Ely Reeves Callaway Jr.

  Callaway Golf started from a tiny, four-employee company, but over the course of a decade, it transformed into a 2,500 employee, 800 million dollar company. (Gale Biography in Context, May 9, 2013.) Starting from a rich background, Ely Callaway was always wealthy. Throughout his youth he had many small jobs until he went to college. Ely graduated college from Emory University and afterwards immediately joined the Army. Following serving several years in the Army he decided to go back home and found the Callaway Vineyard and Winery. A decade later he sold the vineyard and purchased a small golf company called Hickory Stick. After numerous years of hard and dedicated work, the company is now a world leading golf company. After all this success and profit Ely decided to give back and try even harder to change golf. He donated to charity, created the Big Bertha driver, and his company became the largest manufacturer of golf clubs in the world. Ely Callaway may have died over a decade ago, but his dedication to making a difference, his hard work, and philanthropy, makes him an inspiration and helped revolutionize golf as it is today.

  Ely Callaway is a hero because he spent many dedicated hours to revolutionize golf for many golfers and becoming a success. In Ely Callaway Jr. "Business leader profiles for students," Editors Dow and Noce say, "Throughout Callaway's life many important events occurred such as the development of the Big Bertha. As soon as Callaway had this jump start everything started to develop" (Gale Biography in Context, May 9, 2013.) Callaway wanted to make a difference in the golf world, which he did. Throughout all of his hard work he had great success. In Ely Callaway Jr. "Business leader for Students, Editors Dow and Noce say, "In a short time, by 1994, his company was offered publicly on the New York Stock Exchange and had gained world dominance in golf clubs exceeding Spalding, Wilson, Taylormade, and Macgregor" (Gale Biography in Context, May 9, 2013.) Callaway was a huge success as people who have public companies are very successful. Obviously, if he exceeded all of those companies it required years of hard work. His dedication gives him heroic aspects and is proven with his company.

  Ely Callaway is heroically known for his several, generous donations and his good heartedness. Roots Web's World Connect Projects says, "Ely came up with a project to honor the memory of his late mother and father, Ely spared no expense and was personally involved in the details that went into this magnificent facility. Officials with West Georgia Health System said Callaway's contributions did not end with his donation. "He made a significant contribution toward the quality of life for many terminally ill people of West Georgia. However, his generosity did not end there. He also granted $500,000 to establish the Hospice LaGrange Charitable Trust, which is used to cover expenses for hospice patients who are unable to pay for services" (Roots Web's World Connect Project, May 2013.) Ely Callaway, is considered a hero because after making a very successful business he immediately donated to charity in a unique, yet helpful way. Callaway was very hurt by the mental illness his parents were diagnosed with and built a facility to provide for them and others. Callaway Golf Foundation says, "The Callaway Golf Foundation will host the second professional/celebrity golf tournament, the Callaway Golf Foundation Challenge, at the historic Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles on December 15. The tournament will benefit groundbreaking cancer research projects supported by the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF)" (Callaway Golf Foundation, May 2013.) Callaway cared so much for helping to find a cure for cancer. He hosted many charity tournaments and fundraisers to help donate to the cause. Although he is dead, Ely Callaway is well known for his several charitable donations.

  Ely Callaway is inspirational because he did several good deeds in his life including revolutionizing golf as it is today, donating money to several charities and funds. Despite many years of failure, Callaway's determination continued to drive him towards achieving success. In Ely Callaway Jr. "Business leader profiles for students, Editors Dow and Noce say, "He soon was told, that President Bill Clinton, President George Bush, Prince Andrew, along with celebrity golfers Sean Connery, and Jack Lemmon, and golf-playing CEO's in America used his clubs and talked about them" (Gale Biography in Context, May 9, 2013.) Ely Callaway is an inspiration because he was determined to make a difference in golf society. Upon years and years of trying he finally had created an astonishing new product and discovered many celebrities began using his product even with all the competition he had to face. Ely Callaway Newsmaker says. "Prior to Big Bertha, the most feared, shunned, disliked golf club in most everybody's bag was the driver. Now, it's most everybody's favorite. What we did in creating that club was to transform an attitude among the masses. We made the driver easier to hit. We took the fear out of it" (Gale Biography in Context, May 9, 2013.) Callaway not only created the Big Bertha but, upon making it he made golf a more enjoyable sport. Prior to Callaway's accomplishment he was just a normal golf company owner. However, after this creation a new era began.

Works Consulted

Ely Callaway, Jr." Business Leader Profiles for Students. Ed. Sheila Dow and Jaime E. Noce. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale, 1999. Biography In Context. Web. 3 May 2013.

"Ely Callaway." Newsmakers. Detroit: Gale, 2002. Biography In Context. Web. 9 May 2013

"Roots Web's WorldConnect Project: RootsWeb's WorldConnect Project Global Search."RootsWeb's WorldConnect Project: RootsWeb's WorldConnect Project Global Search. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 May 2013.

"Pro Golfers and celebrities Pair Up in Charity Golf Tournament." -- CARLSBAD, Calif., Dec. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --. The Callaway Golf Foundation, n.d. Web. 09 May 2013.