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Callaway Golf Manufacturer OverviewCallaway Golf, Ely Callaway believed the game of golf should be enjoyable for everyone - young, old, man, woman, amateur or professional. So in 1982, bought a small wedge and putter operation called Hickory Stick USA and set out to build what he called Demonstrably Superior and Pleasingly (DSPD) different golf clubs.DSPD was a code he lived by, and his success in life, and ultimately that of Callaway Golf Company, grew from the same philosophy he carried throughout his half-century in business - first in textiles, then as a vintner, and finally as a clubmaker. And many years later, when the time came to choose a successor, Mr. Callaway named Ron Drapeau, a man who not only shared that vision, but also had the strength and leadership to build upon it in the years to come. The key was to make a better product and tell the truth about it, Mr. Callaway often said. So he built a company from technology and a passion for the game, and delivered Demonstrably Superior and Pleasingly Different products one swing at a time. In those early days, he often delivered it personally, from the back of his Cadillac. He made sales calls and talked to pros, amateurs and those who came to be known as the average golfer. Hickory Stick U.S.A. soon became known as Callaway Hickory Stick U.S.A., and not too long after that Callaway Golf. By 1985, the Company moved from the California desert to its coastal Carlsbad home, where Mr. C. saw plenty of opportunity in undeveloped land, along with a talented labor force fueled by the nearby aerospace industry. Around that same time he met and lured a man named Richard C. Helmstetter away from a successful career designing high-end pool cues in Japan. Mr. Helmstetter became Callaway Golf's Chief of New Products, inventing the Big Bertha Driver and scores of other breakthrough Company products. He would later earn the titles of RCH and The Mad Scientist. Callaway Golf soon revolutionized the industry with friendly clubs that helped golfers of all abilities find more enjoyment and a few more great shots in their game. Innovations like S2H2 - Short, Straight, Hollow Hosel - and the evolution of great big, bigger and biggest ideas like the Big Bertha Driver turned the world's smallest golf club manufacturer into the world's largest maker of premium golf clubs and the most dominant force in the industry. Mr. Helmstetter and his R&D team designed and created a larger, more forgiving stainless steel driver, and Mr. C ordered an optimistic 300,000 clubheads from the casting house, financing part of the cost with his own money. The most-feared club in the bag - the driver - would become the most-loved, and Ely Callaway became an icon of the average golfer. Celebrities like Bill Gates, Kenny G., Celine Dion and Alice Cooper flocked to Carlsbad for the latest in golf technology. It just so happened that friendly and forgiving worked well for the pros, too, and Callaway Golf became one of the biggest names on tour. Callaway Golf Company went public on the New York Stock Exchange in 1992, trading under the symbol ELY. "We feel we have been extremely fortunate in our success as a Company - so much so that we would like to give something back to the community that helped make us so successful," Mr. Callaway once said. And in 1993, with a personal donation of $1 million, the Callaway Golf Foundation was established with the mission of improving the community where Callaway Golf employees work and live. Since that time, the Foundation has approved more than $5 million in grants to nonprofit organizations. That same year, Callaway Golf signed an amateur golfer named Annika Sorenstam as a staff professional. The original Big Bertha Driver was the first driver she ever used in competition. Through the years and through Great Big Bertha II and beyond, she has gone on to become one of the game's most dominant players ever - male or female - using Callaway Golf technology in her bag. Odyssey Putters became part of the Callaway Golf family in 1997 when the Company purchased Odyssey Sports, Inc. The Odyssey operation was then headed by Mr. Drapeau, who served as President and CEO of the Odyssey subsidiary until it became a brand of Callaway Golf Company. Advances in the original Stronomic insert led to more ways to help golfers even the score, followed by the White Hot line and the revolutionary 2-Ball Putter in later years. Callaway Golf entered the golf ball market at the beginning of 2000. In just a few short years Callaway Golf balls became the #2 ball on tour and a serious competitor in the marketplace with revolutionary advances like the HEX Aerodynamic cover pattern. A little more than a year after the launch of the ball, Mr. C, who had continued to arrive early at his Rutherford Road office most every day (and even some weekends!) retired as President and CEO, naming Mr. Drapeau as his successor. Two months later, Mr. Callaway passed away at age 82 after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. In 2003, Callaway Golf purchased the assets of The Top-Flite Golf Company, and the Top-Flite, Ben Hogan and Strata brands became part of the Callaway Golf Company family of products. Today, in 107 countries and 29 languages, Callaway Golf is led by Ron Drapeau and continues to build upon Ely Callaway's vision: Help the average golfer find more enjoyment from the game. Scores and handicaps vary, but the essential reward is always the same - the pleasing sensation of those well-struck shots, he called it. As the #1 choice of consumers in premium golf products and the leader in the golf industry, Callaway Golf still builds a better a product, tells the truth about it, and delivers great shots. Great shots bring you back - and they start at Callaway Golf. For more information visit Callaway Golf Online |
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