Callaway calls TaylorMade balls ‘mud balls’ in an ad, prompting TaylorMade to seek injunction and damages.
Five-time major winner Rory McIlroy and world number one Scottie Scheffler are among the most prominent golfers who use TaylorMade balls. Callaway described TaylorMade balls as “mud balls” in a commercial, escalating the dispute to a lawsuit. Mud balls refer to golf balls covered with mud after a shot from wet, soft ground or rough, which severely impairs aerodynamics and often causes unpredictable trajectories and curves.
TaylorMade files lawsuit against Callaway
TaylorMade has sued its competitor Callaway over allegedly false claims regarding the composition of golf balls in a commercial. Callaway’s ad claimed TaylorMade balls were inferior to their own. According to the lawsuit, it was asserted that the construction of TaylorMade balls negatively affects flight as much as troublesome mud balls do. “Callaway, its agents and representatives performed misleading UV light demonstrations, disparaging TaylorMade balls by calling them ‘mud balls’ and falsely claiming that they have uneven paint or coating and poor quality control, resulting in poor performance,” states TaylorMade’s complaint filed at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, San Diego division.
Allegation of misleading UV demonstration
The lawsuit centers on a Callaway ad where a salesperson recommends testing golf balls with UV light to assess coating type and performance impact. The ad shows a TaylorMade TP5 ball lit under UV light, revealing a darker spot that prompts admiration from the salesperson’s assistant. Callaway’s salesperson implies the spot indicates an inferior ball by saying, “Wow, interesting, because to me it looks like a huge clump of mud… right over the TaylorMade logo.”
TaylorMade emphasizes in the lawsuit that