That\u2019s why, in 2019, Ajanaku and his best friend and former Morehouse College golf teammate, Earl Cooper, founded Eastside Golf, a lifestyle golf apparel brand with an unapologetic nod to Black culture. The brand\u2019s logo, named \u201cSwingman,\u201d features a Black man wearing blue jeans, white sneakers, a baseball cap and a gold Cuban link chain necklace while swinging a golf club.<\/p>\n
![\"former](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/250829-Morehouse-College-golf-team-ew-951a-06aec1.jpg\")
Olajuwon Ajanaku, second from left, Earl Cooper, third from left, and other former members of the Morehouse College golf team after winning the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Golf Classic in 2010.Eastside Golf<\/p>\n
\u201cI was literally just trying to make myself into a logo and express how I felt out on the golf course,\u201d said Ajanaku, who played professional golf for a brief stint after college but was unable to secure enough sponsorships back then to make a career out of it. \u201cI want to feel like myself, but I want to continue to play the game that I love.\u201d<\/p>\n
With polo shirts featuring the brand\u2019s name in oversize script writing, bucket hats in various pastel colors and golf shoes with the Swingman logo replacing the famous Jordan Jumpman imprint (thanks to a coveted Jordan Golf collaboration), Cooper and Ajanaku say the goal of the brand is to change the perception of golfers while bridging fashion and the fairway.<\/p>\n
\u201cOftentimes in golf, we worship exclusivity,\u201d said Cooper, referring to how the game is generally relegated to private country clubs with membership fees that by default exclude many people.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur brand is for the masses.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Former](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/250829-Olajuwon-Ajanaku-Earl-Cooper-ew-952a-e0fef8.jpg\")
Olajuwon Ajanaku and Earl Cooper in 2011.Eastside Golf<\/p>\n
In 2024, Cooper said, Eastside Golf surpassed $10 million in revenue, up from $1 million in 2020. But it\u2019s not all about bringing in money. Eastside Golf, Cooper said, has donated thousands to their alma mater,<\/a> Morehouse College, where they graduated 15 years ago. They also sponsor college golfers, have signed Joseph Bramlett <\/a>\u2014 one of the four Black PGA Tour-status golfers \u2014 and employ a diverse staff of nearly two dozen people. They can tally a range of celebrity ambassadors, including music producer DJ Khaled<\/a> and actor Anthony Anderson<\/a>, and brand partnerships with Beats by Dre and the Atlanta Braves, among others, plus a Sprite commercial<\/a> and brick-and-mortar stores in Detroit and Tokyo.<\/p>\n But much of Eastside Golf\u2019s work is about reaching everyday golfers, too.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the reasons why I play golf is a little soft act of rebellion, showing that we\u2019re here, we can play it athletically and mentally,\u201d said Brittany Christian, a Black woman from Georgia who credits Eastside Golf with building bonds between Black golfers. \u201cIt means a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n For the last two years, Eastside Golf has hosted \u201cCommunity Days\u201d in major cities like Dallas, and Chicago, where it buys out an entire golf course for the day and offers free tee times, food and music \u2014 and of course golf lessons. The events are open to everyone, but the overwhelming majority of attendees are African Americans.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re here to show that golf is about accessibility, not only to the golf course itself, but to people,\u201d Ajanaku said. \u201cAnd that\u2019s the strength of what golf is.\u201d<\/p>\n At the most recent Community Day in early August, a crew of five preteen boys (and their dads) joined more than 300 players at the Charlie Yates Golf Course in Atlanta. Three out of the five shot up a hand when asked who was the best golfer.<\/p>\n Thirteen-year-old Jacob Smith, who\u2019s been golfing since age 2, said golf teaches him lessons that he\u2019s able to apply every day.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can always bounce back,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you hit one bad shot, the next shot could always be great.\u201d<\/p>\n Mason Madison, 11, who started golfing three years ago, said golf is \u201chonestly more than fun. There\u2019s also the part where you\u2019ve got to put in the work to get better, so it could be funner.\u201d<\/p>\n The energy around these events, for Ajanaku, is reminiscent of the environment where he first learned the game he\u2019s still in love with today. It\u2019s inclusive, diverse and open-minded \u2014 but historically, that\u2019s far from the norm.<\/p>\n \u201cThe way golf is set up \u2014 and you look at how it was then and how it is now \u2014 it follows the pattern of racism in the United States,\u201d said Ramona Harriet, a Black golf historian and the author of \u201cA Missing Link in History: The Journey of African Americans in Golf.\u201d<\/p>\n Black golfers in the U.S. were historically barred from the game in many spaces. After golf came to the U.S. from Scotland by the 1700s, it evolved into a sport for country clubs, where Black people were prohibited from membership. In the U.S., Black golfers were relegated to caddy roles through the 1980s, many using their expertise to help white players become champions. The PGA Tour maintained its \u201cCaucasian-only\u201d membership clause<\/a> until 1961, while some private clubs remained whites-only<\/a> as recently as the 1990s.<\/p>\n Even greens fees and strict dress codes have excluded some who want to play but can\u2019t afford all of the accoutrements.<\/p>\n Despite the challenges, Black golfers have excelled. John Shippen became the first African American golfer to play in the U.S. Open in 1896. More than 60 years later, Charlie Sifford became the first Black member of what eventually became the PGA Tour in 1961. Two years later, Althea Gibson \u2014 most known for her prowess on the tennis court \u2014 became the first Black woman to compete in the U.S. Open for golf. And Tiger Woods \u2014 arguably the best golfer of all time \u2014 has blown the game open for Black golfers over the last 30 years. Today, he\u2019s tied for first in PGA Tour wins, second in major men\u2019s championships and holds a litany of other records.<\/p>\n Woods inspired generations, including Ajanaku and Cooper, to dream of what is possible. Now, the duo hopes Eastside Golf does the same for others \u2014 and themselves. Ajanaku is currently working to get back to the professional level, this time for the long haul.<\/p>\n \u201cI started this brand because I was tired of being told \u2018No,\u2019\u201d said Ajanaku. \u201cI got over 300 \u2018Noes\u2019 with pitching Olajuwon as a professional golfer and then also pitching Eastside Golf. So why not take the entrepreneur route and sponsor myself? And that\u2019s when I created Eastside Golf.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Eastside](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/250829-Olajuwon-Ajanaku-Earl-Cooper-ew-953a-1b1cd0.jpg\")
Eastside Golf co-founders Olajuwon Ajanaku and Earl Cooper.Eastside Golf<\/p>\n