Two O.C. Businesses Told to Quit Selling Golf Clubs

A federal judge in Phoenix has ordered two Orange County businesses to stop selling golf clubs and parts that a Carlsbad company says are knockoffs and counterfeits of its products.

Callaway Golf Co. said the golf clubs were first discovered last month in retail stores in Phoenix, prompting a series of raids by federal marshals. Clubs collected in those searches were traced to Just Golf in Santa Ana, a business run from the home of Manuel and Laura Escalera, the company said Thursday.

Orange County marshals raided the couple’s home on Sept. 6, and seized more than 250 golf club heads bearing names similar to Callaway trademark names, the company said. Marshals also raided a Huntington Beach business operated out of the home of Dan Gutierez and his wife, Lily Lin, Callaway said. The business operated under two names, Impression Golf and D.B. Sports.

The company alleged in a lawsuit that the couple has been selling parts for counterfeit and knock-off golf clubs for two years.

Gutierez denied the allegations. He said is being falsely accused because he has in the past sold knockoffs of Callaway component parts. He said he stopped after the company obtained a court injunction against him in 1995. Gutierez said he has never sold counterfeit components.

Escalera could be reached for comment.