Callaway Golf and Taiwan Government Seize Counterfeit

Golf Clubs CARLSBAD, Calif. (ots-PRNewswire) - Callaway Golf Company(NYSE: ELY) announced today that government authorities in Taiwanraided a major golf club counterfeiter on May 10, 1999. The raidwas targeted against a factory that was producing counterfeitgolf clubs, along with a warehouse and a retail outlet sellingthe bogus golf clubs. The crackdown reportedly followed a tip-offobtained during the filming of the Home Box cable televisionprogram "Real Sports" where host Bryant Gumbel used hiddencameras during visits to golf shops and club head manufacturersin Taiwan. The May 10 raid in Taiwan was carried out by officials of theInvestigation Bureau of the Ministry of Justice, which isresponsible for the enforcement of intellectual property laws inTaiwan, with assistance from representatives of Callaway Golf.Government investigators raided the Tung Chi factory located inTaoyuan, near Taipei, and seized approximately 500 fullyassembled counterfeit metal woods and irons. The action alsonetted almost 800 counterfeit metal wood and iron heads that wereready for assembly with counterfeit shafts. The fake merchandisealso included counterfeit bags, medallions, gloves, head covers,decals and grips. According to one government investor in Taiwan,the value of the seized goods, including the fake Callaway Golfproducts, was approximately $4 million. Ely Callaway, founder and Chief Executive Officer of CallawayGolf, expressed his support for the raid, which was the secondsuch action in Taiwan since January. "I recently explained to ourshareholders and our employees that this is an important issuefor the Company, and that we will fight against the sale ofillegal copies of our golf clubs." Steven C. McCracken, Executive Vice President and Chief LegalOfficer of Callaway Golf, also complimented Taiwaneseauthorities. "We continue to work with our colleagues to stop thecounterfeiting of Callaway Golf products. We hope that increasedlaw enforcement and heightened public awareness will deterpersons from engaging in such illegal activities." Callaway Golf Company makes and sells Big Bertha(R) MetalWoods and Irons, including Great Big Bertha(R) Hawk Eye(R)Titanium Metal Woods, Big Bertha(R) Steelhead(TM) Stainless SteelMetal Woods, Big Bertha(R) X-12(TM) Stainless Steel Irons, GreatBig Bertha(R) Tungsten*Titanium(TM) Irons, and Bobby Jones(R) andCarlsbad Series(TM) putters. Callaway Golf Company also makes andsells Odyssey(R) putters and wedges with Stronomic(R) andLyconite(R) inserts.

For more information about Callaway Golf Company, visit thecompany's Web site on the Internet at http://www.callawaygolf.comots Original Text Service: Callaway Golf CompanyInternet: http://www.newsaktuell.deContact:Larry Dorman, Steve McCracken or Krista Mallory of Callaway GolfCompany,(USA) 760-931-1771Web site: http://www.callawaygolf.com

Subscribers please note that material bearing the slug"PROTEXT" is not part of CTK's news service and is not to bepublished under the "CTK" slug. Protext is a commercial serviceproviding distribution of press releases from clients, who areidentified in the text of Protext reports and who bear fullresponsibility for their contents.

PROTEXT