What Company Owns Srixon Golf?

The short answer is that Srixon Golf is owned by Sumitomo Rubber Industries, a large Japanese company. This single ownership structure is why you'll often see Srixon clubs right next to Cleveland wedges and XXIO drivers in your local pro shop. This article will break down who Sumitomo is, explore the family of golf brands they own, and explain, from a coach's perspective, what this means for you and your game.

Who is Sumitomo Rubber Industries (SRI)?

Before we talk about golf equipment, it helps to understand the massive company in the background. Sumitomo Rubber Industries is a global giant, primarily known for manufacturing tires. They own and operate the Dunlop and Falken tire brands, which you’ve likely seen on cars and trucks all over the world. The company was founded in 1909 and has a long history in rubber-based products, from tennis balls to industrial parts.

You might be wondering, "What does a tire company know about making a buttery-soft forged iron or a high-performance golf ball?" It’s a great question. The connection is in the materials science and manufacturing precision. A company that has spent over a century mastering the complex chemistry of rubber to produce Tour-level tennis balls and high-speed tires has a deep understanding of polymers, multi-layer construction, and aerodynamic performance - all concepts directly applicable to creating modern golf balls. This technical foundation gave SRI a natural gateway into the golf industry.

SRI's Family of Golf Brands: More Than Just Srixon

Sumitomo didn't just buy Srixon, they strategically built a portfolio of golf brands, each serving a distinct type of player. Think of it like a perfectly balanced golf bag - every brand has a specific job to do. Understanding each one can help you navigate the equipment options and find what truly fits your game.

Srixon: The Player's Brand

Srixon is the flagship brand aimed at the passionate, skilled, or aspiring golfer. It’s known primarily for two things: high-performance golf balls and beautifully crafted player’s irons.

• Golf Balls: The Srixon Z-STAR, Z-STAR XV, and Z-STAR Diamond are premium balls that compete directly with the best on the market. They feature thin urethane covers for exceptional greenside spin and complex core designs for distance. For amateurs, the Q-STAR and Soft Feel lines offer fantastic performance at a more accessible price point.
• Irons: Srixon has earned a reputation for producing some of the best-feeling irons available. Their player’s irons, like the ZX7 and Z-Forged lines, are typically forged from a single billet of soft 1020 carbon steel, delivering that pure, responsive feel that better players look for.
• Player Profile: The target Srixon player is someone who values feel, workability, and precision. If you are serious about improving, already have a consistent swing, or simply prefer classic shapes and feel, Srixon is designed for you. Tour pros like Brooks Koepka, Shane Lowry, and Hideki Matsuyama trust Srixon equipment, validating its performance at the highest level.

Cleveland Golf: The Short Game and Game-Improvement Specialist

Cleveland Golf has a storied history that predates its acquisition by SRI in 2007. Founded as Cleveland Classics in 1979 by Roger Cleveland, the brand became synonymous with classic, elegant woods and, most famously, wedges.

• Wedges: Cleveland is a king in the wedge world. The 588 wedge is one of the most iconic golf clubs ever made, and its DNA lives on in the modern RTX series. Cleveland excels in offering a huge variety of lofts, bounces, and grinds, allowing golfers to get dialed in for their specific swing and course conditions. From a coaching standpoint, having the right wedge bounce is one of the most underrated ways to improve your chipping and bunker play.
• Putters &, Game-Improvement Clubs: Cleveland also produces the popular Huntington Beach line of putters, which offers premium milling and feel at a reasonable price. Furthermore, their Launcher series of drivers, woods, and irons provides high-launching, forgiving performance for players who need more help getting the ball in the air and minimizing miss-hits.
• Player Profile: The Cleveland player often falls into two camps. First, there are the "short game specialists" - golfers of all skill levels who recognize the importance of the scoring clubs and want the best wedges and putters they can find. Second, there are beginners or higher-handicap players who benefit from the high-forgiveness designs of the Launcher family. Cleveland complements Srixon perfectly by filling the game-improvement void.

XXIO: The Premium Lightweight Champion

Pronounced "Zek-see-oh," this brand is a powerhouse in Asia and is making huge waves in North America and Europe. XXIO is completely different from Srixon and Cleveland, it specifically serves golfers with moderate swing speeds (generally under 90 mph with a driver).

• The Philosophy: The guiding principle of XXIO is "easy does it." Every component of a XXIO club - from the super-lightweight shafts to the specialized grips with brass weights in the butt end (Weight Plus Technology) - is engineered to help players with slower tempos create more clubhead speed effortlessly. It's not about swinging harder, it's about making the club easier to swing faster.
• The Technology: This is a premium line of equipment. The materials are top-tier, the construction is intricate, and the technology is designed to help the golfer who has lost a few miles per hour regain some distance and enjoyment. It's about maximizing efficiency without forcing the player to change their natural swing.
• Player Profile: The ideal XXIO player is often a senior golfer or any player with a moderate swing speed who desires more distance but doesn't want to fight the club. It’s for the golfer who believes their equipment should do more of the work, and they’re willing to invest in premium technology to achieve that.

Dunlop Sports

Rounding out the family is Dunlop. While Sumitomo owns the Dunlop tire brand, they also own the rights to use the Dunlop name in the sports equipment world across most of Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Historically, Dunlop was a massive name in golf, but today it is primarily marketed in Asia under the SRI umbrella, often alongside the other major brands.

A Coach's Perspective: Why Brand Ownership Matters For Your Game

So, why do we need to know all of this corporate history? As a coach, I believe it has a direct impact on how you should look for equipment. When a single company designs products for different types of players, it creates clarity and offers some significant advantages.

1. Targeted Design and No "One-Size-Fits-All" Nonsense. Because Sumitomo has three distinct brands, they don't have to compromise. Srixon isn't forced to build super-forgiving clubs that alienate its core audience of better players. Cleveland doesn't have to sacrifice its game-improvement focus to make a Tour blade. And XXIO can focus entirely on its niche without worrying about appealing to scratch golfers. This means when you pick up a club from one of these brands, you know exactly what kind of player it was built for. It takes a lot of the guesswork out of the fitting process.
2. Shared Technology and Quality. Innovation and quality control from the parent company trickle down to all the brands. Forging techniques perfected for Srixon irons can inform the overall quality process at Cleveland. Knowledge from developing multi-layer golf balls for Srixon provides insights that can be applied across the board. You can feel confident that a Cleveland wedge and a Srixon iron are made to the same high standards because they come from the same design house.
3. A Clear Path for Your Golf Journey. As your game evolves, there’s equipment within the SRI family to grow with you.
   • A brand new golfer might start with a forgiving set of Cleveland Launcher HALO irons to make the game as easy as possible starting out.
   • As they improve and start striking the ball more consistently, they might transition into a set of Srixon ZX5 Mk II irons, which offer a great blend of forgiveness and player-oriented feel.
   • They might eventually game the same Srixon Z-STAR ball and Cleveland RTX wedges as a Tour professional.
   • Later in their golfing life, if swing speed becomes a concern, they have a tailor-made solution waiting for them in the XXIO lineup to help them continue enjoying the game for years to come.

Seeing the bigger picture helps you understand that these aren't just random brands competing for shelf space. They represent a cohesive strategy to build the right club for the right person. When you walk into a shop, you can see this ecosystem in action: Srixon for the feel player, Cleveland for scoring and forgiveness, and XXIO for effortless speed.Final Thoughts

So, the company that owns Srixon is Sumitomo Rubber Industries, a Japanese industrial giant that strategically brought Srixon, Cleveland, and XXIO under one roof. Together, they form a powerful family of brands, each with a clear identity and purpose, offering high-quality equipment solutions for nearly every golfer at every stage of their journey.

Knowing which company makes your clubs is one thing, but getting on-the-spot advice for how to use them is another thing entirely. That’s where technology can lend a hand. When you're stuck between a Srixon iron and a Cleveland wedge, or you're facing a tricky shot from a weird lie, you can get personalized guidance instantly with Caddie AI. We help you with on-course strategy by analyzing the hole, helping with club selection, and can even analyze a photo of your lie to recommend the best shot to play, giving you the confidence to commit to every swing.