Do young golfers aspire to be ‘Fat Perez’ or Rory McIlroy?
Justin Thomas admitted some golf fans might recognise a golf YouTuber more than himself, which got NCG’s Tour Editor thinking…
Justin Thomas made an eye-raising admission at the Tour Championship.
I asked him about the astronomic popularity of YouTube golfers and the sport’s online influencers on the eve of the Creator Classic, a stroke play event held for 16 individuals here at East Lake on Wednesday who have cracked the video-producing game and collectively hold millions of subscribers.
“It’s very cool. It’s obviously very different,” Thomas said. “That’s the day and age we’re in right now. At the end of the day, if it gets more kids, more people interested in golf, that’s what’s most important. I don’t know that field very well, but I know that, yeah, there’s a handful of influencers, people out there that people know them probably way better than they know me.
“And that’s not right or wrong, but that’s just the power of it. I think them being out here and their time is valuable just like ours is, so for them to take the time on a big week like this and come play a course and have the opportunity to create a little bit more buzz, that’s great.
“It also gives kids a different avenue to want to be involved in golf. I think that’s a good thing, regardless if it’s professional or influencer.”
Thomas said that despite being a two-time major winning star, not to mention holding 15 PGA Tour trophies and the World No.1 spot for five weeks, there would be influencers with a fraction of his golfing talent and an unrelatable résumé who fans would recognise more than him.
He is right. Garrett Clark, Brad Dalke and Sean Walsh of Good Good Golf played in the nine-hole event earlier in the week. Good Good has 1.66 million YouTube subscribers. Tyler Toney of Dude Perfect participated as well. That platform has 60.4 million subscribers. 60.4 million. 60,400,000 people subscribe to that YouTube channel.
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Fat Perez, Dude Perfect and Good Good represented the YouTube world on the PGA Tour this week
Dude Perfect once produced a video at Augusta National with Bryson DeChambeau in which they kicked footballs, threw frisbees and whacked tennis balls around the sport’s most iconic holes. The mind still boggles as to how that was sanctioned but like Thomas says, “That’s just the power of it.”
Then we had Peter Finch of the UK who had 662,000 subscribers and Nick Stubbe, who calls himself ‘Fat Perez’, of Bob Does Sports that boasts 842,000 subscribers.
Given the size of these platforms, there will unquestionably be golf fans, likely young ones that consume YouTube content, that recognise Tyler Toney or ‘Fat Perez’ before they recognise Justin Thomas. Like the Kentucky man also said, this is not a good or a bad thing. As long as more eyes are looking at the game, its boom will keep increasing in noise.
“I think influencers work really hard to put out content, and I could never do it personally. My message was always in the dirt, and for them, it’s pumping out content and putting their face out there and doing their thing. I know it’s a lot of work to do it and it’s tiring and things like that,” said Open champion of Troon Xander Schauffele when I asked him too.
“But if it’s going to bring more eyeballs to golf I think it’s a good thing, but the whole sort of social media influencer thing, I’m going to leave it to everyone else that’s my age or a little younger because they’re just way better at it.”
The top players welcome the presence of influencers and entertainers and why not? Luke Kwon, the eventual winner of the Creator Classic, was seen practising next to Tommy Fleetwood and the Bryan Brothers picked the brains of Masters champion and World No.1 Scottie Scheffler.
I was circulating the ground by the 10th tee, the putting green and the driving range in the hours leading up to the Creator Classic and there was a distinct buzz. People were continually stopping Stubbe for pictures, Barstool Sport’s Dan Rapaport too who was commentating, and there was feverish enthusiasm for each figure that came on to the tee box.
The energy of these influencers is infectious. They’re not bad golfers too, you know, but how good they are is not important. They excel in entertaining whereas Scheffler excels in trophy-winning. They are two completely different worlds that for a few hours on an Atlanta afternoon lived in peaceful harmony.
I’ve no idea what young golf fans want to be when they grow older. I imagine they want to lift the Claret Jug.
But given the trajectory of YouTube golfers and their vast audiences, if you have a young child who is both a golf and YouTube enthusiast and ask them, do you want to be the next Fat Perez (YouTube star) or the next Rory McIlroy (professional star), I’d be intrigued to hear the answer.
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Did you watch the Creator Classic PGA Tour event? Do you think the gap is closing between young people aiming to become YouTubers and professional golfers? Fat Perez or Rory McIlroy? Tell us on X!
Matt Chivers
Now on the wrong side of 25, Matt has been playing golf since the age of 13 and was largely inspired to take up the game by countless family members who played golf during his childhood.
Matt is a member at Royal Cinque Ports in Deal playing off a 5 handicap, just a pitching wedge away from his hometown of Dover where he went to school and grew up. He has previously been a member at Etchinghill and Walmer and Kingsdown in Kent.
Having studied history at the University of Liverpool, Matt went on to pass his NCTJ Exams in Manchester a year later to fulfil his lifelong ambition of becoming a journalist. He picked up work experience along the way at places such as the Racing Post, the Independent, Sportsbeat and the Lancashire Evening Post.
Matt joined NCG in February 2023 and is the website’s main source of tour news, features and opinion. He has reported live from events such as The Open, the Ryder Cup and The Players Championship, having also interviewed and spoken to the likes of Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood, Lee Westwood, Graeme McDowell, Henrik Stenson, to name just a few.
Consuming tour golf on what is a 24/7 basis, you can come to Matt for informed views on the game and the latest updates on the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, LPGA Tour, Ladies European Tour and LIV Golf.
What’s in Matt’s bag: Cobra LTDx LS driver, Cobra LTDx 3-wood, TaylorMade P7MC irons, Ping Glide 4.0 wedges, Odyssey putter.
