Jack Nicklaus once said that “golf is not, and never has been, a fair game.” Few people appreciate the truth of that saying more than Roger Cleveland.
The nearly 81-year-old man from Long Beach, California made his mark as an equipment manufacturer, starting in 1979 with a company bearing his last name (Cleveland Classics Golf) and building it into a full-fledged club group (Cleveland Golf) that became known for the wedges he designed and subsequently produced.
First came the Tour Action 485, which Curtis Strange used in 1988 to win the first of his consecutive US Opens with an up-and-down on the 72nd hole to seal the victory. It remains one of the biggest pressure games in the history of the championship.
That same year, Cleveland launched the Tour Action 588 wedge, and company officials say that stick has been used to score more than 400 wins on the PGA Tour. All told, they add that Cleveland Golf has sold more than 15 million wedges worldwide.
To say that the man who founded that company found himself at the top of the golf world after those successes would be an understatement. And his bank account undoubtedly got a nice boost when French ski equipment manufacturer Rossignol bought Cleveland Golf in 1990 for an undisclosed price. The founder stayed on as the club’s chief designer, and fortunately so, with a consultant brought in by Rossignol to run the show.
“But just as my five-year contract expired at the end of 1995, that man showed me the door,” Cleveland said.
That meant the man who founded the company and then built it into a formidable force had to leave the place that still bore his name.
There was certainly nothing fair about that.
“[This] is a special moment for me. I look forward to working with the talented team here to push the boundaries of design even further.” –Roger Cleveland
Cleveland quickly recovered when Callaway Golf asked him to become its chief club designer shortly thereafter. And after 28 years in that role, Cleveland’s golf life came full circle when his old company, now part of Dunlop Sports Americas, asked him to come back home last spring.
“[This] is a special moment for me,” he said.[Cleveland Golf] has always been close to my heart, and I am happy to once again contribute to the legacy of innovation and performance. The brand has built a trusted reputation among golfers around the world, and I look forward to working with the talented team here to push the boundaries of design even further.
“I know a few Cleveland guys who are on tour, and we’ve kept in touch,” he added. “They asked if I was interested, and I said I was happy to help, as long as they would listen.”
Mike Jolly, the company’s director of touring operations, is excited to have the founder back.
“Roger has so much knowledge and experience,” he said. “He also has such good connections with tour players and has so much credibility with them. When Roger talks about golf club design, people listen.”
Golf has been a part of Cleveland’s life since he was a teenager. The younger of two sons whose father was a firefighter and mother a part-time piano teacher, he played on the golf and football teams at Long Beach Polytechnic High.
After graduating, he enrolled at the University of Southern California, where he played golf (but not football). He earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and then went to work for what was then Douglas Aircraft Co. (and would eventually become McDonnell-Douglas before being absorbed by Boeing).
After spending a few years at Douglas, Cleveland decided to change industries and locations by taking the position of assistant professional at Willow Ridge Country Club in New York’s Westchester County.
That adventure lasted only a few years, after which Cleveland decided to move back to Southern California. Shortly afterwards he founded Cleveland Classics Golf Co. on, and the first club he made was a re-creation of Bobby Jones’ Calamity Jane putter.
“I took it to the 1979 PGA Merchandise Show and came back with 500 orders,” he said. “From then on I started making persimmon wood and did quite well with it. Then I started making wedges, the first notable of which was the Tour Action 485 that Curtis used to win his first US Open.”
By the time Strange made that up-and-down epic, Cleveland had dropped the word “Classics” from its company name and it was Cleveland Golf.
Two years later, Rossignol purchased Cleveland and began developing iron and metal lumber lines.
“We made some great clubs, but we were undercapitalized from the start,” Cleveland remembers. “And that made it a real battle against the biggest companies.”
Cleveland says he received calls from both Callaway and Titleist after he was forced out of his own company and ultimately chose to go with Callaway. After nearly three decades there, he is now back at his old workplace, advising the tour and R&D teams on new product and design ideas and working with some of the best golfers in the game.
Ask Cleveland about his legacy and he says it’s his wedges.
“I learned so much about them working with the top tour professionals,” he said. “And I love finding the right soles for different conditions and teaching people how to use them. If I get you 40 yards and in, you don’t need a lot of force to get it close. You just need good technique and good wedges.”
And Jolly marvels at how good Cleveland’s wedges have been for so long.
“I love how well they come together,” he said. “The way the hosel flows into the leading edge, the shape of the head, the overall look and functionality. Tour pros and recreational players alike love the way they look, especially at address, and the way they perform.”
It must be a good feeling to be back.
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