Jacob Davidson
Callaway exec coaches others to succeed
From playing, to coaching, to Callaway, Jacob Davidson has wanted to work in golf for as long as he can remember. Now the vice president of global tour, equipment product strategy and category management at Callaway Golf, the 38-year-old uses his business acumen and knowledge of the many sides of golf to succeed.
“[It helps to be] a golfer at heart and someone who can think about it not only from a Tour perspective but from my dad’s perspective,” Davidson said. “What can help my dad play better?”
Davidson started playing golf at 11 years old to stave off boredom during the summer and quickly fell in love with the game.
“It went from chipping and putting to playing 54 holes every day,” Davidson said. “My parents would drop me off at 7 a.m. and pick me up at dark.”
Davidson played at Hyde Park Golf Club, a Donald Ross-designed course in Florida. The course was run by two former professional golfers, Billy Maxwell and Chris Blocker, who let Davidson play for free after paying only one year for a junior membership. However, he had to work.
“That was a big life lesson for me,” Davidson said. “I couldn’t just play for free, I had to work for it by vacuuming the pro shop and stocking drink coolers. I was so grateful to them for saying you can play golf up here but you’re going to earn it.”
Davidson played golf at the University of North Florida where he quickly realized a career playing professionally wasn’t in his future. Upon graduating, he went to Mercer University and earned an MBA. At Mercer, he jumped at the opportunity to be the assistant golf coach. After earning his MBA, he went back to North Florida to be the assistant coach at his alma mater.
“There’s nothing better than winning a major championship. There’s nothing better than having a No. 1 selling product. But at the end of the day, seeing growth in people is what I love.”
Despite his love of coaching, Davidson wanted something different. In 2016, he joined Callaway to head their Callaway Next program.
“Callaway Next is about developing a pipeline of young talent that’s going to be our next Xander Schauffele or our next Minjee Lee,” Davidson said.
When Davidson started Callaway Next, he was a one-man band. Now, he says there are six employees in the United States and another six globally. Golfers like Rose Zhang and Blades Brown have come through the program.
As Davidson moved up at Callaway, more challenges awaited him. On any given day there might be problems with product or personnel. Davidson says his background in golf helps him with these challenges.
“You can prepare as much as you want,” Davidson said. “And then immediately you block your shot right, you’re behind a tree and you’re chipping out. Your game plan goes out the window and you have to learn how to deal with adversity and remain calm.”
Davidson says his leadership style has a foundation in coaching. College golfers have different preferences. Some would rather practice in the morning and some at night. Some like to spend more time on the putting green and some hitting balls. Leading teams in the business world is similar.
“You have people who are really good at what they do and as a leader your job is not to make a system or process that’s a one size fits all,” Davidson said. “It’s about understanding people’s strengths and the opportunities of how you can coach them to get better.”
A coach at heart, that might be his favorite part of the job,
“My favorite part is seeing the people who work around me and with me have success,” Davidson said. “There’s nothing better than winning a major championship. There’s nothing better than having a No. 1 selling product. But at the end of the day, seeing growth in people is what I love.”
Everett Munez
