Sharing Your Golf Journey on Social Media

If you didn’t share it on social media, did you even golf? It sometimes feels that way! Social media is, undoubtedly, a huge part of our lives and a huge part of the golf community. There is no end to accounts and influencers highlight golf tips, fashion on the green, or practice hands-on tips.

And social media is changing the way golf is taught, too. Like many things, golf instruction has moved online, with individuals, instructors, schools, and companies taking to Instagram and TikTok to share their expertise. This, combined with the pandemic-related golf boom over the last few years means that it’s a good time to start sharing your golf journey on social media while interest is at an all-time high.

Mariah and Tori have been on social media for a while, but Christine is just starting to share her journey. Here’s what we’ve learned and how you can start to leverage social media to share your golf journey.

Sharing Your Journey on Social Media

Everyone has to start somewhere. And the path to social media fame and success (or whatever your goal is!) looks different for everyone. Tori took to social media quickly, posting videos even before reels and stories was a thing on Instagram. And for Mariah, she started as a photography and marketing platform for golf companies. But today her page is mostly educational and helps people improve their skills.

But no matter how you started, a successful social media presence depends on one thing: know your goals with the page. With golf, there are a few options and niche areas to explore:

• Educational content for skill development.
• Journey towards a specific goal (this is what Christine’s plan is—to share her goal of hitting under 85 and becoming a single-digit golfer).
• Social side of golf and community building.
• Golf apparel, gear, or accessories.

There’s a lot of different directions to go. If you define what your page is about, you’ll have an easier time connecting with your audience, planning or creating content, and growing your presence online. Knowing your goals with social media helps you focus your efforts and not be all over the place! You’ll also get more out of it because you have a defined direction and purpose.

If you need some more proof of how powerful social media is, consider these social media statistics:

• Average daily use of social media is just under 2.5 hours/day.
• Social media usage was up during the pandemic.
• Facebook and YouTube have the top two spots of any social media site in popularity (2.9 billion and 2.5 billion users respectively). Instagram comes in 4^th at 1.4 million and TikTok in 6^th at 1 billion.
• Instagram and TikTok are both used primarily to share funny or entertaining content.

All this to say—there’s a huge audience out there ready to follow your journey! Social media community is built on authenticity and openness—if you’re not sharing something for them to relate to, they won’t stick around. So, a journey to hit a specific goal, your experience at a tournament or other event, and more about your life and personality are all effective ways to connect with your audience.

Overcoming Challenges

There’s no other way to say it—social media is challenging. A lot of people often minimize how much effort and work it is to build and maintain a strong social media presence. But those are the people who really don’t get it!

Some of the biggest challenges we talked about include:

• The pressure and time to post every day.
• Comments with unhelpful advice, tips, or critique on your swing.
• Personal remarks on your looks—both unwanted and downright rude!
• Constant messages and DMs from guys hitting on you or other things you’re not interested in.
• Comparison to other accounts or other golfers.

Social media can be challenging, and golfers should be prepared for that when starting their journeys. That said, there are lots of strategies and ways to mitigate and deal with some of the stressors.

Mariah is a social media pro, so she had some good advice for us:

• Batch-create your content. Keep a running list on your phone of potential content to create. Next time you’re at the course, you can make a bunch of things at once.
• Get around other golfers. The more you are around golf, the easier it is to get content.
• Set boundaries. Don’t feel bad about blocking rude people (Tori does it all the time!) or ignore unwarranted DMs.
• Take time for yourself. There is a lot of pressure to post consistently and always be “on.” Social media is supposed to be fun, so if you’re not having fun with it, take the break you need. It’s good for your mental health to limit time on there.
• Use apps to make your life easier. Some of our favorite Instagram apps are InShot, Splice, Canva, or Mojo. Play around with a few and see what works for you.

And with anything, keep your focus on why you want to be on social media. What’s the purpose of your page? This will help you navigate the challenges by remembering the purpose and your initial drive.

Golf Influencers

We can’t talk about social media without talking about golf influencers. Just spend a few moments on Instagram without seeing a huge variety of content. And one constant theme in golf social media is the sexy side of golf. We can’t tell you how many times we stumble across women getting super dressed up to hit some balls while wearing heels.

And here’s the thing: if that’s you, go for it. If that’s the goal for your page, all the power to you! Mariah pointed out something great: do what you want, but make sure to remember about etiquette of golf, keeping up pace of play, and being respectful to other golfers.

Christine chimed in on this point too: there’s content for everyone. So sometimes you have to sift through the “fluff” to get to what you want, but that’s okay. You’ll find what you’re looking for… and if you don’t, maybe it’s your sign to start up your own page and create it!

Whether you’re a “golf influencer” or just someone sharing their journey with a small audience, social media can help grow the game of golf. It’s a way to educate and empower women in golf and help get people out on the green! The more we see representation of women in golf, the easier and more normalized their participation in the sport will be.

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Go give us a follow! We love the community we’ve built and believe in the power of social media to grow the game of golf. If you’re looking for even more golf-related social media accounts to fill your feed, here’s a curated list of some of the best social accounts for golf.

Let’s make the online golf community a great place to be. Start sharing your journey and you’ll never know just who you’ll inspire or encourage to start playing themselves.

Resources

Tori:
Instagram: @tori_totlis
TikTok: @tori_totlis
Website: CompeteConfidenceGolf.com

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