Callaway Price Drops

July 5, 2011

On the heels of Callaway’s management shakeup and financial disappointments, GolfSmith is blowing out the Diablo Octane Drivers and Fairway Woods.

The Octane Driver is $100 off at $199.

The Octane Fairway wood is $50 off at $149.

But given the ho hum reaction to the hole Octane line, I think the discounts are going to need to be more than that.

Posted By The Original Golf Blogger

Comments

The Octane was the first Diablo line driver that I thought might be a little worthy. But at $300, I don’t think it can compete against the Burner Superfast 2.0, the Nike MachSpeed, and the Ping K15. $200 is probably a good price for it, but for $200, the FT-IZ is probably a better driver - and surely comes with a better shaft (the FT-IZ was a $400 driver new)

Callaway needs to start looking for a buyer- I would think that if UnderArmour is serious about getting in, this is the time. Without a general sports company as parent, Callaway is going to struggle competing with Taylormade/Adidas & Nike. We will see how much money Fila puts into Titleist, but there is not much to fix there anyway. Callaway needs work, and their idea of acquisition has cost a lot of money and now they clearly are strapped.

If UnderArmour doesn’t pick up Callaway, who are they left with? Ping is the only name as big, and Adams is gaining steam, but neither of those may ever be available. Cleveland/Srixon are part of a rubber/tire company, so they aren’t available.

Posted by martin on 07/05
I had thought UnderArmor might buy Titleist—with no data to support the notion. I also agree that Callaway would be a good pickup. In the face of competition from Nike, Adidas-TaylorMade, and now Fila-Titleist-Footjoy, I think they need a partner.

Posted by The Original Golf Blogger on 07/05