Twenty Two: Open Letter to Callaway

Dear Mr. Fellows:

Having read the feature piece on you and ELY in the April issue of The Economist, I must express my sincere hope and desire that you fail miserably in your plans. I am devoted amateur golfer. At the age of 56 and after a lifetime of playing, watching, and learning the game of golf, I have gotten my index to 11.4. I enjoy everything about the game: Being outside with nature; camaraderie with friends and others I have never met; knowing that once I step onto the course, I will be isolated from the outside world for four hours; submitting myself to the rigorous rules; and perhaps most importantly, committing myself over a prolonged period to becoming a better golfer and person.

As I understand your philosophy, you want to change the game of golf to better support your company's balance sheet. Your backwards approach is precisely why you will fail. Instead of ELY serving "the game," you believe the game should serve ELY. It is one thing to manufacture equipment and clothing which golfers need and want. It is quite another to infect the game with non-golfers to line your own pockets.

Golf is not a "mass consumer" business in the traditional sense. It is more of a niche market, closer to the religion industry than to the deodorant and tampon business. It was probably a mistake for ELY to go public. Had the company stayed private, it would likely have provided a comfortable livelihood for its owners and employees, not to mention supplying good equipment for golfers. Now, you are beholden to hedge funds and quarterly profits, rather than the rules of the game.