Being on the Ball Is Main Goal

It was a show within the show, a mini-spectacle amid a three-day extravaganza, and when all was said and done the only thing left for Callaway to do was . . . get the ball rolling.

On the fairways and greens, that is.

For more than three years the Carlsbad company had draped a veil of secrecy over the manufacture of its new golf balls, and the veil was lifted in grand fashion two weeks ago during the annual PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, Fla.

A day before the show, 144 people--mostly media--were treated to a round of golf and asked to tee up either of Callaway’s two models (yes, there are only two): the Firmfeel red-lettered version or Softfeel blue-lettered ball.

“Overall, the response was very positive,” says Larry Dorman, vice president of advertising for Callaway Golf Co. “We had guys hitting the greens on par-three holes and they’d see their balls literally stop dead and say, ‘I’ve never been able to do that before.’ ”

The next day, more than 600 people crammed inside a showroom for the formal unveiling and, after a creative video presentation, listened to Chuck Yash, Callaway president and CEO of the Callaway Golf Ball Company, explain some of what went into the making of the balls, and why the company chose to build its own factory instead of merely stamping its logo on balls made by an existing company, as some others recently have.

Yash basically said Callaway wanted total control of a process it claims has resulted in a “demonstrably superior and pleasingly different” golf ball.

Two days later, Bruce Fleisher, using a prototype red-lettered ball, gave his endorsement in the form of a victory in the Senior PGA Tour’s Royal Caribbean Classic at nearby Key Biscayne. Jim Dent, with a blue-lettered ball, finished third.

But it was a pretty eventful weekend for Callaway. Shining brightly in a spotlight shared by nearly 1,500 exhibitors showing their wares to buyers from 78 countries was a nifty piece of PR work indeed.

Everyone who is anyone in the golf industry was on hand. Trade-show models showed off the latest in golf apparel. Retailers talked up ergonomic carry bags light enough to lift with a finger. Titleist’s new SX08 was a big hit, featuring Quad Shock technology patented by Belding and designed to lessen pressure on the lower back. Belding offered additions to its Sports Balance Line of bags and Ping and Maxfli also displayed new models.

There were 153 booths featuring only putters, from gimmicky sticks with blades shaped like bananas and soup cans to top-of-the-line Pings and Odysseys.

And, of course, there were booths after booths lined with the latest in irons and woods designed to help you get the most out of the little white ball, whichever brand you choose.

Ping, for example, added the i3 stainless steel fairway woods for men and women, and a Ti3 titanium fairway wood that’s supposed to offer a more efficient transfer of energy upon contact.

Cobra introduced the CXI iron, geared toward the average golfer but with more rounded soles on the CXI/SF (seniors) and CXI/L (ladies) models to reduce digging.

Arnold Palmer Golf has three new models of irons to go with new lines of woods; Precept is offering new Tour Premium forged-steel irons and three new wedges, with Stuart Appleby lending his name; Taylor Made has a new line of irons made of SuperSteel, which the company says is 20% stronger than regular steel, as if that’s not strong enough; Callaway has added a new line of irons to go along with its balls--the X-14s to replace the X-12; and Titleist has a new DCI line, the 990, which it says provides golfers more control than their predecessors.

All these companies claim breakthrough technology, of course, and this is understandable because the golf equipment business is a jungle and those who don’t keep up invariably find others playing through on the road to success.

Nowhere is the competition more fierce than in the $1.5-billion worldwide golf ball market, long dominated by Titleist.

This, understandably, has many wondering why Callaway went to such great lengths to jump into a market so glutted with golf balls that if the company is to succeed, it will have to do so at the expense of the competition--and established golf ball makers are not likely to roll over without a fight.

At the Orlando show, for example, Titleist stole some of Callaway’s thunder with a display allowing access to computers and ball-fitting CD-ROMs to enable visitors to personally determine which Titleist ball fit their style of play. The booth was a huge hit, judging from the traffic it received.

Taylor Made Golf Company, makers of the new InerGel ball, used a robot to prove its ball superior, and perhaps not surprisingly, the robot, using a Callaway Big Bertha driver no less, swung away, hitting the InerGel Pro Distance ball the farthest at 285 yards. Next farthest was a Callaway Firmfeel red-lettered ball at 280.5 yards.

So, for Callaway, the easy part might have been building its golf ball factory (at a cost of $150 million), and hiring a staff of engineers and scientists to develop a product Callaway maintains will be the most well-rounded ball on the market when it appears on the shelves in early March.

The hard part will be convincing the public that these balls really are something special--and worth the lofty sum of $4.40 per ball, about the price of some other high-end balls.

Toward this end, the company is embarking on a marketing approach that is unique in its simplicity. Callaway calls its balls “Rule 35,” playing off the 34 official rules of golf with an unofficial rule of its own: “Enjoy the Game.”

(The new ball hasn’t yet wowed investors on Wall Street. Callaway’s stock has dropped more than 20% since late January.)

The company does not claim to have the longest ball, as practically all others do. Nor does it claim to offer a superior spin rate. Its sleeves, plain red or blue, hold five balls instead of three, and there will also be 10- and 20-packs available. The ball itself is simple in appearance, stamped in block letters that spell out Callaway, beneath a small red or blue C-shaped logo resembling the bottom of the cup.

“What we have in the ‘Rule 35’ is a very clear message,” Yash says. “If you prefer a firm feel, our Firmfeel ball has everything you need in performance. If you prefer a softer feel, our Softfeel ball is the choice. It’s that simple.”