Callaway Golf history

In 1983 he became president of the company and moved it to Carlsbad California where he sold golf clubs out of Cadillac.

1984: Ely Callaway buys Hickory Stick, which becomes Callaway Golf.

In 1984, Callaway bought the rest of the company for another $400,000.

In 1985, the company hired Bruce Parker as head of sales, who later became the company's Chief Merchant and, through his tenure with Callaway Golf as head of sales, was responsible for sales in excess of $3.0 billion.

In 1988, the company became the Callaway Golf Company and business began to take off, sales totalled $4.8m and a year later came the crucial moment for the company, now wholly owned by Ely Calloway (below).

The company changed its name in 1988 to its present name.

He accomplished much of that goal in 1991, introducing a technological wonder called the Big Bertha Driver.

The coming of the Big Bertha also ended the run of those wooden shafts in 1992.

By the end of 1992, sales had reached $132 million.

In 1994 Callaway Golf Company introduced an innovative design for irons that would accompany the highly successful "Big Bertha" Metal Wood Drivers.

Nearly 400 golf courses were opened in the United States in 1994, with approximately 800 more under construction.

Revenues at Callaway Golf in 1994 had increased substantially over the previous year, while revenues at Cobra Golf shot up an astounding 121 percent during the same period.

Later Callaway hired Roger Cleveland as chief club designer in 1996.

Ely Callaway resigned in 1996 and Donald H Dye took over as CEO and President.

In 1996, Callaway announced development of a new golf ball, under the leadership of Chuck Yash, the former head of Taylormade Golf.

The Big Bertha driver grew to 290 cc in 1997.

In 1997, Odyssey Sports was acquired, expanding Callaway's line of putters.

By 1998, Callaway let it be known that it had invested at least $100 million in developing a new golf ball.

Two upstart companies, Orlimar Golf Equipment Co. and Adams Golf Inc., together took over 20 percent of the United States driver market by the fall of 1998, sending Callaway's share down.

1998: Company claims approximately 70 percent of pro golfers worldwide use Callaway clubs.

Wet weather brought on by El Niño in 1998 kept sales flat, and the crash in the Asian financial market also dampened things.

Callaway expected ball sales of about $70 million for 2000, but brought in less than half that.

Woods won three championships in 2000 using the Nike balls.

With conditions still rocky at the company he brought to prominence, 81-year-old Ely Callaway announced in the fall of 2000 that he would continue to run the firm "indefinitely." The company restructured, folding its previously separate ball unit into the parent company.

They later released in 2000 the Odyssey White Hot Putter which later went on to be one of the most popular putters of all time.

In 2001, with his company now the largest golf company in the world, Ely Callaway retired as President and CEO of the company.

Callaway continued to release innovative products after their driving force retired and in 2004, the Big Bertha Titanian 454 Driver became the World’s Longest Driver at the 2004 RE/MAX World Long Drive Championship.

In 2017, Callaway acquired OGIO, a US-based bag and apparel brand, and TravisMathew, a California-based lifestyle and golf apparel brand.

In 2019, Callaway acquired German outdoor apparel company Jack Wolfskin.