The Feed: Kevin Kisner takes his talents to YouTube
Andddd we’re back. After a week off for Players Championship-related typing, The Feed is back with a vine-ripe crop of YouTube golf goodness, starting with the big news …
Kevin Rizzner
When I first started writing for Golf Digest way back in the prehistoric age of 2017, the world was very a different place. LeBron was still in his prime, AI was just a twinkle in a robot’s eye and Kevin Kisner was a solid, if unspectacular, week-to-week PGA Tour. But the years are nothing if not fickle, and soon Kisner was serving golf in an entirely different capacity as NBC‘s lead golf analyst and TGL’s unofficial comedic relief. But the move to the booth wasn't end of Kisner’s transformation. This week, Kiz continued his evolution when he was unveiled as the newest member of Barstool Sports’ viral golf juggernaut, Fore Play.
For Kiz’s return, the gang tee’d it up Sawgrass Country Club (not to be confused with TPC Sawgrass) with a three-on-one match to welcome their new buddy to the team. Check it out.
Despite the miserable conditions, you can tell how high the vibes are right from the start. Everybody’s chattering with Kiz like old buddies and the four-time tour winner quickly gets into his trash-talk groove, even inducing a shank from Frankie “Butter Knives” Borrelli before they even leave the range. Overall, the dynamic with Kisner is interesting. He’s capital-P professional golfer. He was one collapse away from winning a Players. He’s at least several notches above your standard YouTube stick, and you can tell as the guys excitedly buzz around him like little kids after their dad comes home from a work trip. But overall it feels like a natural fit, the early reviews suggest as much.
Hell, if Roger & Ebert watched YouTube golf, they'd probably give this two thumbs up too. Of course, it helps when your brand-new hire nearly calls his own ace and [REDACTED] on the final hole of the day. We don’t want to spoil the ending for you, but let’s just say nobody beats him, because HE’S THE KIZ!
Quick Hits
Bob Does Sports – Bob Does Sports crack a few cold ones to test the effects of alcohol on hand-eye coordination. Let’s hear it for science!
Good Good Golf – The Good Good boys are cruising for a bruising this week, playing (allegedly) “the five hardest holes in Florida” in a brutal worst-ball challenge. We’re docking points for the bait-and-switch video title—“The Hardest Golf Challenge @ the 5 Hardest Holes in the World”—though. It’s really just five holes at Black Diamond Ranch’s “The Quarry,” so don’t get your hopes too high.
The Lads – Jason Day’s The Lads channel has flown a bit under the radar in this space so far, but NO LONGER! This week, Day and co-host Ryan Ruffels square off against Good Good Pros Brad Dalke and Sean Walsh. If you’ve been following along with Dalke and Walsh’s ongoing quest to take on YouTube and pro golf’s best sticks, make sure to check this one out.
Bryan Bros. – This week the Bryan Bros head to Sage Valley, where they team up with competitors at the Junior Invitational for an old-school/new-school match. This is also the first time Sage Valley has a hosted a YouTube video, so if you’ve been hoping for a closer look at the venerated South Carolino club, here’s your chance.
Grant Horvat – Grant Horvat is a little young to have grown up in the age of the Jerky Boys and Punk’d, but this week he dusts off the Y2K prank trend like a pair of old JNCOs, pretending to be a novice golfer during lessons with various instructors. The results are … well, let’s just say comedy is a matter of taste.
Luke Kwon – Luke Kwon and the Kiwi contingent of Sam Heung-Min and Luke Toomey head to San Francisco for a match at Lake Merced Golf Club. Come for the wacky formsat but stay for the Lake Merced backdrop, which is just as remarkable as its more famous neighbors TPC Harding Park and The Olympic Club.
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