Callaway Golf Clubs

Callaway is one of the top golf companies in the world, and they have a reputation for turning out some of the most innovative designs. Many of the best players in the world play Callaway golf clubs, and they are the best-selling clubs among amateurs as well.

I was in high school when the Big Bertha came out in 1991, and we thought that with a volume of 190 cc, it truly was a big Bertha. I remember joking with my friends; someone said the next driver they were planning on coming out with will be called the Large Marge. That never happened. They've stuck with the original name, but they’ve found that bigger is better; the current model of the Big Bertha Diablo is more than twice as big at 460 cc, and all manufacturers now have drivers which are 460 cc.

Callaway History

Callaway is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ELY. During World War II, Ely Callaway began working for the apparel procurement division of the quartermaster's depot for the U.S. Army in Philadelphia. He was promoted to Major at the early age of 24, and found himself purchasing 70% of the U.S. cotton apparel industry output for the armed forces.

When the war ended, he took advantage of his experience, and went to work in the textile industry. Callaway worked for several companies, and oversaw mergers, and when the division of Textron Ely was running was sold to Burlington, he went to Burlington as well. In 1968, Callaway was named president of Burlington Industries, the largest textile company in the world. However, 5 years later, he was passed over for the position of chairman, and quit abruptly.

Here’s where the story gets really interesting. Ely moved his family across the country to California to try his hand at running a vineyard and making wine. Even though the property he purchased wasn’t known as good land for growing grapes, his success continued. He ended up supplying wine to well-known restaurants across the country. Eight years after moving to California, Callaway sold the vineyard and operation for a $9 million profit. This would be the seed money for what would become the biggest golf manufacturer in the world.

Ely thought it was time to retire, and play golf with his Hickory Stick brand golf clubs. The owners of Hickory Stick approached Callaway to buy them out for $400,000. He immediately renamed the company after himself. Callaway’s innovative club designs for average players has made them the biggest manufacturer in golf. Ely ran the company until his death from pancreatic cancer in July, 2001.

Callaway Staff Players

Callaway has some of the top players on each of the professional tours playing their clubs. Here are their staff players (players who are sponsored by Callaway) on each of the tours:

Phil Mickelson

Phil Mickelson is Callaway’s top player. He’s ranked #2 in the world, and that’s an arrangement that seems pretty stable right now. He could move ahead of Tiger Woods, but it would take Tiger playing poorly, and Phil playing well. It’s even less likely that Sergio Garcia (ranked #3) or Geoff Ogilvy (ranked #4) could overtake Phil’s spot anytime soon, as they are fairly distant statistically. Phil has won $53 million on the PGA tour, and has won the Masters twice. Here’s Phil in his own words describing what he plays.

Of course he’s one of the few players on tour that plays left handed golf clubs. However, he’s actually right handed, and started playing left handed just to mirror his father’s swing.

Callaway’s Products

Callaway’s Drivers

• Callaway I-Mix allows you to interchange shafts and club heads and change your loft on a daily basis. The I-Mix system is available with the FT-iQ and FT-9 drivers.
• The Callaway FT-iQ driver has a square shaped club head, and is pretty cool looking. Square drivers concentrate more mass behind the edges of the club face, and this allows the club to be more forgiving on off-center hits.
• The Callaway FT-9 took 5th place out of 36 drivers in a recent test. They designed it especially for players who want to work the ball with a fade or draw, so it favors lower handicap players. Many people say they’ve gained yardage off the tee since switching from the FT-5.
• The Callaway Big Bertha Diablo, like all the other Big Berthas of the past, is known for its large sweet spot. In the short video below, Randy Peterson of Callaway describes the Diablo as their best titanium driver ever.

Callaway’s Fairway Woods

• Callaway FT fairway wood beat out all other fairway woods in a test of dozens of fairway woods. It’s designed for players of many skill levels, and in the testing, it did well among both low and high handicappers.
• The Callaway Big Bertha Diablo Fairway Wood of course borrows its design from the driver. It looks the same, just smaller and a higher lofted face.
• The Callaway FT-i Squareway Wood is more of a square shaped club head. The purpose of the square club head is to increase the moment of inertia for higher forgiveness for higher handicap players.
• Callaway X Hot Fairway Wood: The selling feature is the modified x-sole design, which promotes good interaction with the turf. This club was designed with input from some of Callaways’ staff players.

Callaway’s Hybrid Golf Clubs

• Callaway X Series Hybrid is just another one of Callaway’s products that have won many awards. This hybrid was ranked the best hybrid overall, and best among higher handicappers.
• The Callaway FT Hybrid also has done very well in testing and reviews taking 1st place among low handicappers. It’s a similar design to the FT fairway wood, but with a lower center of gravity, hybrids are specially designed to get the ball in the air from tough lies, and to replace long irons.
• The Callaway Big Bertha Diablo is the hybrid version of the driver and fairway woods. If you like the driver, you’re sure to be successful with the hybrid.

Callaway’s Iron Sets

• Callaway X-22 Irons took 3rd place in recent irons testing. They’re designed with a high moment of inertia to be as forgiving as the USGA allows. Another choice is the X-22 Tour version slightly modified for lower handicappers.
• The Callaway X Forged Irons are designed for better players, with feedback taken directly from Callaway’s tour players. Good players and mid-handicappers report being able to easily shape their shots with these irons.
• The Callaway Big Bertha Irons are game-improvement irons for higher handicap players. They’re designed to be especially forgiving. The long irons in this set are called i-brids, and are unique to Callaway as a mixture of hybrids and irons.
• The Callaway FT i-brid Irons are a complete set of i-brids for higher handicap players.
• The Callaway FT Irons took 2nd place in a recent irons test. They’re designed for mid to low handicappers. In the iron test, the FTs were ranked as the irons with the most feel.

Callaway’s Wedges

• Callaway X-Tour Wedges were inspired by Phil Mickelson, who is known for his short game and lob shots from around the green. They come in a chrome finish and a vintage finish, which has a less shiny appearance.
• Callaway X-Forged Wedges ranked in 3rd place in testing for high handicappers.

Callaway’s Putters

Callaway putters are a misnomer, because there is technically no such thing. They bought Oddyssey, and all of Callaway’s putters are made by Oddyssey. Oddyssey provides a wide variety of putters to choose from. The White Hot XG Marxman and the White Hot XG Sabertooth have done particularly well in recent tests.

Women’s Callaway Clubs

Most of the clubs above are available for women. Women’s clubs will usually have a lower flex shaft, to help players with lower swing speeds get the club head square at impact, and get the ball on the proper trajectory.

Callaway’s Gem Set

The Gem set is for ladies who are just starting out and higher handicaps. It’s a set that has all the clubs a beginner needs to get going. There are 8 clubs included, with a driver, fairway wood, hybrid, a few irons, a wedge, chipper and putter. It also comes with a golf bag.

Custom Callaway Clubs

Did you notice how many products Callaway has for sale? How do you know which ones are right for you? Even if you can eliminate a couple of the options right off the bat, there are still decisions to be made. If you’re going to spend hundreds of dollars on clubs, you should get clubs that fit.

Callaway is able to use the I-Mix system to help fit you to the driver that will work best for you. The TrackMan ball launch monitor allows the fitters to measure all the characteristics of your swing and ball flight so that you can be certain you’re getting the right clubs for your swing. There are several options on how you can be fitted for custom Callaway clubs:

• a pro shop or retailer, or even an online retailer
• a Callaway demo day at a local golf course
• the Callaway Tour Fit Van travels around and may be in your area
• a Callaway Golf Performance Center

The Performance Centers are located in Carlsbad, California; Las Vegas, Nevada; Scottsdale, Arizona; New York City; Boston, Massachusetts; Tyson’s Corner, Virginia; Neshanic Station, NJ; King of Prussia, Pennsylvania; Indian Wells, California; Toronto; Tokyo; Seoul; Melbourne; and London.

Used Callaway Clubs

When I was in high school, the pro at the golf course I played at brokered a deal between me and a guy who played at the course, and I purchased his Hogan irons. By the way, Hogan was subsequently bought out by Callaway. Up until the mid 1990’s, your local area was the extent of the market for used golf clubs. Now, on the internet, the market for used clubs is nationwide. Golfsmith even gives you credit when you sell them your old clubs, that can be applied to the purchase of your new or used clubs. Buying used is an excellent way to save big money on clubs.

Ely Callaway’s Philosophy

“Callaway Golf has always believed that the way to grow the game of golf is to make it more enjoyable for the average golfer. That is why Callaway Golf tries to design, create, build and sell the most forgiving golf clubs in the history of the game--giving more golfers more opportunities to hit a few additional 'great' shots each round. Callaway Golf intends to continue to grow the game by helping people enjoy the game.” --Ely Callaway, founder, January 2001

You can check out the prices of Callaway products at the Callaway store on Golfsmith’s website.