A pair of golf clubs have recently traded for a combined total of over $120 million, marking one of the larger real estate deals in the region this year, property records indicate.
The 36-hole Coto de Caza Golf & Racquet Club recently sold for close to $81 million, while the 18-hole Aliso Viejo Country Club sold for an additional $40.6 million.
Property records point to an Irvine-based firm with foreign ties as the new owner of both properties.
Sources tell the Business Journal that the buyer has connections to a wealthy Korean family that owns a multinational conglomerate. The two clubs will be the new owner’s “passion project,” according to sources.
Dallas-based club operator Invited, formerly known as ClubCorp, sold the two courses, the firm’s only remaining holdings in the area. Invited will continue managing both properties as part of the sale, sources say.
The deal isn’t expected to affect membership benefits.
The buyer on record is STI USA Corp., which has an Irvine address. Attempts to reach the company were unsuccessful.
The company did not respond to requests for comment.
OC’s First 36-Hole Club
The Coto de Caza club, whose courses were fully built out in 1995, was formerly a hunting preserve—the name Coto de Caza is Portuguese for “preserve of the hunt.”
The club’s North Course and South Course, which span the vast majority of the 152-acre lot, were designed by golf course architect Robert Trent Jones Jr.
The property was Orange County’s first private, 36-hole country club, predating Pelican Hill and Costa Mesa Country Club. Its clubhouse runs about 23,081 square feet, including the 14,000-square-foot fitness center. The club also offers 10 racquet courts and multiple pools.
The Aliso Viejo County Club stretches across a 216-acre lot. Its 18-hole course, designed by former pro-golfer Jack Nicklaus, reopened after receiving a makeover in the late 2000s.
The club’s 36,000-square-foot clubhouse features a fitness center, locker rooms, a dining room and card rooms.
Selling Spree
Invited has been on a selling spree over the past four years.
The company has sold over 20 properties for a combined $275 million since 2020.
The dispositions follow a more than $207 million, 37-property acquisition streak from 2007.
Invited today owns 180 clubs across the country, with locations in California, Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania and Florida, among other states.
