What is "The Spieth"

In the spring of 2015, with college graduation looming, Austin Harrington gathered a group of childhood friends to his cabin in Spicer, MN for a Golf tournament. It was a small group of 8 players who competed in a 2v2 scramble-format 18-hole Match play event. Just like that, a tradition was born. 

Nearly a decade later, "The Spieth" (event name stemming from Austin's self-proclaimed nickname “Stinzy Spieth” when he fell in love with golf and Jordan Speith in the 2015 masters) has blossomed into 30 attendees spanning over 3 days, and nearly every player consuming 100+ holes of golf throughout the weekend. Year over year the field has expanded to new members, stemming from former college roommates, work colleagues, and more, as several even fly in from across the country every May for the big weekend.  

“The Committee” which hosts the event each season, consists of Stinzy Spieth, now a PGA Professional, along with his 3 childhood friends Nick Latzke, Sam Warner, and Andrew Weber. The 4 spend countless hours every “offseason” preparing the tournament and all of the logistics that go into it such as lodging, scheduling, teams, tournament format (which changes every year), prizes, last place punishments, and more. 

The Stinzy Spieth Invy is iconic for many reasons, but what makes it truly special and unique is the roster of players’ athletic accolades. Over half of the field was either a D1, D2, or D3 athlete, stretching across 5 different sports — none of which were Golf. Although the days of true official athletic competition are over for most of them, they now have one more tournament to look forward to and prep for every year. 

This has created not only love for the sport of Golf, but even more so a desire for improvement year over year, a desire to grind. Amazingly, some players have shaved 20+ strokes off of their handicap since the tournament’s inception. Players strive to not only win the championship each year, but earn the coveted “Most Improved Player” Award — debatably the most prestigious award a competitor may receive. The event is not only about success though, losing has a price, as finishing in Last Place comes with a punishment, poor reputation, and financial consequences.  

This tournament is more than a cabin weekend combined with Golf; it’s bragging rights and honor. There is no greater joy than holding the crown over your closest friends for 364 days a year, consistently reminding them that you won, and that they lost “The Spieth”.