[VXHLrsO1]

I haven't looked into Callaway's numbers, but I'd guess that after headcount, marketing is the highest percentage of their budget. They're trimming staff, but $50M in savings there (and probably less after packages), still isn't going to cover that gap.

I realize golf sales are all about marketing, but I question the value of the money spent when everyone is seemingly doing the exact same things. I don't necessarily agree that marketing can't be cut without hurting the company.

If I were Callaway, I'd really look into whether there's value in Tour player sponsorship. Is it better to have an advertisment at every break on a major tournament, or 1/2 the players in the field with your logo stitched onto them somewhere? Would 1/2 of the televised ads actually produce the same results? Would cross platform advertising (say advertising Callaway equipment on ESPN) get better results? Is more money to be made by Tour players actually doing anything to drive golf sales?

I'd also look at potentially splitting lines. This would allow the Callaway brand to move a bit more up market and some lower line (made by Callaway) to go for the more novice players at lower price points. This is an industry where people don't really know who is linked to whom. There's an opportunity to potentially capture more market space and more revenue per club sale by doing this.