Above: Lucas Herbert is not a shy, retiring touring pro.
My manager has only ever told me off for one tweet. I wasn’t too happy about a certain golfer winning a Major championship and I made that known.
I got in trouble for that one but most of what I put out on social media is just banter. And it can be a powerful tool.
A couple of years ago I tweeted the organisers of the Australian Open that if they were going to use me in the promotional video, perhaps they could give me a start. The next day I had a spot in the Australian Open, although I suspect my management company was doing more behind the scenes to make it happen than just my cheeky tweet.
I do think about everything I tweet before I send it out. There was a tweet I sent out when Celia Barquin Arozamena was tragically murdered on a golf course in Iowa last September. I wrote a couple of things and then thought about it again, because that was a tweet where my intentions were good and I didn’t want anything I said to be construed as offensive to anyone in any way.
It can be very easy for people to misinterpret your intentions and what you were trying to say if you don’t express what you mean as clearly as possible, so that’s the area I’m most cautious about. I’m happy to talk about a topic that people may feel very passionately about either one way or the other – things like the Serena Williams debate after the US Open. I’m happy to engage in that but I try to make sure that – as much as I can – what I say is taken the right way.
I really enjoy a lot of the Twitter stuff. I have a lot of fun engaging with people and I’m not afraid of challenging the opinion of someone if it’s something that I don’t agree with. Plenty of people on Twitter have opinions that should be challenged. But most of it is just good banter. I don’t think I’ve gone too far with anyone and offended them too much. I’ve probably annoyed people but I hope I haven’t offended anyone.
Plenty of people on Twitter have opinions that “should” be challenged.
Lucas Herbert
I’m a country kid and growing up that was the banter I had with the boys and no matter where I get with my career, I still want to go back to Bendigo and hang out with those same lads and not feel like it’s any different. Engaging with people on Twitter is a way for me to maintain the banter.
I feel like a lot of professional golfers have social media accounts that are run by their management or they are told what they have to tweet. I don’t know why people would follow someone if all they are doing is promoting the tournament they are playing or their sponsors. I would much prefer to follow someone like Eddie Pepperell who tells you exactly what he’s thinking. That’s interesting to follow because unless they happen to ask him in a press conference, you don’t know what Tiger’s opinion is on a certain topic – and you probably don’t get the real answer there anyway.
There are obviously some subjects where you might keep your opinion to yourself if it’s going to be controversial but generally there’s nothing wrong in engaging in the debate.
Hopefully as my career progresses my profile grows, but with that you become more of a target. I get that and accept it. If people don’t like me, that’s fine, but I’m pretty happy with the person I am and the team around me like who I am, so that’s what matters.
I also appreciate that when I post on social media I’m now representing more than just myself. I’m a TaylorMade-adidas ambassador and I’ve got Shane Muir Engineering Consulting from Bendigo on my hat, not to mention the people who help me to perform the best I can every time I tee it up. More than anyone, they know what I’m like and enjoy the banter as much as I do. They might tell me I’m an idiot but they all get a laugh out of it.
I’m working out where to draw the line and what I’m allowed to talk about and what I’m allowed to say and the things I need to steer clear of. I’ve got no theories on any of this, I just think of something that’s funny that comes to mind and that’s what ends up going out.
I always want to be honest and engage in debate but it would be nice to stay out of trouble from now on.
By Lucas Herbert
