It was self-serving, braggadocious and egocentric.
It was fun, entertaining and downright genius.
It was #SB2K16 and it was my favorite moment of the year.
On an otherwise quiet week in April just after the Masters, two of the biggest stars in golf and two up-and-comers jetted down to the Bahamas for a spring break bro-down, and they started Snapchatting. And they kept Snapchatting. And they didn’t stop Snapchatting until just about every member of the golf media (not exactly Snapchat’s target demographic) had downloaded and figured out how to use the social media app.
Side note: One media member who shall remain nameless asked me how to use it on his desktop computer.
Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler, Justin Thomas and Smylie Kaufman didn’t have to let us in on every detail of their trip – which included shirtless golf, dancing on top of carts, jumping off balconies, a great David Feherty impression, maybe a few adult beverages and a cameo by Graeme McDowell – but since this is 2016, they did. And it couldn’t have worked out better, for them or us.
By incessantly Snapchatting their whole trip, Spieth and Fowler became even more popular, and Thomas and Kaufman were suddenly known as more than just their friends. Smylie even ended up with a Natural Light beer sponsorship by the end of the year.
They had a good time. We got page views. Today's youths somehow survived the horrors of watching professional athletes having fun doing something other than playing their sport in long pants and a buttoned up shirt. It was a win-win-win situation.
While I am wary of the fast-approaching day when everyone is live-streaming everything they do 24/7, I really enjoyed my vacation with those guys. And I wasn’t the only one.
The trip’s admirers included Rory McIlroy, who openly questioned his own decision to turn down an invitation, Andrew “Beef” Johnston, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player – ever heard of them? Those guys, by the way, are all invited next year, so start lathering on the sunscreen now, I have a feeling my favorite moment of 2017 is right around the corner.
