Welcome, officially, to golf in 2026.
Of course, it took us an extra week to get started in ’26, thanks to the postponement of the beloved Sentry in Kapalua. But with Jordan Spieth starting the year bringing five 3-irons to Hawaii for the Sony Open, then agreeing that he would be better off with a 7-wood, we can clearly say that the new year is up and running.
it’s also a new year for golf fans in the media – a corner of the sport that is growing as fast and as differently as any other. It feels like just a few years ago that the only golf media discourse surrounded the volume of broadcast advertising. Now there are debates to be had across multiple tournaments, multiple networks, and multiple disciplines.
It was a busy 2025 for the golf media. Beyond the soaring ratings and the creation of a brand new golf league (TGL), there were also big stories in Hollywood (where AppleTV debuted rod, Full motion returned for a third season and Happy Gilmore 2 broke Netflix records) and, of course, on YouTube, where the long golf flirtation turned into full-blown love.
Given the ever-expanding nature of golf entertainment, let’s take a look at five stories we’re excited about in 2026.
5. What is happier than Happy?
Happy Gilmore 2 may be difficult to replicate. The film beat even the most optimistic projections of those in the golf world, becoming one of them Netflix’s biggest cinematic releases EVER. No other golf movie franchise possesses it CheersS ‘ mix of cult status and celebrity memory, meaning it will be hard to replicate the fame of Happy 2025. But Hollywood is a cyclical business, and blockbusters are often born more movies. Could this mean more exposure for golf on the silver screen in 2026? There’s no movie in development yet, but you can bet the PGA Tour’s Pro Shop partners (who aim to serve as golf’s Hollywood ambassadors) are kicking the tires.
Elsewhere, golf entertainment is set for another season of television entertainment. rodthe AppleTV show with Owen Wilson, was relatively less successful than Happy Gilmore 2but it still won a second season from suits at Apple. Full motionon the other hand, will return for a fourth season on Netflix, covering all the drama of a season that ended in chaos in Bethpage.
4. Handshake
Johnson Wagner didn’t think his golf career would see social media stardom. Even if he HAD pictured himself achieving social media fame certainly didn’t look like the version that arrived in 2024 and 2025, when Wagner became live television’s preeminent pundit.
But fame works in funny ways, and Wagner’s unexpected Internet adoration helped create the biggest promotion of his TV career. joining CBS as the #3 standing reporter behind Dottie Pepper and Mark Immelman. CBS doesn’t change staff often, and Wagner represents the network’s biggest talent shakeup for 26 years (following the departure of longtime analyst Ian Baker-Finch and the promotion of longtime reporter Colt Knost to slowly fill it in). All eyes will be on Wagner as CBS begins its coverage of the Farmers Insurance Open.
3. Something old, something new
There are many noble reasons for starting a new sports league, but there is one undignified truth: your success is only as good as your TV ratings.
For the two newest golf leagues (LIV Golf and TGL), 2026 will be a pivotal year on this front.
For TGL, sustainability is the goal. After a surprisingly strong start to the league’s inaugural season in 2025, TGL has seen steady declines in ratings on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC. Of course, some level of regression was expected after the league’s highly publicized start, but if TGL can show that its ratings are stable at a level above ESPN’s primetime averages, the league would have a key data point supporting its continued existence.
For LIV, the goal is growth. Saudi-backed startups have struggled with the shift in both network partnerships and competitive orientation over the past four years. With the league’s sights set on achieving global success, the hope is to show that LIV’s fan base in the United States is growing steadily and reliably (though a battle with, or even comparison to, the PGA Tour remains very much outside the realm of possibility).
2. Bryson, YouTube and the creator economy
Perhaps no personality in golf has better described YouTube’s newfound control than Bryson DeChambeau, who suggested he might walk away from the golf league that paid him a $100 million signing bonus and create content full time if the requirements of his contract were not met.
Perhaps Bryson was simply taking advantage of his leverage in those contract discussions, but the fact that he could plausibly float leaving LIV for YouTube reflects the platform’s explosive growth in golf.
I predict we’ll see even more exponential growth in 2026, with a big windfall for well-established “makers” like Bryson and newcomers with venture capital money like Good Good Golf. With YouTube passing 2.5 BILLION monthly active user threshold in 2025 and platform revenue has grown more than 8% per year, the arrow is still pointing straight up on the platform. The golf establishment would be wise not to be left behind.
1. The return of the “old” Golf channel
A media the result from the last few years that wasn’t on my bingo card? Golf Channel Distribution by its owners NBC Sports.
If I’m honest, I’ve always felt that GC and NBC were too closely related to be successfully spun into two separate entities—at least, not while Golf Channel and NBC split the talent on the PGA Tour rights. But I’ve been impressed with how the new, independent Golf channel has worked. A new, long-term deal with the DP World Tour made a lot of sense for both parties, and the network appears to be aggressively scouring the waters for other live golf programming opportunities (like the LPGA Network’s expanded offerings in ’26).
For my money, live golf and Live From are the two gems of the Golf Channel. More hours in 2026 would represent a return to yesteryear’s Golf Channel — and that might not be a bad thing (you know, like the network’s new old logo).
