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"I'm in that weird space right now, I don't know what to do, either: Content creation or professional golf." - Bryson speculating on his post-LIV future and setting golf media afire with snarky clapbacks. Not going to lie, seems like he may actually be better at content creation. Still could play the Majors and turn his prep into the content stream.
"He can do both easily. He's only playing tournaments on Thursday and Friday and gets cut. So he has the weekend to do YouTube stuff." - a very fake Haotong Li quote that circulated on social. Haotong himself denied it on his IG—though understandably the comment section is littered with supportive fans wishing he had said it anways.
Aaron Rai Wins the PGA Championship
A RIDDLE, WRAPPED IN A MYSTERY, INSIDE AN ENIGMA
More than just a Winston Churchill quote, the true riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma is actually Major champion, Aaron Rai. Stories flooded this week with all the endearing backstories to Aaron's golfing quirks.
QUIRK 1 - He wears two black gloves when he plays. Odd... until he reveals it's because he started doing it when he was a kid, tried to play without the second glove, and realized he had a better grip on the club and now he didn't need to worry about sweaty palms on hot days.
QUIRK 2 - He uses iron covers. Odd... until he reveals it's because his dad bought him a super expensive set of blades when he was a kid. And Aaron, aware that his parents had to really stretch their family's budget to afford them, decided to put iron covers on to disguise them from people who may want to steal them.
QUIRK 3 - He uses castle tees and a 7 year old TaylorMade M6 driver. Odd... until he reveals that the consistent tee height and driver take additional variables off the table so he can simply focus on his swing.
QUIRK 4 - He rocks a Me and My Golf sponsorship. Odd... until he reveals that they sponsored him when he was just a kid and despite not having an agent of proper management, he's stayed with them out of loyalty alone.
The conclusion? Aaron Rai might actually be one of the most genuinely likable players on Tour. Loyal, a man of simple pleasures, and now... a Major champion.
Kicking myself for not getting AI on this one...
THE YELP FOR GOLF COURSES
MyGolfSpy this week posted an article about a new app called Course Vaults where users can rate golf courses in the same way you do on Yelp. And I'm beyond jealous I didn't come up with this idea first. And with AI, feel like I could've even built the dang thing too.
One of the cooler features they highlighted was a Sub-Category rating system. So if you want to dig deeper than the normal 1-10 rating system, you could also give them grades on Pace of Play, Scenery, etc. And then if you care most about finding a course with the best views, you can sort by those sub-categories.
Obviously, I'm a "Yes, And" kind of guy who has to layer on some of my own ideas so my immediate suggestion to level things up is a Friends function where you and your buddies can create private leaderboards among yourselves and input your scores from the courses you've played. Then, at any time, you can check to see how many "course records" you own.
Imagine, you just played your local muni and balled out. Log the score in the app and suddenly your golfing crew gets a notification saying a new course record has been added—as they all drool over your latest round.
In fact, I might just create that app myself. So stop reading this and forget I said anything.
This week on r/golf
OLD TIMEY GOLF
I'm an absolute sucker for any "old camera taken to a sporting event" content. But this one might take the cake as u/bigleaguepuff posted this carousel of images from their golf round taken on a camera dating back to 1902!
The camera they used was called a Kodak Brownie and Google's AI tells me it an inexpensive, cardboard box camera that democratized photography. I have no idea what I'd do with images like this besides probably writing about them here—but I have to try this at some point. Even the idea of giving the crew some disposable cameras on our next golf trip could be the play. Give me that ANALOG TOUCH!
On a semi-related note, if you haven't seen the USF Athletics feed on IG, they did a whole series during football season where they used various cameras to capture their hype videos. But the cameras were always super outside the box like a Ring doorbell or a Gameboy camera. Super creative move by whatever comms student is running that feed.
Let's get you dialed
5 FOOLPROOF WAYS TO PREP FOR A ROUND WITH THE BOSS
Been dabbling in some social content recently and figured I'd highlight one of our upcoming pieces here. You've seen plenty of listicles, but I thought I'd find a little white space in a common golf issue that plagues any of us with a golf-loving boss... how to handle yourself for that first round out. Now, you don't have to guess because I'll get you dialed.
1) Carbo Load
Build the base layer early because this round is a marathon, not a sprint. Sure, it'll help with energy but I'm thinking ahead to when the bevvie cart comes around and the transfusions start firing. Can't be the one who lets a drink or two knock you off your game. Lock in!
2) Buy A Whole New Bag
Image is everything. Show your boss who's boss by unveiling a completely fresh set of clubs. Newest Qi4D driver? Got it. Spider ZT? Sure, you can try a few putts with it boss. Plus, it's a round with your boss—and that means the whole bag is a tax write-off.
3) Know the Lingo
Brush up on some golf lingo to let them know that you know. And in the absence of that, the version that's more fun is to make up a golfing phrase yourself and then try and get your boss on board with it. Deliver the line with confidence and I bet they'll suddenly feel out of the loop on the lingo themselves and use it anyways. For example, one of you hits a cart path? "Ooh, a Robert Cart-patheon! Very nice."
4) Hit, Like, 10,000 Practice Balls
Practice makes perfect. But, as Andy from The Office found out firsthand—careful of the blisties.
5) Swing Fast, Never Lay Up
We're Bad Birdie here, you seriously thought we'd suggest anything less? Best case scenario, you blast one to the moon and earn some praise. Worst case scenario, you duff it into the thick stuff and your boss gets to feel better about their game. Win-win by my eyes.
