CARLSBAD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 30, 2003--Callaway Golf Company (NYSE: ELY) announced today that its investigation of counterfeit golf club sales on eBay.com has resulted in the successful criminal prosecution of an individual in Erie, New York, and the raid of a factory in China.

William Meyers, from Clarence Center, New York, was charged in Erie County Supreme Court with selling counterfeit Callaway Golf clubs on eBay.com. The counterfeit golf club sets typically consisted of a "Callaway Golf" driver, 3-wood and 5-wood, a set of "Callaway Golf" irons, an "Odyssey" putter, and a "Callaway Golf" tour bag, airport travel bag and umbrella, all of which were fake. As part of a plea bargain, Meyers has pleaded guilty to misdemeanor attempted counterfeiting. Sentencing will take place on December 3, 2003.

The counterfeit clubs were tracked to Joyheart Golf Appliance Co. Ltd. in Xiamen City, China. Working with local authorities, Callaway Golf raided Joyheart in an operation that netted over one hundred fifty assembled and unassembled counterfeit clubs and over six hundred other counterfeit "Callaway Golf" components.

"We appreciate eBay.com's cooperation in the investigation through its Verified Owner Rights Program, as well as the outstanding efforts of the Erie County District Attorney's office," said Steve McCracken, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer of Callaway Golf. "While on-line auctions offer many opportunities to consumers, it is an unfortunate reality that they are also used by unscrupulous people to sell counterfeits. Buyers should certainly beware of deals that are 'too good to be true'."

Callaway Golf Company makes and sells Big Bertha(R) Metal Woods and Irons, including Great Big Bertha(R) II Titanium Drivers and Fairway Woods, Big Bertha Steelhead(R) III Stainless Steel Drivers and Fairway Woods, Hawk Eye(R) VFT(R) Tungsten Injected(TM) Titanium Irons, Big Bertha Stainless Steel Irons, Steelhead X-16(R) and Steelhead X-16 Pro Series Stainless Steel Irons, and Callaway Golf Forged Wedges. Callaway Golf Company also makes and sells Odyssey(R) Putters, including White Hot(R), TriHot(R), DFX(TM) and Dual Force(R) Putters. Callaway Golf Company makes and sells the Callaway Golf(R) HX(R) Blue and HX Red balls, the CTU 30(R) Blue and CTU 30 Red balls, the HX 2-Piece Blue and HX 2-Piece Red balls, the CB1(R) Blue and CB1 Red balls, and the Warbird(TM) golf balls. Callaway Golf also owns and operates The Top-Flite Golf Company, a wholly owned subsidiary that includes the Top-Flite(R), Strata(R) and Ben Hogan(R) brands. For more information about Callaway Golf Company, please visit our websites at www.callawaygolf.com, www.topflite.com and www.odysseygolf.com.

CONTACT: Callaway Golf Company, Carlsbad
Larry Dorman or Steve McCracken, 760-931-1771

SOURCE: Callaway Golf Company