Callaway Golf started in 1982, when Ely Callaway Jr., a former textile executive and winemaker, bought half of a small California club maker called Hickory Sticks USA. He took full ownership in 1984, renamed the company Callaway Golf in 1988, and in 1991 launched the Big Bertha, the oversized steel driver that pushed the whole industry toward bigger heads.
Who was Ely Callaway?
Callaway grew up in LaGrange, Georgia, and went to Emory. Before golf he had two full careers. He rose to president of Burlington Industries, one of the biggest textile companies in the country, and later built a wine business in California. When he sold his vineyards he was already in his sixties, and he could have retired. Instead he went looking for a golf company.
What was Hickory Stick USA?
Hickory Sticks USA was a small company that made hickory-shafted clubs with a classic look. In 1982 Callaway bought half of it, and it became Callaway Hickory Stick USA. In 1983 he became president and moved the business to Carlsbad, California, where Callaway is still based. In 1984 he bought the rest of the company for another $400,000. The name changed to Callaway Golf in 1988.
Early stories from those years have him selling clubs out of his Cadillac. That detail comes from a later profile of Callaway, and we haven't found more about where or how often.
What was S2H2?
Before the Big Bertha, Callaway's breakthrough was S2H2 design, first used in irons a few years before 1991. The idea was to get rid of the traditional hosel neck by running the shaft through the clubhead. Taking that weight out of the hosel let the designers put it where it helped more, around the perimeter of the head. The Big Bertha driver used the same idea.
Why was the Big Bertha such a big deal?
The original Big Bertha debuted at the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando in January 1991. Its stainless steel head measured 190cc. That sounds tiny next to today's 460cc drivers, but at the time it was a big jump from persimmon and early metal woods, and it was noticeably easier to hit. Golfers who struggled with small heads suddenly had more margin for error, and other companies followed with bigger heads of their own.
The name came from the World War I German cannon built by Krupp, which Callaway described in his memoir as a name with a story behind it. The heads kept growing: the Biggest Big Bertha reached 290cc in 1997. For the full line, from the 1991 driver to the newer irons, see Callaway Big Bertha: from the 1991 steel driver to the 2023 irons.
How fast did Callaway grow?
Fast enough to go public a year later. In February 1992 Callaway Golf listed on the New York Stock Exchange with a market value of about $250 million. Through the 1990s it became the best known driver brand in the game.
What did Ely Callaway believe about golf clubs?
His memoir, as excerpted by Golf Digest, puts it simply: "The product makes the name, the name doesn't make the product." He wanted clubs that were easier for regular golfers to hit, and he was willing to fight for them. In 2000 Callaway released the ERC II, a driver that went past the USGA's limit on face springiness, and argued that recreational golfers shouldn't be held to the same rules as tour pros. That story is in the Callaway ERC II: the driver that broke the rules on purpose.
Ely Callaway died on July 5, 2001, at 82.
What came after Big Bertha?
The forgiveness-first idea runs through almost everything Callaway has made since, including the Epic driver and the Paradym. For how drivers in general got from persimmon to carbon, read the history of the golf driver.
FAQ
Who founded Callaway Golf?
Ely Callaway Jr. bought into Hickory Sticks USA in 1982, took full control in 1984 and renamed it Callaway Golf in 1988.
When did the Big Bertha driver come out?
January 1991, at the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando.
How big was the original Big Bertha?
190cc, with a stainless steel head.
Why is it called Big Bertha?
It's named after the World War I German cannon made by Krupp.
Where is Callaway based?
Carlsbad, California. Ely Callaway moved the company there in 1983.
Shop used Callaway drivers and used Callaway woods, each listed with exact specs and a condition grade.
