WELCOME TO THE 100 MOST INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE IN GOLF A BRAND-NEW RANKING OF THE MEN AND WOMEN WHO MADE THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE IN THE GAME DURING THE PAST YEAR…
INFLUENCENoun; The capacity to have an effect on the character, development, or behaviour of someone or something, or the effect itself.
According to the R&A, there are around 66.6 million golfers in the world – and every single one of them has, in some way, been influenced by people on this list – the first ranking of its kind. Whether you’ve bought a dozen balls, a new driver, watched a clip on YouTube, shared a Tweet, liked an Instagram post or played a top course, the reach of the 100 people on the following pages is simply staggering.
Of course, the word ‘influencer’ has evolved in the last decade; it’s no longer the sole preserve of men in suits who make decisions behind closed doors to have an ‘influence’. Social media has given everyone a voice; but some are more influential than others.
When we started planning this list back in the summer, we spent hours and hours discussing what merits influence. Is it a massive YouTube following? Is it setting trends in equipment design? Is it having a major to your name, or running a TV company, or having a million-plus Instagram followers? It’s all of those things, and more.
We also debated what our sphere of influence would encompass. Just social media? Just Tour players? Just one region? In the end, we opened it up to anyone, anywhere – this is a global list open to anyone whose decisions, designs, money or content affects the way you enjoy and consume the game.
Finally, we scored every person who made the final shortlist (more than 540 names in all) and split them according to their influence over YOUR game (governance, media, rules, equipment design) and THE game (players, Tour bosses, rights holders).
HOW THE TOP-100 LIST WAS COMPILED
Measuring individual influence in the golf industry isn’t easy. Sifting through hundreds of worthy candidates is even harder. This list is based on how these people influenced ‘your game’ and ‘the game’ over the last 12 months; other years will be different.
You will recognise many of the people. There are some you will not have heard of; and others who may not be household names, but play a crucial role in your enjoyment of the game. There are people from the world of equipment and course design, from social media, the Tours, the governing bodies, tech firms and broadcast media.
We measured their influence across seven categories, which were then marked by a panel of golf industry experts:
YOUR GAME
Equipment design
(max 10 marks)
Course architecture
(max 10)
Instruction
(max 10)
Inspiration
(max 15)
THE GAME
Financial influence
(max 25 marks)
Voice
(max 15)
Innovation
(max 15)
100 DAVID SPENCER
Commissioner of the MENA Tour, based in the Middle East and North Africa.
The MENA Tour was launched in 2011 and features a number of 54-whole tournaments. Sound familiar? Earlier this year, the Tour was thrust into the spotlight after its commissioner agreed a “strategic alliance” with LIV Golf, meaning Greg Norman’s men may yet earn World Ranking points from events co-sanctioned by the Tour.
99 NO LAYING UP
Global online golf behemoth.
Friends Phil Landes, Chris Solomon, and brothers Todd and Neil Schuster launched NLU as a website in 2014, previewing tournaments and covering big golf stories. Then it exploded. Today, they have close to a million followers across their social platforms and have produced almost 1,000 podcast episodes, listened to by hundreds of thousands of people, with guests including Tiger and Rory. They’ve also signed major partnerships with Callaway and BMW, and launched a global merchandise line.
98 SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER
Golf’s silent assassin who went from winless to World No.1 and then major winner in record time.
Losing the No.1 spot affects his ranking somewhat, but Scheffler still won four times and a Green Jacket in an incredible 57-day stretch. Those Tiger levels of domination proved unsustainable, but he was still crowned PGA Tour Player of the Year after pocketing a record $14m in on-course earnings.
I don’t look at a lot of social media. I don’t read too much news about golf. I try and stay in my own lane. I don’t make huge changes in my swing and I don’t make huge changes with how I approach the game, and it’s served me well over time.
I grew up watching Rory on TV. I grew up a few years behind JT and Jordan, and I’ve looked up to those guys for a number of years. I’ve taken good bits and pieces of advice from them as well. So to be out here competing with them is really a dream come true for me.
My dream was to play on the PGA Tour, never to maximise my financial benefits. I feel blessed to play golf and get paid for it, so I’m not looking to do anything else. The PGA Tour is where I want to play.
97 DARIC ASHFORD
Recently-named President of Nike Golf.
They might not make clubs anymore, but Nike’s golf apparel still sells in phenomenal numbers, as do their shoes. Ashford also has two of the most marketable players in the game on his books, in Tiger and Rory, plus hundreds of other influencers.
96 LUKE DONALD
Former World No.1 and the current European Ryder Cup captain.
No one likes to be second choice, but Donald will lead Europe into battle against Team USA with a point to prove after replacing LIV defector Henrik Stenson last northern summer. His playing career is starting to fizzle out – he lost his PGA Tour card for this season – but over three days in September, he’ll carry the hopes of almost 50 nations on his shoulders. No pressure, then.
95 ZACH JOHNSON
Two-time Major champion and the current US Ryder Cup captain.
Like his opposite number, Zach Johnson was revered for his consistency and sublime short-game skills during a stellar career which – unlike Donald – yielded two major titles, the 2007 Masters and 2015 Open. The 46-year-old will be responsible for Team USA’s defence of the Ryder Cup next year, but in post-LIV times, his selection plans have taken a huge hit.
94 MARK CROSSFIELD
A pioneer of online golf coaching.
Crossfield was THE YouTube coach, dominating subscription numbers and views. He continues to churn out course vlogs, golf instruction and honest equipment reviews, but also co-hosts the Hack It Out Golf podcast with Arccos expert Lou Stagner, discussing golf’s hottest topics and helping to improve your game.
93 BOB ROTELLA
The godfather of golf psychology.
Rotella is golf’s equivalent of a fixer, a confidence guru and advisor to many of the world’s greatest athletes. He is credited with helping his male and female clients to claim more than 75 major titles while in his care. Rory McIlroy has attributed his recent revival to Rotella’s methods, which are laid bare across dozens of self-help books. Golf Is Not a Game of Perfect remains one of the greatest of all time.
92 TONY FINAU
He climbed the world rankings in 2022. But he represents much more than just a number.
A noticeable face in a sea of white men, Finau represents golf’s ongoing push for equality. Finau is Polynesian by birth and the highest-ranked black player at the time of writing. As such, he represents possibility and hope for the next generation of minority golfers, that they too can make it in a still all too white-dominated sport.
91 PETER DAWSON
Chairman of the Offcial World Golf Ranking.
Despite retiring from his role as Chief Executive of the R&A in 2015, Dawson is still relevant in shaping the future of the game. As chairman of the OWGR, he has already changed how the system is calculated to improve its relevancy. Next in his in-tray – with the input of a seven-strong board of directors – is deciding whether to grant LIV Golf ranking points, which could have a big say in how many more players join the breakaway league.
90 DUDE PERFECT
An American sports and comedy group with more than 58 million subscribers on YouTube and 11.6 million followers on Instagram.
Former college room-mates Tyler Toney, Cory and Coby Cotton, Garrett Hilbert and Cody Jones are the stars of the second biggest sports channel (behind WWE) on YouTube, combining humour, trick shots, challenges and world record attempts. In April, DP were granted access to Augusta National to film an ‘All Sports Golf Battle’ video with Bryson DeChambeau. More than 12 million people have watched the group tackle Amen Corner using hockey sticks, American footballs, frisbees and more, as well as taking on the famous skip shot on 16, complete with a voiceover from legendary broadcaster Jim Nantz.
“My first reaction was, ‘Who are these guys? Y’know, I’ve never heard of them.’ But … it was something I got comfortable with very quickly. I have heard from a number of my law partners who have teenage children who said, ‘This is great, my kids want to go out and play golf’.”
Fred Ridley, Augusta Chairman.
