Callaway Golf Company is the premier manufacturer of golf clubs in the United States. The company sells more golf clubs than any other firm, and has the lion’s share of the $3 billion golf equipment industry, eclipsing the higher-profile brand names such as Wilson, Spalding, and MacGregor. Callaway’s most famous club, the “Big Bertha” Driver, is the most popular piece of equipment sold to golfers. Callaway has about a third of the U.S. golf equipment market, and its annual sales dwarf its nearest several competitors. Besides its line of drivers, Callaway also makes putters and golf balls, and licenses Callaway golf wear through apparel maker Ashworth Inc. The company began a meteoric rise to fame and fortune with the introduction of Big Bertha in 1991. The success of Callaway Golf Company is attributed to Ely Callaway, who transformed a modest company into a worldwide powerhouse. Callaway led the company until his death in 2001, at the age of 82, from pancreatic cancer.
