Why I Started Eastside Golf
After graduating from Morehouse College, I set out to play professional golf. I had the work ethic, the drive, and the belief that I could compete. What I didn’t have was funding. I played mini-tour events, even won twice in pro tournaments, but without sponsors it was hard to stay in the game. I caddied. I washed cars. Golf is expensive at the highest level, and at 22, still living at home, my mom sat me down and said, “You either need to start getting paid to play golf, or you need to get a job.” It turned into the first and last argument we ever had. She won.
I entered the corporate world, working in commercial finance across a few states before landing in Detroit as a regional manager for a bank. I was on track for a VP role, doing well on paper, but my heart never left the course. One day I came home in a suit, exhausted, and realized I wanted to be tired because of golf, not corporate America. I didn’t know exactly how I’d get back, but I knew I had to start somewhere.
So I sketched a logo. A Black man swinging a golf club, wearing jeans, a sweatshirt, and a gold chain. That logo was me. I showed it to my best friend and former championship partner, Earl Cooper, and he told me to put it on a T-shirt. I ironed it onto a Gildan tee and wore it walking through downtown Detroit. People kept stopping me asking who I was and where they could get it. That’s when I knew this was bigger than I expected.
I started Eastside Golf in 2019 with one simple goal: fund my pro golf journey. I shipped the first 3,000 orders myself from my one-bedroom apartment. What began as a way to chase a dream quickly became something bigger than me. Eastside Golf became a way to show that the game can look different, feel different, and still honor everything golf stands for.
Today, I’m a founder first. Building the brand has to be the priority. But the dream to compete never left. Over the past year, I found windows to play again, and I took them. This blog is about that balance. The real one. The grind, the lessons, the wins, and the work in between.
Eastside Golf has always been about showing up as yourself. You can build the table, but the dream-chasing never stops.
More soon, Olajuwon
