PGA Tour pro Michael Kim has called for the PGA Tour to collaborate more with golf-content creators on YouTube in order to engage with the sport’s younger audience. The rise of social media, particularly on YouTube, has seen personalities like Bryson DeChambeau, Good Good Golf, and Grant Horvat gain popularity among young fans through their entertaining content. Horvat’s announcement of a video with Tiger Woods and DeChambeau’s video with US President Donald Trump have both garnered millions of views within days, surpassing TV viewership numbers.
With TV viewership declining, Kim believes the PGA Tour needs to focus more on creating creative content on YouTube to cater to a generation of fans who consume media on phones and tablets. Sharing Horvat’s post about his upcoming video with Tiger Woods, Kim emphasized the importance of recognizing how younger generations consume sports content and adapting to these preferences. Kim’s opinion sparked online reactions, with many agreeing that the PGA Tour needs to embrace creative content on YouTube.
Despite the PGA Tour’s YouTube channel having over 1.5 million subscribers, it lags behind individual creators like DeChambeau, Good Good Golf, and Rick Shiels Golf in terms of subscribers. In response to the shift towards YouTube, the PGA Tour has taken steps to increase engagement with its YouTube-focused audience by launching initiatives like the Creator Classic and forming a Creator Council. The Creator Council, made up of popular YouTubers and personalities, aims to help the PGA Tour develop strategies for content development and fan engagement.
The Creator Council includes well-known YouTubers such as Bob Does Sports, Bryan Bros Golf, Erik Anders Lang, Fore Play/Barstool Sports, No Laying Up, Paige Spiranac, Roger Steele, and Tisha Alyn. These creators will work with the PGA Tour’s media, marketing, and communications teams to improve fan engagement and enhance the tour’s events and broadcasts. The Council plans to meet regularly to discuss how to give fans more of what they want and strengthen the PGA Tour’s relationship with social media fans.
The PGA Tour’s chief marketing and communications officer/investor relations, Andy Weitz, expressed enthusiasm for the collaboration between the Council and the Tour, emphasizing the importance of engaging with the vibrant community of fans who interact with golf and the PGA Tour through social media. As the Creator Council and Tour work together to enhance content and engage with fans, the PGA Tour aims to strengthen its presence on YouTube and resonate with the younger, tech-savvy audience that consumes sports content online. By adapting to the preferences of the digital age, the PGA Tour hopes to revitalize its engagement with fans and remain relevant in the ever-evolving landscape of sports media.
