ClubCorp is officially competing with Troon and KemperSports for third-party management contracts. The world’s largest owner of private clubs announced on Nov. 8 the creation of ClubLife Management, a management services division for private clubs, destination resorts and high-end daily-fee golf courses.  

Doug Hellman and Seth Churi, both industry veterans with experience in third-party management, will run the division. Hellman comes from KemperSports where he worked for almost 14 years and left as senior vice president of business development. 

Churi was previously at Sequoia Golf, where he was chief operating officer. More recently, he was co-founder and COO of Redwood Six, a small privately held company with a focus on premium private club and resort destination operations. Redwood Six was formed by Churi and Ken Guerra after ClubCorp acquired Sequoia Golf from Ken’s brother, Joe Guerra, for $265 million in 2014. 

ClubCorp acquired Redwood Six in August, and announced Ken Guerra as Chief Revenue Officer. 

“With the addition of the leadership team for ClubLife Management and the years of experience they bring, combined with ClubCorp’s assets and resources, we bring a powerful combination to the marketplace that can really benefit  club owners,” said David Pillsbury, ClubCorp CEO. “As the sponsor, we also are committed to rapid growth in this important segment of the industry.”

Hellman said ClubLife will leverage ClubCorp’s assets to serve its clients. This will include reciprocity to ClubCorp’s 300 clubs throughout the U.S. It will also include proprietary technology tools, such as an analytic tool that predicts when a member is about to leave a club.

While its primary market will be private clubs, it will also reach out to resorts and higher-end daily fee properties. 

“We want to grow strategically and make sure we can make a difference for the client,” Hellman said. “We can tailor our approach to a specific properties needs.”

ClubLife already has 16 properties, clubs that ClubCorp has previously been managing for other owners. This includes Mossy Oaks Golf Club in West Point, Mississippi (Pictured above)