Callaway Golf • 2004 - 2005

Introduction

At Callaway Golf, I was part of the ASP.NET team responsible for building their online store. This e-commerce platform integrated merchant account services with sophisticated backend systems to manage Callaway's extensive catalog of golfing products.

Technical Contributions

The project utilized ASP.NET with a MySQL database backend. My previous experience with relational database management systems positioned me as the team's database specialist, responsible for database maintenance and development of complex queries and stored procedures.

Database Engineering

Maintained MySQL database systems for the e-commerce platform

Developed stored procedures to efficiently manage the large product catalog

Optimized complex queries for inventory management and order processing

E-commerce Development

Built ASP.NET components for the online store's shopping experience

Integrated merchant account services for secure payment processing

Developed backend services to manage the extensive product catalog

Career Turning Point

During my time at Callaway Golf, I was fortunate to work with senior developer Jim Weirich, who introduced me to Ruby and LISP. This exposure sparked my interest in functional programming paradigms and ultimately led to a significant shift in my career trajectory.

My growing passion for Ruby and functional programming principles inspired me to leave Callaway when Jim did, allowing me to pursue opportunities focused on Ruby development and, later, Ruby on Rails. This pivotal experience at Callaway Golf marked the beginning of my journey into a new programming ecosystem that would shape my future career.