Rory McIlroy's Symphony Ventures

Every Monday, we write a newsletter breaking down the business in golf. If you would like to read Perfect Putt in your inbox, subscribe below.

Hey Golfers -

Rory McIlroy has had a busy July on and off the golf course. Losing in a playoff for Bronze at the Tokyo Olympics just two days ago and announcing a new investment on July 12th. 

A few weeks ago, Symphony Ventures invested in Puttery. Symphony Ventures has committed to a $10 Million investment for 10% equity in each Puttery location built through 2023. 

Rory was quoted on the recent investment.

Puttery is planning to open seven locations by the end of 2021, with Dallas’s first location. Puttery intends to be a modern spin on putting in an indoor atmosphere. Combined with craft drinks, great food, and live music, Puttery aims to redefine mini-golf. Think mini-golf and TopGolf combined into one. 

And this all makes sense. Puttery is a subsidiary of Drive Shack, a TopGolf competitor. Drive Shack currently has four locations. Those four locations figure to do ~$35 Million in revenue this year combined.

• Orlando, Florida

• West Palm Beach, Florida

• Raleigh, North Carolina

• Richmond, Virginia

Symphony Ventures sees plenty of room for Puttery to grow. Earlier this year, Callaway Golf acquired TopGolf for $2.6 Billion. According to IBIS, the mini-golf industry is nearly a half-billion-dollar industry in revenue and is expected to grow 29% in 2021. Eye-popping growth. 

Symphony Ventures was the lead investor in Puttery. 

Rory McIlory has been quietly building Symphony Ventures over the last couple of years. Based in Dublin, Ireland, Symphony Ventures has made at least six investments since May of 2020. 

Symphony Ventures has invested in a mix of industries, including healthcare, technology, and golf. 

Let's take a look at Symphony Ventures’ investments since May of 2020.

• Golf Genius (2020)

• Kaia Health (2020 & 2021)

• Kin Insurance (2021)

• Lets Get Checked (2021)

• Puttery (2021)

Golf Genius

Golf Genius, based out of Pennsylvania, is transforming golf scoring into a digital world. Symphony Ventures was the lead investor in a $5 Million Series A round. The investment took place in May of 2020.

Kaia Health

Symphony Ventures has participated in a Series B and Series C investment in Kaia Health. Series A was in June of 2020, and Series C was nearly a year later, in April 2021. Kaia Health is a digital health company that delivers information via an app. Kaia Health addresses the COPD and MSK health markets. 

Kin Insurance

In May of 2011, Symphony Ventures participated in the Series C of Kin Insurance in a round that totaled $69.2 Million. Kin aims to disrupt the traditional insurance market by taking a digital approach for homeowners to find affordable insurance. 

Lets Get Checked

Symphony Ventures invested in the Series D round of Lets Get Checked in June that valued the company at over $1 Billion. The total amount raised in Series D was $150 Million. Lets Get Checked is a digital healthcare company that allows patients to get tested for health conditions, order medications, and schedule follow-up visits with providers.

Life After Golf

Rory is investing for life after golf. Making over $55,000,000 in career earnings alone, and his endorsements figure to be much higher. Rory signed a 10-year contract with Taylormade in 2017 worth $100 Million.

Have yourself a Monday, talk to you next week!

If you enjoyed this weeks newsletter, please share it with your friends :)