YouTube Golf’s Best Series
YouTube Golf has come a long way since the days of the 15-minute, dramatically titled videos (The one-minute hack that will wipe 25 SHOTS OFF YOUR HANDICAP!!!!) of yesteryear. Nowadays, we’re treated to a veritable smorgasbord of long-form content, and no longer is that just limited to standalone videos. Plenty of creators have steadily gone about building up the popularity of YouTube Golf series, with repeat formats in different locations and/or with different people making for some highly entertaining content. I’m just some guy, but from a personal perspective, these kinds of series are the most entertaining stuff in the YouTube golf world, so let’s take a look at the best among them.
3. The Major Cut (Grant Horvat and Bryan Bros)
The Major Cut series kicked off in April, 2024, with Horvat and the Bryan Bros heading to Kiawah Island to play a couple of rounds, the aim being to put up a two-round score which would have them making the cut of the most recent PGA Major which took place at the course. And lo and behold, the series boomed, with another 12 of them coming out in the seemingly arbitrarily denoted ‘Season 1’.
This series has caught on for a number of reasons; they’re all incredibly good at golf, they seem to have a great time together, the concept itself is pretty fun, and they play at excellent golf courses. If you’ve had a look at our rankings explainer, you’ll know those factors will inevitably lead to some highly ranked videos. George, Grant and Wes are not exactly Bob, Joey and FP when it comes to humour, and things can get a little cringy when they get overexcited, or when George starts to struggle and his voice goes up an octave with every mistimed iron. But hey, they are all still overall reasonably likable and seem to be having fun, and that counts for plenty.
The Major Cut has already provided many, many hours of entertainment and has developed into a series that, for whatever reason, people (and I include myself among those people) are actually invested in. Does that make us sad, pathetic losers who should focus on our own goals rather than worrying about whether a trio of strangers could make the cut at the US Open, or does it simply make it a good series? Maybe a little from Column A and a little from Column B, but there’s enough of the latter to have this slotting into third spot in our OFFICIAL YouTube Golf Series Rankings.
2. Break 50 (Bryson DeChambeau)
It’s no secret that Bryson DeChambeau didn’t like the ‘villain’ tag with which he was once labelled in the professional golf world, and he’s steadily gone about rebranding himself as a fun, nice guy on YouTube. Is he that fun? Debateable, but he’s certainly not the devil he was previously made out to be, and the Break 50 series has been huge for both him and YouTube golf in general.
Bryson is not necessarily the most naturally outgoing personality, but this format is extremely entertaining and he has the capacity to get some massive names to do the challenge with him. It’s because of those names that this series has probably played a huge role in advancing the overall popularity of YouTube golf; among the names he’s done the challenge with are Steph Curry, Adam Sandler and Donald Trump, so it’s safe to say that he’s got the capacity to appeal to a pretty broad spectrum of users.
The big-hitting Californian has come a long way from the days of filming himself whacking balls over his own house (we get it, man, you’ve got a nice house), and while being a very famous golfer is a handy starting point for developing a solid following on YouTube, there’s no denying that this is a quality series format which would likely have garnered attention regardless of his pre-existing fame. The Break 50 series is not a patch on some others in terms of the on-screen chemistry of those involved, but to a large extent that’s compensated for by the sheer star power of Bryson’s guests, and their presence mean the reach of this series goes well beyond your standard YouTube Golf freaks like you and me.
1. Internet Invitational (…everyone)
Okay, so granted there has only been one of these at this point, but Portnoy (Barstool Sports’ owner) has promised us that it will be an annual event, and in Portnoy we trust. For all of the enjoyment that the various other recurring YouTube golf series’ have given us, it’s hard to argue any of them could match the overall entertainment value of the inaugural Internet Invitational. It was funny, it was tense, it was weird, and it unfortunately become surprisingly poignant following the tragic death of Cody ‘Beef’ Franke, one of the three winners of the event, just weeks after its conclusion at the age of only 31.
The product of a collaboration between Fore Play Golf (the Barstool Sports YTG channel) and Bob Does Sports, the Internet Invitational was the culmination of everything we love about YouTube Golf. Having listened to numerous friends ramble on about it endlessly after its release, I was initially hesitant to watch given the number of YouTubers playing who I wasn’t that invested in, as well as the huge time commitment required to get through it. But within 5 minutes I was hooked, and the Internet Invitational rapidly took over my life.
It was all I thought about for a week. I couldn’t focus at work, I could hardly sleep; it’s a wonder my relationship survived the ordeal. But I didn’t care. My mind became occupied, to the detriment of all else in my life, with questions about whether Frankie Borelli would ultimately succumb to Portnoy’s relentless heckling, moral conundrums about Luke Kwon’s sleeping habits, and a lot more questions than answers about the Duke.
Many other creators have followed suit in developing their own tournaments involving various YTG personalities, but it’s hard to imagine any being able to match the magnitude of the Internet Invitational. I’m fully expecting this annual event to be the most entertaining 15 hours of each year for the rest of my life.
Suggestions? Feedback? Scathing criticism? Let us know below.
