True to its history of celebrity ambassadors outside of the sport, Carlsbad-based golf giant Callaway Golf just announced its latest partnership with NBA star Stephen Curry. This multi-year agreement will focus on efforts to make golf accessible to underserved and under-represented youth.
Located in the emerging sports tech and active lifestyle hub of San Diego’s North County, Callaway Golf prides itself on “innovative, high-performance golf equipment” and encompasses other pro brands like Odyssey, OGIO, TravisMathew, and Jack Wolfskin.
Here’s more about the partnership from the San Diego Union Tribune:
“We’ve found an incredibly like-minded partner in Stephen,” said Chip Brewer, Callaway’s chief executive, in a statement. “His love of golf is something we at Callaway immediately connected with. And over time we realized we shared much more than that: a vision to create opportunities for access to the sport for people that might not have it.”
Curry has visited the Ely Callaway Performance Center in Carlsbad, which specializes in custom fitting and new products, several times over the years, according to the company. That relationship led to Monday’s announcement that Curry would become a Callaway brand ambassador.
One example of how the two companies might work together is Curry’s pledge last month to help Howard University launch Division 1 men’s and women’s golf teams.
Curry will fund Howard’s golf program for six years, as well as support three scholarships. Callaway signed on as the official golf equipment provider for the golf teams, which are expected to begin playing in the 2020/21 academic year.
“I am beyond excited for the opportunity to work with Callaway Golf. Their ability to think outside the box on how we can collectively grow the game of golf is second to none,” said Curry in a statement.
“I can’t wait to begin rolling out some of our ideas to make golf more accessible to boys and girls around the world.”
Curry began golfing at a young age and has participated in professional golf tournaments. He is a PGA Junior League Ambassador. Golf Digest ranks Curry as a close to a scratch golfer, with a 1.5 handicap. He is also executive producer of the ABC extreme miniature golf reality show Holey Moley.
The Callaway partnership isn’t the Curry family’s only tie to the San Diego region. Ayesha Curry, a renowned food entrepreneur and Stephen Curry’s wife, opened an International Smoke restaurant in Carmel Valley this summer in partnership with Michelin award-winning chef Michael Mina.
