Winningest driver on tour poised for unprecedented sweep of 2010 major tournaments
CARLSBAD, Calif., June 24, 2010 – Callaway Golf (NYSE: ELY) staff professionals Phil Mickelson and Graeme McDowell have captured the year’s first two major tournaments and continued a dominating start to the 2010 season for Callaway, the maker of each player’s championship-winning equipment.
Powered by the winningest Driver on Tour, the #1 Irons in Golf, Tour i Series Golf Balls and the Company’s leading Odyssey brand of putters, Callaway has already captured eight PGA Tour victories over the first half of the season. Impressively, this run of success has been earned by a staff of tour professionals that is considerably smaller in number than those competing for the other major equipment manufacturers. The U.S. Open, widely considered professional golf’s toughest test, featured three Callaway staffers among the top-five finishers. In addition to McDowell, Ernie Els (3rd) and Mickelson (T-4th) made valiant efforts of their own.
The Open Championship at St. Andrews in Scotland marks the PGA Tour season’s next major event, followed by the PGA Championship at Whistling Straights in Wisconsin. Callaway is in position to make a clean sweep of the 2010 major championships, a feat that has never been accomplished by an equipment manufacturer in modern history.
Callaway started off the year by taking top honors within Golf Digest’s annual “Hot List”, a comprehensive equipment evaluation conducted by Golf Digest Publications’ 32-person team of equipment editors, scientists, player panelists and retailers. Callaway, which employs technological innovation and aerospace materials to design breakthrough products for golfers of all abilities, has now backed up its Hot List accolades with a dominating run of success on golf’s grandest stages.
Callaway’s focus on technological innovation was recently distinguished with a Top-5 ranking in the Consumer Products category by The Patent Board, a leading intellectual property evaluator that utilizes a series of metrics to determine patent quality, technological strength and breadth of impact. The Patent Board’s annual Patent Scorecard ranked Callaway ahead of several industry titans, such as LG Electronics, Fortune Brands and Kimberly-Clark Corp.
This focus on technological innovation has led to a 2010 product lineup that has generated a significant amount of excitement in the global marketplace. Descriptions of several of these products, now in force on the world’s major professional tours, as well as golf courses around the globe, can be found below.
Callaway’s new FT Tour Driver features a 440 cc multi-material clubhead with a full-length hosel. FT Tour’s design combines an ultra lightweight carbon composite body that delivers extraordinary accuracy and workability, with a titanium Hyperbolic clubface that yields increased distance. The driver arrived at retail in March and features a new product introduction retail price of $399.
The Callaway Tour i(s) Golf Ball features a second-generation Dual Core that delivers outstanding spin separation for lower driver spin off the tee and higher spin within striking distance of the pin. Tour i(s)’ advanced HEX Aerodynamics delivers a penetrating ball flight in all wind conditions. Now available at retail, Callaway’s Tour i(s) golf balls feature a new product introduction retail price of $42.99 a dozen.
Odyssey’s White Ice Putters feature the latest innovations from The Number One Putter in Golf®. Odyssey’s White Ice line delivers the brand’s best-feeling multi-layer insert to date and a rich, dark nickel finish. They are the culmination of a multi-year Research and Development enterprise that drew upon extensive feedback from Tour players around the world. The new product introduction retail price for Odyssey’s new White Ice line is $129 for core models and $179 for progressive shapes.
The new Callaway Diablo Forged Irons feature a sleek, compact head style with classic lines. Thin top line, narrow sole, shorter blade length and minimal offset, providing premium shot-shaping ability for a wide range of golfers. Configured for greater distance than other forged irons due to a lower, deeper center of gravity that provides a penetrating trajectory. Forged steel, perimeter-weighted body and precision welded face provide incredibly soft, responsive feedback. New product introduction retail price (steel/graphite): $999/$1199.
High-resolution images of all Callaway Golf products are available for immediate download via the Media Center portion of Callaway Golf’s website: http://www.callawaygolf.com/Global/en-US/MediaCenter.html
About Callaway Golf
Through an unwavering commitment to innovation, Callaway Golf Company (NYSE:ELY) creates products and services designed to make every golfer a better golfer. Callaway Golf Company manufactures and sells golf clubs and golf balls, and sells golf accessories, under the Callaway Golf®, Odyssey®, Top-Flite®, and Ben Hogan® brands in more than 110 countries worldwide. For more information please visit www.callawaygolf.com or http://shop.callawaygolf.com. Winningest Driver on Tour claim based on Driver wins on the U.S. PGA Tour season through June 20, 2010, according to Darrell Survey. Unprecedented sweep of major tournaments claim based on Darrell Survey research dating to 1996. Callaway Irons were the best-selling irons brand for the combined on- and off-course channels from January 1997 to February 2010, according to Golf Datatech, LLC .
Contact:
Tim Buckman
Callaway Golf
(760) 804-4133
Tim.Buckman@CallawayGolf.com
