PGA content creators: why I'm ultimately backing golf's latest innovation

Decision to host special qualifier for $3.9m event has raised some eyebrows

Genius or joke? That’s the question being asked by some people over a decision by organisers of The Myrtle Beach Classic, a new event on the PGA Tour in May, to host a special qualifier for a 16-player field that will include golf content creators.

The 18-hole shootout on March 4 will be for a sponsor’s spot in a tournament that carries a $3.9 million prize pot and takes place on the US circuit opposite the Wells Fargo Championship. The qualifier will be closed to the public, but, in addition to a 90-minute video being released on Play Golf Myrtle Beach’s YouTube page towards the end of April, the eight content creators in the field will also share their experiences through posts on their respective channels.

With them all having either huge followings on social media or massive audiences on YouTube, you can certainly see why some people are hailing the move as an act of genius because it will certainly attract eyeballs to an event that might otherwise have been overlooked by the vast majority of golf fans around the world.

The Myrtle Beach Classic in May is a new event this season on the PGA Tour and is being held opposite the Wells Fargo Championship. Picture: Alex Slitz/Getty Images.

It should be pointed out that eight of the players taking part are Korn Ferry Tour ‘veterans’ and the likelihood is that one of them will secure the spot up for grabs. The amateurs are off scratch or better, so we’re not going to have to worry about having another Maurice Flitcroft – the game’s infamous imposter who shot 121 in an Open qualifying event in 1976 – moment. Indeed, all 16 meet the PGA Tour regulations for sponsor exemptions and, therefore, will be eligible if they qualify.

At the same time, though, it’s also understandable that some others are viewing it as a bit of a joke. “Golf is officially broken” was the reaction, for instance, from one Scottish professional in delivering his verdict on social media, adding that he felt it was “very unfair and disrespectful to the thousands of guys around the world who would make better use of an exemption than any of these (players)”.

A good few of my departed golf-writing colleagues will be turning in their graves at the mere thought of something like this happening and there’s part of me feels the same because I’ll freely admit that I was left shaking my head after experiencing golf content creators for the first time during a DP World Tour pro-am a few years ago due to the the individuals in question having a brashness about them that I’d never really experienced before in golf media.

I’m still a bit ‘old school’ and always will be. At the same time, though, I’ve learned to appreciate that things move on and people now have lots of different ways to consume golf and, in fairness, a number of those content creators do an excellent job in terms of helping attract a new audience to the game and that, of course, is extremely important.

Personally, I won’t be too bothered by who wins that qualifier and I suspect lots of others will share that opinion, but, and I know this might come as a bit of a surprise from an often grumpy old man, I’m going to go with it being genius rather than a joke due to the fact it’s already generated lots of interest around The Myrtle Beach Classic and will continue do so over the next couple of months.