With both Brad Dalke and Ryan Ruffels teeing it up at the Rocket Classic this week, it’s a BIG week for YouTube as it continues its ascent towards the golf mainstream. Perhaps more important than YouTubers playing in PGA Tour events, however, is the tour’s decision to allow them to film inside-the-ropes content while on tournament grounds, so let’s get into it.
New PGA Tour, Who Dis?
It’s been a week of change on the PGA Tour. With the final edition of the Rocket Classic underway, the tour began announcing its first Championship Series events, set to begin play in 2028. As part of the PGA Tour new two-track system, the Championship series events will be the circuit’s elite tier, pitting the best players in the world against each other on some of the biggest stages in golf.
But if you were watching closely, you would have noticed it wasn’t the only change the tour implemented this week. The tour has long been at odds with the growth of YouTube golf. Wesley Bryan remains suspended following his choice to play a nine-hole LIV Golf creator while Grant Horvat turned down a sponsor exemption to play in the Barracuda Championship last July because the tour wouldn’t allow him to film the experience for his YouTube channel. With YouTube golf stars Brad Dalke and Ryan Ruffels in the field at Detroit Golf Club this week, however, the tour—in collaboration with Ruffels’ YT channel, The Lads—quietly dropped the following video on Tuesday.
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Though the video itself is worth a watch, if only to see Jake Knapp swing a golf club in a casual setting, it’s largely notable for the shift in PGA Tour attitude that it represents. The tour has made no official announcement about changes to content policy on tournament property, but this seems like a noticeable loosening of the belt. It’s not a blank slate or a free pass—there’s no actual competition footage and the PGA Tour’s YouTube account is co-owner of the video—but let’s just say the greens are lot more receptive now than they were last summer when Horvat was denied his requests. They even kept a “Free Wesley” line in the video, a reference to Bryan’s ongoing suspension. By the PGA Tour’s historically conservative standards, this as well be Woodstock 1969.
We’ll see how things evolve from here, but this is a step in the right direction, and the PGA Tour deserves credit where credit is due. If leadership wants to leverage the audiences of YouTube stars like Dalke, Ruffels and Horvat, it’s only fair that they let them create content for their own channels along the way. We don’t anticipate YouTubers publishing tournament-day footage anytime soon due to broadcasting restrictions, nor do we expect the takedown notices to stop for those posting unsanctioned tour footage on social media, but Rome wasn’t built in a day.
The next big test will be at this fall’s inaugural Good Good Championship, where the title sponsor is a literal YouTube golf brand. The content created at Omni Barton Creek may well be an indicator of PGA Tour policy to come, and if things go well, who knows, maybe we’ll even see Grant and Wesley back in the big leagues come 2027.
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Quick Hits
Ryan Ruffels
Speaking of Ryan Ruffels, he’s a busy guy this week, also facing off against Nick Voke in a 1v1 match. “HOW IS HE IN TWO PLACES AT ONCE!?” you ask. Thanks to the magic of YouTube, anything is possible!
Bryson DeChambeau
A few weeks ago, we saw Bryson DeChambeau playing in a redwood forest. Now he’s trying to break a course record in the Canadian Rockies. What’s next? The Mariana Trench? We wouldn’t put it past him, but before Bryson buys a submarine, give this one a look. After all, a beautiful OK golf course is better than an ugly great golf course any day of the week.
Luke Kwon
The next generation of elite golfers is already here and the next next generation is right behind them. You don’t need to tell that to Luke Kwon and Nick Vokey, however. The duo learned that lesson firsthand this week when they noticed a 14-year-old stick on the range and challenged him to an impromptu match. This is definitely a “don’t try this at home” situation for various reasons … but mostly because you might end getting you’re a$$ kicked by a teenager.
Grant Horvat/Bryan Bros
Though links golf season is quickly winding down, this week Grant Horvat and the Bryan Bros. embark on a 72-hole road trip across England and Scotland, with the cumulative winner taking “major” bragging rights back across the pond. They begin at Royal Lytham & St. Anne’s—the site of this week’s AIG Women’s Open—before heading to Royal Troon, Prestwick and finally Turnberry. This trio seems to divide opinions these days, but as far as sitting-in-your-cubicle-at-lunch escapism goes, it doesn’t get much better than this.
Good Good Golf
It could be argued that viral par-4 holes-in-one are what put Good Good on the map in the first place, and this week they made yet another one … at Sweetens Cove no less. Considering Sweetens is a nine-hole track with two pins on every green, the asterisk police are sure to be out in force, but clearly they’re putting something in the water at Good Good HQ.
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
