Callaway Golf to Add 130 Jobs to Ball Business

After laying off more than 700 employees in November, Callaway Golf said it’s adding 130 manufacturing jobs at its new golf ball business over the next several months.

“This is the first phase of what we hope will be many phases to come,” Chuck Yash, president of Callaway Golf Ball Co., said this week.

Carlsbad-based Callaway, the maker of Big Bertha golf clubs, has invested about $140 million in its brand-new golf ball business. The company said it expects to unveil its new golf ball by the end of the year.

Callaway Golf Ball Co. employs more than 100 people, including some who were laid off from the company’s golf club-making operation.

The company said it plans to fill production jobs--including machine operators, technicians, material handlers, plant mechanics, plant electricians and printing technicians--at its new 200,000-square-foot golf ball plant in Carlsbad.

Industry experts say manufacturing golf balls is big business. Callaway rivals Cobra Golf and Taylor Made also have revealed plans to sell golf balls.

Callaway shares rose 13 cents to close at $10.94 on the New York Stock Exchange.