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19th Hole

Smylie Kaufman: Social media “sucks.” How much should pros tweet?

Published

6 years ago

on

Aptly named, affable, natural fit as a Natural Light pitchman, Smylie Kaufman quickly became a popular and promising talent on the PGA Tour.

As we know, however, the past year has been awful for Kaufman: he’s made only two cuts this season and is a routine fixture on the bottom of leaderboards. Owing to an inflamed left elbow and wrist issues, the LSU alum has filed for a medical extension and is shutting it down for the season.

This is unfortunate, certainly, but Kaufman’s remarks (as told to Golf Digest) about social media were particularly interesting.

With respect to negative comments and all out roasts on social media, keyboard warriors likely either assume players aren’t checking their mentions or hope they are so that a sparring match might ensue.

From the sound of it, Smylie Kaufman is keeping up on his notifications…and it’s just upsetting him.

“Social media doesn’t help,” Kaufman told Golf Digest. “That place sucks. It was so great for me for so long, but it was never anything good the last six months. When I go to Twitter, it’s like reading the newspaper for me. Well, I don’t wanna see Tom or Joe telling me how bad I suck when I read the newspaper.”

Kaufman pointed out the reality of social media for athletes and celebrities: sponsors and agents encourage them to be on it…however, it doesn’t do anything positive for their core competency (playing sports).

“A lot of things about social media are great. I love that I can interact with fans and other players. It’s the way things are moving and a way that you can market yourself. But I need to focus on my golf.”

Clearly, there’s a balancing act for public figures with respect to how much time and energy they ought to spend on social media. And clearly some trolling is to be expected. That said, if you get 100 notifications and 99 of them are people telling you you’re garbage (and you probably feel like garbage at said moment), that’s going to have an effect.

Kaufman was a very active user of Twitter and Instagram, and after taking a break, he’s back on a limited basis. This is probably the right move. There are diminishing returns on anything beyond a minimal presence for established athletes, aren’t there? That said, regular posting is the key to audience growth and allows the insertion of occasional sponsored messages.

So, all of his begs the question, how much should professional athletes use social media? Is this different for elite athletes (whose futures are secure and bank accounts are filled), versus, say, a journeyman on the PGA Tour?

Let us know what you think, GolfWRX Members.

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19th Hole

LET pro gives detailed financial breakdown of first week on tour…and the net result may shock you

Published

23 hours ago

on

Apr 26, 2024

By

On Friday morning, Ladies European Tour player, Hannah Gregg, took to social media to share her weekly expenses playing on the LET.

“Expenses of my first week on Ladies European Tour: Flights: $2600 Work Visa: $350 

  • Food: $377 
  • Caddie: $0 because I have an amazing Fiancé 
  • Hotel: $0 because  @GregChalmersPGA sorted me host housing for the week!  
  • Rental Car: +0 because the Tour Tee guys GAVE me their car  
  • Gas: $165 
  • Entry Fee: $130 
  • Lounge Pass for caddie: $50 
  • Gym: $0 
  • Yardage book: $0 
  • Total expenses: $3672 

Made cut, finished 54th, total earned: $1244 Factor in 35% tax on earnings. To break even, needed to finish 24th. To make money, 21st. Guess we have our goals laid out for next event!”

When factoring in Gregg’s free housing, free caddie and free rental car, it’s evident that most LET players would have to finish well inside of the top-20 to make any money.

With ridiculous amounts of money being thrown around in professional golf these days, it’s important to remember the other side of the coin as well. There are countless professionals out there who struggle to get by on their golf salary.

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19th Hole

54-hole golf tour deemed eligible for OWGR points…but it’s not LIV

Published

2 days ago

on

Apr 25, 2024

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After a seventeen-month application process, a 54-hole golf tour was deemed eligible for OWGR points.

Unfortunately, for LIV Golf and their fans, it was the Clutch Pro Tour.

After the decision, which is effective immediately, OWGR chairman Peter Dawson issued a statement.

“This is a significant milestone for golf, and OWGR is deeply encouraged by the achievement and the continued efforts in developing the sport of golf in the United Kingdom.”

“We look forward to watching the progress of the Clutch Pro Tour as it continues to play a key role in the development of players from the region,” Dawson added.

The Clutch Pro Tour operates in the United Kingdom and features a 36-hole cut. It also has an open qualifying school.

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19th Hole

Charlie Woods attempting to qualify for spot at 2024 U.S. Open

Published

2 days ago

on

Apr 25, 2024

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As first reported by Bob Harig of Sports Illustrated, Charlie Woods will be attempting to qualify for this year’s U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2.

The first stage of qualifying for this year’s tournament will be an 18-hole local event on Thursday, April 25th, in Port St. Lucie, Florida.

There will be 84 players in the field, five of which will reach the 36-hole qualifier that will take place in June.

Earlier this season, Charlie attempted to qualify for the Cognizant Classic, and struggled, shooting an 86.

If the younger Woods is able to qualify, he will tee it up in the same field as his father in a few months at one of the more historic U.S. Open venues.

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