Carlsbad is the Golf Equipment Capital
When you visit Carlsbad, you are immediately immersed in the world of golf. Coined the golf equipment capital of the world, the city located due north of San Diego by 30 miles, right along the Pacific Ocean, is where many golf equipment manufacturers are headquartered. That movement started back in the early 1990s, when Ely Callaway relocated his blossoming club company to this suburb from a more inland area, primarily because of the perfect weather, access to plenty of engineers, and a then-reasonable cost of real estate.
After Callaway settled in town, other companies like Taylor Made (spelled as two words back in the day) and Cobra soon set up shop nearby. Even now, the headquarters of all three companies lie within a half-mile of one another. Plus, the likes of Titleist, Puma Golf, Odyssey, Honma Golf, Ogio, adidas Golf, Adams, Fujikura, Aldila, Mitsubishi, KBS, Nickent, Vessel Golf, Full Swing Golf, True Temper and other brands have planted their roots in town, or close by, as well. It often seems like you can’t go to any lunch or dinner spot in Carlsbad without running into someone from the golf industry.
While some of the companies offer the public occasional tours of their facilities – and it can be a fascinating education on how golf products are produced – most do not. Several of the club behemoths will offer private fitting sessions at their own ranges – mostly to VIP guests and special invitees. Which companies have their own hitting facility? Just west of Palomar Airport – the Carlsbad airport that used to service commercial airlines but now is open solely to private jets – lies Callaway’s Ely Callaway Performance Center. It has one of the nicest private ranges in town, along with a state-of-the-art putter fitting center. Just north of that, Cobra Golf just upgraded its indoor fitting studio in a huge way. A few streets north of that, TaylorMade’s Kingdom outdoor range has gone through several modifications through the years. And in Oceanside, the next city north, the Titleist Performance Institute is probably the largest and most-thorough such facility in the area – replete with the latest technology, a first-class fitness center, full-sized golf holes, incredibly vast range, short game-specific areas, and even grass and sand types from around the world. Anyone wanting to schedule a fitting session at these facilities needs to call each company on their own or have their local club pro make a call on their behalf.
If you can’t get your foot in any of those doors, you can always schedule an appointment at the TaylorMade Aviara Performance Center that's located at Aviara Golf Club in south Carlsbad. That's open to anyone who calls ahead and will provide a fitting of the very latest TaylorMade gear.