The world of golf is changing, and not just talking about everything going on between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, but the way audiences consume the product, with the rise of golf content creators.
"I think the pandemic for sure, just more people playing golf, more and more people started making YouTube videos," said Barstool Sports golf correspondent, Dan Rapaport. "I also think what's happened in the pro game, a lot of people are disillusioned with the pro game. The product hasn't really changed for 30, 40 years."
But change is slowly happening.
"There's a lot of kids that don't really watch TV. There's so much content on YouTube, that that's their primary way that they watch things. So, you want to meet them where they are," said Rapaport.
"People are so online, and I think especially younger kids that it makes it more relevant than maybe if your parents just are trying to stick you in front of a TV. You can kind of interact a little bit more with what players are doing and make it fun and funny," said Golf.com writer Claire Rogers.
As some of the younger faces in golf coverage, Rapaport and Rogers are using certain techniques to grab different audiences.
"Like memes and funny videos that you can repurpose. I think about it as the crossroads between golf and pop culture. and that seems to be really relatable," said Rogers.
"We call it rap brain in our group chat, which is like someone is scrolling on their screen and you have one second to catch their attention. So, you got to flash something that'll draw them in. But we also have the YouTube channel where we can air basically movies that are an hour and 45 minutes long," said Rapaport.
"But if you look at the numbers that the videos not just us but all the other people in the space do, it's huge. And you can't deny where the eyeballs are and where the momentum is. I think it's cool that the tour is kind of slowly but surely understanding what we're doing and hopefully moving forward productively because I think a rising tide lifts all ships when it comes to golf."
Rapaport also mentioned that the PGA Tour's next media rights deal will likely look different since they will have to expand coverage to not just broadcast television but other platforms as well if they want to reach these new and younger audiences.