Dwyane Wade Used to Think Golf Was a Waste of Time. Now It’s His Business

The first time Dorell Wright went to a golf course, he sat in the cart and laughed at the people playing.

“I used to roll around and think that it was just so lame,” he says.

Dwyane Wade was not much more generous. He thought golf was a waste of time. He genuinely could not understand why his NBA teammates would rather be on a course than working on their craft on the basketball court. For a while, his opinion did not change.

Then something shifted. Wade started playing sporadically. Wright picked it up during the pandemic. Now neither of them can imagine life without it.

“I’ve had a couple of moments this summer where things have happened physically, and all I thought about was, ‘Uh, can I golf?'” Wade says.

The sport that used to make them roll their eyes is now the center of a business they built together — and the latest chapter in what has become one of the most interesting post-playing lives in recent NBA history.

ACE Members Only

Wade and Wright launched ACE Members Only in 2024. The acronym stands for Ambition, Commitment and Excellence — three words that also describe the careers that brought them to this point.

What started as a golf apparel company has evolved into something more interesting. The business has pivoted into the events space, anchored by annual golf outings in Miami and Pebble Beach — curated experiences that bring together executives, athletes, entrepreneurs, and entertainers under one umbrella. Brand partners sponsor and integrate into these events. The network is the product.

Wright also runs a weekly Los Angeles-area outing called the ACE Club — a grassroots community initiative that is building local chapters across the United States. The company has collaborated with lifestyle brand Malbon and has developed relationships with First Tee and Pathway to Progression, the PGA Tour’s player development program. For the latter, Wright mentored a group of college golfers competing in the Underclass Elite Showcase at TPC Deere Run.

A portion of all ACE Members Only proceeds go to the Wade Family Foundation and the Wright Legacy Foundation — both of which are funding golf access in underrepresented communities.

What the Game Gave Them

The origin story of two NBA players becoming golf converts is charming. What Wade articulates about why golf matters goes deeper than the sport itself.

“You don’t really have a lot of spaces with other men as you get older, where you can have conversations, you can be present with each other and share things,” he says. “Golf became like that place where we would go away and have this time together. I fell in love with the things around golf before I even fell in love with actual golf.”

That framing — the social infrastructure of golf, not just the game — is what ACE Members Only is actually selling. The events are not primarily about scorecards. They are about the people around the course, the conversations that happen between holes, the network that forms when the right people are in the same place together with time and space to talk.

Pat Riley, who coached both of them in Miami, once wrote: “Great teamwork is the only way we create the breakthroughs that define our careers.” They have carried that principle from the locker room to the course to the boardroom.

“We’re choosing each other now,” Wade says, “and that makes it even better.”

The Competitive Dynamic

Wade won three NBA championships. He was named to thirteen All-Star teams. He was a Hall of Famer on the first ballot. On the basketball court, Dorell Wright watched from the bench.

On the golf course, the dynamic has reversed entirely.

Wright has taught himself the game to a 5.7 Handicap Index. Wade, who counts juggling ownership in the Utah Jazz, a wine label, three seasons hosting The Cube, and now ACE Members Only as part of his “115 jobs,” has a career-low score of 82 and is working toward breaking 80. He is very aware of who has the better game between the two of them.

“I used to whoop his ass on the basketball court, and now he’s whipping me out here,” Wade says.

The competitive fire that defined Wade’s career has simply found a new venue. He still wants the pressure. He still wants to win. He just needs to work on his short game.

The Bigger Opportunity

Wade sees ACE Members Only fitting into a broader moment in golf culture. The sport has seen a significant surge in celebrity participation — NBA players in particular — and Wade believes the wave is real and building.

He mentions Stephen Curry’s Underrated Golf Tour, which has created playing opportunities for young golfers who might not otherwise get access to competitive environments, as the model he admires. He expects LeBron James, who launched a golf-focused YouTube channel in August, to do more significant things in the space when he steps away from the game.

“I would love to be walking up the 18th hole with two shots to win against D. Wright, against Steph, against Bron,” Wade says. “I still want pressure. I wanna be in a pressure situation to win.”

That competitive instinct — the same one that won three championships in Miami — is what makes ACE Members Only more than a lifestyle brand. It is Wade and Wright building something they both genuinely care about, in a sport that surprised them, with the same partnership that defined their best years.

The cart is no longer just for laughing.