| Ely Reeves Callaway, Jr., the president of | | | | designer and soon the company was working to |
| Burlington Textile, was an avid golfer. When | | | | develop cutting edge Fusion irons. |
| he player, Callaway always used wooden golf | | | | |
| clubs manufactured by a company called | | | | Six years later, Callaway Golf introduced its |
| Hickory Sticks. Like many of the old wooden | | | | forged wedges. Constructed with carbon steel, |
| club manufacturers, Hickory Sticks was in | | | | the golf wedges featured a club face that |
| financial difficulty and began looking for | | | | contained special U shaped grooves. Soon |
| investors to bail them out. One of the people | | | | Callaway was offering a complete line of high |
| they approached was Callaway. He had just | | | | tech golf woods, irons, wedges and putters. |
| sold his wine vineyards for a nice profit and | | | | Many of these are featured in our Golf |
| was looking for a new investment. Why not, he | | | | Equipment and Tips articles and videos. |
| thought, combine business with pleasure. | | | | |
| | | | Also in 2002, Callaway Golf introduced the |
| In 1982, Ely Callaway purchased 50% of | | | | Callaway Golf ball. Their engineers used |
| Hickory Sticks and changed the company's name | | | | sophisticated computer programs to analyze |
| to Callaway Hickory Sticks, USA. Six years | | | | and evaluate hundreds of dimple patterns and |
| later the Hickory Sticks name was dropped all | | | | over 1,000 golf ball cores and cover |
| together. | | | | materials. The result was the Rule 35 ball |
| | | | that combined distance, control, spin and |
| Realizing that golf club manufacturing was on | | | | durability into one golf ball. |
| the brink of a technical explosion, Callaway | | | | |
| knew the company needed a new direction. In | | | | Today Callaway Golf, through its acquisitions |
| 1986 he asked Richard Helmstetter, of all | | | | and internal development, sells golf clubs |
| things a billiard cue designer, to consult | | | | and accessories under the Callaway Golf, Ben |
| with the company about better club design and | | | | Hogan and Top-Flight Brands. Once the home of |
| the new technology in materials and | | | | only Big Bertha, now every golfer, from |
| manufacturing. His ideas were well received | | | | amateur to PGA professional can carry a |
| and he soon became the Callaway Golf's chief | | | | complete set of Callaway golf clubs. |
| club designer. | | | | |
| | | | Ely Callaway, who took Callaway Golf from |
| Under Helmstetter, Callaway Golf soon | | | | those old hickory sticks to one of golf's |
| introduced computerized club manufacturing | | | | great innovative companies, resigned as Chief |
| and their first major success was the | | | | Executive Officer in 1996. Two years later he |
| indomitable Big Bertha driver. The original | | | | returned to again run the company, but sadly |
| Big Bertha had a very large steel club head | | | | passed away from pancreatic cancer in 2001. |
| that measured 190 cubic centimeters. A later | | | | |
| version, introduced in 1997, grew to 290 | | | | Callaway Golf's goal is to design and |
| cc's. Big Bertha revolutionized the golf | | | | manufacture golf equipment that will make |
| driver and became the cornerstone of Callaway | | | | every golfer a better golfer. Golf clubs and |
| Golf. | | | | accessories from their many brands are |
| | | | frequent visitors to significant publications |
| Roger Cleveland, founder of Cleveland Golf, | | | | like the Golf Digest "Hot List" and Editor's |
| joined Callaway in 1996 as chief club | | | | Choices. |