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By Scott Kauffman
In 2004, when Jordan Spieth, 29, was a young junior golfer growing up around Brookhaven Country Club, he attended a golf camp at the private Dallas-area club. Nearly 20 years later, the star PGA Tour player is now a partner with Invited, Brookhaven’s owner and the iconic golf owner/operator formerly known as ClubCorp.
On the heels of Rory McIlroy with Troon, or Tiger Woods and McIlroy with TMRW Sports and TGL, the new tech-infused golf league, Spieth’s deal with Invited represents another strategic move being made by another big-name golfer into the global golf business.
According to Spieth and Invited, the world’s largest owner/operator of private golf and country club properties, and city and stadium clubs, the newly announced strategic partnership entails Invited getting an investment from the Texas native as well as Spieth becoming a strategic advisor and brand ambassador of the Dallas-based company.
Invited and the Jordan Spieth Family Foundation also will partner on a series of charitable and community efforts benefiting youth organizations, American veterans and military families. Additionally, Invited will host a series of fundraising events at Invited clubs across numerous states and create further member programming in order to raise funds for Spieth’s Foundation, the partners announced a month ago.
“I was introduced to the game and grew up playing at Invited’s first club – Brookhaven Country Club in Dallas,” the three-time major winner said on Dec. 15. “I’ve witnessed first-hand how Invited’s clubs unite people and build relationships that reach well beyond its fairways, greens and courts.
“I’m excited to work with the team at Invited to help grow the company and leverage their unmatched platform to create an even greater impact in our communities. The partnership makes perfect sense as golf continues to expand in exciting ways, reaching new audiences while growing the impact on those who need a helping hand.”
For Invited’s Chief Executive Officer David Pillsbury, the Spieth partnership is a high-profile PGA Tour reunion of sorts, considering Pillsbury was the former president of the PGA Tour’s 33-course TPC Network and executive vice president of the Tour’s Tournament Business Affairs from 2004-2015.
“Since his incredible rise from junior golf into the professional game, Jordan Spieth’s achievements as a player are astonishing,” Pillsbury said. “And while he has already accomplished more on the course than most will in a career, his focus on philanthropy and altruism will leave an even greater impact than any trophies he lifts.
“Our clubs play an integral role in the lives of communities and our members where they play, celebrate and build lifelong friendships. We take great pride in our clubs and the ways in which they connect social, charitable, family and business elements of a community.
“We see an incredible opportunity to have Jordan’s investment and expertise join in the momentum our clubs have as pillars and hubs in the communities we call home.”
The news of Spieth joining the Invited family of private companies is another strategic move by Pillsbury on the heels of ClubCorp changing its name as part of a complete company rebranding effort last April as a “lifestyle hospitality brand” where everyone is “invited” to what was once a golf-singularly focused business.
ClubCorp’s roots actually started with Brookhaven in late 1957, when the late golf business icon Robert Dedman Sr. began building his first golf facility in the Dallas suburb of Farmers Branch. After Dedman passed away in 2002 and his namesake son, Robert Dedman Jr., took over, the company remained a private family business until late 2006 when KSL Capital Partners acquired ClubCorp, Inc,.’s 170 clubs and three high-profile resorts for approximately $1.8 billion.
Separately, KSL Capital also acquired famed Pinehurst that was controlled by the Dedman family. After taking ClubCorp public, KSL sold the company in 2017 to affiliates of Wall Street juggernaut Apollo Global Management in an all-cash deal valued at around $1.1 billion.
Now private once again, Invited counts more than 400,000 members and 20,000 peak-season employees across its portfolio of 200 owned or operated golf and country clubs, city clubs, sports clubs and stadium clubs in 29 states. Additionally, Invited now has seven BigShots locations in the growing world of non-traditional “off-course” golf business ventures.