Sam O'Brien
32 mins
We're excited to partner up with Ryan to collaborate on content together.
To kick things off, we sat down for a Q&A so you can get to know what he's up to...
Ryan: I guess most people would know me as a professional golfer, and obviously Australian. I turned pro very early, I turned pro at 17, played on the PGA tour and Korn Ferry tour. I got injured in the start of 2022, had to deal with that injury in 2022 and lost my Korn Ferry Tour stats so I went to Europe last year and played in Europe.
This year has been a tricky one, because I haven't had status… I missed the second stage at Q-school last year, so the opportunity popped up for me to do some more content, start a youtube channel, and get involved in that space.
So at the moment while there's a few less events to play, I’m nailing out some content and is something I really want to grow, but ultimately a professional golfer is what I am, what I want to be, and I think i’m capable of being one of the better players in the world. But Youtube’s a lot of fun, and it's a great way to show off a different part of my personality to people in a way that they don’t normally see.
Ryan: When I grew up, both my parents were professional tennis players. So they were high level tennis players. So my sister and I both started with that. Eventually, at like 11 or 12, I transitioned over into golf full time. Tennis just became something I didn't want to do. Despite me being quite a good player, the atmosphere wasn't what I liked being around.
When I started to get introduced to golf tournament atmospheres. I really enjoyed that – the friendly nature of it, having mates and all that sort of stuff. So that's why I transitioned that eventually.
My sister also transitioned a little bit later on 14 and 15. And yeah, haven't really looked back since. So I grew up and I learned the game very young. My parents were always big on us being outside playing sports being active. So I played all sorts of sports, growing up golf being one of them, but it wasn't till I was probably 11 or 12 that I started to take it seriously and do some practice and not just go play once every once in a blue moon kind of thing.
Ryan: Yeah, it's super cool, right? I mean, I think it's crazy how it's all worked out. I was very good at a young age, but my sister was still playing tennis. And as I started to turn pro at 17, thats when she started to pick up golf. So she was always kind of looking up to a big brother with the mindset of like “these are things that I can do if I work hard.” Then she went the college route which I didn't.
And then in the last couple of years, Gabi is gone leaps and bounds. She's improved a lot. And it's awesome for me to see as a brother, but now she's the one that's for lack of a better term running, running things, I guess. She's like top 40 in the world, she's doing absolutely fantastic.
And as her older brother, I don't want to fall too far behind. So definitely playing catch up. And I got to try and get there too. So we help each other tons, we’re both of each other's biggest fans. But we're also super competitive people and a super competitive family. So we never let each other get the upper hand when it comes to things like that.
Ryan: Yeah, I've been lucky. I've played in 20ish PGA tour events. And then three full seasons out on the Korn Ferry tour. I've played Canada and Latin as well.
And my favorite moment, in particular, J Day and I, we teamed up at the Zurich classic back in 2018. So we were partners on the same team. So that was really cool, especially at that time, where I knew him quite well, but not as well as I know him now.
And me being Australian, growing up he was always someone that we all looked up to and we all wanted to be like… so to be his partner in a PGA Tour event where we were doing really well was incredible. We had a kind of a rough final day to finish maybe 20th or so. But just to be inside the ropes with him in a competitive environment competing with him as a teammate, I'd say that sticks out to me is one of the more special moments that I've had in my professional career so far.
Ryan: So I have PGA Tour Americas status … but when you don't have one of those top two tour status, Korn Ferry or PGA Tour, there is always Q-School at the end of the year.
And that's basically the opportunity to get yourself full status on the Korn Ferry, if not a PGA Tour card. So we all target that, and myself included. And that's something that I'm really focused on because I know how capable I am. I'm always lucky that I have great connections with some of the best players in the world. So I'm always around them putting myself to the test against them.
And I'm very confident that my game can hold up especially now with a bit of maturity and I've kind of refined things a little bit, so definitely want to be on the Korn Ferry tour at a minimum next year, if not on the PGA Tour, and if not that, then I'll keep ripping out content and then wait for the next opportunity.
So I'll keep pushing because to me, that top tour status has always been my goal and that hasn't changed just because I started a YouTube channel.
Ryan: Growing up, I've always loved doing social media. It's always been something that I enjoyed. And it's funny, as you grow up, and you maybe don't get the results that you want, a lot of people who've been in my corner would say “No, we need to go like darkness and go off social media completely in focus 100% on the golf.” So I did that. And I'm a super hard worker, so. But that did nothing for me. Because my whole life became so obsessed with my results, and my identity tied so close to my results, and my work ethic and my practice, and all those sorts of things.
And when I really step back and think of it, a lot of the best golf I played was kind of that last year high school where, whether you like it or not assignments, or do homework has to be done, you've got tests, you've got obligations outside of your kind of what you'd like to do, which is for me being a golfer.
And so as I started to look into this year, where I wasn't going to be able to play in quite as many tournaments I would have liked, I was kind of looking for something else that would just expand me, give me another interest, give me something else to work on.
And me being someone who always enjoyed social media, seeing kind of how YouTube Golf has really kicked off, I was like, that could be a lot of fun.
I've got great connections. I'm a member at some great places. I can show people, not only my personality and my skill, but all these other players as well, who maybe don't do the same thing, who are big name players who but hide from the media, and you don't get to see quite their real personality.
So for me, it was like, why not? Let's go try it, let's go have some fun with it. Especially because I'm not playing in a ton of tournaments. And it's been nothing but fun and a positive experience. For me. It's expanded me as a person, it's expanded, like my portfolio of things.
And honestly, that's even why I'm here talking to you probably is, I think it's broadened my horizons of people that can reach me and people that can connect with me through my social media. So I think it's been nothing but positive. And something that I'm super passionate about, I'm going to continue to do. Whether I'm on the PGA Tour or whether I've got no status, it's something I'm going to continue to do because I love it.
Ryan: That's why it's great practice. And I think that's disregarded a little bit. For example if I'm gonna put out a video with Nelly, which was my most recent big match I released on Youtube, or whatever, I know, a lot of people are gonna see that – more than 100k people are gonna watch that video.
And I'd love to say that I don't have an ego, but I want to play well, when that many people are watching, I want to show that I got some game and that I can hold it with these people. So it's competitive. And it's nerve wracking, sometimes playing in front of cameras, knowing that you're gonna post this video, regardless of what you shoot. So you have a little bit of urgency that I’ve gotta go out there and play well, because I'm not going to get a retake on this. I'm not going to get Nelly to come back tomorrow, and say hey, let's go do it again, because I didn't play good today.
Once you film it, thats what you’ve got, and it'sout there. So it honestly keeps me sharp because I want to beat these guys. I want to beat every single person and I'm in a video with. There’s no fluffing things. If you see a match on my channel, that's exactly how it went down. And that's how I want it to be. And I think honestly, it helps.
I think it's kept my game sharp while I'm not playing tournaments and playing matches, and yeah, I'm too competitive to be just playing for fun.
Ryan: I think how the YouTube channel started was I wanted to document myself on the road playing events, and show a little behind the scenes. What does Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday look like? What does a practice round look like? What does hiring and firing caddies look like? And I'm gonna get back to that too.
But that's kind of early on and what the channel was based around this year. And like I said, without as many tournaments, instead of that I’m kind of just maximizing who I know. And the places that I'm lucky enough to be a member.
And so coming up this year, I've got some really, really cool stuff on the way. We've already filmed a match with my sister Gabi, which I think will be an awesome way to settle that family rivalry a little bit. I can't get any spoilers there because it's not going to come out for another few weeks, but that's a really cool one.
And then Jason Day who's a good friend of mine is going to do one with me in a few weeks, when he's done competing at The Open and things of that nature.
I think Nelly and I are going to do another one, me and the Bryan Bros are going to do a video together… I'm doing a video with Grant Horvat next week as well. So there's tons of stuff coming up.
And my goal is to play with content creators, play with the best players in the world, really to play with whoever. And I think that's what's a little bit unique about my channel is that I'm very competitive in whatever environment that I step into. I can go play with JDay and we can have a really close match. And then I can also step in and play a break 50 Scramble from the red tees and still be really engaging.
On my channel, you're always gonna see high quality golf, and I also mix some instructional stuff in there too. Just things that I think that people need to keep an eye on. It's basic stuff.
I love talking about the game. I love the game of golf. So talking about golf, it's never hard for me. But I think the core part of my channel is going to be really high quality golf that you get to see on YouTube.
Ryan: The first thing I find helpful is the other day I was at Rolling Hills Country Club, my rangefinder died, I thought I was stuck. We were at a course that didn't have the screens on the golf carts. And I was kind of shuffling around having a yard, it just turns out TheGrint is perfect for that… So I used that the other day, just from the GPS side of things, I didn't even mean to but it works fantastic for that, I must say, and so I use it.
And the core thing that I use TheGrint for is tracking my stats throughout round to round. I think that's the most important for me. To be able to input those in real time, to put those in there and be able to get step back and be able to get like a bigger picture of where my games at.
And being able to post my scores – I get asked all the time what my handicap is, and I can kind of track that a little bit too. I think that'll be the core part of how I used to be kind of inputting my scores and my stats.
I also think it'll be a lot of fun to integrate it with my social media following and people be able to track me as I play real time and kind of engage with my audience that way too. So it's gonna be a lot of fun. I think we're gonna have a lot of fun together. And I think it's gonna be great.
Ryan: I really think stats in general, even if it's super basic stats, even if you're a 15 handicapper, I think those are super beneficial – way more beneficial than people give them credit for. And within the app, theres so much you can learn about where your game is at.
Because as golfers we are so emotional in how we assess our games at the end of a round. And I think being able to put things in as you go throughout the day, be able to input your scores, input even basic things like putts, fairways hit, greens hit… and if you want to put in more than that, you're gonna get more out of it.
But even just the basic stuff gives you the opportunity to step back from your round of golf, where you're emotional thinking things like, “I hit my irons bad I hit my driver, but I putted terrible” and instead actually have an objective look. I think it gives you a really big picture, it gives you an honest way to assess your game.
And then I think within the app, being able to get access to any sort of instructional stuff that I can produce with you guys and be able to help other people with their game, I think is going to be fantastic.
Because I think as a professional golfer, you see the game a little bit differently, and you're able to help those that are starting out a little bit more. So hopefully, as I integrate myself within the app and become a partner with TheGrint, I'm able to step in and help people out as well. More to come on that… but really looking forward to it.
Ryan: Rory McIlroy, for me. He was my idol growing up when it comes to golf. He was number one in the world when we played together. He's just the man and he's treated me unbelievable throughout my entire life since I've met him. He's a great guy and super impressive to watch. I was like a fan out there walking the field.
Ryan: Keep your head still. That’s horrible. Anywhere except putting.
Ryan: That is a tough one. In Australia, I'd play Royal Melbourne in the US I’d play Cypress Point. I’m a member at Royal Melbourne and I've been lucky enough to play Cypress Point.
Ryan: Augusta, but only if I'm in the Masters. Okay. I've been invited to play Augusta before but I've said no, I don't want to play it until I'm exempt into the tournament.
Ryan: If I can get myself up early enough morning, but generally I really like those last few hours of the day, especially in the desert or in the mountains or something like that with a sun setting behind kind of like the mountain range in the background. It's a pretty nice time of day. So I'm gonna say evening is when you'll catch me out there most of the time.
Ryan: Mountain all day long for me. I'm a mountain guy. I love climbing mountains. I love being in the mountains. So I love playing golf in the mountains.
Ryan: Beef jerky.
Ryan: Putter. I’ve got like an old Nike thing. It's a Nike origin B2… B2 04 I think it is. I've had it for eight years and it's been in my bag the whole time.
Ryan: Massive turn in the backswing. As big of a turn as I can make as I sometimes get a little undetermined. Everything gets a little out in front of me. I get a little steep. I don't play too well. So yeah, I do always come back to make as big of a turn as possible.
Ryan: I am working on keeping in my posture as much as possible. So kind of keeping my head out towards the ball as much as I can to give my arms room to be able to fold into on the downswing.
Shoutout to Ryan for joining us! The team at TheGrint is looking forward to what's to come.
To follow Ryan, check out the links to his socials below!
