CARLSBAD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 2, 2003--Callaway Golf Company (NYSE: ELY) today officially introduced its new HX(R) Tour Golf Ball, the Company's new flagship golf ball. The HX Tour Golf Ball features significant improvements in every area, including aerodynamics, cover and core technology and overall performance -- and it has already become one of the most popular balls on the world's professional tours during several weeks of testing by the best players in the world. The HX Tour Golf Ball conforms to the Rules of Golf as administered by the USGA and the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, and it is expected to carry a suggested retail price of $50 per 12-ball box when it ships to retail accounts in January 2004.

This outstanding new three-piece golf ball builds on the major championship-winning legacy of the original HX Blue and Red Golf Balls, but with substantial new technological features. The new HX Tour Golf Ball has such outstanding distance and spin properties that only one version of the ball -- featuring black lettering and bold Callaway Golf logos -- will be made. Callaway Golf Staff Professional Annika Sorenstam won with the new HX Tour golf ball this past weekend, as did James Oh on the Nationwide Tour. Jim Thorpe had the first victory with the HX Tour golf ball on the Champions Tour several weeks ago and the winner of last week's Japan Golf Tour event had the HX Tour in play. In all, more than 100 other touring professionals have also put the ball in play across the PGA, Champions, LPGA, Nationwide, PGA European and Japan Golf tours.

"Hands down, I think HX Tour is the best golf ball ever made," said Ron Drapeau, Chairman and CEO of Callaway Golf. "The response from players on tour has been outstanding. Generally, tour players are reluctant to switch to new products in the middle of the year. That's not the case with HX Tour. We've had players calling our tour reps begging for this ball after watching some of our staff professionals bombing it past them. The truly remarkable thing about the HX Tour is that you don't need to have a 120-mph swing speed to get great results from this ball. The technology built into this ball has benefits to golfers of all skill levels."

Like its HX Blue and Red predecessors, the HX Tour golf ball features Callaway Golf's patented HEX Aerodynamics rather than a traditional dimple pattern. This proprietary aerodynamic pattern is a system of crisscrossing tubes that forms a series of hexagons and pentagons covering 100 percent of the golf ball's surface area. This uninterrupted pattern has no land area -- the flat spot between dimples on traditional golf balls -- and virtually no seam area. This greatly reduces drag and makes the ball more aerodynamic and steady throughout its flight, helping to create a strong trajectory with greater distance and more stability, even in windy conditions. And the lack of a visible seam helps eliminate "phantom fliers" and other inconsistencies that can occur when a dimpled ball is launched with its seams perpendicular to the ground.

The HX Tour Golf Ball has a second-generation application of the HEX Aerodynamics that is even more advanced than the original. Improved manufacturing processes have allowed Callaway Golf to make the pattern more efficient, adding a new level of consistent performance on all types of shots.

A new, thinner cover also contributes to the HX Tour's outstanding performance. At just 25 thousandths of an inch thick, the urethane cover of the HX Tour is the thinnest of any golf ball we've tested. The thinner cover reduces spin on driver shots and allows for an even larger mantle -- two design elements that work to increase potential distance. The HX Tour also has a stronger urethane cover for outstanding durability and resistance to shearing, especially on full wedge shots, without sacrificing the smooth feel and outstanding short-game performance golfers expect from a premium three-piece golf ball.

Under the cover and mantle layer of the HX Tour Golf Ball is another technological step forward. A proprietary chemical additive that works to increase ball velocity and lower the core's compression augments the high-grade rubber blend used in the core. Callaway Golf engineers refer to the HX Tour's core as being "fast and soft," meaning that the unique chemical composition of the core is more resilient while maintaining the soft feel of the Company's previous three-piece golf balls. The result is that the HX Tour may provide the best combination of distance, feel and spin of any golf ball in use today.

"The response to this golf ball by tour professionals has exceeded our expectations," said Patrice Hutin, President and Chief Operating Officer of Callaway Golf. "We have been overwhelmed with requests from players under contract to our competitors asking for HX Tour balls to be sent to their homes for testing. Our competition knows we have come up with a better ball. Now we're excited to bring this ball to consumers around the world so they can see for themselves how great it really is."

The HX Tour Golf Ball will also bring a new look to Callaway Golf balls. For the first time since the Company started selling golf balls in 2000, the Old English Callaway Golf logo and chevron will be stamped on every ball. This new logo treatment is a fresh approach to differentiate this breakthrough golf ball and to emphasize that the HX Tour Golf Ball is as "demonstrably superior and pleasingly different" as Callaway Golf club products.

Callaway Golf Company makes and sells Big Bertha(R) Metal Woods and Irons, including ERC(R) Fusion(R) Drivers, 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) Tour balls, HX 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. For a glimpse of a little more on the HX Tour Golf Ball, visit www.callawaygolf.com/black.

CONTACT:
Callaway Golf Company, Carlsbad
Larry Dorman or Patrice Hutin,
760-931-1771

SOURCE: Callaway Golf Company