George Bryan IV, half of the Bryan Bros Golf brand, is one of eight YouTube golfers competing in a unique qualifier on March 4, dubbed The Q at Myrtle Beach.
Some of the biggest names in YouTube Golf will tee it up for a chance at a dream, as the winner earns a sponsor exemption into the inaugural Myrtle Beach Classic in May.
Eight YouTube Golf content creators and eight tour-level pros will compete in a one-day 18-hole qualifier.
Joining Bryan from the content realm are Grant Horvat, Luke Kwon of Good Good Golf, Micah Morris, Dan Rapaport from Fore Play and Barstool Sports, Nic Stubbe, aka Fat Perez of Bob Does Sports and one of the guys from BustaJack.
This event is an Opposite-Field tournament happening the same week as The Wells Fargo Championship. So, what could they do to pull in viewership?
“With it being an opposite-field event of the Wells Fargo, in their first year — they’re doing something unique, and that will attract a lot of eyeballs. It’s a no-brainer,” Bryan said in an exclusive interview with SB Nation’s Playing Through. “It doesn’t hurt them [the PGA Tour] at all. It only gets more attention and publicity on your event.”
Kyle Oland of Play Golf Myrtle Beach and Joe Gilliland, the manager for Bryan Bros Golf collaborated and came up with the idea that led to The Q at Myrtle Beach. What started as a small idea has become real and an amazing opportunity.
The Bryan Bros run with opportunity at The Q at Myrtle Beach
The Bryan Bros Golf brand has 410,000 subscribers and followers across YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. What started as a trick shot channel, George and Wesley transformed their channel in the last four years to longer form content.
Bryan explained how special it is to be a part of The Q at Myrtle Beach.
“YouTube Golf has meant a lot to me the last few years,” Bryan said. “I see the power in what the niche can do for the game of golf, how many eyeballs it can bring, how we can make golf a better place and more fun.”
It’s that chance of something extraordinary happening that makes this qualifier all the more fascinating. People will want to know if a “regular golfer” can play with the pros.
“All of us content creators might fall on our faces and shoot 80 in the qualifier, but I don’t think that’s going to happen,” he said. “One of us could do something crazy, beat some of the tour pros, and get into a PGA Tour event.”
Debunking the polarizing views of YouTube Golf
Fans either love or dislike YouTube Golf. This qualifier creates a chance to merge the two and expose golf to an even wider audience.
Professional golf has long since remained separate from entertainment golf found on platforms like YouTube. Traditionalists are accustomed to golfers needing to be buttoned up.
But people like Bryan are proving that it doesn’t need to be that way.
“Golf is meant to be fun,” he said. “Everyone who plays golf isn’t a professional golfer on the PGA Tour. Millions of people are doing this because they enjoy the game. Yes, we’re not PGA Tour-level quality golfers yet, or maybe ever, but at the same time, we’re still pretty good.”
He believes YouTube Golf can make people want to play golf the way it was meant to be played.
George and Wesley Bryan want to show that content creators can also leave an impact on the sport.
“For a lot of people, golf has only been seen through the traditional lens for many years. I was in the same boat — I thought to have an influence in golf and to have your voice heard is to be on the PGA Tour,” he said. “It’s only been in the last three years — I don’t have to be on the PGA Tour to help grow the game or tell my story to encourage people through golf.”
Anyone can look up Bryan Bros Golf and find endless amounts of content. But unlike what you see on Tour every week, what they produce is much more relatable to the general public.
It’s that type of material that appeals to both young and older demographics.
“I think the narrative is shifting because people are starting to be a little more open to it,” Bryan said. “People are starting to enjoy YouTube matches more, or just as much as they are watching PGA Tour events.”
Using YouTube Golf to achieve dreams
Bryan is different from many of the YouTubers. He is no stranger to playing competitively.
“I’m kind of a hybrid because I am a professional golfer who happens to do YouTube,” George said. “Though the last few years, I’ve turned into a YouTuber who happens to play some professional golf here and there. For me, I want to compete and show that I can hold my own against people at the highest level.”
He was a three-time All-American at South Carolina, and last year, he made the cut in his sole PGA Tour career start at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship.
Bryan got into the field that week through a sponsor exemption.
How did he do that? The Bermuda tournament hosts loved what they do online and offered him a spot in the field if Bryan Bros Golf told their story through content.
So, six YouTubers went down to Bermuda and filmed content, including the YouTube Championship.
“The fact that happened to me, fulfilling a lifelong dream is the coolest thing,” George said. “Me and Wesley playing in a Tour event together, both making the cut is something that is beyond my wildest dreams. I still look back, like, ‘Holy cow, that week actually happened.’ It was cool to use this platform to help pursue dreams.”
What The Q at Myrtle Beach could do through impressions
Among the eight YouTube golfers in the field, they have a combined 7.41 million followers and subscribers across YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok.
For perspective, CBS averaged 2.206 million viewers for its 42 PGA Tour telecasts in 2023, per Paramount Press Express.
That number increased for the television network from their 2022 average, but it’s not even close to the number of eyes that could see content from these eight YouTubers.
Some might find this qualifier too gimmicky. But it is becoming hard to deny the impact this could have on an Opposite-Field event and the sport itself. If growing the game is the mindset across golf, events like this should be embraced.
The Myrtle Beach Classic chose to do that in a modern way that will appeal not only to those who watch network telecasts, but also to those who are online.
“The amount of eyeballs they’re going to have are going to be 10 times more than anything they’ve ever had,” Bryan said. “Honestly, it would probably compete, and it would be one of the highest impressions PGA Tour events outside of a major. That’s just the power of what these guys can do.”
The tournament will be held at TPC Myrtle Beach and is closed to the public. Instead, there will be a 90-minute video released on Play Golf Myrtle Beach’s YouTube page on April 23. The eight YouTube creators will also document their experiences and post to their channels.
It’ll be interesting to see what kind of impression numbers this content generates. Maybe the traditionalists will finally recognize what this outlet can do to help the sport continue to grow.
Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, be sure to follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.
