Callaway Golf in trouble?

This popped up in my news feed today. As a CSX and EF SZ fan, I had a hard time being objective about it and wanted to get the group's thoughts. Callaway Golf is in trouble

I tapped out with Toulons costing twice as much as Scottys. Where did he get his info?

I think Callaway really messed up with the balls, but I see a fair amount of Callaway products being used where I play. That being said, I've never been a big Callaway fan. I really can't say why. I guess I just like the look of other clubs better.

No idea where that came from, got a Toulon last year, tested it against a Scottie and others. Price difference was $20. Not sure which was more expensive to be honest

Seems to me like a straight op-ed.. Making mistakes does not necessarily equate to being in trouble.

Many of his points are so far off it is sad.. Seems like just a hot take article... Wonder what his axe is...

Never been a a real Callaway fan, but with that said, my EPIC SZ is not going anywhere. This is the first (and only) Callaway club I have ever owned, and the only driver I found to kick out my long history of Titleist drivers.

The names they have been using for new releases.... Kaka.

I hope this article is not true. I’m a big fan of the Callaway woods. I have owned the Epic and Rogue line drivers and interested in the Mavrik. All great drivers.

Agree. We are living in a day where 25% of the workforce is out of job so the whole country is getting sucker punched not just Callaway or any other OEM.

Interesting that an article about how bad Callaway is doing doesn't mention their financials at all.

FWIW in the quarter ending Mar 31, 2020 they made a net profit of $28M. Like everyone else they are going to suffer this year because of the various lockdowns, but they've got cash in the bank.

The internet: one article, one person's opinion, and the sky is falling.

Agree with many of the comments this seems like opinion far more than data.

That being said i imagine as J13 points out that MANY businesses are in trouble for various reasons. Also, the pendulum does swing in markets that are mostly based on branding over performance (which golf for sure is since clubs are so heavily regulated).

So at one point , Callaway will struggle. No idea whether that is happening now

As I’ve never really been a Cally Player, many of you would be much better qualified to comment regarding their equipment and from a customer’s standpoint, your thoughts on their future....

Callaway Golf appears to be in decline if you look at their branding

That being said, over one half of my 52+ years in the game were spent with STAFF blades in my bag, and any of you guys that Played the game or the irons “back in the day,” know of what I speak, and that is that their clubs, regardless of the club, were NEVER referred to as “Wilson.”

Simply, if you had their irons in your bag, you Played either “Tour Blades,” which is how I always answered when someone asked me what irons that I Played, or “Staff Tour Blades.”

No one EVER included “Wilson” in the response.

I actually believe that Wilson’s failure to use, emphasize and capitalize on their unequalled heritage, history & lineage and the fact that their irons have been in the bags of SIXTY TWO MAJOR WINNERS, with their current generation clubs has hurt their “rebirth,” as they still make excellent clubs, though to quote my 12yo(1.2~ cap) niece when I told her of Staff’s enviable past, “who cares,” lolo??‍♂️

I do wholeheartedly agree that one has to target a market segment and marketplace and that they cannot be all things to all people. I have also found in my 34+ years in business that many many business executives, especially the marketing hacks, have a very difficult time accepting this, even though violations of this immutable law occur again and again and....

So, what do ya think about Cally’s current state of affairs?

Was the Cally Chrome ball fiasco a one off?

Have a Great weekend?

RP

I read the article. And I'm no Callaway honk, but I'm not sure I agree with the author all that much. The ball fiasco was embarrassing to be sure but not fatal IMO.

I think this is largely an issue of scale, rather than the life or death of the company. Callaway tried to out Taylormade Taylormade, if you know what I mean, and they've followed the same path - rose to the top for awhile, now sliding back into the pack. They both flooded the market with products and hype, but the model is unsustainable - just as 17 more yards is a load of bullshit. Since being sold from Adidas, TM has toned things down - longer product cycles, less hype, no longer the "industry leader" they were 5-8 years ago (or whatever, fuzzy memory). I think Callaway will probably settle back into something like that.

Just for the record, I generally like Callaway woods and hybrids, play an Odyssey, and get along reasonably well with their wedges. I generally can't stand their irons, however.

On an aside, The Staff brand fell victim to venture capitalists and holding companies. Oh Milton Friedman, how many things you ruined.

If you want to look at a sustainable business model, look no further than Achusnet. They know what they do. They do it well, and they just keep plodding along making money. No reason for hype.

Hard to take it for more than what it is, an opinion on Callaway Golf not based on any facts. When the author can't even do a 10sec Google search to see the price difference between a Toulon and a Scotty, he loses a ton of credit. I mean he bashes the Rogue and Epic lines like they were the worst clubs ever designed yet Epic was HUGE and Rogue had a pretty well received tour presence. The golf ball thing isn't a huge deal to people who don't hang out on internet golf forums, and that is the vast majority of golfers! I would bet that 95% of golfers at the local muni have zero idea it even happened.

Threads merged. Leaving in General Golf Talk for now.

Also keep in mind Callaway is probably the most diversified single company of the major golf brands out there

Outside of their clubs, that really hit all segments of the market they also have Ogio, Travis Mathews and Jack Wolfskin. I guess you could argue they may have lost some focus and have overreached in equipment offerings but you could argue that those acquisitions are an extremely well thought out play to expand into some higher margin areas that can really support some other business ideas.

Apologies for the redundancy in the thread post

I looked in the “Equipment” section versus “General Golf Talk” for another similar post.

Have a Great Season?

RP

That was a very poorly written article.

No bias or dog in the fight, Callaway is not a brand I normally purchase clubs from (though I did just purchase a used 3 wood EF SZ), but the premise of the article is ridiculous.

I'm honestly surprised that guy is a professional writer (if that's in case what he is, making an assumption here). Pure hack job that I'm surprised is even worthy of a thread.

I stopped reading at the golf ball part, so early on. Writer is a fool. Callaway making golf balls is outside of their area of expertise since they're a club maker? I guess this guy forgot that Callaway bought Top Flite and all the manufacturing and patents that went with it. There are people in Chicopee that have been making golf balls for longer than this writer has been alive.

Hot take article with no factual base and the few numbers that are in there are incorrect. Snooze.

Well he brought up some points that pretty much happen on every level of business where you create a supply for hopefully a same or greater demand. Now there are companies out there that go away, come back, go away, come back and really follow the ebbs and flow of selling to a market. Now Ive been there when the callaway big bertha brand really sky rocketed callaway up there and they are still considered one of the big three in my opinion. Titliest, Taylor Made and Callaway and I would probably throw Ping in there. Not they are in a constant war to out do each other while still keeping their current market share. Callaway has been doing a decent job but when you make little mistakes like Taylormade has where they start to compete with their own products. i.e the SLDR and the jetspeed. That to me is whats going on with Callaway and having the whole odyssey toulon thing going on. Now I relate it to Gap owning, old navy and Banana Republic. You have a market share for each but you hope that some one who doesnt purchase at Banana Republic is still stepping into Gap let alone old Navy. How many times can you reinvent a design. This time around, the Mavrik didnt do it for me. Ugly copper color just didnt warrant me purchasing anything new. So with that I say Callaway will try again next year and hope they hit a home run. Look at TaylorMade who constantly throw equipment at the wall and hope it sticks. All they want is the chance to get at bat and Callaway will keeping doing that.

Just one guys opinion. He has no ties to the industry that I can find and there is no data that backs up his assertions.

I play a lot of Callaway stuff because I’m a lefty, but I’m not so much a loyalist. I’d play another brand if they had a lefty product I liked at the right price, etc.

Anyway, I thought the op-Ed piece was stupid. This guy clearly knows little about either golf, or business, or the golf business. Callaway’s success in Drivers and woods alone would make them viable for some time. I don’t have the data, but would be hard pressed to believe they don’t lead in market share in that category. And they had early success with “the ball that changed the ball” even though I’ve always hated the Chrome Soft.

Their irons are really good, they’ve become better at making more “classic” designs than the cheesy ones they used to make so much (and that TM has cornered the market in), and they’ve diversified pretty solidly. Yeah they have stupid names like TM, and the recent ball problems probably halted any success they were having. And I personally believe they release the newest next great thing way too often.

But honestly their latest irons look even better than what Titleist is putting out these days, at least IMO. And their drivers and woods remain very popular, top of the line.

If you are a Callaway fan, I see no reason to worry anytime soon.

West Valentine... What a joke.

I've only bought ELY stock twice in my life. First time was back in 2012 when Chip became CEO based on the fact Cally was still a good brand and Chip did a great job at Adams. It was a long hold but when it broke $20 a couple of years ago that was enough for me and I got out. But while bottom feeding on stocks two months ago, what did I find at a tasty $8/share? ELY. So now I'm a shareholder again because Chip is still the CEO, they are #1 Market Share position in the US for Total Hardgoods and Total Clubs, and contrary to the lunacy of Mr. Valentine, they really do not have a lot of serious competition.

And if it breaks $20 again, I'm out!

"Nike golf clubs were a flash in the pan – gone almost as soon as they arrived."

The word "almost" is doing quite a lot of work there. ?

Still remember when the Callaway rep came to the resort I had a part time job while in the USAF, head pro swung the original S2H2 irons, then let several of us try them while he went inside with the rep. Half hour or so later the rep asked what we thought , took the irons and left. Pro said "naw, garbage, too gimmicky, they will never make it",,, 32 years later,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

"As a side note, isn’t it interesting that Callaway is naming their product lines like they were Comic Book Superheroes? Rogue, Mavrik, JAWS, Epic, etc.? They sound like products trying to create buzz rather than deliver high-tech performance"

On the other hand, Taylormade named their drivers after British freeways and recently changed that to the card in your phone. I suppose Taylormade is in trouble too?

I want to point out something I cannot stand about "high-tech performance". Tech as defined by whom? What is tech? A driver should come down to this: Does ball go far+straight when I hit it? I don't care how it accomplishes this. Twist face, tubulators... The 'tech' is defined by the company that made the thing anyway, so if the 'tech' has a catchy name and the club performs better than miserably I suppose it works? Suppose we had a driver with a "dual-stage power alloy face for more consistent strikes". I don't know what that means, or if it helps.. but it's "tech" so I guess I gotta buy it right?

Hmmm, the Turbo Encabulator: