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Hunter Mahan Calls Out Young Golf Fans for Skipping Tiger Woods for Good Good

Essentially Sports · August 20, 2026

Key takeaways

What Happened Hunter Mahan — yes, the same guy who went viral with 'Oh Oh Oh' as a Golf Boy back in 2011 — just found himself on the other side of the generational content divide. On the Fore Play podcast, Mahan revealed that the high schoolers he coaches have no idea he was once a legit PGA Tour winner. What they DO know is Good Good Golf and Grant Horvat, the YouTube creators whose casual rounds and banter have become must-watch content for teen golfers everywhere.

Mahan's reaction was a mix of confusion and mild exasperation. When he asked his students why they'd choose to watch amateur-adjacent creators chunk shots and joke around instead of studying Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, or David Duval highlights — the guys he grew up idolizing — their answer was basically a shrug: 'I don't know. I just watch them.'

Why the Gap Exists This isn't really about skill level — Mahan even clarifies these aren't 'average golfers,' they're legitimately talented. It's about format. Golf YouTube content is built on relatability, humor, and hangout energy. You're not watching to study a swing plane, you're watching because it feels like chilling with friends who happen to golf really well. Tiger Woods highlight reels, by contrast, are inspirational but distant — greatness from a pedestal, not a golf cart.

Mahan himself was a pioneer of blending entertainment with golf, so there's some irony in him being puzzled by creators doing an updated version of exactly what he did. The Golf Boys leaned into music-video comedy; Good Good leans into vlog-style content, challenges, and course commentary. Different eras, same instinct: make golf fun to watch.

Why It Matters for the Sport This moment says a lot about how golf fandom is being built today. Traditional tour golf still commands massive audiences for majors and big moments, but the daily habit-forming content — the stuff that turns casual viewers into lifelong fans — is increasingly happening on YouTube, not broadcast TV. Good Good, Bob Does Sports, and similar creators are effectively the new minor leagues of golf fandom, pulling in viewers who might never sit through four hours of tournament coverage.

For the PGA Tour, that's both an opportunity and a warning. Younger audiences are engaging with golf, just not necessarily with the Tour's own product. Whether that eventually funnels fans back toward following pros like Mahan once was, or creates a permanently separate content ecosystem, is the real question here.

The Takeaway Mahan's not wrong to be a little baffled — but he's also witnessing golf fandom evolve in real time, the same way it evolved when he made his own viral moment over a decade ago.

Why it matters

This story highlights how golf fandom is shifting away from traditional tour coverage toward creator-driven YouTube content, a trend that matters for anyone tracking how sports build (or lose) their next generation of fans.

#Golf#Hunter Mahan#Good Good Golf#PGA Tour#Grant Horvat

Source: Essentially Sports

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