Callaway admits defeat and sells for half what they paid.

Topgolf Callaway Brands announced Tuesday that private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners is acquiring a 60% stake in Topgolf and Toptracer for $1.1 billion, with the deal expected to close in early 2026. For those keeping score at home, that’s less than half of the $2.6 billion all-stock merger deal that brought these two together back in 2020. Callaway will pocket approximately $770 million in net proceeds while keeping a 40% ownership stake, and more importantly, the company will drop “Topgolf” from its name entirely, reverting to simply Callaway Golf Company.

The honeymoon that went south fast

While Topgolf’s overall revenue has increased since the merger with more than 35 new venues opening, same-venue sales started dropping in Q3 2023 and got progressively worse, with July 2024 alone seeing an 11% decrease. The company experienced significant layoffs at its Dallas corporate office in February, and CEO Artie Starrs resigned in early August. The stock price told the brutal truth: from an all-time peak of $37.29 per share in June 2021, it plunged 71% to $10.58 just before the sale announcement. Consumers pulling back on discretionary spending hit the entertainment concept hard, forcing management to implement value initiatives like “Sunday Funday” and half-off golf promotions just to stabilize traffic.

Why Leonard Green sees opportunity in the chaos

Leonard Green & Partners has a 35-year track record of high-growth investments and currently manages over $75 billion in assets. The firm’s portfolio already includes Crunch Fitness and Authentic Brands Group, which owns Reebok and Champion, so they’re no strangers to consumer-facing businesses under pressure. Recent third-quarter results showed same-store sales up more than 1%, with traffic improvements in smaller one-to-two-bay locations showing the business might be finding its footing. Leonard Green clearly believes they can unlock value that a publicly-traded golf equipment manufacturer couldn’t—or didn’t want to chase.

Callaway’s back-to-basics bet

CEO Chip Brewer stated that after evaluating various alternatives including a potential spin-off, “this sale is the best outcome for our shareholders, as well as our employees and other stakeholders.” Post-transaction, Callaway will focus on its Golf Equipment & Active Lifestyle platform consisting of Callaway, Odyssey, TravisMathew and Ogio brands, which generated approximately $2 billion in revenue over the last twelve months through Q3 2025. The company is currently No. 1 in equipment club sales in the U.S. for 2024 and the No. 2 ball brand behind Titleist. The message is clear: make clubs and balls, leave the entertainment business to someone else, and pay down debt with the proceeds.

What this means for golf’s future

The Topgolf-Callaway split represents more than just a failed merger—it’s a referendum on whether traditional golf companies can successfully operate in the entertainment space. Golf equipment manufacturing and golf entertainment require fundamentally different skill sets, capital structures, and strategic thinking. Callaway also sold the Jack Wolfskin outdoor brand to Chinese company Anta for $290 million in April, completing a full retreat to its core competency. The question now is whether Leonard Green can stabilize Topgolf’s same-venue sales and make the business work without the golf equipment parent company, or if this is just another chapter in what’s been a bumpy ride since the pandemic golf boom faded.