As PGA Tour Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Andy Weitz put it, “Ultimately, we all win when we grow the game of golf, and we translate that growth into more fans.” Grant Horvat, a prominent YouTube golf creator and former member of the Good Good channel, has maintained a similar stance regarding the sport. Collaborating with LIV players like Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson on his YouTube channel, he’s preparing to be a player on the greens.

Horvat had made a clutch birdie on the famous 17th hole to win the Creator Classic at TPC Sawgrass, stating “At the beginning of the day, that was the most nervous I’ve ever been, and I think today I kind of proved something to myself, that I can handle the nerves,” after his performance. The YouTuber is now a member of the PGA Tour’s Creator Series. This audacious project combines professional competition with internet influence. Beyond the course, Horvat has shown his growing dedication to changing the sport from the inside out by becoming a co-owner of Takomo Golf and Primo Golf Apparel. ​

Now, let’s examine how PGA Tour players like Jordan Spieth and Scottie Scheffler are being prompted to reconsider their strategies by Horvat’s vision and why some golf fans are wondering what this means for the game’s future.

From YouTube to the PGA tour: Grant Horvat’s blueprint for the future

In an open discussion on The Smylie Show, Horvat offered his thoughts on how golf is changing. Horvat highlighted the value of cooperation between pros and artists when host Charlie Hulme questioned him about possible enhancements to the PGA Tour. “I truly believe the most powerful thing coming up in the near future is basically what happened at the duel,” he said. “If you were to take a creator and pair them with a pro, they’re a team, and now you’re playing for money. So you have a money element, a pro, and a creator—you have three different really enticing things,” he further added.

Horvat’s collaboration with PGA Tour players Jordan Spieth and Scottie Scheffler during the LIV Golf Duels exemplified this strategy. While Horvat admitted that the video fell short of their expectations, he pointed out that it could have generated a lot of interaction, saying, “It still came out solid. It’s not to the level that we wanted it, but it’s still very solid.”  He predicted that the film would receive between three and four million views in a matter of months, underscoring the importance of interested viewers in the digital era. ​

According to Horvat’s observations, conventional experts like Spieth and Scheffler might gain from adopting digital partnerships. They may reach a wider audience and maintain their relevance in the ever-evolving sports media landscape by taking part in material that combines entertainment and competitive play. Not all fans are excited about a YouTuber going on tour, even though Horvat’s approach may be winning over experts. Let’s check this out!

Fans react to Horvat’s PGA Tour invite

Unlike the PGA Tour’s Creator Series, which includes events like the Creator Classic at TPC Sawgrass, the Barracuda Championship has maintained a traditional format, focusing on professional golfers. So, the golf community’s response to Horvat’s invitation to the Barracuda Championship has been conflicting. Although some fans applaud the inclusion of a well-known digital creative, others are skeptical of the choice, seeing it as a break from the custom of traditional merit-based requirements.

The PGA Tour should give preference to players who have proven themselves on professional circuits, according to tweets like the one from a LIV Golf Insider: “BREAKING: YouTube Golfer Grant Horvat has revealed that he received an invite to play in The Barracuda, a PGA Tour event. Are there not thousands of more deserving professionals to invite? The @PGATOUR continues to make a mockery of the sport.”

Golf fans don’t miss a beat—even in the calmest clips, they’ll call out the lack of real play. Case in point: when Tiger Woods teamed up with Grant Horvat on YouTube, offering swing tips without hitting a single shot. Sure, some viewers soaked up the wisdom, but others? Underwhelmed. So when entire events lean more content-heavy than course-heavy, it rubs a few folks the wrong way. But hey, isn’t everything subjective now anyway? Maybe this is just the digital age in full swing.

Hence, there are a few supporters who view Horvat’s Barracuda selection as a positive move toward modernizing the sport and attracting new spectators. They contend that his online visibility and capacity to draw in younger followers may help golf’s expansion. For reference, the inaugural Creator Classic lit up the internet, racking up over 2.6 million YouTube views and sparking engagement from nearly 60 million golf fans across social media in just four weeks. It could again be a viral hole-in-one for the PGA Tour’s push into digital.

But, how to strike a balance between history and innovation is still up for debate as the PGA Tour negotiates this evolution. Horvat’s involvement in the Barracuda Championship will surely be a talking point, and it might even establish a standard for future partnerships between digital entertainment producers and professional sports.