We’re back from a little U.S. Open “break,” but unfortunately we begin this week with some difficult news …
Dalke’s Decision
On Thursday, Brad Dalke shocked the golf world when he announced he was leaving Good Good Golf in an emotional video posted to his personal YouTube channel. In the video, Dalke explained that the split is due to his wife Abbie’s ongoing health issues and his desire to travel less and be there for her as the couple navigate what comes next.
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The good news—the most important news—is that it sounds like the worst is behind the Dalke family and Abbie is now on the road recovery. But for the time being, that means we won’t be seeing Dalke on YouTube. What this means for Dalke’s participation in the 2026 Internet Invitational, where he is the defending champion, and YGT, where he was set to serve as one of four team captains, remains to be seen. Due to the seriousness of Abbie’s health issues, we don’t want to speculate. At times like this golf should take a backseat and we want to let the couple control their own narrative. As we watched the video, however, one thing stuck out:
Dalke asking his fans not to “blame” Abbie, telling them he was making this decision entirely of his own accord.
“I will be the first to say this is not Abbie’s fault. She is not asking me to be home more. She is not demanding me to be home more,” Dalke explained. “She is so supportive of everything I do, she is not the one asking me to do this. She’s not the one asking me to leave Good Good. This is my decision, not her’s, so do not get mad at her for any of this.”
It’s truly disheartening that Dalke even needed to even address this. If portions of the YouTube golf community are really blaming a player’s sick wife for getting sick, they need to be purged off the platform and never welcomed back.
Abbie has had two miscarriages, lost nearly half her vision in left eye and had heart surgery all in the last eight months. If you’re one of the unfortunately vocal few who Dalke was addressing, please seek help. It’s not only normal to love and care for another human being, it’s healthy. So please, go touch grass, get some sun, eat some fruit and call your mother. Then, once you’re feeling better, go apologize to Brad and Abbie, because they have WAY more important things to work about right now than your feelings.
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Quick Hits
Bob Does Sports
It felt like we were overdue for a new format or some sort of larger shake up from Bob Does Sports. We got the former this week with a new challenge in which the boys try to break 85 … with only one player playing each hole. To raise the stakes a bit, if they fail to break 85, the top comment on the video gets to decide their next eating challenge. Good luck, fellas … and don’t forget the Tums.
Peter Finch
We get a double dose of Peter Finch this week as he continues to his qualification journey for the 2026 Open Championship and attempts to break par at TPC River Highlands, the site of this week’s Travelers Championship and the shortest course on the current PGA Tour schedule. If British accents and straight golf, no chaser are your thing, you know what to do.
Ryan Ruffels
Honestly, haters matches aren’t my cup of bourbon. First of all, don’t platform these idiots. You’re just giving them the attention they’re so clearly begging for. Second of all, they always seem staged in that bad-reality-TV sort of way. But this week Ryan Ruffels takes on the big tuna of YouTube golf haters, Alex Zurat, who has already been banned from YGT for talking so much trash and, surprise surprise, is now launching his own YouTube channel. If he can really do it better than everyone else like he says, then more power to him, but something tells us he’s in for a reality check playing against one of the world’s former top amateurs. Good luck, kid. You’re gonna need it.
Luke Kwon
If a seven-man scramble at a par-3 course where the closest player to the pin gets to decide the punishment for the farthest player from the pin sounds like your idea of a good time … then you’ve never been stuck behind a seven-man scramble at a par-3 course. Still though, this one is good fun as long you’re sitting safe at home on your couch.
Fore Play
Finally, the Barstool boys continue their Irish odyssey this week with a stop at Doonbeg. Pot bunkers and too much Guinness are a deadly combination, but somehow the crew make it out alive … and with a lifetime of new stories to tell. If you’re planning your own Irish golf trip—or just want to live vicariously through those who have been there and done that—this is must-see TV.
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
