Creator Classic Aces His debut

As part of the PGA Tour YouTube’s first significant investment in golfThe Creator Classic took place on Wednesday evening at the newly renovated East Lake Golf Club.

The event, which aired on YouTube and ESPN+, featured 16 YouTube golf creators playing eight holes of stroke play on the back of East Lake. The top four finished in a one-hole playoff on the par-5 course’s 18th hole. Any tie would have resulted in a playoff to determine the winner – this was not necessary, however, as former University of Oklahoma golfer Luke Kwon won with a birdie while the other three competitors tied .

My overall impression of the event was overwhelmingly positive. I’d be surprised if the Tour doesn’t revive this concept for next year’s Tour Championship. Better yet, I think more golf could be included on YouTube before marquee events like The Players Championship.

It wasn’t all perfect—the streaming product needs a lot of work—but Creator Classic has solid bones.

Here are five takeaways from the event’s inaugural edition.

1. There is a legitimate audience for this type of golf

When Kwon was coming up for the win, more than 118,000 viewers were watching live on YouTube.

However, this is only the live number. As I write this, on-demand version of the stream it has been viewed by more than a million people.

We also have to factor in the viewership of ESPN+, which should be a significant portion. It’s likely that no data will be released from that end, but the ratings have surpassed the live audience on YouTube.

This definitely crushes any LIV audience we’ve had up to this point – even when it’s the final round and two of the game’s best players are going head-to-head.

It’s not at the level of a tour audience (by traditional metrics), but the audience numbers are impressive.

The conversation on social media was also enthusiastic. It felt like people cared – or at least were having fun. Golf on YouTube definitely has a sizeable following.

2. YouTube golfers are better than expected

I went into this event with a little shyness of YouTubers from a championship golf course and the bright lights of the competition.

Many assumed that even par would be the low score after eight holes. I personally thought 1 or 2 over par could make the playoffs. East Lake’s young greens are tough and the rough is very damaging.

I was proved wrong in a rather resounding way. All four players who reached the playoff shot under par for eight holes, and three other players finished tied just one shot out of the playoff. Roger Steele opened the day with a 195 mph fastball that went 331 yards. The three women in the field (Paige Spiranac, Gabby Golfgirl and Aimee Cho) battled for most of the afternoon.

As if that wasn’t enough, Mac Boucher upside down a right-handed driver and rolled left — on the first lap — and hit it better than most of us playing fairway.

Phenomenal golf was being played. Granted, the hole locations were generous and the course wasn’t overly difficult. I’m still very impressed.

Here was the final leaderboard:

• Luke Kwon -1 (winner after playoff)
• Wesley Bryan -2
• Roger Steele -2
• Sean Walsh -1
• Brad Dalke E
• Micah Morris E
• Peter Finch E
• George Bryan IV +1
• Paige Spiranac +2
• Gabi Golfgirl +3
• Mason Nutt +4
• Aimee Cho +4
• Good luck Perez +5
• Garrett Clark +6
• Mac Boucher +7
• Tyler Toney +10

3. The streaming product needs some TLC

One of the promises of this event was that it would take golf on YouTube and deliver Tour-level production.

We have received it in several areas. There was Trackman, leaderboard glitches, extra stats, player interviews and professional commentary from instructor Mark Immelman. This was an improvement over what we saw during Q in Myrtle Beach, a tournament qualifier involving YouTube players earlier this year.

While the streaming effort did the job for this first release, it will need to improve dramatically to maintain momentum going forward.

The commentators were constantly talking over each other; the broadcast repeatedly lost track of players even with only 16 balls in play; Trackman malfunctioned several times; and there were more ads than I expected.

It was a great idea to have Joel Dahmen involved as a reporter on the course, but I swear there was an hour long stretch where we didn’t even hear from him once.

Also, I know there are a lot of Barstool fans going hard for Jake Marsh, but I just can’t hear it. He sounds like someone doing an impression of a play-by-play announcer.

All this is completely understandable for the first attempt. This group has never worked with each other. I’m sure the next edition will be better.

Given that the main focus is golf on YouTube, I don’t think it should be up to the standards of a Tour event. Having said that, more cohesion would help.

4. The format is a Grand Slam

Whoever came up with this format deserves a raise.

First of all, it’s a great promotion for the Tour Championship and the new-look East Lake. I guarantee there will be OTHER USEFUL YouTube golf fans are turning into tournament golf this weekend because of it.

Second, the format guaranteed drama. No one could run away and win by a few shots because all scores were reset for the playoff. Also, having four players up front gave most of the field some hope of making the playoffs.

I thought the timing worked out well. It didn’t feel rushed, but it didn’t last long. It’s the right amount of golf to play for something like this. And I think adding more players would make it impossible for the stream to catch them all – they were already lost even with only 16 players.

No notes. The format is perfect.

5. Future versions don’t always have to be live

As I was watching, I couldn’t help but think that an edited version of the tour could be even more powerful than the live version.

Yes, a live event has its benefits as the golf world gathers around it at the same time. However, I don’t think it’s necessary for each of them.

Maybe you take an event like the Genesis Invitational and do the same concept there, only the video comes out a week later. It can be edited in a much tighter window with faster transitions while ensuring all the right photos are displayed.

This is already the normal format for golf on YouTube—so why not use some of the tournament feeds to make a quick tournament video that has Trackman, commentators and all?

These are my things. What did you think of Creator Classic?

Let me know below in the comments.

Also, if you’re interested in following some of the best creators on YouTube, here is our list of the top 20 channels you should follow.

Main photo caption: Joel Dahmen interviews Fat Perez during the Creator Classic. (GETTY IMAGES/Keyur Khamar)

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