CARLSBAD, Calif., April 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Callaway Golf (NYSE: ELY) today
announced plans for an unprecedented synchronized launch of the Company's new
CB1(TM) Red and CB1 Blue golf balls at thousands of golf shops across the
country on Tuesday, May 1. By partnering with UPS, Callaway Golf is ensuring
that its accounts in the U.S. will have the newest additions to Callaway
Golf's growing line of premium golf balls available to golfers on the same
day.
The CB1 launch will be supported by a multimedia advertising and marketing
effort to build demand for the new balls, including new print advertisements
-- built around the tagline "The fun's built in. You get to let it out" --
and an online sweepstakes. Participating retail accounts will receive special
promotional materials to help draw attention to the CB1 launch, including
hats, posters and ad reprints. CallawayGolf.com will also have a countdown to
the CB1 launch, and UPS will help stage the launch by providing on-time
delivery of CB1 shipments to all participating Callaway Golf retail accounts
on May 1.
"We believe this is the first one-day launch of any substantial quantity
in the history of golf products," said Mick McCormick, Executive Vice
President, Global Sales for Callaway Golf. "We've seen other retail
manufacturers -- entertainment and software companies, for example -- use
similar strategies to build demand for new products. The CB1 balls are great
new products, and we intend to help retailers sell them by creating a buzz in
the golfing public."
Both CB1 balls are improvements on a mature technology -- two-piece golf
balls. The CB1 Red ball is designed to maximize distance, while the CB1 Blue
ball optimizes spin for greater bite around the greens. As with the Company's
three-piece "Rule 35(R)" ball, both CB1 balls conform to USGA rules and are
approved for tournament play worldwide.
Using what Callaway Golf learned about golf ball construction and
aerodynamics in creating the three-piece "Rule 35" ball as a foundation,
engineers sought to design a better two-piece ball than what was already
available to consumers. It turns out the R&D team succeeded -- twice. The
two CB1 balls have distinct performance attributes that will appeal to
different types of golfers.
The CB1 Blue is a ball for golfers with a simple motto: More spin, more
fun. The two-piece design ensures plenty of distance, but a proprietary
injection-molded ionomer cover helps golfers put plenty of spin with soft feel
on their short-iron and wedge shots. The dimple pattern has been calibrated
to further enhance ball flight and backspin on scoring shots.
"Golfers who try the CB1 Blue will discover that it has the tee-to-green
distance you expect from a two-piece ball," said Richard C. Helmstetter,
Senior Executive Vice President, Chief of New Products for Callaway Golf.
"The real surprise is the spin you can put on this ball with the scoring
clubs. We worked to create an exclusive ionomer cover that makes it possible
to generate much more spin around the green than golfers are used to getting
out of a two-piece ball. Yet the cover blend is extremely durable for
cut-proof and scuff-resistance performance."
The CB1 Red, meanwhile, is targeted at all golfers who enjoy hitting the
ball as far as they can yet prefer a softer feel than other distance balls
provide. The injection-molded ionomer cover is firmer than the CB1 Blue
cover, and has been designed to provide optimized ball speed at impact. The
unique dimple pattern adds additional lift at each shot's apex, as well as
strong performance in all weather conditions. The result is a ball that helps
deliver two things nearly every golfer wants: More distance, more fun.
Because both CB1 balls feature superior aerodynamics, Callaway Golf was
able to develop softer covers and cores than other two-piece balls. The
highly resilient polybutadiene cores are blended with tungsten. The CB1 balls
use a high ratio of tungsten to polybutadiene to create cores with minimal
filler and maximum polybutadiene. The result is greater ball speed at impact.
The CB1 balls are manufactured side-by-side with the "Rule 35" ball at the
Callaway Golf Ball Plant in Carlsbad. While the construction of the two balls
is different, the strong commitment to quality and performance is the same.
Therefore, the CB1 Blue and Red are constructed of the finest materials and
produced using stringent quality tolerances.
The CB1 Red golf ball will be available in boldly designed three-ball
sleeves and by the dozen. The distinctive yellow packaging features
eye-grabbing color-coded lettering: red for CB1 Red and blue for CB1 Blue. A
three-ball sleeve carries a suggested retail price of $7.85, and a dozen-ball
pack has a suggested retail price of $31.25.
Callaway Golf Company makes and sells Big Bertha(R) Metal Woods and Irons,
including Big Bertha ERC(TM) II Forged Titanium Drivers, Big Bertha Hawk
Eye(R) VFT(TM) and Big Bertha Hawk Eye VFT Pro Series Titanium Drivers and
Fairway Woods, Big Bertha Steelhead Plus(TM) Stainless Steel Drivers and
Fairway Woods, Hawk Eye Tungsten Injected(TM) Titanium Irons, Steelhead(TM)
X-14(R) and Steelhead X-14 Pro Series Stainless Steel Irons. Callaway Golf
Company also makes and sells Odyssey(R) Putters, including White Hot(R),
TriHot(TM), and Dual Force(R) Putters. Callaway Golf Company makes and sells
the Callaway Golf(R) "Rule 35(R)" Firmfeel(TM) and Softfeel(TM) golf balls,
and the CB1(TM) Red and CB1 Blue golf balls. For more information about
Callaway Golf Company, please visit our Web sites at http://www.callawaygolf.com,
http://www.callawaygolfball.com and http://www.odysseygolf.com.
SOURCE Callaway Golf
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Related links:
http://www.callawaygolf.com
CONTACT:
Larry Dorman, or Mike Pai, or Millie Speirs,
all of Callaway Golf, 760-931-1771
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