CARLSBAD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 25, 2002--Callaway Golf (NYSE: ELY) today announced the national rollout of the Company's Trade In! Trade Up!(TM) program in the United States, the first program of its kind involving a major golf equipment manufacturer. Callaway Golf is partnering with FrogTrader Inc. in this program that will give golfers the opportunity to trade in their used Callaway Golf(R) clubs at participating retailers for credit toward the purchase of new Callaway Golf equipment.

A pilot version of the Trade In! Trade Up! program has been active in the United States for a year at approximately 20 of Callaway Golf's retail accounts. Feedback from the pilot program has been positive from consumers and retailers alike, with participating retailers showing significant increases in sales of Callaway Golf woods and irons.

"We have dramatically improved our sales of Callaway Golf clubs just by participating in the Trade In! Trade Up! program," said Steve Mallory, director of golf at Terravita Golf and Country Club in North Scottsdale, Ariz. "Callaway Golf equipment has a very high perceived value, and our members were very excited to be able to buy Callaway Golf clubs at such an attractive price just by trading in some older equipment they might have had sitting in their garage. And with people watching their money very closely these days, this program provides some strong motivation to upgrade to new golf clubs. This is a unique program and it's been a real home run for us."

The Trade In! Trade Up! program is structured to be user-friendly and risk-free for consumers and retailers alike. A consumer can take their used Callaway Golf equipment to a participating retailer and get a predetermined credit for it. The consumer can then apply that credit toward the purchase of new Callaway Golf clubs. Both consumers and retailers can use FrogTrader's online value guide to find trade-in values for Callaway Golf clubs, based on current trade-in demand. The retailer will receive full reimbursement for the trade-in credit given to the consumer, so they profit from having sold the new clubs at full price. Complete program rules and information, trade-in values, and Callaway Golf Certified Pre-Owned clubs can be found at FrogTrader's program web site, www.callawaygolfpreowned.com.

"Callaway Golf sees this as an excellent opportunity to please both consumers and retailers -- owning the world's best golf clubs has never been easier," said Ron Drapeau, President, CEO and Chairman of Callaway Golf. "Golfers who love the performance and forgiveness of Callaway Golf clubs can use the Trade In! Trade Up! program to upgrade their current Callaway Golf equipment and get our newest products at a savings. At the same time, we have seen that retailers can use the program as a powerful tool to bring in customers and drive sales of new Callaway Golf clubs in their shops."

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 C4(TM) Compression Cured Carbon Composite Drivers, Big Bertha ERC(R) II Forged Titanium Drivers, Big Bertha ERC Forged Titanium Fairway Woods, Big Bertha Hawk Eye(R) VFT(R) and Big Bertha Hawk Eye VFT Pro Series Titanium Drivers and Fairway Woods, Big Bertha Steelhead(TM) III Stainless Steel Drivers and Fairway Woods, Hawk Eye VFT Tungsten Injected(TM) Titanium Irons, Big Bertha Stainless Steel Irons, Steelhead X-16(TM) and Steelhead X-16 Pro Series Stainless Steel Irons, Steelhead X-14(R) and Steelhead X-14 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. For more information about Callaway Golf Company, please visit our Web sites at www.callawaygolf.com and www.odysseygolf.com.

 

CONTACT:
Callaway Golf Company, Carlsbad
Larry Dorman, Patrice Hutin or Millie Speirs
760/931-1771
or
FrogTrader
Brian Henley or David Schofman, 512/247-7617, ext. 7115