Global sports and entertainment group 54 has announced the launch of ION 54, a new platform that unifies the company’s extensive golf expertise under one platform.
ION 54 brings together strategic advisory, sustainability, development & construction, marketing & creative, agronomy, pre-opening & club management and sales & tourism into a single, seamless delivery model; connecting every stage of the golf value chain to deliver greater reliability, consistency, and sustained long-term value for investors, enterprises, developers, and destinations around the world.
ION 54’s offering also includes support for golf asset evaluation, transactions, and capital engagement ensuring investment decisions are aligned with operational reality and long-term performance. By integrating every discipline under one framework, ION 54 aims to accelerate decision-making, sharpen execution, and ensure stronger commercial outcomes.
Ed Edwards, CEO of 54, commented: “Golf is in 54’s DNA. With ION 54, we’ve built a structure that energises the entire lifecycle of multi-purpose golf investments ensuring planning, development, and operations work seamlessly together. This is how we protect investment value and deliver sustained performance.
“Fragmentation has long challenged our industry. Multiple specialists working in isolation inevitably leads to misalignment, inefficiency, and costly corrections late in development. ION 54 removes that risk. It creates a single line of accountability and a connected, end-to-end framework that delivers tangible results from initial planning through to long-term operation.”
54 has spent the past several years strategically strengthening its global capability through targeted investments, partnerships, and ecosystem expansion. Today, the group’s unified network spans every major discipline of golf development, operations and performance, including commercial and capital-focused services that support investors and asset owners throughout the transaction lifecycle.
ION 54 not only incorporates the expertise of its own industry-leading team, but also relies upon the broad expertise and experience of three further layers of the ION model: 54’s wider service offering of Advisory, Commercial, Marketing and Events; 54’s portfolio companies; and its partner network.
Rick Shiels, founder of Rick Shiels Media, a 54 portfolio company since 2017, commented: “ION 54 represents the ideal platform for us to expand beyond traditional content and into new areas of the golf industry. Built on our long-standing relationship with 54, the new ION 54 model brings their golf expertise, specialist skills and commercial thinking together within a single, integrated platform. By connecting creativity through content with tangible impact, it enables us to explore previously under-leveraged opportunities across golf, without losing sight of our audience.”
John Clarkin, founder of Turfgrass, part of the 54 family since 2024, said: “Many of the world’s leading golf developments would have benefited greatly from a more connected and coordinated delivery process. ION 54 will ensure they do. It gives investors a smarter, more reliable framework; one that considers every stage of a project end-to-end. We are proud to contribute to this vision and confident it will deliver exceptional value worldwide.”
Jonathan Smith, Executive Director of GEO Sustainable Golf Foundation, and a member of the ION 54 partner network, said: “ION 54 represents an exciting moment for the global golf industry, bringing new opportunities to scale sustainability and innovation across the breadth of 54’s activities. We are delighted to be connected in bringing expertise, insights and non-profit industry programs to strengthen the resilience, profitability and wider social and environmental contribution of developments and destinations.”
Andrew Johnston, General Manager, Sentosa Golf Club and longstanding 54 client, added: “What excites me about ION 54 is the way it brings everything together within a genuinely connected ecosystem. Being able to develop sustainability, major tournaments, brand and global positioning as interlinked parts of the same journey rather than independent workstreams, strengthens an already clear direction for our business.”
Nuno Sepúlveda, Co-CEO Sports & Leisure, Details, an ION 54 client, commented: “Our collaboration with 54 has been defined by strong alignment, deep expertise and a shared focus on excellence. What ION 54 does is bring that way of working together into a single, well-connected framework. For destinations like ours, it provides the confidence to innovate, evolve and continue setting new benchmarks on the world stage.”
To find out more about ION 54, visit www.ION54.com.