'A dominant force': Carl Rose Jr., industry giant, owner of Carl's Golfland, dies at 65

In describing Carl Rose Jr., friends use words like "authentic" and "passionate."

In some ways, those words can be interpreted as code for "demanding," because Rose demanded a lot from his golf business, and his employees. That's because he cared so very much, about his golf business, Carl's Golfland, and his employees — many who worked for Rose for decades, and nearly 200 who he kept on payroll during the early, economically devastating days of the COVID-19 pandemic — knew how much he cared.

Carl Rose Jr. began working for his father's small golf shop as a kid in the late 1960s and early 1960s, and eventually helped turn a business that started as a simple driving range in Pontiac into a two-megastore outfit that turned Carl's Golfland, with its vast online reach, into one of the biggest golf-equipment sellers in North America.

Carl Rose Jr., who took over running the family business in 2000, died last Thursday, Jan. 11, from cancer. He was 65.

"He lived life full, he was who he was. If he was a little bit too excitable for some, he didn't change who he was," said Brian Minbiole, who spent 32 years as a sales rep at Callaway, and was a regular at Carl's popular Demo Days. "He cared about his business and he cared about his family on equal measure.

"Carl's is a significant operator and did golf retail better than anybody.

"This guy was a dominant force."

The family golf business was started by the late Carl Rose Sr. and wife Donna, with a driving range in Pontiac in 1958. In 1962, Carl's Golfland moved to Bloomfield Hills.

And in 2000, the Plymouth location opened, just as Carl Rose Jr. was taking over the business.

By the 2000s, Carl's Golfland, against all odds with just two standalone stores (compared to other sporting-goods behemoths, that had hundreds), and in a cold-weather state, had become a top-10 Callaway customer. The Carl's name became a national brand, if not a global one.

Much of that was because of people. Carl Rose Jr. knew how to find good people, hire good people, and retain good people. It's not unusual for Carl's employees to stay for decades.

Pete Line worked for Carl's for 39 years, retiring in 2020 as the company's general manager. He got to know the family in his early teens, when he'd caddie for Carl Rose Sr. at Forest Lake Country Club in Bloomfield Hills.

"Carl was a passionate person," Line said. "He worked really hard to make sure the business that he had inherited from his father was successful. He was very good at hiring the right people to do the right jobs. And they helped spread the growth that we saw.

"We tried to create a positive environment. If you treat people the way you want to be treated, then you're going to get more out of them.

"The people were important to Carl."

That was never more evident than early in the pandemic, when Carl's, along with thousands of businesses throughout the state, were forced to shut down for health reasons.

The pandemic came just as golf season was about to get into full swing in Michigan, meaning that would've typically been a huge month, financially, for Carl's. But Rose had to pivot, installing curbside pickup for customers, though that only accounted for 15% of the typical business. Demo Days had to be canceled.

Still, Rose kept all 180 of his employees on the payroll, and he started a charitable fund called #ShankTheVirus that raised several hundred thousand dollars for several local nonprofits, including Gleaners Food Bank, Detroit Public Safety Foundation, Henry Ford Health System, St. Joseph Mercy Oakland Hospital, Hurley Medical Center, DMC Detroit Receiving Hospital, SAY Detroit and the American Red Cross.

During the PGA Tour's first tournament back after the season was halted by the pandemic, in May 2020, Rose called into the NBC broadcast and donated $100,000 to charity.

"I started thinking about what Mom and Dad would do," Rose told The News in May 2020. "They were very generous people, even when they were small.

"We've all gotta help each other."

Carl's was forced to shut down March 16, 2020, 11 days after Carl Rose Sr. died, at 91.

"My life flipped on the 5th of March," said Carl Rose Jr., "and it flipped again on the 16th."

Eventually, when business did get back to normal, Carl's business, booming before, began booming again, when golf became one of the first recreational activities to open back up. The golf business in Michigan experienced a massive surge in rounds and revenue, and continues to thrive like no other region in the country.

Carl Rose Jr. — also known as Carl E. (Senior was Carl F.) — began working at the family business picking up balls and driving the range tractor, according to his obituary. Rose Jr. began his full-time career at Carl's Golfland in his early 20s, and eventually became the face of the franchise, as a regular on the sales floor and in commercials.

Away from the golf shops — which were always on the front lines of new technology and new trends; Carl's, for instance, was an early user of the Trackman technology for its driving ranges — Rose Jr. liked to surf, ski and snowmobile. He "never missed a game or a recital," according to his obituary.

"Carl had two families," his obituary read, "his home family and his Golfland family. They were of equal importance to him as he was committed to providing the security and means for both families to grow and succeed."

Rose Jr. also loved bonfires and vacationing with friends and family at his northern Michigan home.

He lived in Orchard Lake, with wife Tiffany.

Rose Jr. also is survived by children Ella and Jake, sister Barbara Rose, and many cousins, nephews and nieces. A funeral service for friends and family will be Friday, from 3-8 p.m., at McCabe Funeral Home in Farmington Hills, while a celebration of life will be Jan. 21, at noon, at St. John's Resort in Plymouth, home to one of the Carl's Golfland shops.

"I thought I knew a lot about retail," said Minbiole, who oversaw a chain of golf stores, with several locations in Metro Detroit, that competed with Carl's before he went to work for Callaway, and then began a working relationship with the Roses. "Then when you become a vendor to Carl's, you realize you might've been in Triple A.

"He was not arrogant about how successful he was. He was arrogant about how passionate he was to be the best. He was going to be the best in terms of service, selection, price. ... The customer was the true winner.

"His passion and commitment to that was unmatched in the industry."

Carl's Golfland, in announcing his death this week, posted on social media this week: "Carl was a pioneer of industry. A trendsetter. An icon. As passionate and driven as he was warm and loving. He will be deeply missed by all who knew him or crossed paths with him. We are committed to carrying on Carl's legacy and vision well into the future."

tpaul@detroitnews.com

@tonypaul1984