DRIVER: Callaway RAZR Fit (9.5°) with a Fujikura Motore Speeder VC7.2 shaft
FAIRWAY WOOD: Callaway Big Bertha Diablo (15°) with a Fujikura Rombax 80B shaft
HYBRID: Callaway X prototype (19°) with a Mitsubishi Fubuki 73X shaft
IRONS: Callaway X-Forged (4), RAZR X Forged Muscleback (5-PW) with Rifle Project X 7.0 shafts**
WEDGES: Callaway X Series JAWS (52°, 60°, 64°) with Rifle Project X 7.0 shafts
PUTTER: Odyssey White Hot XG Blade Prototype
BALL: Callaway Hex Black Tour

**Mickelson carried a 3-iron earlier in the week but switched to a 4-iron before playing Pebble Beach.

See-Try-Buy: Learn more about Callaway/Odyssey clubs and schedule your fitting with GolfTEC or Golfsmith.

Related: Follow David Dusek on Twitter | Facebook | Google+

Adjustable drivers have been around for years, and lots of golfers like them because they allow you to tweak things like the loft, face angle, lie angle, and weight distribution. However, one of the biggest names in golf equipment, Callaway, hasn't offered one. Until now.
 
In late January 2012, Callaway will release the RAZR Fit driver, which was quietly made available to tour pros during the PGA Tour's Fall Series. It's already found a home in the bags of Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson.

 
"We wanted the adjustability to be easy for the consumer to use and to matter, so when a golfer makes a change we want him to be able to notice a change in the ball flight," says Luke Williams, Callaway Golf's global director of woods and irons.
 
Out of the box, the RAZR Fit will come with a neutral face angle, but you can open the face 2.5° or close the face 1.5°using a torque wrench to unscrew the head from the shaft and re-attach it in one of three different settings.
 
The RAZR Fit comes with a 12-gram weight in the toe area and a 2-gram weight in the heel, but using the same torque wrench, the weights can be switched to increase the draw bias of the club.
 
In addition to being Callaway's first adjustable driver, the RAZR Fit is also the first driver to feature Callaway's newest face, which is dubbed "Speed Frame." It's an optimization of the hyperbolic face pattern that Callaway has been using for several years, but the company says it should help golfers maintain more ball speed when they hit outside of the sweet spot.
 
"The center of the face tends to be the hottest spot on a driver, and that's capped by the USGA," Williams says. "So what we want to do is make the areas around the center behave more like the center of the face."
 
The crown of the RAZR Fit is made from Forged Composite, a unique carbon material that first appeared in last season's RAZR Hawk and Diablo Octane drivers. By melting millions of carbon fibers, Callaway engineers can press and mold the carbon material into very precise shapes and designs; in the case of the RAZR Fit, Forged Composite has been used in the crown to make it thinner and lighter. This allowed Callaway designers to add weight to the bottom and back sections of the club to lower the center of gravity.
 
The RAZR Fit will come with an Aldila RIP NV shaft and should cost about $399 when it arrives in pro shops.

See-Try-Buy: Learn more about Callaway clubs and schedule your fitting with GolfTEC or Golfsmith.

Related: Follow David Dusek on Twitter | Facebook | Google+

Arnold Palmer recorded his 20^th career hole-in-one on Tuesday on the seventh hole of the Charger Course at the Bay Hill Club & Lodge in Orlando, Fla.

What made this ace even more unique was Palmer's choice of clubs: He used a set of Callaway RAZR XF irons for the first time, and he hit a 5-iron on the fateful 163-yard par-3.

“It was into a cross-wind from the left," Palmer said in a release provide by Callaway, the equipment company Palmer has endorsed since 2000. "The ball landed 10 feet short and politely rolled up into the hole.”

Golf Magazine wrote about the Callaway RAZR XF in its November issue:  

Supercharged RAZR XF irons are engineered for higher-handicappers who seek more distance and need help getting the ball in the air. The multi-material, 2-piece forged construction consists of a 1020 carbon steel body with a high strength Carpenter 455 steel face that’s designed to generate extra ball speed. 

Click here to watch an exclusive video on the Callaway RAZR XF .

Yup, it's good to be the King.

See-Try-Buy: Learn more about Callaway clubs and schedule your fitting with GolfTEC or Golfsmith.

Related: Follow David Dusek on Twitter | Facebook | Google+

(Photo by Schecter Lee)

DRIVER: Titleist 909D2 (9.5°) with an Oban Devotion 6 65 shaft
FAIRWAY WOOD: Titleist 909F3 (15°) with an Oban Devotion 8 85 shaft
HYBRID: Titleist 909H (21°) with an Oban Devotion 8 85 Hybrid shaft
IRONS: Callaway Tour Authentic X-Tour (3), Titleist 710 MB (5-PW) with True Temper Dynamic Gold shafts
WEDGES: Titleist Vokey Design (52°, 58°, 62°)* with True Temper Dynamic Gold shafts
PUTTER: TaylorMade Rossa Monza Corza (long)
BALL: Titleist Pro V1x

*The 60° wedge in the photo was bent to 62°.

See-Try-Buy: Learn more about Titleist, TaylorMade and Callaway clubs, and schedule your fitting with GolfTEC or Golfsmith.

Related: Follow David Dusek on Twitter | Facebook

DRIVER: Callaway RAZR Hawk Tour (9.5°) with a Mitsubishi Fubuki A70 shaft
FAIRWAY WOOD: Callaway Big Bertha Diablo (15°) with a Mitsubishi Fubuki 73 X shaft
HYBRID: Callaway prototype (18°) with a Mitsubishi Diamana Thump shaft
IRONS: Callaway X-Forged (3), RAZR X Forged Muscleback (5-PW) with Rifle Project X 7.0 shafts
WEDGES: Callaway JAWS (52°, 60°, 64°) with Rifle Project X 7.0 shafts
PUTTER: Odyssey White Hot XG Blade
BALL: Callaway Tour i(z)

See-Try-Buy: Learn more about Callaway clubs, and schedule your fitting with GolfTEC or Golfsmith.

Related: Follow David Dusek on Twitter | Facebook

(Photo by Tim Hales/AP Photos)

DRIVER: Callaway RAZR Hawk (9.5°) with a Fujikura Rombax 7X07 shaft
FAIRWAY WOOD: Callaway Diablo Octane (15°) with a Aldila NV Protopype 70X shaft
HYBRID: Callaway Big Bertha Heavenwood (20°) with an Aldila NV Protopype Hybrid shaft
IRONS: Callaway Tour Authentic X Proto (3-9) with True Temper Tour Issue S400 shafts
WEDGES: Callaway X Forged (48°, 56°, 60°) with True Temper Tour Issue S400 shafts
PUTTER: Odyssey Black Series Tour #1
BALL: Callaway Tour i(z)

See-Try-Buy:  Learn more about Callaway/Odyssey clubs, and schedule your fitting with GolfTEC or Golfsmith.

Related: Follow David Dusek on Twitter | Facebook

(Photo by Paul Childs/Zumapress)

Callaway is offering an all-black, Limited Edition Diablo Octane Tour driver, the same club used by Fredrik Jacobson, who won the Travelers Championship two weeks ago, and Trevor Immelman, the 2008 Masters champion.

If you decide to put this club in play, expect it to perform like any other Diablo Octane Tour. Both drivers feature a 450 cc head made with Forged Composite, a lightweight carbon material that allows engineers to make lighter, stronger and more-powerful clubs, according to the company. 

There will only be 5,000 of the drivers made, all right-hand models with 9.5 degrees of loft. To complement the all-black head, the club will come with a black, 45 1/2-inch Project X 7C7 shaft, along with a black-and-white Golf Pride New Decade grip.

To get your hands on one of the limited-edition drivers, which will cost $379, contact your local Callaway dealer. You can see a list of them here.

For more information, go to callawaygolf.com. 

See-Try-Buy:  Learn more about Callaway/Odyssey clubs, and schedule your fitting with GolfTEC or Golfsmith.

Related: Follow David Dusek on Twitter | Facebook

Amid bad financial news for Callaway on Wednesday, CEO George Fellows resigned and was replaced on an interim basis by Anthony S. Thornley, who has been on Callaway's board since 2004. 

The company announced a second quarter loss of $55 million and said it would "reduce headcount at all levels of the organization." The complete press release is below:

CARLSBAD, Calif., June 29, 2011

Callaway Golf Company (NYSE: ELY) today announced the appointment of Anthony S. "Tony" Thornley as Interim President and Chief Executive Officer, filling a vacancy created by George Fellows, who resigned for personal reasons. The Company also announced preliminary results for the second quarter of 2011, as well as organizational changes that are expected to improve operational effectiveness and reduce costs.

Mr. Thornley, 65, who joined the Board of Callaway Golf in 2004, served from 2002 to 2005 as President and Chief Operating Officer of Qualcomm Inc., the global leader in wireless technology. He served as Qualcomm's Chief Financial Officer from 1994 to 2002. Until his appointment today, he served as chair of the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors of Callaway Golf and was the designated "financial expert."

Mr. Fellows, 68, served as President and CEO since August 2005 and led initiatives that included the Company's international expansion, product cost reduction and efforts to return golf to the Olympics. Mr. Fellows led the Company to record sales and earnings prior to the economic downturn.

"Tony Thornley has a deep knowledge of Callaway's business and the steps we must take to improve results going forward. He brings decades of experience, including the financial and managerial skills and discipline to execute on our immediate priorities and to lead a transition to new leadership as the company charts a path for the future," said Ron Beard, Chairman of the Board. "As an avid golfer with a low single-digit handicap, he also brings passion for what we do. We appreciate George Fellows' efforts, accomplishments and wish him the best in the future. We look forward to continuing to work closely with our customers and partners as we take our next steps."

"It's been my privilege to serve Callaway these past 6 years and I'm proud of much of what we've done," said Mr. Fellows. "However the personal demands of cross country commuting and other demands on my personal life and family have led me to conclude now is the right time for me to make this change."

Preliminary Results for Second Quarter 2011

Callaway Golf announced that, for the second quarter of 2011, it expects revenues to be approximately $270 million.

The Company expects a net loss of approximately $55 million for the second quarter, including $48 million of noncash charges. These noncash charges include a valuation allowance of approximately $46 million related to the Company's U.S. deferred tax assets. The Company's U.S. business, which has been adversely affected by the recent economic downturn and continued investment in the final phase of the Company's global operations strategy, has not yet returned to profitability. As a result, U.S. accounting rules require that the Company establish the valuation allowance. The Company expects to be able to reverse the allowance in future periods as the Company's U.S. business returns to profitability. The net loss for the quarter also includes charges of approximately $8 million related to the organizational changes and approximately $4 million related to the Company's global operations strategy.

Organizational Changes

As part of its reorganization, the Company expects to reduce headcount at all levels of the organization. The Company said it expects its organizational changes and reevaluation of business processes and priorities to deliver annualized pre-tax savings of approximately $50 million, a portion of which will benefit 2011. Pre-tax charges associated with these actions, including severance expenses, are currently estimated to be approximately $20 million for 2011, including the $8 million recognized in the second quarter.

"While it is clear that it was the global economic recession that derailed our record sales and earnings pace, it is also clear that our business is not keeping pace with the industry recovery," said Mr. Thornley. "It is therefore necessary for the company to take immediate and aggressive actions to reduce costs in order to return the Company to profitability as quickly as possible. We will also focus our efforts on strengthening our Brands by reinvesting a portion of the cost savings in key marketing initiatives. While we have the best performing products in the industry, that message has sometimes been overshadowed by the sheer volume of competitive marketing. In addition, the actions we are announcing today will also result in a leaner organization that is better able to respond to changing market conditions. We will provide more details about the reorganization during our earnings call in late July."

Conference Call and Webcast

The Company will be holding a conference call to introduce Mr. Thornley at 6:00 a.m. PDT on Thursday, June 30. The call will be broadcast live over the Internet and can be accessed at www.callawaygolf.com. To listen to the call, please go to the website at least 15 minutes before the call to register and for instructions on how to access the broadcast.

A replay of the conference call will be available approximately three hours after the call ends, and will remain available through 9:00 p.m. PDT on Thursday, July 14, 2011. The replay may be accessed through the Internet at www.callawaygolf.com or by telephone by calling (800) 642-1687 or (706) 645-9291 (for international). The replay pass code is 80473414.

Date Set for Release of Second Quarter Financial Results

The Company plans to announce financial results for the second quarter on July 26, 2011 and will hold a conference call on that day to update investors on the company's operations and expectations for the remainder of the year.

DRIVER: Callaway Diablo Octane (8.5°) with a Fujikura Blur shaft
FAIRWAY WOODS: Callaway Diablo Octane (13°) Diablo Octane Tour (18°) with Miyazaki Kusala 83 shafts
IRONS: Callaway Diablo Forged (3-9) with True Temper Dynamic Gold Lite S-400 shafts
WEDGES: Callaway X Forged (48°, 52°, 58°) with True Temper Dynamic Gold Lite S-400 shafts
PUTTER: Odyssey Black Series i #1
BALL: Callaway Tour i(z)

See-Try-Buy: Learn more about Callaway/Odyssey clubs, and schedule your fitting with GolfTEC or Golfsmith.

Related: Follow David Dusek on Twitter | Facebook

(Photo by David Dusek)

Vacationers and residents of the Low Country can now have access to a new, state-of-the-art fitting facility at the Barefoot Resort & Golf Club in North Myrtle Beach, S.C. A new Callaway Performance Center just opened there, allowing golfers in the area to get fit for woods, irons, wedges and putters using the same technology available to the pros.

Here are some of the details, made available in a release:

Callaway Performance Centers utilize the patented "Callaway Performance Analysis System" (CPAS), which is used to custom fit the very best players in the game including major championship winners Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els. The CPAS System employs two high-speed cameras and ball-flight simulators, while a computer monitor displays an analysis of each golfer's launch conditions-ball speed, launch angle and spin rates. In addition, the system measures the path angle and the golfer'S angle of attack to the ball, utilizing 3D imagery and precision software designed by Callaway's world renowned Research & Development department.

Callaway's proprietary OptiFit® System allows golfers to test the manufacturer's equipment in a myriad of shaft and clubhead combinations quickly and efficiently. Never before have everyday golfers been able to employ such high-tech equipment to improve their performance and enjoyment on the golf course. Regardless of skill level, every golfer will benefit from a fitting at the Callaway Performance Center (CPC), where swings can be evaluated with the exact same cutting edge technology used on Callaway Tour Staff Professionals

In addition to the custom fitting experience, the new Callaway Performance Center, Myrtle Beach will offer a number of Callaway's newest products at retail, as well as Odyssey putters and TopFlite golf balls. Visitors to the CPC will be able to shop for clubs, golf balls, apparel, footwear, headwear, bags, gloves, rangefinders, GPS devices and a variety of accessories for men, women and junior golfers.

See-Try-Buy: Learn more about Callaway/Odyssey clubs, and schedule your fitting with GolfTEC or Golfsmith.

IRVING, Texas — Rich Beem, the winner of the 2002 PGA Championship , has trouble finding irons.

"I've always liked offset in my irons," he said Wednesday on the range at the TPC Four Seasons, site of this week’s Byron Nelson Championship. "Over the last couple of months I've been using Ping G15s, which are great and have a lot of offset and I really like the way they look. But at the end of the day I just wanted something that was a little smaller and had more of a blade look."

This week he's playing a set of Scratch Golf AR-1 irons (5-PW). Scratch, which first launched in 2003 with a line of handcrafted wedges, has also made clubs for Ryan Moore, David Duval and Cristie Kerr.

Beem said he's keeping his Ping G15 4-iron in the bag this week. He is also still using two Callaway X Series JAWS wedges.

Beem said that Scratch made him a set of irons during the West Coast Swing, but the heads were too big, so the company made him another set.

"I was home after Charlotte and I knew my iron game had been atrocious all year," Beem said. "I said to myself, 'You need to try another set of irons.' I went to the Scratch irons and I really liked them. I think they are fantastic, good looking and have a really solid feel."

The AR-1 irons are made from forged 1018 carbon steel, the same soft material used in many of the company's wedges. They have perimeter weighting but feature a thin topline at address.

As of Wednesday morning, Scratch probably wasn't aware that Beem planned to use its clubs at the HP Byron Nelson Championship.

"The funny thing is that I came out here looking for the Scratch guy this morning," Beem said, "and he's not here this week!"

Related: ClubTest '11: Irons | Follow David Dusek on Twitter | Facebook

Callaway has been making some of the best-selling irons for years, featuring clubs that help a lot of golfers hit the ball higher and farther more easily. Several offerings in the X Series and Big Bertha family of irons had big heads, massive sweet spots and low centers of gravity to make that possible.

The new RAZR Muscleback irons give you none of that. The first hint that these clubs are only for serious players is that the photo samples distributed by Callaway (right) show a 2-iron.

"If you aren't good enough to get your clubs for free, this might not be the best club for you," says Luke Williams, Callaway's director of product design. "I mean, really good amateur players and college players could play this club. There's a market for it, but it's small."

What the RAZR Muscleback, which is forged from carbon steel, does give players with an efficient and repeatable swing is the ultimate in feel and control.

Today's RAZR Muscleback irons started as prototype clubs built with tour players in mind. With small heads, short blades, anorexically-thin toplines and narrow soles, they first appeared in the bags of players like Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson with "X Prototype" stamped on their backs. After a while, Callaway made a few sets available to the public, calling the clubs the Tour Authentic X Protoype irons.

As Callaway considered its 2011 iron offerings, Williams says the company started thinking that it might be a good idea to bring the X Prototype irons out to the masses.

"When we thought about including an iron like this in our current line, we went out and got some feedback from players," Williams says. "We told them, 'Okay, if we're going to make a new version of this iron, what should we do differently?' And what we commonly heard back was, 'Well, change the name on the back. Don't change anything.' The players told us the size is perfect, the sole is just what we want, all of that. After hearing that often enough, that's what we decided to do."

The RAZR X Muscleback is, in fact, the X Prototype with some subtle cosmetic alterations made to the back of the club.

"While this iron may not include some of the latest technologies or come with a lot of bells and whistles, there are some things about it that are very important to get right," Williams says. "It's not just, 'Make a small forged blade and the players are going to love it.' You've got to get the offset right, you've got to get the blade length right, the toe shape, the topline width and angle. You've got to get the transition from the offset into the leading edge right. Those are the things that Tour players and better players are really concerned with."

The RAZR Muscleback are available now for $999 and come standard with Project X Flighted shafts, however, Callaway will change them to any steel shaft it carries for no additional charge. You can get more product specifications about the clubs on Callaway's Web site.

See-Try-Buy: Learn more about Callaway clubs, and schedule your fitting with GolfTEC or Golfsmith.

Related: Follow David Dusek on Twitter | Facebook

The Pro V1 patent dispute between Acushnet and Callaway appears to be over after Callaway's request for a new trial was denied. Here's the press release from Acushnet, which says the case is now "officially closed." 

U.S. DISTRICT COURT PROVIDES FINAL JUDGMENT IN FAVOR OF ACUSHNET COMPANY IN PATENT DISPUTE WITH CALLAWAY GOLF

Four Callaway Golf Ball Patents Determined Invalid

Fairhaven, MA (April 21, 2011) – Acushnet Company, the golf business of Fortune Brands, Inc., announced that the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware provided its final judgment in Acushnet Company's favor today in a long-running patent dispute with Callaway Golf.  The judge denied Callaway's request for a new trial, and the case is officially closed in the U.S. District Court more than five years after Callaway filed a lawsuit asserting that Acushnet's Titleist Pro V1 golf balls infringed on four Callaway patents.

"Today's positive ruling substantiates what our contention has been throughout this process, that the patents in question were invalid and should never have been issued," said Joe Nauman, Executive Vice President Corporate and Legal, Acushnet Company.  "We had confidence that once we had the opportunity to present all the evidence, and as we continued to receive favorable rulings from the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (PTO), we would prevail.  The confirmation by the U.S. District Court is another significant step in finalizing this case."

The dispute began in January 2006 when Acushnet requested that the PTO reexamine the four patents in question.  Callaway filed a lawsuit in February 2006 asserting that Acushnet's Titleist Pro V1 golf balls infringed certain claims of those patents.  In March 2010, a jury determined that all four patents were invalid as obvious and anticipated.  Last month, the PTO affirmed the patent examiner's decision that the claims of four Callaway Golf patents were invalid.  Today, the judge upheld the jury verdict on obviousness and rejected Callaway's request for a new trial.  Callaway has the option to appeal the case to the Federal Circuit.

Acushnet Company is the industry leader in developing golf ball technology and has over 700 active golf ball patents – more than any other manufacturer.  Titleist Pro V1 golf balls are the product of technology developed and accumulated by the Acushnet Company over the past 20 years, and over 65 Acushnet Company patents are related to the Pro V1 family.

"I love my putter the best because it's the moneymaker." — Cameron Beckman

DRIVER: Callaway Diablo Octane (9.5°) with a Graphite Design Tour AD DJ 60 X shaft
FAIRWAY WOOD: Callaway FT-iZ (15°) with a Fujikura Motore F3 X shaft
HYBRIDS: Callaway Diablo Edge (21°) with an Oban Revenge Hybrid shaft
IRONS: Callaway X-Forged (4-PW) with Aerotech Steel Fiber Composite shafts
WEDGES: Callaway X-Series JAWS (52°, 56°), X-Forged (60°) with True Temper Dynamic Gold S-400 shafts
PUTTER: Odyssey White Hot #2
BALL: Callaway Tour (i)z

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Phil Mickelson is known for changing the clubs in his bag based on the course setup and the conditions. This week, he's planning to go back a strategy that helped him win the 2006 Masters—two drivers.

When asked on Tuesday if he planned to make any adjustments to his bag after winning last week's Shell Houston Open, Mickelson said, "Nothing that really stands out. Other than I am going to have two drivers this week."

Right, that's not unusual at all.

"Because it's going to be warm, I won't need a 3-iron or a hybrid, so the longest iron I'll have is a 4-iron," Mickelson said. "But really, into the par 5s, I won't need anything less than that, or more than a 4-iron into the par 3s."

Mickelson added that if the temperatures stay cool that he might need a 3-iron to reach the 240-yard par-3 fourth hole, but he noted that the forecast is for the heat to return later in the week.

The three-time Masters champion said that the strategy behind carrying two drivers is not about working the ball left or right. "They both draw and fade the same, that's not the purpose of it," Mickelson said. "One has an inch longer shaft and a different loft."

Mickelson said that carrying a second, longer driver would allow him to carry the fairway bunkers on the two front-side par 5s, the 575-yard second and 570-yard eighth. Last week in Houston, Mickelson used a Callaway RAZR Hawk Tour (9.5°) with a Mitsubishi Fubuki A70 shaft.

See-Try-Buy: Learn more about Callaway clubs, and schedule your fitting with GolfTEC or Golfsmith.

Related: Gallery: Drivers Masters champions are using | Follow David Dusek on Twitter | Facebook

(Photo by Brian Snyder/Reuters)