Earlier this year, we got big news in the YouTube golf world: their own professional tour is in the works.
Called the Your Golf Tour, the four-event circuit is being organized by Grant Horvat and the Bryan Bros.
The concept here is pretty simple. These are the best YouTube golfers. Whereas, typically, YouTube golf is a blend of skill and personality—often the top influencers are more personality-based than skill-based—this tour is all about getting the most skilled guys together.
Your Golf Tour will open at Pursell Farms in Alabama this year and close at Wynn Las Vegas with a three-day, $1-million stroke-play championship. In between, we’ll get Teeth of the Dog at Casa de Campo in the Dominican and then Cutalong at Tributer Resort in Virginia.
Today, we found out who is actually going to be competing for this money. We knew about Horvat and the Bryan Bros. but there were 13 other names to be found on the board.
There was a video yesterday (below) releasing the names and providing additional details of the tour.
The format for Pursell Farms is that each captain will select three players for their team. They will also bring in a random wildcard player for each event. The wildcard can be absolutely anyone but that player can’t be chosen again (by any team) for the remainder of the year.
That means there will be five-man teams each tournament.
Round 1: Nine holes of a scramble on the Horvat channel where each team has a pair of two-man attacks.
Round 2: Nine holes of alternate shot on the Bryan Bros. channel where the wildcard must be inserted into the lineup no matter what—so the captains will be forced to make a decision of whom to bench from their team.
After those 18 holes, the bottom two teams based on cumulative team scores will be cut.
Then the final round of the event will be on the YGT channel with 5 v. 5 singles among the top two teams. That means everyone, including the wildcard, will be playing.
Horvat and co. said the individual tournament formats could change as the season progresses but the drafted players will still belong to each team throughout the year.
Prize money for the first three events is $250,000 for first place, $175,000 for second place, $50,000 for third place and $25,000 for fourth place. That will be split among the team members.
Heading into the second year, all four teams will have to drop one player. There will be qualifiers and expansion for the second season.
Here are the 16 players competing.
Sean’s take
I’ll reiterate what I’ve been saying for much of this year.
These guys have built YouTube channels based on their comedy and approachability—not necessarily on their pure golf skill. Their golf skill is a big factor but their channels would go nowhere if they weren’t entertaining as characters.
How do they maintain those traits while still competing for a lot of money? How do the videos feel?
The second this starts feeling like a cash grab without the same layers of entertainment, the bubble could burst and there could be some resistance from the audience.
I do think we’re getting a little over the top with YouTube golf in general. It’s a positive thing overall but I’m not sure there is enough juice for an entire tour of influencers, especially since some of these guys are much better players than entertainers.
Not for nothing, there are some unlikable characters on this list (Kwon, Morris, etc.). I think that kind of helps, honestly. It’s nice to root against players.
Ultimately, I’ll reserve judgement until seeing the finished product.
What do you think? Is this a good idea?
Let me know below in the comments.