When textiles and winery magnate Ely Callaway retired at the age of 60, he relaxed with one of his favourite pastimes and one which he had excelled at in his youth. Legend has it that on the golf course, Callaway became so enamoured with the club he used, a Hickory Stick, that he contacted the company that produced them. The rest as they say is history, as Callaway would later buy the company and combine his passion for the sport with his entrepreneurial skills to create one of the best-known and well respected brands in golf.



At the time, Hickory Sticks were a tiny California based company, manufacturing hickory-shaft clubs with a steel core. It just so happened that at the time of Callaway's call, Hickory Sticks were struggling financially and desperately seeking investment. So in 1984 Callaway purchased the business for $400,000, and Callaway Golf Company was born.

Callaway immediately made his mark on the company, not only renaming it, but also commissioning the design of innovative new products. The first of these was a club called the S2H2, short for Short Straight Hollow Hosel. This new premium club was designed to do away with the large neck of the club, whilst extending the shaft through the clubhead. These new golf clubs proved to be a huge success as golfers warmed to the heavier weight clubheads which meant for a lower centre of gravity. By 1988, in just four years, Callaway had taken the company from virtually nothing to a rapidly growing enterprise generating $5 million a year in revenue.

The next phase in Callaway's masterplan came in 1991 with the arrival of a new driver dubbed "Big Bertha" named after German artillery from World War I. The concept behind the Callaway Big Bertha was that it would give the golfer greater forgiveness allowing them to obtain directional control and good distance, even if they didn't hit the ball precisely. This was another huge success and helped Callaway to become the best-selling golf brand in the United States

A year later, in February 1992, Callaway went public as 2.6 million shares of stock at $20 a share went on New York's Stock Exchange. The share price rose to $36 by the end of the day giving Callaway the funding to expand its operations even further. By 1993, sales topped $255 million and the company had overtaken many well-established industry rivals such as Wilson and Spalding, to become the biggest player and the leader in the market.

Throughout the 90's Callaway fought off stiff competition from its rivals to retain its position as the world's number one golfing brand. By 1998, it was estimated that around 70 percent of the world's professional golfers used Callaway drivers. Despite a downturn in the traditionally strong Asian market, annual sales hit double that of Callaway's nearest competitor, as the company pushed to break the billion-dollar mark.

Ely Callaway passed away in July 2001, but his legacy as one of golf's great pioneers lives on to this day, as Callaway Golf remains one of the biggest players in the sector. Golfonline stock a wide range of Callaway products including the popular big bertha and hyper drivers, FT irons and wedges. Alongside this, they also have Callaway golf bags and warbird balls