Category Archives: Women and Golf

Carla Bernat Escuder Wins 2025 Augusta National Women’s Amateur

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As I said in my preview of ANWA it could be a unknown (at least to the average golf fan) winning ANWA and that is exactly what happened. Carla Bernat Escuder of Spain wins with a score of 12 under par (204).

Who is Carla Bernat Escudar? Here are some facts:

(1) As mentioned above she is from Spain and her coach is Victor Garcia, the father of 2017 Masters winner Sergio Garcia. She has been coached by Garcia since she was 13 years old.

(2) She was not on my radar with a WAGR ranking of 29 and a DI College Rank of 24. She plays for Kansas State (transferred this year to K-State). I did know her name because her first two years of college golf was played at Tulane University.

(3) Really fun fact – Champions Gate Golf Course has their golf course dog “pick” (predict) the winner. The dog has not been accurate in previous years but this year (see Instagram post)

Congratulations to Cara Bernat Escudar!

Other Notable Players:

(1) Lottie Woad: Unfortunately for world #1, Lottie Woad, who was in first place at the start of the final round, she just did not have her game on the final day and finished solo third at 9 under par (207)

(2) Asterisk Talley – #1 Amateur in the world finished one back in second place with a final score of 11 under par (205). She played well but the highlight was when she holed her 2nd shot on #1 at August National for an opening eagle.

(3) Megha Ganne – The Stanford players from New Jersey who had a record setting first round at Champions Gate finished in seventh place with a score of 7 under par (209).

Women’s Golf – Top Five LPGA Player Moments in 2024

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If you are a fan of golf or like watching golf and you don’t watch the women play you are truly missing out on great entertainment.

Here are my top five for women’s golf in 2024

These players had big years and/or big events:

(1) Nelly Korda – The #1 player in the women’s world rankings had an incredible start to 2024. She won six out of her first seven starts on tour; five wins in a row and one won the first major of the year. And Korda, after not playing because of a “minor neck injury” comes back in November and wins the “The Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican.” Of note, no LPGA golfer has had six or more wins in a season since 2013 when Inbee Park had six wins.

So it is no surprise that Korda won player of the year in 2024.

(2) Lauren Caughlin – a journey woman on the LPGA tour had the year of her professional life in 2024. Caughlin is 31 years old and has been on tour since 2018. In July, winning the Canadian Women’s Open was her first tour win in 103rd starts on tour. One month later she won the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open.

Caughlin with her excellent play met a personal goal to qualify for The Solheim Cup that was contested in her home state of Virginia just an hour from her home. The pressure of playing for a home town crowd and as a rookie on the biggest stage in women’s golf could have been too much for some golfers but not Caughlin. She showed up to the Solheim and once again had the “week of her professional life” winning all three of her team matches and garnering a tie for her singles match. This is a stellar record for a “rookie” Solheim Cup member.

(3) Lydia Ko

Ko had pressure all year with the golf analysts constantly asking will this be the tournament that Ko wins and get’s the one point she needs to enter the LPGA Hall of Fame. The LPGA Hall of Fame has the most difficult criteria of all sports hall of fame (it’s not voted on, it’s all points); requiring 27 points.

Per the LPGA website the criteria is:

1. Must have won/been awarded at least one of the following – an LPGA major championship, the Vare Trophy or Rolex Player of the Year honors; and2. 

2.Must have accumulated a total of 27 points, which are awarded as follows – one point for each LPGA official tournament win, two points for each LPGA major tournament win and one point for each Vare Trophy or Rolex Player of the Year honor earned.3. 

3. One point for an Olympic gold medal

Per Golf Digest, “Ko is a 15-time winner, including two majors and three season-ending awards. She earned 70 percent of her 20 points in two years—2019 and 2021.”

Her quest for the LPGA Hall of Fame was a storybook ending when she won the Gold Medal at the Olympics; and giving her the point she needed to be in the LPGA Hall of Fame.

(4) Rose Zhang – Zhang was the most decorated player in women’s amateur golf; including winning back-to-back NCAA Individual National Championships and winning the August National Women’s Amateur in April 2023. Zhang held the position of the #1 female amateur golfer in the world for over two-and-a-half years (or 141 weeks at #1).

In May 2023, Zhang turns Pro and she wins her first LPGA tour event at the Cognizant Founders Cup (she is the player that stopped Nelly Korda’s win streak of five wins in a row). After that 2023 was rather quiet and she did not perform well at the Solheim Cup in Spain with two ties and a loss.

In early 2024 she seemed to still be missing that spark but the spark caught on fire at the Solheim Cup in the USA. Zhang won all four matches. And she is the only player in Solheim history to win all four matches and never have to play the final holes (17 and 18). There have only been eight players to have a 4-0-0 record at a Solheim Cup and only two other American’s have achieved this accomplishment (Dottie Pepper in 1998 and Morgan Pressel in 2011). Zhang also won 28 holes only lost 8; no player has been that dominant in the last 20 years.

It’s worth noting the scores for Zhang’s four matches: She won 3&2, 3&2, 5&4, and her singles match was 6&4 (ending her match against Carlota Ciganda on the 14th hole).

(4) Soleim Cup Players – The 2024 Solheim Cup was everything a golf fan wants in a competition – great play and a competition that goes down to the end; which is stressful but fun to watch. The USA won 15 1/2 points to Europe 12 1/2 points.

The points don’t tell the whole story but for those that don’t normally follow match play. The current holder of the Solheim Cup (Europe) only needed 14 to maintain possession and the USA needed 14 1/2 points to win (take possession) of the cup. The last meeting (2023 in Spain) of the teams was heart braking because the teams tied (14 points each) therefore Europe “won” because they won the cup in the previous meeting in 2021 in Ohio at Inverness.

Along with Rose Zhang, Khang (3-0-0), Coughlin (3-0-1) and Andrea Lee (2-0-1) were the other Americans to go undefeated (since they tied and did not lose one match). It is the second time the U.S. team had that many undefeated players at one Solheim Cup.

So do yourself a favor and watch the LPGA in 2025.

Chevron Championship – LPGA’s First Major of 2024

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Another week and another major – I love Spring!

It’s a good thing that the LPGA moved the first major of the year so there is no conflict with the Augusta National Women’s Amateur or The Masters. Most people over a certain age will remember the first major as the Dinah Shore or the Colgate Dinah Shore, then it became the ANA Inspiration (which was held in Palm Springs) but with the new sponsor came a new venue in Texas at The Club at Carlton Woods, the Woodlands, Houston.

Last year was the first year at the new location and Lilian Vu won in a playoff against Angel Yin. I don’t think Vu is likely to play well enough to defend her title because she has been dealing with back issues. Perhaps if Angel plays well she may have a chance but my money is on the LPGA’s number one player.

Yes, just as I picked the number one player in the world on the men’s side to win The Masters, I am picking the number one female player in the world, Nelly Korda to win the Chevron Championshiop. Korda, like Scheffler, has won multiple times on tour this season.

In fact, if she wins the Chevron that will be five (5) consecutive wins this season. The last player to win five in a row in the same season was Nancy Lopez back in 1975 in her rookie year. The only other LPGA player to win 5 consecutive tournaments is Annika Sorenstam but she did it in two seasons (end of one season and beginning of another season).

The other players I’ll be watching are:

(1) Lydia Ko – if she wins that will give her the final point she needs to be eligible for the LPGA Hall of Fame. The most difficult Hall of Fame to get eligibility for based on a point system.

(2) Brooke Henderson – I always cheer for the Canadian star to win.

(3) Rose Zhang – came on tour out of Standford with a bang by winning her first professional tournament but hasn’t done much this season so maybe the first major will be the spark to get the 2nd win.

How to Watch the Chevron Championship

The Golf Channel will show the championship early (10 am – 2 pm and late 6 pm to 8 pm) on Thursday and Friday. And the weekend telecast will be on NBC from Noon to 6 pm.

Both Peacock and ESPN+ will offer steaming of the championship so if you have subscriptions there is an opportunity to see more of the event live.

Below are the dates, times, and options:

Thursday, April 18: 10 a.m.-2 p.m.; 6-8 p.m. ET (Golf Channel/Peacock)
Friday, April 19: 10 a.m.-2 p.m.; 6-8 p.m. ET (Golf Channel/Peacock)
Saturday, April 20: 2-3 p.m. ET (Peacock); 3-6 p.m. ET (NBC/Peacock)
Sunday, April 21: 2-3 p.m. ET (Peacock); 3-6 p.m. ET (NBC/Peacock)

Augusta National Women’s Amateur 2024 – Players to Watch

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The Augusta National Women’s Amateur (ANWA) has quickly become one of my favorite events to watch. There are a number of reasons, first and foremost the final round is at Augusta National, second and just as important to me is that it is a great showcase for the best female amateurs in the world; and as a fan of women’s golf it’s fun to see the players that are up and coming.

The first two days are played at Champions Retreat (72 players) and the final day at Augusta National (for the 30 players and ties that make the cut). You can watch all the action on Golf Channel, Peacock and NBC (final round Saturday Noon to 3:30 pm est). You can also watch the live stream on the ANWAgolf.com website. Here is a list of Air Times.

If you follow college golf you will know many of the players. The school with the most players invited is Stanford University (with five current players and four former Stanford students). You can read about all of them on the Stanford University Website. Including Rachel Heck (who just recently said she was not turning pro after college).

A few players I’ll be marking as “favorites” to follow on the ANWA website include:

  • Ingrid Linblad – the #1 female player in the world rankings. She is from Sweden, plays for LSU (I try not to think about that since I went to Tulane and LSU is an arch rival). Linblad’s record at AWNA is T3 (2021) and T2 (2022); and she shockingly missed the cut last year so it will be interesting to see how she fares this year.
  • Megan Schofill (world ranking 7) – She is the 2023 (current) U.S. Women’s Amateur Champion. She plays for Auburn. She defeated Latana Stone in the U.S. Woman’s Amateur; Stone is also playing this year in the ANWA.
  • Anna Davis (world ranking 17) – famous for winning ANWA in 2022 while wearing a Bucket Hat but she normally wears a visor. Maybe she will bring back the bucket hat for Augusta. I suppose it depends if she is superstitious. She plays her college golf at Auburn University.
  • Anna Morgan (world ranking 23) – I live in Greenville, SC. so I have to cheer for a Furman student. I played Furman last year and the women’s golf team was on the course and it was impressive to watch.
  • Hannah Darling (world ranking 19) – She plays her college golf for the Gamecocks and again, I now follow that team since I live in South Carolina. She is a great player and from Scotland! And her Gamecock teammate, Louise Rydqvist (from Sweden) is also playing ANWA.
  • Jansen Castle (world ranking 109)- is from Columbia South Carolina (yes, I have a theme going with my favorites).
  • Anabelle Pancake (world ranking 79) – Attends Clemson University. Hometown is Zionsville Indiana and was the runner up in the 2023 Women’s Amateur (not the US but the one run by the R&A).
  • Rachel Kuehn (world ranking 15) – Plays for Wake Forest. From Ashville NC. She got a lot of press because her mother, Brenda Corrie Kuehn, was a well known golfer. In fact, Rachel won the winning point for the 2022 Curtis Cup team, and her mother had the winning point in the 1998 Curtis Cup.
  • Emilia Migliaccio (world ranking 44) – A former Wake Forest golfer and now works for Golf Channel but has played in all four ANWA events. She was 2nd in 2021. I really would love to see her take the trophy now that she is an “amateur” like the rest of us. In other words, has a job and plays for the love of the game.
  • Gianna Clemente (world ranking 32) – She is only 16 but is the 2023 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship and Girls’ Junior PGA Champion. Maybe she will be like Anna Davis and win the ANWA at 16.

It is also fun to see former Drive, Chip, and Putt alumni in the event (nine in total) including Latana Stone (world ranking 30), won DCP twice for her age group (12-13) and won the 2022 U.S. Girls Junior. Runner up at the 2023 U.S. Women’s Amateur and is now at LSU. And there is Kelly Xu won DCP (girls 7-9) in 2014 and now plays for Stanford University and her world raking is 93 .

Of course, there are players that have been in the limelight for years; notably Amari Avery who was featured in the movie “The Short Game” a 2013 documentary about 7-8 year old golfers. Her dad gave her the nickname “Tigress.” (yes after Tiger Woods). She is now at the University of Southern California and her world raking is 20.

I could actually list a number of other players but you can check out all the players bios at ANWA website.

Bottom line is that the Augusta Women’s Amateur is “must watch TV” if you are a golf fan.

Favorite Golf Podcasts

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Yes, I am a golf junkie and besides playing golf, watching golf on TV (and recently YouTube) and reading golf articles; I also listen to Golf Podcasts.

My favorites right now are (in no particular order):

  1. Above Par (Kathy Hart Wood) – focused on the mental game. Tip: Start listening with episode one.
  2. Tee Time (Tori Totlis) – the content is tailored for women golfers but many topics are good for all golfers.
  3. Hack It Out Golf (Saturday Morning Stat) – Focused on helping golfers get better. Saturday Morning Stat episodes with a focus on one stat from Lou Stagner (Arccos) is my favorite.
  4. College Golf Talk – from Golf Channel with Steve Burkowski (my favorite college expert on Golf Channel).

A bit more about each Podcast

Above Par: Kathy Hart Wood is a certified life coach and a top 50 LPGA Golf Teacher (2017-2022); and she has played golf most of her life. Her website gives you access to her coaching program but you get so much free advice from her podcast, Above Par which you can access from her website or your favorite podcast app.

Kathy talks fast and her podcasts are 15 to 20 mins long. She gives useful tips, tools, strategies. For example, I used to feel bad for friends getting upset when they were playing bad. In her podcast “How to Deal with Negative Golfers” Kathy explains its not your responsibility to make them feel better and it will only hurt your game by wasting your energy on trying to change them. And if that person is your partner, she gives a strategy to say at the beginning of the round “Let’s agree not to be negative. Let’s agree not to apologize for missed shots there’s no upside to it and we are all going to have our share of missed shots.”

Tee Time: The podcast is hosted by Tori Totlis an Arizona golfer who created a program (website) called Complete Confidence Golf and has a passion for helping women get into and enjoy the game of golf. The blog page of her website has links to all her podcasts (or you can search for Tee Time on whatever app you use to listen to your favorite podcasts).

Tee Time podcasts run about an hour because Tori goes in-depth on the topic she is discussing. Tori has had Lou Stagner and other experts on her podcast. I also enjoy when she has other golfers on the show; particularly golfers that have played in USGA Amateur events.

Hack It Out Golf – This podcast has three guys talking about how to improve your game. I like the episodes that are released on Saturday called “Saturday Morning Stat” and are about 10-15 mins. long with Lou Stagner from Arccos focusing on a single golf stat. Lou Stagner has a newsletter and you can signup at his website. He is also very active on Twitter or you can search for Hack It Out Golf on your favorite podcast app.

I plan to write a blog post about Golf Stats because learning stats from Lou Stanger has helped me put my game in perspective!

Here is one interesting statistic from Lou Stagner – Tiger Woods only made 80% of greens from a 110 yards out. Or he missed the green 20% of the time from 110 yards. The stats he shares are all about setting expectations for amateur golfers. If Tiger only hits greens 80% then why do we, as amateurs, get upset when we miss a green.

College Golf Talk – If you enjoy watching college golf on Golf Channel then you may enjoy this podcast hosted by Steve Burkowski and Brentley Romine from the Golf Channel. Full disclosure I do not listen to this podcast every week (like I do my other favorites) but I’ll listen before big events like the NCAAs or The Augusta Women’s Amateur.

I’ve been following college golf for a few years and love the fact that you can watch a college golfer and then see them transition to the professional ranks. In 2018, I remember watching the NCAA Division 1 golf on Golf Channel and Jennifer Kupcho won the individual title. In 2019, I cheered for Jennifer Kupcho to win the first Augusta National Women’s Amateur; which she won. Then I became vested in watching her on the LPGA and seeing Kupcho win her first LPGA Major (The Chevron, formally ANA, formally DIana Shore) in 2022 was exciting. Unfortunately as I’m writing this blog post, Kupcho (as the defending champion of the Chevron) missed the cut.

Do you have a favorite golf podcast? Let me now in the comments so I can check it out!

Women of the Golf Channel (2023 Edition)

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In 2012 I created a post titled Women of Golf Channel and it was my most popular post. The information became outdated so I did a Women of Golf Channel (2018 Edition). It’s time for another update.

In 2020, Golf Channel announced they were moving from Orlando, Florida to NBC Sports headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut which had a huge impact on their employees. A lot of familiar faces on the Golf Channel were gone including; Chantel McCabe (now with ESPN), Lisa Corwell (was very vocal about discrimination at Golf Channel and has a book coming out May 2023 called TroubleMaker), Bailey Mosier (TV personality and married to Brandel Chamblee so occasionally appears on Golf Channel), and Lauren Thompson (works for NBC sports NEXT – the technology division that includes GolfPass).

You would think that Golf Channel would list it’s TV personalities in the about section of their website but that would be to easy. If you want to find them go to NBC Sportsgroup Press Box for a list.

Here are the current women of the Golf Channel

Anna Jackson (formally Whiteley) – joined in 2019 as a co-host of Morning Drive (replacing Cara Banks-Robinson who was promoted to Golf Central. She came from England. Morning Drive was cancelled when Golf Channel moved to Connecticut but Anna remained and now co-hosts shows like Golf Central and Golf Today.

Cara Robinson – joined in 2015 as a co-host to Morning Drive (replacing Holly Saunders). In my opinion, she has become the “Kelly Tilghman” of Golf Channel and does the “Live from” broadcasts from all the important championships.

Paige Mackenzie – joined full-time in 2015 but has been doing on-air appearances since 2012. Her title on her bio page is “Analyst, LPGA Tour” but her role is much bigger with appearances on Golf Today as the analyst discussing PGA tour betting odds, analyst at PGA Tour Waste Management and LPGA tour events.

Morgan Pressel – joined in 2021 and officially took over Judy Rankin’s roll in the booth for LPGA tournaments when Rankin retired in 2022. Her first work was as an on-course analyst for LPGA events while she was still actively playing on the LPGA. Her first on-air TV work was at the 2015 USGA US Women’s Open.

Karen Stupples – joined in 2013 and is an on-air course reporter for the LPGA. She has occasionally been in the booth and I thought she may get to replace Judy Rankin but Pressel won the job. As a side note, she and her partner, Jerry Foltz (former LPGA on-course reporter) are a couple that became “social media” popular during the pandemic because of their amusing twitter feeds. Foltz has left the Golf Channel to join LIV as a golf analyst.

Kay Cockerill – joined in 1995 (since the start of Golf Channel). Her role now is mostly as an on-course reporter for LPGA events. She also does some women’s college events and NCAA golf championships that air on Golf Channel.

Kira Dixon – joined Golf Channel PGA tour coverage in 2021. Prior to her role interviewing players on-air, she was on the digital platform Golf Pass as a lifestyle reporter. She also did digital work for the USGA.

Amy Rogers – She fills-in for Anna Jackson on Golf Central and also is seen on LPGA coverage doing interviews. Amy is listed as a “contributor” on her Golf Channel profile. She is also listed as a contribution on the LPGA Network.

Henni Koyack – Not sure if she is an NBC employee but in 2023 she joined the Golf Channel Podcast “Beyond the Fairway.” Occasionally she appears on PGA Tour coverage on NBC/Golf Channel doing player interviews or special content segments. She also worked for the PGA Tour GolfTV and is most recognized for her exclusive interviews with Tiger Woods. She is from England and a former LET golfer.

Blair O’Neal – I don’t know if she is an employee of Golf Channel but she is the co-host of School of Golf so most people associate her with the Golf Channel. In 2010, she won the Big Break which was a wildly popular Golf Channel show.

As a side note, some people think that Dottie Pepper and Amanda Balionis-Renner work for the Golf Channel but they do not. Both women work for CBS Sports. They get to work The Masters and the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-AM so if I had my choice of jobs of all the women highlighted in this post, I’d want Pepper or Renner’s job.

YouTube Golf – it’s a thing!

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Do you know about the YouTube golf “community” comprised of channels where average Joe golfers publish videos of their on course adventures. There are a lot of average Joe YouTube channels with small subscriber numbers but then there are some of these “average Joe” YouTube golfers that make a living as “content developers” and are considered big “influencers” in golf. They are a self-described “community” because many do cross-channel content and there are even YouTube channels that just talk about what is going on in the YouTube golf space.

I pretty much stumbled across this whole YouTube golf thing. One day I went on YouTube to see if I could find a course review. I did not find a review but I did find a video of a guy playing the course I would be playing. His YouTube channel is Perfectly Average Golf. I found Alan, the golfer, to have a pleasant personality but I was really watching to see the layout of the golf course, not because I wanted to see him critique his game. After viewing that channel I started to get YouTube recommendations for other golf channels and it was crazy how many golfer “vlogs” exist on YouTube and now I have been watching a number of them and it is incredible how many channels have huge followers; and therefore they are making a living as YouTube Golfers.

Here are some of the most popular YouTube golfer channels. The information is from their “about section” on their channels on March 5, 2023.

  1. Rick Shiels Golf, 2.47 million subscribers, 650,669,633 views, joined YouTube in October 2011
  2. Good Good Golf, 1.14 million subscribers, 234,972,505 views, joined YouTube in July 2020
  3. GM Golf, 857,000 subscribers, 191,815,453 views, joined YouTube in April 2013
  4. Peter Finch Golf, 529,000 subscribers, 139,815,453 views, joined YouTube in October 2011
  5. Micah Morris Golf, 419,000 subscribers, 42,135,491 views, joined YouTube in October 2018
  6. Bob Does Sports, 390,000 subscribers, 47,603,737 views, joined YouTube September 2021
  7. Grant Horvat Golf, 345,000 subscribers, 28,328,887 views, joined YouTube April 2014
  8. Fore Play Golf, 297,000 subscribers, 94,279,403 views, joined YouTube January 2019
  9. Bryan Bros Golf, 198,000 subscribers, 24,611,743 views, joined YouTube March 2014
  10. Zac Radford, 122,000 subscribers, 56,679,596 views, joined YouTube April 2011
  11. Golficity, 81,300 subscribers, 24,818,435 views, joined YouTube September 2012
  12. Busta Jack, 79,600 subscribers, 5,342,020 views, joined YouTube October 2021

Rick Shiels it the “grand daddy” of them all. His numbers far exceed others with 2.47 million subscribers and total channel views of 650,669,633. He was a teaching professional and started years ago with teaching videos but expanded to other content, including matches. He doesn’t teach anymore and is solely focused on his YouTube Golfer job. His “Break 75” videos where he plays a course to see if he can break 75 is very popular. His last “Break 75” from Bay Hill (posted March 3rd, just five days prior to the writing of this post) has 618,767 views. I like watching the series because of the courses. My favorite is Royal Birkdale – Break 75 (again, to see a beautiful golf course I doubt I’ll ever visit myself). I actually ended up enjoying watching the golf because he had two other players with him trying to break specific scores.

If you’re not aware of the YouTube model it’s basically — reach 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours and you can join the YouTube partner program and monetize your channel. Basically, there is a YouTube algorithm, which embeds advertisements into every video and pays the creators depending on how many people watch the ads, and for how long. Also once your content is posted and it continues to get views you can potentially make money forever on the content (even if the video is five years old). Another revenue stream is that once you become popular, companies approach you for promotional deals. Many of these YouTube golfers have apparel deals. They even get deals for non-golf products. I’ve seem them promoting shaving products, alcohol (mostly beer and hard cider), food meal preparation kits, and (not surprising) sports betting companies.

In the last few months some of the channels have gotten so big that brands like Callaway and TaylorMade are sponsoring the YouTube Golfers. Think about it – A golf brand can spend marketing dollars on a Tour Pro that may or may not get TV time or spend money on a YouTube Golfer with over a million followers, posting content weekly, with half a million views per video. And these companies can use these YouTube channels to promote PGA and LPGA players. For example, Good Good and Callaway announced a deal on January 3, 2023. A few months later, on the “Good Good Extra” Channel a video, Knockout Bunker Challenge with LPGA Tour Winner Andrea Lee was posted. Lee is a Callaway Ambassador and gave the good good guys bunker tips and then they played a 5-bunker game. In the first hour on YouTube the video had over 11,000 views.

In general the golf “vlogs” follow familiar formats on each channel, golfers play a match or scramble and post two videos (front nine match video and back nine match video). Again, some of the channels are so popular that they have fans or golf industry contacts that invite them to play amazing courses (many private courses I’ll never play). The marketing impact for the golf courses can be significant too.

Also, adding legitimacy to these YouTube golfers is the fact that PGA tour players are guests on channels. Two fun matches to watch are Max Homa and Keegan Bradley on Bob Does Sports. Ricky Fowler has been on both Rick Sheils and Good Good Golf. Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood and others have been on Fore Play. Other players appearing on various channels are Bryson DeChambeau, Kevin Kisner, Scott Stallings, Beau Hossler, and Billy Horschel.

Cross-channel content is a common format. YouTube golfers will play together and post content from their matches on their respective channels (usually a nine-hole competition on each channel). As a community this appears to be a way they really help each other build followings. It’s how I found out about many of the channels I have highlighted in this post. For example, Good Good Golf members have stated that the playing series they filmed with Rick Shiels helped them passed the million subscriber mark on their channel. I assume Rick Shiels benefited too with the young audience Good Good Golf most likely brought to his channel.

Also once you start watching you realize how various channels are connected. Good Good Golf was founded by Garrett Clark (GM Golf), his cousin Micah Morris and three other guys (who also have their own channels). It is now a huge brand with a very popular apparel line. I found it fascinating that Garrett Clark said at age nine, he watched the Bryan Bros on YouTube and knew that is what he wanted to do – be a YouTuber. This year a “big drama” in the YouTube community developed because Micah Morris and Grant Horvat, who where part of Good Good Golf, left the group (channel) to do “their own thing.”

Rick Shiels and Good Good have great content but some of my favorite channels are currently Bob Does Sports, Busta Jack, and Golficity. Bob Does Sports has three unique guys (Bobby Fairways, Joey Coldcuts, and Fat Perez) with different golf skills and they can be very funny. And Bob Does Sports is a popular channel for Pros to go on and play a match (the pro against the three guys playing scramble). BustaJack is a newer channel and gaining popularity. They are pretty good golfers and have a series “Golfin’ Old Glory” where they are playing a course in every state. Golficity have played a lot of pretty courses in the the Northeast and one of the main reasons I watch the videos is to see courses I may never get to play (e.g., Sleepy Hollow). Every now and then the YouTube Golfers will have silly “challenges” which I think are gimmicky and not of interest to me but perhaps these “challenges” (like Bob Does Sports Taco eating on the course) appeal to their target audience.

I would be remiss if I did not mention the female YouTube golfers. Their presence on YouTube is small compared to the men. A few women female YouTube golfers are well known because they participate on popular channels (e.g., Hanna Cook on Barstool). In this post, I will just highlight the few female YouTube golfers I’m aware of that have their own channels and play matches. I did find a few female golfers with large subscribers but to me their content was more lifestyle brand focused (with little golf playing content) so I am not highlighting those channels.

  1. Paige Spiranac, 391,900 subscribers, 49,129,462 views, joined YouTube August 2016
  2. Claire Hogle, 103,000 subscribers, 16,155,935 views, joined YouTube January 2015
  3. Hailey Ostrom, 43,000 subscribers, 6,543,496 views, joined YouTube October 2019
  4. Mia Baker, 22,900 subscribers, 3,468,654 views, joined YouTube March 2020
  5. Gabby Golf Girl,12,400 subscribers, 413,495 views, joined YouTube January 2014

I’m not really a fan of Paige Spiranac’s social media presence overall since she does play up the “sexy golf girl” persona (especially on Twitter and Instagram) but it’s her way of marketing her brand and that is her choice. Regardless of how one might feel about her brand, you can’t ignore the numbers and she actually does post matches on her channel. Claire Hogle is a great golfer and has played with Garrett Clark and and other YouTube golfers. Mia Baker is a British golfer and more “average skills” but can be amusing.

Gabby Golf Girl is a 15 year old and has 125,000 Instagram followers and setup her “new” YouTube channel in February 2023 (even though YouTube has her joining in Jan 2014). She has game and she has done video matches with Bob Does Sports, Grant Horvat, and as of this writing, baseball star Johnny Damon. I think if she keeps creating the type of content she does that she will be big in the YouTube golf community given she’s only really been posting for a little over a month and with only six videos (and 14 shorts) she has 413,495 views. Her most recent video was Gabby playing a scramble format with Johnny Damon to see how low they could go with their scramble score; and pars were worth $100 and birdies $200. At the end of the video they went to a grocery store and paid people’s groceries up to “the money value of the final score.” Now that is unique content!

So I am now watching golf on YouTube more than on the golf channel. I still love to watch the Majors, a few PGA Tour events (e.g., Waste Management, The Players Championship), and the LPGA tour on TV. Honestly, I never thought I’d enjoy YouTube Golfers but I guess the saying “never say never” is true. I like to watch YouTube golf videos for three reasons. First, to see the beautiful golf courses. Second, I actually find some matches engaging while being entertained by some of the personalities. Third, I can get my golf watching fix when I want (and it’s what I choose to watch and not just whatever is available on TV).

Do you watch YouTube Golf and what is your favorite channel? Let me know in the comments below.

AIG Women’s British Open Purse Increase

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AIG and The R&A “put their money where they mouth is” with a new record overall purse for a women’s golf major. The purse total is $5.8 million with $870,000 for the winner. And they announced they are committed to raising the 2022 purse by a million to $6.8 million. The purse increase announced by AIG and The R&A is great news for women’s professional golf.

At least for the majors, I’m happy to see in 2021 things are moving in the right direction. For example, back in 2012 the USGA’s purse for the U.S. Women’s Open was $3.25 million with $585K going to the winner and in 2021, the U.S. Women’s Open purse total was $5.5 million with $1 million to the winner.

I do find it interesting that sponsors for the women’s majors get to associate their name with the major. For example the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship versus the men’s PGA Championship. But if that is the price to pay for higher pay for the women the so be it.

The USGA has a history of having the highest purses for the majors and with Mike Whan, former commissioner of the LPGA as the new CEO of the USGA, I’m hoping that he makes a big statement for women’s golf in 2022. I would love to see the governing body be the first golf organization to have the men’s and women’s purses be the same amount — a girl can dream!

The chart below lists the purses for both the women’s and men’s majors for 2021. I do care about pay equity and wrote about it in my 2012 blog “The Gender Gap in Golf Prize Money”. I’m not going to go in to deep comparison because that would require looking at regular season tour events (as I did in 2012). My hope would be that perhaps one day sponsors will see the value of women’s golf equal to men’s golf and the money will follow.

I am providing a chart because I know readers (as I did) will wonder what the payouts were in 2021 so I did the research for anyone taking the time to read my blog.

Women’s MajorsTotal PurseWinner’s ShareMen’s MajorsTotal PurseWinner’s Share
U.S. Women’s Open$5.5 Million$1 MillionU.S. Open$12.5 Million$2.25 Million
AIG Women’s British Open$5,8 Million$870KBritish Open$11.5 Million$2.07 Million
KPMG PGA Championship$4,5 Million$675KPGA Championship$12 Million$2.16 Million
ANA Inspiration$3.1 Million$465KThe Masters$11.5 Million$2.07 Million
Evian Championship$4.5 Million$675K   

Great Day for Women’s Golf: Augusta National Announces a Women’s Amateur Championship

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For years I have been wishing Augusta National would take “meaningful action” to support women’s golf. Yes, Augusta welcomed female members in 2012 when Condoleezza Rice and Darla Moore were extended invitations to join the club. However like most women who love golf, and as a fan of women’s golf, I wanted to see women play Augusta National.

Today the announcement came! Perhaps this announcement was not the one that women professional golfers hoped for but the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship is monumental for women’s golf. Here is the post from Twitter:

Masters Announcement on Twitter

Augusta National Tweet – Women’s Amateur Championship

The event being conducted within the same time frame as Drive, Chip and Putt and The Masters is excellent! The event will be held right before DCP (the wonderful golf championship for young golfers). Just imagine a young girl participating in DCP, watching the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship and knowing that one day (if she works hard) she may be playing the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship!

Of course, the big question for the LPGA is what does this mean for the ANA Inspiration? Will the top female amateurs, who normally play the ANA Inspiration, now have to choose between the two events? My guess is the LPGA will move the ANA (perhaps the week before the new amateur event). After all, it would be a communications manager’s dream story line – promoting the opportunity to watch the top amateur female golfers playing in the ANA Inspiration who will be then playing in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship the following week.  And if the ANA is after the event, the LPGA promotes the winner of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur playing in the LPGA’s first major of the year. I say it’s a win/win for the LPGA (unless they do not move the date of the ANA)

I can’t wait until 2019 when I can watch the inaugural Augusta National Amateur Women’s Championship.

It’s a good day for women’s golf!

Women of the Golf Channel (2018 Edition)

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CLICK TO SEE 2023 UPDATE

I find it interesting that my post Women of the Golf Channel is always a top visited page (even though it was written back in 2012). A lot has changed with the on-air talent so I thought I’d write an update.

From my post on March 8 2012:

Only two of the six women I highlighted in my previous post are still with Golf Channel. They are Kelly Tilghman and Lauren Thompson.

(1) Kelly Tilghman has a bio on the Golf Channel site but to be honest I watch a lot of Golf Channel and golf tournament coverage and I don’t see her that much except for “Life From” during major championships.

(2) Lauren Thompson is a co-host on Morning Drive. Back in 2012 she seemed to be a fill-in on-air talent for Holly Sonders (who left Morning Drive and went to FOX in 2014). Now Thompson is a key member of the morning team. You can read her full bio on the Golf Channel Website.

More Great Women on Golf Channel:

If you go to the bio page for TV personalities for Golf Channel you will see 11 women listed which is wonderful. I would break the list into two groups: On-air TV show personalities (e.g., Morning Drive, Golf Channel, etc.) and golf tournament coverage talent that do the on-air analysis for the tour coverage on Golf Channel.

As I did in my 2012 post, I am going to list just a few of the 11 women. At the end of the post is a list of links for the bios of all the women on Golf Channel’s website.

chantel-mccabe-golfchannel(1) Chantel McCabe is my new favorite on-air personality and seems to be the “go to person” for golf channel. By that I mean, McCabe is on Golf Central, Morning Driving, does interviews at PGA and LPGA tournaments, and does digital work for their website. It makes sense to me that the leadership at the golf channel would tap her for so many jobs because she is great on air. I like her style, her voice, she asks good questions, and she has a good sense of humor.

She is a seasoned reporter with experience working for FOX sports prior to joining the Golf Channel and was a reporter for a local television station in Springfield MA. She also scores points with me because she is a New England Patriots fan.

paigemackenzie_320x400(2) Paige Mackenzie is a co-host on Morning Drive. She joined Morning Drive while she was still on the LPGA Tour. The reasons I really like her is because she is very down to earth and relatable! For example, she chooses on-air outfits that any woman might wear. What I mean by that is sometimes (not always) other women, like Bailey Mosier, are so into fashion that their outfits seem over-the-top for a golf morning show.

I also enjoy Mackenzie’s tips when she does the “Watch and Learn” segments on Morning Drive. In these segments she reviews a player’s swing or a specific shot of a player from yesterday’s golf tournaments and explains what we can learn from it.

karenstupples_320x400(3) Karen Stupples is an on-course reporter and analyst for LPGA tour coverage. Stupples played on the LPGA and LET (Ladies European Tour) for 15 years and is the 2004 Women’s British Open Champion. She had an albatross (a 2 on a par 5) which you can watch in this Golf Channel video flashback.

I always find her insights interesting and her personality comes through even though you only hear her voice during coverage. She is funny and I often enjoy the banter with the other on-air analysts.

Golf Channel Bios

This would be a long blog post if I reviewed every women so below is a convenient chart with each woman’s name linked to their official bio on the Golf Channel website.

On-air Personalities Golf Tournament Coverage
Cara Banks Kay Cockerill
Lisa Cornwell Judy Rankin
Paige Mackenzie Karen Stupples
Chantel Mccabe Social Media Host for Tournaments
Bailey Mosier Alexandra O’Laughlin
Kelly Tilghman
Lauren Thompson