stable in 2016 and offer premium craftsmanship and materials to deliver outstanding roll and feel.
Top Flite was acquired by Callaway in 2002 for an undisclosed sum.
Callaway purchased Ben Hogan in 2003 for $175 million and thus reserved the rights for the terms Edge and Apex which Callaway put into good use down the line. The Callaway Apex Pro 16 Irons were released in 2015 and used by most of the Staff players due to their incredible looks, performance, workability and playability.
Callaway extended their reach by acquiring OGIO who have been one of the golf industry’s leading golf bag manufacturers for the last 30 years.
In early 2017 the golf world turned into a frenzy with the release of the Epic and Epic Subzero drivers that offered ground breaking jailbreak technology that delivered exceptional distance. This has since been followed up by the Rogue which was released on a worldwide scale in early 2018.