This story appears in the Spring 2024 edition of Northern Ohio Golfer Magazine, the official magazine of the Northern Ohio Golf Association mailed to all NOGA Members. READ THE DIGITAL EDITION >
In the span of nearly 60 years, The Cleveland Plain Dealer had three golf writers. But no one covered the game with the same diligence, duration, and expertise as George Sweda.
From 1976 until his retirement in 2008, Sweda was The Dean. The authority. The doyen. He was the bon vivant of the local Fourth Estate when it came to reporting and writing golf.
For many of those years, Burt Graeff provided the same service to readers of The Cleveland Press. Graeff, a terrific writer and reporter, eventually moved to the baseball beat.
To this day, Sweda’s overall knowledge of the game and its key players is vast. He knows everyone, from those who played it to those who ran it.
“George was the authority on the golf scene, not only in Northeast Ohio but also nationally on the PGA Tour,” said Don Padgett III, the Executive Director of the Kaulig Companies Championship at Firestone Country Club. “He covered the sport in a past era when each major city had its own writer who kept everyone up to speed in all things competitive golf.”
Sweda’s golf tentacles covered Northeast Ohio and beyond.
“Golf enthusiasts in Northeastern Ohio were fortunate to be spoiled by George’s insights,” said David Griffith, Executive Director of the Northern Ohio PGA. “His dedication and passion towards our organization resonated through his stories and the personal connections he forged.”
Personal connections? Far too many to name.
Sweda knew PGA Commissioners, USGA Presidents, and local country club presidents. He once caddied for former PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem, a foursome that included President George W. Bush.
Sweda knew just as many PGA Tour and LPGA Tour pros as local pros and was on a first-name basis with most of them: Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Nancy Lopez, JoAnne Carner, and on and on.
He knew golf course architects, from Pete Dye to the guy who laid out your local muny.
He knew lockerroom attendants from Lake County to Pebble Beach. He knew just as many caddies as player agents.
If you wanted to know where to get a good meal after attending or covering a tournament, all you had to do was ask George.
If you needed an unlisted or personal phone number, George likely had it. And he was willing to share it while adding, “Tell him I told you to call.”
If you wondered why an area club pro was non-renewed, George could tell you. Maybe even before the pro knew it himself.
And then he’d tell you who the replacement was going to be.
“George could namedrop better than anyone, and he constantly had great stories,” said golf television personality Jimmy Hanlin, who is part owner of Little Mountain Country Club in Painesville and Stonewater Golf Club in Highland Heights. “But after you knew him for a while, you realized that he just didn’t cover some of the greatest players in the world, but he was friends with all of them. Jack, Arnie, Trevino, Weiskopf, Player. He knew them all, and he didn’t kiss any of their asses. That’s probably why they liked him.”
Not everyone receives a yearly Christmas card from Nicklaus, complete with a family photo. George has for many years.
Sweda, who was inducted into the Northern Ohio Golf Association Hall of Fame in 2008 and the Ohio Golf Hall of Fame in 2001 (with letters of recommendation from Palmer and Nicklaus), can tell a story with the same artistry as Jimmy Stewart.
In 1994, Sweda caddied for Nicklaus when he played the first-ever round at Barrington Golf Club. He carried Palmer’s bag at the opening of Fuzzy Zoeller’s Covered Bridge Golf Club in Indiana. The group that day was Palmer, Zoeller, Hubert Green, Chi Chi Rodriguez, and John Daly.
“It was a celebrity deal, but you know there was some side stuff going on,” Sweda recalled. “On one of the later holes, Arnold hit his ball close to the water, but we weren’t sure whether it went in. All I know is that while we were walking up the fairway, Arnold said to me, ‘There had better be a dry ball up there when we get there.’ I dropped one. Discreetly.”
Being the golf writer at a major paper in the 1980s and 1990s had countless perks, and George had plenty of them. The PGA Championship was played at Riviera Country Club near Los Angeles in 1983. Sweda went a week early on a working vacation. While there he was invited to play Hillcrest Country Club, whose Jewish membership included some of Hollywood’s elite, including Jack Benny and Groucho Marx.
“When we finished, we went in the lounge to get a drink and I looked around the room,” he said. “George Burns was sitting around a big table with some other guys playing cards.”
Another time, he was invited to play Bel-Air Country Club, whose membership includes Jack Nicholson, Clint Eastwood, and Tom Cruise. James Garner played in the group in front of him, Joe Namath in the group behind.
The only thing that has lasted longer than Sweda’s career is his marriage. He and Carol have been married for 57 years, and they have four
grown children and 11 grandchildren. They all live within 15 minutes of one another in Lake County. He is immensely proud of all of them.
Sweda, 81, was born in Cleveland and graduated from John Adams High in 1961. He majored in journalism at Ohio State and served as the sports editor, managing editor, and editor of the Lantern, the student newspaper. He worked in Columbus for about six years during and after college before joining The Plain Dealer in 1973. He became the golf writer in 1976.
Carol also attended John Adams and Ohio State, and that leads to this story: Carol served as Woody Hayes’ secretary for five years during and after college. Naturally, they became close. How close?
“I had knee surgery while I was there, and we had two children while we were still in Columbus,” he said. “We never saw a bill for any of it.”
Hayes also helped Jack Sweda, George’s younger brother, get into the Air Force Academy. “Woody made two calls, one to General Creighton Abrams and the other was to General Lewis Walt,” Sweda said. “He called them both by their first names.” Abrams was commander of the military operations in Vietnam and later served as the Army’s Chief of Staff. Walt was the assistant commandant of the U.S. Marines.
Name an event or a venue. George covered it or played it. Pebble Beach, Augusta, Pine Valley, Merion, Shinnecock, Oakmont, Winged Foot, Pinehurst. The Open, the PGA, the Masters, the Memorial. When Tiger Woods made his professional debut at the 1996 Greater Milwaukee Open, Sweda was there.
Sweda covered 32 Masters, 32 U.S. Opens, one Open Championship, 35 PGA Championships, 7 Ryder Cups, 3 Solheim Cups, 3 Walker Cups, 2 World Cups, several LPGA Championships and Women’s U.S. Opens, and 4 U.S. Amateurs.
“George didn’t just cover golf, he lived it,” said Dominic Antenucci, former executive director of the NOPGA.
Sweda was instrumental in chronicling the careers of countless players and others connected to the game. He was a friend, a mentor, and an incredible help to up-and-coming writers.
“I can’t say enough good things about George,” said renowned local professional Gary Trivisonno, a member of three halls of fame. “He always treated me well, even before I went to college (Alabama). “He was always at the big events and covered them well.”
“George is in the NOGA Hall of Fame for a reason,” said NOGA CEO Robb Schulze. “I first met him as an Assistant Professional at Lakewood Country Club. He’s widely respected for his writing and knowledge of the game. He emceed the NOGA Hall of Fame ceremonies for years. A true gentleman.”
What hasn’t ended is his legacy to the game. So many events. So many memories. That can never be erased. You can’t erase 32 years. Sweda will forever be The Dean.
It’s only fitting.
