For the third quarter of 2005, Callaway reported sales of $221 million, with a loss of seven cents per share.

“Over the first nine months of this year, sales of these products have increased seven percent adding to the double digit growth experienced in 2005,’’ said Callaway Golf Chief Executive Officer George Fellows. “Sales of the Top-Flite and Hogan products, however, have not performed to expectations and have offset the gains in our core brands. We are in the process of restoring these brands, targeting a formal re-launch of Top-Flite in 2007.”

Fellows said Callaway Golf’s “two-staged approach’’ to its business is well underway.

“The first stage, which targeted a gross reduction of operating expenses of $50 to $60 million in the first year, or $25 to $30 million net of reinvestment, has been more successful than initially expected,’’ Fellows said. “In fact, over the last twelve months we have realized approximately $44 million in savings net of reinvestment.’’

The second stage, Fellows said, will target gross margins, which have been at “unacceptable levels’’ in recent years.

“This margin performance was further impacted this year by some additional factors related to the Top-Flite business, including an inventory reduction initiative of older Top-Flite products in preparation for the re-launch of the Top-Flite brand,’’ Fellows said. “We recognize the importance of improving gross margins as it relates to our overall profitability, and have already begun implementing initiatives which are expected to significantly improve gross margins in 2007 and beyond.’’

ClubCorp's resort and golf properties include The Homestead in Hot Springs, Va., and Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif. Pinehurst Resort, the fabled flagship of ClubCorp, is not part of the acquisition.

The San Antonio City Council has agreed to extend construction deadlines for the Cibolo Canyons PGA Tour golf resort, much to the chagrin of environmentalists who have been trying to block the project for more than four years. Opponents of the project, which was first attempted by the PGA of America, basically don’t want the resort developer, Forestar Real Estate Group, to use Edwards Aquifer water for golf course irrigation.

The project’s backers, however, say the resort would be bring additional jobs and tourism to the San Antonio area.

The deadline extensions give Forestar (formerly Lumbermen's Investment Corp.) six more months to begin construction of a Marriott hotel and anchor golf courses and 18 more months to complete construction.

The first of at least two square-shaped drivers has been unveiled. Nike Golf has officially launched its SasQuatch SUMO (Super Momentum of Inertia) line of drivers. Each driver features the same yellow soleplates as the original SQ. The main difference between the SQ SUMO and the SQ SUMO 2, Nike Golf says, is that the SQ SUMO has a moment of inertia of 4950 while the SQ SUMO 2 features golf’s highest moment of inertia at 5300. Each SQ SUMO driver will begin shipping in mid-January with a suggested retail price of $359.99 for the SUMO and $479.99 for the SUMO 2.

Callaway Golf (NYSE: ELY) is expected to be the next company to introduce a square-shaped driver, this one featuring carbon composite materials. Look for Callaway to introduce that driver within the next several weeks.

Goldman, which is now seeking to capitalize on healthy demand for new stock offerings and Japan's economic recovery, reportedly will sell a partial stake to the public and retain a majority share.

According to a study published by the Japan Productivity Center for Socio-Economic Development, Japan's golfing population last year rose five percent to 10.8 million. The institution estimates the number of golfers will fall to 7.8 million in 2015 and 6.7 million by 2020 because of Japan's aging society.

Mizuno is introducing its new MP-67 iron, which the company says features a “slender’’ Cut Muscle design for better feel and workability. Mizuno says the MP-67 is made from new 1025E Pure Select Mild Carbon Steel using its patented Grain Flow Forging process.

The MP-67 (suggested retail price $1,000 for 3-PW) , according to Mizuno, feature a rolled leading edge, cambered mid-sole, and rolled trailing edge for consistent striking ability from all types of lies.

The PGA of America has quietly hired lobbyist Erik Winborn, who once prowled the halls of Congress of behalf of Wal-Mart, to work on its behalf in Washington, D.C. According to The Hill newspaper, Winborn said “industry professionals’’ have been worried that Congress doesn’t appreciate the jobs golf provides and that the sport has been the victim of negative publicity in the wake of a Justice Department investigation into lobbyist Jack Abramoff and Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio) and congressional staffers on a golf trip the group took to St. Andrews, Scotland.

Neither Winborn nor the PGA identified who these “industry officials’’ might be, but The Hill quoted Winborn as saying the PGA was particularly upset last year that golf course owners weren’t included in a tax break Congress passed to help victims of Hurricane Katrina recover. So upset, it seems, that it took the PGA the better part of a year to act.

Golf by the way, wasn’t the only industry left out of the bill. The casino and massage parlor industries also got the cold shoulder from Congress. Make up your own joke.

Golf Trust of America, Inc., which owns the Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club just north if Tampa, has mutually agreed with Westin Hotel Management to terminate the latter’s management contract at the resort effective Oct. 31. GTA has owned the 900-acre property and its four golf courses (managed by Troon Golf) since July 2004 and has tried unsuccessfully to sell the resort.

GTA President W. Bradley Blair, II, said the company will continue to operate Innisbrook “in accordance with our plan of liquidation.’’

 Innisbrook’s Copperhead course has long been regarded as one of Florida’s top courses. The Copperhead will host the Chrysler Championship Oct. 23-29 and will part of the PGA Tour’s “Florida Swing” with a new Tour event next March.

The PGA of America will soon name a U.S. captain for '08 - the frontrunner is Paul Azinger - and begin parading the poor sap around the country like he is on some kind of diplomatic mission. In a way, he will be. That mission is to sell what basically is an exhibition golf match that the U.S. hasn't competed well in at a venue (Valhalla Country Club in Louisville) that has all the appeal of a migraine.

If the PGA of America really wants to put some excitement in the '08 Matches, here's a suggestion: Put John Daly on the team as a Captain's Choice is he doesn't qualify in the points standings. That's not likely to happen in the button-down, script supervised world of the PGA, but Daly is guaranteed to create some buzz that otherwise would be left out. And consider this: How would you like to be the European player who has to play Daly in a Sunday singles match in Kentucky perhaps with the Ryder Cup on the line?

And one more bit of advice for the '08 Matches. Cut back on the all the pomp (or pompous) and circumstance during Ryder Cup week. What other sporting event asks the players to attend banquets and parties leading up the event, have them sit through a seemingly endless opening ceremony filled with pseudo celebrities and then ask them to play their best golf? The answer, of course, is none. And that's exactly the amount of times the U.S. has won the past three Ryder Cup Matches.

This past fall, Callaway Golf also won top honors in the San Diego Better Business Bureau's (BBB) 2005 Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics for the third time in five years, which made it eligible for the international competition.

The BBB International Torch Award recognizes the long-term value of honest and honorable business practices. The finalists for the 2006 International Torch Award came from the more than 1,000 businesses honored in local Torch Award competitions, which were narrowed to the 100 that qualified for entry at the international level.

In its first phase, the Tour said it plans to operate and market three permanent Tour Academies offering complete menus of golf instruction, all of which will become operational early next year. The Tour Academies will be at the TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, TPC Scottsdale and TPC Canyons in Las Vegas. Also in the first phase, the Tour said PGA Tour Experiences will offer golf vacation packages, building on base of vacation options in key vacation destinations in Florida, Arizona and Nevada.