George Bryan on YouTube Fame and Tour Dreams

00:00:00
Speaker 1: I miss a green, for example, I'm already upset.

00:00:02
Speaker 2: When I find my ball in the bunker, I'm really upset.

00:00:05
Speaker 1: And when I find my ball in a brid Egg Friday Egg.

00:00:07
Speaker 2: The dreaded Frida Egg Friday, Frida Egg, Brian Egg, Frida Egg.

00:00:11
Speaker 1: Bride Egg Lie, I'm about ready to run off of the hump. Welcome to the Friday Egg Golf Podcast. I'm Garrett Morrison and today I'm talking to George Brian the Fourth. George is a professional golfer that you might know as one of the Brian Bros. George and his brother Wesley started putting out content as the Brian Brose about ten years ago. Initially they specialized in trick shots, sort of like a dude perfect of golf, but in the past few years they've focused more on filmed matches that they post on YouTube. This is one of the most popular genres of golf content out there, and the Brian Broser in the mix is one of the top producers of it. But in addition to that, they happened to be quite a bit better at golf than most YouTubers. And that's not a slam on YouTubers or anything, but with George and Wesley. We're talking about two legitimate pros. Wesley won the Heritage on the PGA Tour back in twenty seventeen and was a top fifty player in the world that year. George hasn't gotten to those same heights, but he was an All American in college and last year he actually made his first PGA Tour start at the age of thirty five. He also recently participated in a special qualifier for the Myrtle Beach Classic on the PGA Tour. This qualifier included sixteen players, a mixture of YouTubers and established pros, and it was all filmed and presented as an entertainment product. George played well, got to a play against a pro named Matt Atkins, and George did lose that playoff, but ended up getting a sponsor exemption to the Myrtle Beach Classic anyway, So George is in the midst of his preparation for that event, but he was kind enough to take a little bit of time this week to talk to me. Now, just real quick, I should also give a shout out to my golf media colleague Sean Martin at the PGA Tour. Sean has talked to and written about the Brian Brose many times over the past several years, so a lot of my prep for this interview was just reading Sean's stuff and actually at one point calling up Sean and talking to him about his experiences with George and Wesley over the years. So big thank you to Sean. Before we get to the interview with George, I want to talk a little bit about Red Rooster golf gloves. I've been using Red Rooster gloves consistently for a few months now, and it would be hard for me to go back to the gloves I was using before. Red Rooster gloves are made of a soft leather that is exceptionally durable. One set of gloves lasts to you for a long time, and it's just one of those pieces of gear that you don't want to think about that much. It should just sort of be seamless, like an extension of your hand, and that's exactly what Red Rooster gloves do for you. So my go to glove for playing is the Cape. This one has a little bit of stretch and flex, which helps because I have fairly big hands, and I've also been really enjoying the range Rooster, which is a glove specifically built for practice and maximum durability. It's been great to have a dedicated driving range glove. It means I can save my playing glove for actual rounds. So Red Rooster is offering Frida egg listeners a special deal. If you go to redrooster golf dot com and use the code fifty Fried, you can buy one glove and another one fifty percent off. Again, that's redroostergolf dot com with the code five to oh Fried. All right, George Bryant, Welcome to the pod.

00:04:04
Speaker 2: Yeah, thanks for having me on. Excited to chat here today. I know we've been I guess following and then correspondence for a long for many years, it seems, so it's fun to get chat golf because again, Paula, y'all's work for a while and been a fan, so it's cool to come here and chat and hang out for a bit.

00:04:21
Speaker 1: Listen, we're big fans of you guys as well. You know this, and you know we've actually met a few times. You and Wesley came to a Friday Egg event way back at the beginning kind of of the Frida Eggs event business at ach and Golf Club, an event that you and Wesley played in way before the pandemic days. I don't know if you even remember this, but.

00:04:43
Speaker 2: It was Yeah, it's like twenty eighteen or nineteen, so yeah, it was shoot, yeah, fought six years ago. Wow, it's crazy.

00:04:49
Speaker 1: Yeah, I know, amazing. All right. So the big thing that's going on with you right now is here in the midst of some preparation for the Myrtle Beach Classic. Do change anything about your routine when you have a big tournament like this coming up?

00:05:05
Speaker 2: I mean again, like in the past, like you know, we'll say twenty twenty, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen version of George potentially, because you know again that I was a pro golfer and that was my sole focus. But now my sole focus is I feel like in many things, but my our main job is creating content, YouTube videos, the social side of things, and professional golf, I guess real golf or whatever it's just called professional golf kind of takes the back seat. But my game has been at a point where it's gotten a lot better in the last really last year and a half, well i'll say last year, and it's like, well, crap, like let's like, let's make more of an effort because I'm seeing I'm playing some good golf matches and and YouTube videos and then but at the same time, the reason I'm playing as well as I am right now is because I'm not focused on golf, not like it's not my main priority. And so I I go into these tournaments and competitions carrying less than I ever have not I still care a whole lot, but like I know, it's not make or break. I still have YouTube that's my main thing. And in these in these tournaments are almost I don't I don't know it, just I go into it with a much better perspective and attitude, one of them that I wish I had when I was playing full time and even in college. And so no, I mean, I know, there's it's just a big it's a big week next week for me, But I might I would want to practice eight hours a day, but I'm fighting to keep doing what I'm doing. Go to the range for thirty five to forty minutes, hit some putts, play nine holes, and call it a day. Just because anytime you start trying to do things and like, honey, practice more, do more. That's when you kind of start going backwards. And that's the case for me. So we're just gonna keep doing we're doing and get ready for PGA Tour of them which still crazy to like say and say out loud.

00:06:54
Speaker 1: When did your game start getting to this level lately?

00:06:58
Speaker 2: It started last year US so Opain qualifier must have been like April and again YouTube whateveryone has seen of me in the last since twenty twenty, it's been a decent I mean when you watch, like, oh, you're you're good, but it never was good enough to like really compete full time in my opinion. But last year something clicked. I had an attitude change. I kind of created this Moniker year, the beast that kind of projected this confidence that I always lacked, and it kind of tricked me into playing good golf, like and believe in myself on the course and then you know, sharp shooting low scores, then you start really believing. And so it was a snowball effect that happened last year. You know, US opened losing a playoff for I think it was like a two. It's like a five for two or four for two or whatever it was. I'm like, oh, that's pretty good. And then that rolls into a Monday qualifier for the Window in late July where I losing a playoff to Wesley well with I think I finished like second the pre qualifier, go to the Monday qualifier, shoot five or six under, losing a playoff, and I'm like, holy Calvin, I've never done this when I was chasing it full time. So I think we might have something that leads into Q school where I'll win pre qualifying, get through first age, and have a shot at second second stage, you get through, and so it just kind of like this confidence is what took the game to the next level. And physically I think, you know, maybe it's a smidge better than I have been, But really it's just that mindset of like or the the me actually believing in myself. And yeah, it's it's been kind of cool getting back like at the tournament, George.

00:08:32
Speaker 1: Where does this confidence come from? Do you just sort of talk yourself into it as absolutely?

00:08:40
Speaker 2: Because again, you know, we film YouTube videos every week, and you know we're playing matches and I get smoked by Wesley lot, but all of a sudden, you know, I kind of I start maybe winning some holes or I think one match where I was just I think it was tongue in cheek where you know, I was beating Wesley and I was playing bad leading into it, and I was like, oh, of course I'm going to beat you today. What's this You're the beast? Uh? And we kind of always joked about that off Grant camera, and I never said it on camera, but then I would say it around like Grant and Mike and some of those guys, and they would kind of like, oh, it's you're the beast, George. I'm like, well, I'm not gonna say that on camera. But then I was like, you know what, let's just lean into it a little bit. And people started loving, like picking onto or catching on to it online and I was like, well, I mean this is kind of fun, but also the score started getting better, and so I was like, well, there actually is something to this, So I'm gonna it is fun for social media, but there's also like it's legitis. It helped me find confidence in myself and believe myself, which is ultimately what you know, see guy's on tour sky Scheffler like it all starts with his this insane self belief and so it I'm trying to get some of that back that I've seemed to have lost, I guess over the Christmas holidays and early part of the year, but like it, I mean, truly is the mind played a massive role in me getting to where I was professionally last year.

00:09:57
Speaker 1: It also sounds like you've recalibrated you or caring versus not caring ratio, right, which is which is always a really tricky ratio for professional golfers because you've got to care, you know, because if you don't care, then you're not going to put in the work and you're not going to try. But if you care too much, that can be a little bit self destructive. So how have you been like negotiating that recently?

00:10:23
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean that's something I struggle with. Like, you know, I was a high level junior college ammer golfer, but I always when I played, like when I w was struggles because I've cared too much and wanted it so bad that I would end up, you know, shooting not great scores or not as well as i'd hoped. The realms that I just was like, you know, let's have some fun today and whatever happens happens. Is the ones you know, you play play your best, and that's that was always a trending and then pro golf only got worse because I like, okay, I'm a pro. I got tried really hard, really hard, and I just never panned out the way I wanted to. And it was really that one thing. If I would have cared less back in the day, who knows where I would have gotten. And but now it's cool to see that all of the things that my dad has told us, told me for twenty five plus years. Hey, so I'm just you know, don't don't care so much out there, just have some fun, and we're seeing I'm seeing the fruits of it in a very small, small sample size. But again, you know, last year was a I mean, I haven't played that well in professional golf, I don't think ever. And I did it all while filming YouTube videos the whole year. You know.

00:11:29
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean there's there's obviously there's obviously something to it. Yeah, there's something that your brother Wesley said in an interview with Sean Martin at the PGA Tour recently that stuck out to me. He said, if I had a dollar for every time I was at a PGA Tour event and had a PGA Tour player tell me how good George's golf swing is, I'd be a rich rich man. Now, just imagine that in Wesley's voice. That's a very Wesley thing to say. It's kind of funny. I can, like, I can hear the intonation that he said that. But when you when you hear things like that, when people tell you you've got a great golf swing, and I can, I can say, you know, I havn't seen your swing. I don't think you can go to a PGA Tour event and see five better swings than George Bryan's. How do you think about that kind of compliment that people pay you and how does that translate into self belief or or not?

00:12:22
Speaker 2: Yeah, no, I actually that is really cool because you know, again, I create content for living Now again, I know I'm a pretty I'm a good golfer, yes, but like my job is to create videos, do social media. And so when I have guys that I look up to and people that I want to be at that level sometimes and I want to be able to compete with those guys on tour and for them to say, hey, man, you have like you have a you're really good, you have a great swing. It's like, I mean, obviously you probably know better than I are just as well. And that's so it means a lot coming from them because it definite boosts confidence. But also it also it's cool because it shows you how how small the margins are in pro golf, whereas me, like, I know, I'm I'm really good, but at the same time at some of those guyslin I'm not, I'm not on that level. So it's just it's just a fascinating thing dynamic when you know you hear guys say Man Wesley, if all yours, if you if you can only swing it like your brother, and it's like, you know, he's finishing second and has a PJ Tour win under his belt. So it's it's cool to hear for sure.

00:13:23
Speaker 1: Now, this is your second career PGA Tour start coming up at the Myrtle Beach Class Sick. Your first career PGA Tour start came later last year. You were then thirty five, you're now thirty six, and so you know, late bloomer here, George Bryan. When you think back to the the Butterfield Bermuda championship which you played in on a sponsor exemption and you made the cut. When you think back to that experience, now, what are some of the stickiest memories to you? What do you think is gonna stay with you about that experience?

00:13:58
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, really just the whole thing thing, like the first T shot, the first how I played this first two holes. I'm never going to forget kind of eagling my eighth hole of the day, whole seventeen to kind of get back on track. You know, I supplied to good a first round, made an eagle to jump start the round. Then I played from there on I think five So I've played my last what ten holes in five hundred to make the cut, the whole family being there. I mean, really, just that first T shot, you know you, I've dreamed my whole life of playing on the PGA Tour. Now the dream is not to play on the PGA Tour anymore like it was, but I still want to compete. I still want to, like see if I got the game to play that level, because deep down I that desire just won't ever go away. And so to like say that I played a PJ Tour when I reached kind of a lifelong dream is something that you know, you never take away from me. And I'm always gonna be grateful for those guys, the team over it that runs a tournament, for going out limb and believing in a YouTuber to come tell their store and help you know, tell it, to help tell the Barfield Bermuda Championship story to a different audience. And yeah, and then to make the cut on top of that, it's pretty Coolcuse again, you go into it nerves of like, man, everyone's gonna be watching and judging how I play because he's a YouTuber. It's like, Okay, why is this guy getting a spot now? Again? I know I've got a pedigree, I've got a background of like of good golf, but still I create YouTube videos And yeah, it was cool. So to make the cut and feel like I really could have played better, which was That's the craziest thing. It's like, I know I played well, but I left a lot of shots out there and some situations where I was the uncomfortable that I just couldn't like be comfortable with because I hadn't been there. It's like, man, I want that again. I want another go at this and then for you know, fast forward, you know, five months, however many months it is to get another opportunity when I thought I had no chance and I don't think everyone wants the Q video that you know, we had, we had a qualifier for and to end how that ended was like, well, there goes my chance and I don't know, fringe into it later, but it's to get other to get other shot learn knowing what I know now playing an event, I know I'll be more comfortable to be that shock factor is not gonna be there. But at the same time, I mean I could play worse, I cotually better, I don't know, but I know I will feel way more prepared. And that's what it kind of excites me. It's like, shoot, I like the golf course I play, my game is in a pretty decent spot, and I mean, who knows, Like I mean again, I don't want my mind to go crazy and top ten, top five, top twenty, but I really it's one of those cool things where I've played in one I don't know what, like, why not try to improve on what I did the first time.

00:16:51
Speaker 1: Well, let's let's get into the Myrtle Beach Qualifier. Experience. I mentioned it in the intro to this episode. What what the basic idea of the CUE was in March? You know, sixteen players, a mixture of pros and YouTube personalities. They categorized you as a YouTuber. You keep categorizing yourself as a YouTuber as well, obviously, but you weren't all American in college. Let's let's be clear about this. You're you know, you're not like a high school golfer who happened into YouTube. But in any case, uh, Myrtle Beach qualifier. When you heard about this idea for a PGA Tour qualifier, what did you think of it?

00:17:33
Speaker 2: I mean, I was excited because against YouTube golf is something I'm very passionate about, and I know the good and the that YouTube GoF brings to the game of golf as a whole, and I know it can it can help the pg Tour. I don't have the right word help or just like push people to the PGA Tour. Be this like catalyst that just brings people to golf, watch PGA Tour, watch real or play golf for themselves. Anyway, I love YouTube golf and when this idea was brought to us between Myrtle Beach and Joe, our manager that was kind of working on the whole thing, and they're like, hey, this is a potential. I'm like, hey, this is an amazing opportunity because it kind of bridges that gap, or at least it doesn't get us to see the table that's maybe the wrong analogy or wording, but it gets us closer to being kind of in the PJ Tour's eyes. It's like, hey, you got YouTube GoF like we believe in which all are doing as well. Let's figure out how we can work together. And it was really cool thing because hey, there's a chance to playing a PGA Tour event and that's amazing, but also to film it, to produce it, and it to be a mini tournament for creators and mini tour players high little professionals alike. To get us to have a chance to earn a spot into a tournament while being filmed telling a story around it. It was just an amazing opportunity that I was very excited about and I was very passionate about, and honestly, I mean, I don't think it could have gone any better again for year one, asking a team to film sixteen golfers, put those put that whole day into a story form and put it on YouTube for people to be able to watch. I thought it turned out amazing. Now, sure, yes, I know it could have been probably edited better, or in someone's eyes, it could have been done better or differently. But year one, I feel like we knocked it out of the park and and like drama was there, Like I had a two stroke lead, playing the last hole, feeling the nerves and I make a bogie, I got makesperty, matt Ackins Vikesperdy, I losing a playoff, and it was just you couldn't have scripted any worse for me, but we could have scripted any better for like the viewing experience where people like, oh, George's got locked up, He's got locked up in the bam, I fall on my face and ship in the water, And so yeah, it was. It was cool because again my passion is YouTube and professional golf, and we got to blend it all all there in one day. And I think moving forward, I think it's big for or pro golf or YouTube golf or whatever you want to call it to have these kind of things pop up more at different times for different tournaments or but also shows that people want to see this side of golf and the the PJA tour. If they were did they look at this like oh wow, like let's figure out what we can do to take take take what they're doing and add to what we got.

00:20:24
Speaker 1: Well, I watched your video about the queue, and I looked at the editing of that video and the entertainment value and thought, well, they can probably learn something from this presentation for the next time that they do it. But I was, you know, absolutely engrossed by by the whole thing, because of course I was rooting for you. You were playing really well. What was there a specific turning point in your round when you really started to turn it on.

00:20:56
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's kind of like the the filmed in March, I believe, yeah, at this point. Yeah, yeah, so that was it was No. My second stage of Q school was what was at November like eighteenth, nineteenth or whatever it was, So it's like five months between tournament golf, and it was cold. My game wasn't like in the best shape ever and kind of hurt my side a little bit. Like the day before I was like, this is great, you know, my game already doesn't feel great. I'm not super confident, but there's something about tournament goth that I know that I'm always going to like revert back to. It just felt it just felt different, Like it just felt like I was locked in. I just was focused on targets, was focusing on like settling into like the tournament round of things instead of like the YouTube side of things. And yeah, I was just hitting shots. And I've made a couple birdies back to back, geting under par, made some easy pars, and you know, we get to ten abirdy, ten eleven, ten eleven, twelve, I believe, or ten twelve and thirteen or something like that, and go from one under to four under real quick, and I'm like, all right, Matt Akins, I know he's four under, like we're He's like, that's on. Like I know from here on out it's gonna be I'm gonna do things to be right around this number. And so just kind of get ready and I hit great shots, great shots, and yeah, it was cool because again it goes back to that not expectations, but just if you get in the right mindset, Like I had no expectations of winning, per se wasn't playing good. So I couldn't be like I'm confident coming into here. I was like, you know, let's just let's just see what happens. Let's have fun. This is an amazing experience. And if I win, gray, if I don't, whatever, And it was cool because again, as a player, you just want to have a chance playing the last hole. And even though I failed miserably, hit a great key shot, which sometimes is the most pressure, like the hardest thing when you do to have a lead on the last hole. But no, moving forward, I'll know some things as I, you know, head into next week if I if I'm faced with those same feelings, pressure situations to like, hey, let's just let's trust what you're doing. Is you're going to feel weird, but just be aggressive or make a swing that be confident whatever, like the key the Q word is going to be. But I'm definitely gonna learn from how the Q ended up for sure.

00:23:15
Speaker 1: Well, George, let me be your lawyer for a second about that final hole in regulation where you made a buggy on the para five. No, let me let me be your lawyer. I'm advocating for you on this. I don't think you hit that many bad shots. You were you were away. You were right of the green right after your second shot, and that looked to me like it was an impossible shot. You were either going to be in the bunker short of the green or in the pond long of the green, and you ended up in the pond. I don't know. Am I seeing something different in that? It looked to me like you had no options there.

00:23:51
Speaker 2: Yeah, it wasn't that I should have hit it higher. I just feel like a standard pit shot because I thought the greens were soft enough. But it was one of those things I've like, I had nightmares the wrong term, but I've struggled until about a week and a half ago when I got a call. But I was like, man, this is this one hurts because I didn't think I did anything wrong. It's not like I felt the pressure and hooked it in the water or three putt or missed a two foot or it's like I did the things where I thought. You know, now, looking back shot, I laid up with a nine iron and then hit a wedge on the green. Sure, but at the time I wanted to make it. Bertie ensures that I that I did. I get through. Note if the matt makes an eagle or if the other guy chips in for eagle, I make bertie. I'm in. And so I wanted to play the most conservative way, but stay aggressive, make birdie. And I was hit in my three arm great in the day. I was like, right, the green is not that bad. I can hit on the green and the two putt and I got up there. I guess I hit it a hair too far right and hit a shot there was a little too standard, and then thee oh those up and you make bogie. But it was I mean, I wrestled with it hard because like what, like what should I have done differently? Like? But yeah, and it was all kind of uh, those mistakes were watch clean. I guess about a week and a half ago.

00:25:06
Speaker 1: Yeah, well, well tell me about that. How did you find out that you would be getting a sponsor exemption into the tournament? Now, just for people's information, Matt Atkins won the Uh the first hole of the playoff that the two of you played against each other, he made a birdie on that hole. He had a he had a little pitch to about you know, six inches. Yeah, it was pretty pretty nasty. You made a part on the whole and and that was that okay, little time goes by.

00:25:32
Speaker 2: A lot of a lot of tears shed and sleepless nights. But Joe, our manager, Joe Gillwind, who's been with he he started Brian Bros. With Us, And he was like, I'm gonna do my best. I'm gonna I'm gonna I'm gonna go to work on this. I'm like, okay, I mean I think you know in my head, I'm like, okay, I got a chance. Like I'm not gonna, like I know our position in the game in South Carolina and like it like we we at least have to be in consideration. So I wasn't dumb on that and on that end, but again I was like, man, I just blew it, and there's no way they're gonna give it, Like give me one, Like this is not happening. And then I found out that the college event that was there, they had a spot was going to the Winter that and I was like, so that's a sponsor exemption. I was like, well, basically that's that's it. I have no chance now, and this is I chipped in the water. My fate sealed and this is terrible. I blew it and it was sad then, but I kind of got over. I was like, you know what, it's fine. I'll go on a route Wesley on to be able to be down there at Myrtle Beach, tell the story, help promote the first over PJA Tour event at Mertle Beach. It'll still be great. And then uh, Joe, he is like, man, I'm working on like I'm working, I'm working. I'm like, okay, like this, how many phone calls you have to have like he's there, yes or no? And then we're playing golf with Joe and I get a he gets a face out of me. He answers like hey, you know, hey so so, and I was like, that's the turner direct and I was like again I just know Joe, and I'm like, I think he might have just pulled this thing off. And he starts walking towards me the like you know on FaceTime. And at that point I was like, well, uh, this is uh I guess this is potentially gonna happen. And then in the video we saw you know he we scheduled the call and uh yeah, off in the spot and in the event, Michigan could be more grateful excited because again, this is my home state that I'm get to play a PJ Tour event with friends and family coming to watch. Definitely some Brian Rose supporters going to be in the crowd, which will be cool to just be there playing and compete and on the PJ Tour in my home state. And also tell the story.

00:27:44
Speaker 1: Let's get into your background a little bit, George, tell me about the homemade driving range that you and brother Wesley grew up practicing on. What was that like?

00:27:56
Speaker 2: That was amazing? Dad h G three started golf academy, you know, thirty plus years ago, and I know we were in high school and he and he bought this piece of property, built indoor hitting bays and like a little driving range on the side, bring hit drivers in short game area and so yeah, so we start I guess probably was that sixteen seventeen, so junior senior of high school. We had a full out practicialated our house, go hit drivers, work on short game, shipping and playing contests. So yeah, it was It's pretty cool to have access to that as a as a kid. Definitely is a high school you know, especially wake up really get a little practicing for school or if you had a lot of homeworking, kind of sneak out and get some reps in. Uh. So, yeah, it was definitely beneficial. I had his downsides. You know, you have something there, You're like, Okay, well, I guess I gotta go practice, and so you couldn't. It was tough for me to ever not practice, I guess, but no, for I mean it was I it was a dream. Let's be real. There was way more benefit than any kind of harm. Uh having that around.

00:29:05
Speaker 1: Did you have to shag your own balls and everything that when you hit a driver? Did you have to kind of go search for it in the because I've seen I've seen like videos and photos of it, and it's not like a a driving range at a golf course where everything is. There are some trees out there and some longer grass, so you could definitely like lose some balls out there.

00:29:24
Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah, we had His dad made a shagrown balls and now the older we get to, we shaged all of them to the level that we did when we were in high school. Who's a say, But I've done a lot of picking up golf balls in my life, so I kind of like, you know, I've I've done a good job at this point. No, but we shagron balls. That was that was always big on that, and so it was cool to you know, kind of have an old school way of practicing. And I think that you know, Wesley and I, you know, he kind of honed his wedge game in the backyard. I did. I was, you know, I was really good at that, you know, high school, college, and so having something like that shagging your own balls, you know, you don't want to lose them, so you kind of have to get to have a little more quality reps in there. So there's a lot of benefits of of kind of play or kind of doing that route. Now, it was always fun. No, did he punish us sometimes, Hey, you guys, this is your You're gonna go a shag and pick up all the balls around like dad, We have to, Yes, but yeah, it was. It was amazing.

00:30:40
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00:32:23
Speaker 2: I can't, I mean It probably must have been like seventh eighth, ninth gradeish, because I mean two years younger. He didn't he didn't catch me until middle school, high school. It might have been even like later high school, the ninth tenth grade. But yeah, once he started blossoming and getting where he could hit a little bit further because he was always just really good. I think it was just I feel like he was slightly better than me, but I was way more consistent than he was. I feel like he's a junior name of a golfer when he like, I mean, obviously he's a PJ Tour winer. He one three times in cornforry, but when he would go low, he'd go low and like and bunches make a lot of birdie. And so it really like there were we had some amazing matches all through high school and all the way through college. It really was fifty to fifty. It was very even. We wanted now again college golfee got a little less like brother like a little we weren't enemies in college, so like if we lost to each other, okay, whatever, but we still want to win. But high school it was, I mean, that's where our competitive spirit was was forged right there, because I mean there would be tears shed after some of those matches because you know, we didn't want to lose it to each other, and things were said, things were done that we're probably not proud of towards each other and said some things. But like, again, that's what I feel like. It's made him and I really good golfers now again in college, it softened a whole bunch and evens now like, yes, we want to win, but there's not that like if he beats me, if I beat him, we don't care as much anymore, which is nice because we're able to be civil and love each other well for the most part. Man, Yeah, there was some there's some fun matches coming along for sure.

00:34:05
Speaker 1: I Mean, anybody who's spent any amount of time around the two of you knows that you're really really different. Yeah, very different. How would you describe the difference between the two of you and then how that difference translates into your golf games.

00:34:25
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, he's way meaner. I'm way nicer. I'm the softer one. He's the more just like very razor edge sharp, like just I don't know, he's he's the villain I'm the I'm the good guy. And on YouTube, but I think a for like online and or for on camera, it plays really well because our natural personalities are so the kind of opposite I guess started them pretty opposite, and so they just play really well, and people gravitate towards one because in their own family dynamics there's for the most part, it's very similar to a lot of other brothers and sisters and siblings, and and so it always we we balance each other well where you know, I'm a little more soft spoken, or he talks a whole bunch, and I can kind of fill in where need be. I can be softer, he's you know, I don't know. It's so it works well on camera. But then in golf, you know the personality, his lack of caring, his aggressive this is the wrong word, but just his his self belief in himself is is so high that like you see it in the in in competitive in competitive situations, like he goes to Dominican, he had been in that position in seven years and.

00:35:50
Speaker 1: This was just like a couple of weeks ago, right, yeah.

00:35:53
Speaker 2: And so like he is is dumb enough to believe that, you know, I can I can win on a PGA tour and I can get the final group and look down all these guys and hadn't played one tournament the last five months, and all my preparation is done on YouTube, and believe that he can he can win. And he shot sixty eight one bogie out of the final group, not been not been there in seven years. It's impressive. And the only way that happens if you like truly, like if you believe in yourself and you're confident, and you know that's you know in me when like when I'm playing well this like this, we have the same kind of tendencies. I think what helps me is, you know, I'm a more fun loving, happy guy. So when you know I'm playing in tournaments and stressful situations, I can just be having fun and loose and again I want to be nervous, but at the same time, I can compartmentalize and enjoy the you know, I can enjoy Q school and have fun and treat it as a game, whereas a lot of people are going to be treating that as you know, life or death, and you know it definitely has its has its perks. But yeah, but Wesley's one thing that he's always he's a very resilent because I mean seven years, manyone's followed him on the tour for seven years, He's had some pretty low lows, and you know, just even through all that, he's still he deep down he believes himself and he's very confident, and he'll tell you and he'll he'll tell people how how confident is in himself. No, but it's it's fun to see, uh, kind of his personalities and my personally has kind of come out and how they work.

00:37:25
Speaker 1: Yeah, you know, both of you are very nice guys, but Wesley is a prolific shit talker.

00:37:31
Speaker 2: Yeah, and.

00:37:34
Speaker 1: Yep, and then in addition to that, things just kind of roll off of him, and and that that's a great quality to have as a golfer because you're all going to experience lows, and the less those lows affect you, the better off you're going to be in the long run. You use the word resilient, I think that's that's obviously a big deal. Do you think you've learned anything from Wesley's mindset or have you just had to kind of like embrace who you are and what you do and how you play great golf.

00:38:04
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think that's the big thing is is my dad's always said, hey, be who you are on the course as same as you are off the course. On the course and being the same person the same uh personality, because like you know, off the course, that's you know, you're thriving, you're happy, whatever, and do that same stuff and you'll on the you know, when you're playing, and you'll ultimately play better. And and yeah, I mean I think that's been a massive part of my game. And you know, Wesley, you know not to I mean he's seven years. I mean he's been he's been has been injured a lot, but it really is impressive to to see him come back now twenty twenty twenty four and basically have a being a top one twenty five on the fat scuffhich you hadn't been there in a lot of years. Sorry, I got ramdl there. What was the ask that asked that question? Because you got to ask a good question, I got, I got a lot.

00:39:00
Speaker 1: I mean, well, you were addressing it, you just took it in a different direction. I mean, I guess I was just sort of asking, like when you're thinking about your own approach to golf, like your own mental approach. Is it a matter of like trying to borrow some things from what you see Wesley doing or just going your own direction and figuring out your.

00:39:18
Speaker 2: Own way sort of membrincos this way pure. No, but that it's like the one thing because Wesley is a great short game and that's one thing that I've always wanted to, Like, I want to hit his shots. I want to do I want to hit these punch outs, and he's like, I want to do what he does.

00:39:32
Speaker 1: It's beautiful to watch Wesley, yeah, play short game shots Like it's just so so cool to see what he does.

00:39:38
Speaker 2: The creative shots, and it's like, I know, in my DNA, that's just not who I am. Now. I can hit some spinners sometimes, but I know I have to play my own game and do my own thing, which is a little more vanilla. It's not gonna look his flash. You're pretty, But that's one thing that I just have to like live in and it's kind of like him. There are some things that No, No, he is driving ball great right now, which is annoying. It's very demoralizing to try to play with him when he's confident off the tee and it's just it's just a tough combo. But there's some things like when he knows that he's just not going to be let's call his seventy percent drive hit hitter of fairways with his driver, like like probably what I am, and he's just gotta be okay with that. He knows he's gonna rely on a short game, his his wedges and his in his iron game, and so that's what he kind of has always done throughout his years. He knows he's probably not gonna hit the best t balls all the time, but he doesn't Matt, he doesn't care because he knows he can get out of trouble and if he has a wedge in his hands or a short iron, he's gonna he's gonna score because that's just who who he is. And so that's what I've had to do at a good job of of like knowing what I am as a golfer, not trying to be what Wesley is even though I want it. And so but it is still sad sometimes because like I see these short game shots and these like punch outs, like I want, like I want to hit that man like teach me. And even he'll explain it to him. I'm like, I kind of understand it, but that's just not gonna it's not gonna work with me.

00:41:03
Speaker 1: I'm sure he looks at your ball striking sometimes and says, I wish I were that consistent and that much of a day to day flusher.

00:41:11
Speaker 2: Right, yeah, I mean maybe, but then he's he gets on these runs where it's like, what he's.

00:41:18
Speaker 1: Got that too bad?

00:41:19
Speaker 2: Yeah?

00:41:20
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, I mean this is at one point he was the top fifty player in the world. This is this is who those guys are. They're pretty much good at everything. So all right, let's let's talk a bit about Brian Brose and how did the idea come about to start posting content under this brand. Was this about ten years ago that you.

00:41:43
Speaker 2: Started doing it? I think ten years ago? Kind of this last month, which is kind of crazy. No. Yeah, we just saw these two guys online posted video or like I said, post video just sports in their top ten. Made it a number one shot or number one on sports in their top ten of the two guys just chipping one guy chipping it to a guy and another guy hitting the ball out of mid air. Of course, we were brothers and have plenty of time on our hands in between practice sessions, like, hey, I think we could do that like better. So did it post a Facebook I think, like my maybe my personal Instagram account, and we got it got like more views than like friends that we had at church and in our in our friend group, We're like, huh, like I don't know, let's let's let's post another one. See what happens. And so it kind of did the same thing a little different variation, and it got shared and way more likes and views, and people are saying how cool it is. Then the friends that we had and we like, well, I mean I don't know if this could ever turn into anything, but like, let's maybe post a YouTube video. We know, dude perfect is to kind of doing the same stuff, and trick shots were kind of getting really popular amongst other sports, but nothing in golf consistently, and so like, hey, let's just see what happens. I think we created a YouTube channel or Instagram account I can' remember which one was first, and the video kind of went viral. I mean it went I mean they didn't get millions of views or anything, but you know, thousands of views, and we're like, well, holy cat like that's that's more than our friends, and so let's just keep posting. It was just like one thing led to another, the snowball effect, where people within the golf community like gravitated towards it, picked it up, watched it, consumed it, shared it, and that turned into us doing stuff with Roy McElroy Bow's GoPro. Calai wanted to have us on On on their team and believed in us off the rip and so yeah, it turned into a full out brand within probably four or five months. And that's kind of how it started. And then it all kind of came crashing down because Wesley got through corn Ferry Q School and then got his PJ Tour card and said, hey, George, I mean the whole reason for this was to fund our professional golf and I'm on the PJ Tour now, so I don't really need to do this anymore. And I was in this limbo stage of like, well, huh, games aren't that great. We have money now I can go fund my career. But like, I've started a family or not start a family, but I think I was about to get married, and I was like, well, then, okay, let's chase golf again. So I kind of chased it for a few years unsuccessfully. I mean I played down a lat tour in Canada and but kind of just held on to Brian Bros. Posting on Instagram and random YouTube videos just could keep it alive basically because I was like it, it's still there. We still have a big following, but like it's what I was doing there kind of stunk, like let's be real. But then had some people say, hey, George, YouTube golf. This is twenty nineteen, like people are doing golf logs and YouTube golf, Like I think you have the channel. I think you should start posting again or in like playing golf and just like in this kind of golf logs not really instruction but just whatever on the golf course, a goawns like, you know what, let's I'll do it consistently. I'm gonna give it a few months, like let's just see what happened in a video or two a week. And then right at that time twenty twenty us started posting kind of brought the channel back. COVID came and perfect Storm. Wesley couldn't play on the PGA Tour anymore, so he was like, hey, well, why don't you ever want me in YouTube videos anymore? I was like, well, first of all, you said you didn't want anything to part of YouTube, really, and it was like this perfect storm that you really couldn't like create, but it put a lot of gasoline on what people were already kind of starting, like, oh, George, you know, it's fun fun watch you play golf on YouTube and it's fun. But then you add Wesley into the mix us playing matches when the PJ Tour was not existing, and so it brought like these competitive brotherly matches to the Internet that really weren't there. And then Brian Brows two point zero was kind of formed right there. Now again it was Wesley in the first two years was there probably half the time, but he still chasing PJ Tour golf. But it turned to this fun thing where YouTube was gonna follow his story, where I would go film his tour events, my professional journey. I'd go play tournaments, film that then just matches against other YouTubers and against ourselves, and that's kind of what you know, brianbros. Two point zero is I like to call it happened kind of by luck, I guess, kind of you know, a great time with you know, COVID being you know, no one else had anything to do with than uh watch YouTube videos, and so here we are. I guess four years later, it's been pretty cool.

00:46:34
Speaker 1: Yeah, this format of the playing vlog, I guess that's the term for it. I'm I'm.

00:46:42
Speaker 2: Yeah, golf log is what it was like when I first got into it.

00:46:44
Speaker 1: It's kind of like almost feels like an old term at this point. It feels like something that you know, us uh US millennials might say, Yeah, yeah, it's it's a for It's a genre though that has become very popular. And I remember when you know, videos like this first started showing up on YouTube, people would say things like people my age would say things like who in their right mind would want to just sit down and watch somebody else play around of golf? But the popularity of this format has really been proven at this point. There are a number of very very successful channels, including yours, that are kind of built around it. And so, you know, how did you start doing these kinds of videos? How do you film them?

00:47:38
Speaker 2: Like?

00:47:38
Speaker 1: What are the nuts and bolts here of producing a high quality playing vlog or whatever you want to?

00:47:46
Speaker 2: Yeah, it was It was interesting because, like I knew when we first started this, a I had insight the people that I could share with other people if they wanted to potentially help with their golf games or could learn something from me, you know, my playing background. And again that's kind of how I structure them. I just put the camera tripod, plague golf, talk to the hey, then you go one hundred and forty yards. You know, I hit eight iron here, kind of talk kind of like talk my way through it. Then interjact some personality in between, in between shots or whatever. And so it's kind of those very I mean, yeah, tripod film it maybe selfie it various. You know, it's just one camera and then maybe you're throwing the drone up there a couple of holes. That was the early on days, but now to where it is now, you have a couple of cameras a drone. Well you always have two cameras, sometimes three to put this kind of like PJ Tour level like production, where you know, you get tracers, you have balls on green camp sometimes secondary angles and so it's a little I mean, it's pretty easy to do. You just get a couple of guys with camer now again they are camera guys at Carneye and some of the other people within the industry that the people that film their videos are all kind of know how it works. So it does feel like a very well oiled machine. But it's it's pretty interesting because like I think, I take it for granted because I've been doing it for four years. But you get people, for instance, like that came in and filmed the the queue. They're they're very high quality and way more qualified than I ever would be with camera and editing things. But you throw them into the YouTube golf this kind of golf log genre and is very interesting because people, like you said, they have a liking of of what they how what they want to see and how they want to see the videos put together, and so they are used to I mean a certain way, and you get people that are very highly skilled but never have done YouTube golf and you can it's just very there's a disconnect sometimes, which is very fascinating because who would have thought YouTube or golf blogs would have its own like genre and how it's supposed to be filmed and right, but know it's you get I mean, that's the balls, you get a camera behind that you can zoom in to see where the ball lands something. They can have a tracer if you need a tripod for doing those kind of those kind of tracers, and then throw in either a GoPro or some other kind of camera that you can get kind of the personality side of things that I think ultimately that's what people are watching these YouTube videos. I mean, the golf is is good for for a lot of times, but it's getting to know people little stories, personalities, and you do that, you know through these secondary cameras that that's what ultimately, I mean, that's why I watch a lot of the videos is to just the funny moments or insight, not necessarily the drive that you hit on the eighth hole that was beautiful, or the approach out on six. And so you know, you just need about four cameras to pull one of these things off, and a and a guy that knows how to put it all together. But I'll tell you for granted, but it is it's fun to see how it's progressed and know that it's not super easy to put these things together. Same time, get a couple of cameras and a tripod. You really could anyone could do this.

00:51:05
Speaker 1: Yeah, And one thing I've noticed in your videos is that the time in the golf cart between shots can sometimes almost turn into an interview, where, especially if you have somebody like John Rahm on your channel, Yeah, you are taking the opportunity to sit down in the golf cart with him and talk to him a little bit and get some insight into what's going on with him and all that kind of stuff. And so it's like this, You've got this hybrid of it's a video taking place at a golf course. That's often appealing because golf courses are pretty and it's interesting to see good golf courses. You're seeing good players hit shots on shot tracer, and you're also getting some of you're getting some banter, right because you and Wesley it's always going to be a little bit of ribbing, a little bit of sarcasm. But then you also have sometimes the more not totally serious, but somewhat more serious and own interviews and conversations with people, and so you've got all these things kind of combined together. It's it's a pretty compelling package, to be honest.

00:52:09
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's what we like. When we started this, I knew again, do you always try to figure out what, like, how are you different than then how can you like differentiate yourselves from different people, because again not advantage of the wrong word, but like some people are gonna like different things, and how can you set yourself apart from other people? And one of ours was, you know, we're both competitive golfers. We a PJ tour, I'm chasing pro golf to a certain extent. I guess now I've kind of played my way into chasing more pro goff last year, but we knew that was a big piece of this Brian Bros. Puzzle was our professional golf journey and then what that brought in with you know, Wesley's you know, friends with John Rahm and these other tour level you know, Matt Akins is on the PG Tour, similar Corn Fairry guys that you know, they're pro golfers that we can get inside of looking their heads, but also have these fun casual matches, but also pull some nuggets where you know, I'm riding the car with John Ram I'm gonna ask him about ay the Master's victory, which is pretty incredible, but then also give tip heyn, how can you help me on this situation or what should I do here? Or him give me a pep talk, some things that people can apply their own golf games, like oh wow, that can help me. But also, oh, el's cool to learn about John Ram, which you know, I might have thought this about him because in the interviews and what he's portrayed on TV, they have this certain image of them. But then you see him in a video and you're like, you know what, maybe I was wrong about him. Maybe like he's just a normal guy and this is kind of cool to see. So that's what we knew, like to lean in on our professional journey and then also use if people want to some of Wesley's friends want to come on the channel and hey, let's play match. You know, John Rom or whoever PJ Tour players that we've had on there. It's cool for people to or for it's cool for us to shine a light on them and give them a positive light in which to tell their story.

00:54:03
Speaker 1: So, the latest thing that's going on with the Brian Bros. Empire, which it seems like it's sort of becoming that at this point, is that you now own a golf course. How did that come about?

00:54:17
Speaker 2: Yeah? We uh we yeah, it was twenty twenty two, the fall twenty twenty two, winter twenty twenty two, I can't remember, but basically this golf course came for sale Indian River one of the worst courses in Columbia at the time, condition wise. It used to My dad was actually the head pro there in the nineties. Great course, like fun, good shape, but then you know, things happened, just goes to goes to crap. I mean, Lale was great, but just condition awful. And it was for sale and Dad was like, hey, you know what you see this, I'm like, I mean I can't afford that, like we and so Wesley was like, you know, I got or I have I have this guy, I want to go go something too. And he literally goes to uh Greg Middleton and was like, hey, I got this wild idea. You're gonna have to go with me here for a little bit. Like it's crazy. You know, we get this course, we you know, we we dump a lot of money into it, turn it to you know, the private, private golf course that's really high level in the Columbia area, uh et cetera, et cetera. And he's like, I'm in. And that's kind of how it's formed is we have two guys, Wesley and Greg, that had this vision of like this really awesome place in Columbia, but it had to be completely redone from from you know, taking all the grass out of every single ancher that place, redo it all length in the course because Wesley didn't want to have like a championship course that if one day you want to have a corn Ferry ven or some high level state AUM amateur events be there. You know, it didn't need to be lengthened. But basically it's regrasped, lengthened, and it's going to turn into this beautiful private course in Columbia that's gonna be the best condition course in Columbia. Uh. And so yeah, I started with just two two crazy ideas and Greg was like, yeah, I'm in and believed in us enough to help tell its story. And I think, I mean, we have a perfect perfect fit of the team behind it. That's I mean, we're we grasped it in August or not August last last summer. So it's been less than a year that the most mature part of the course has been there. And it's insane how how solid it is already and how good a shape it is given the short amount of time. I mean literally last last spring it was all dirt, I mean dirt was still being moved. And now less a year later, we're playing on it pretty frequently, and it's like, Wow, it's like a real golf course. Now it is a construction zone because it's only eleven holes are open for a preview playing for members only, but like, it's amazing that, you know, a year and a half ago we started this year. Two years ago, we started this journey a year and a half ago, you know, cutting down trees and and and this vision that Wes they had for some of the holes, and now we're out there playing it.

00:57:04
Speaker 1: What's the overall vision for the future of the facility in addition to just being a golf course. My understanding is that you guys have some more some more plans for it to do a variety of things in golf.

00:57:16
Speaker 2: Yeah, so the I mean the whole thing, I think Greg really wanted us to be on board, and what we like, while we wanted to like this whole thing to work out, is we want to have a golf course that a we're proud of and that like the best course in Columbia, but also the place that we could have our own golf academy one day and facility to do that. So Brian Brose Golf Academy is you know, is dream and he was like, hey, we want you you guys to come to your thing along with Dad. There, so a teaching facility, you know, where we can teach lessons, but also just kind of have a hub for the academy side of things. Kind of basically poor Gasoline and merge with you know, Dad's George Bryan Goff Academy hopefully one day turns into Brian Brose Golf Academy, and it's just kind of this this new thing in Columbia. And so that there's a restaurant there. I think they had talked about. I think he wants probably some sort of lodging at some point.

00:58:10
Speaker 1: But it's just gonna be.

00:58:13
Speaker 2: Golf club with restaurants, with a restaurant, a great golf course, great practic facility, a golf academy where we can you know, get back to the people in the area and in the state that you know, Dad has been able to reach and I guess his impacting golf in South Caroline and Columbia and then for me and Wesley to hopefully kind of do the same thing in some capacity there at Selina. So you bundle it off and it should be just an amazing, amazing thing hopefully in the next couple of years. But just from a golf course standpoint, it's it's it's I mean, it's it's a hard golf course and it's but it's just it's just it's really cool planning a course that kind of we've had our hands on.

00:58:58
Speaker 1: And it's also probably gonna be pretty conon for the YouTube channel to have a golf course where you can just go film any time you want to film.

00:59:07
Speaker 2: Absolutely.

00:59:08
Speaker 1: Yeah. All right, well, George, best of luck to you at the Myrtle Beach Classic. I'll be rooting for you for sure, and I hope the prep goes well and I hope the tournament goes Yeah, it's.

00:59:19
Speaker 2: Gonna be fun. It's gonna be I mean, again, like I know, we had this the PJ Tour. It's fun getting these opportunities because again, I want to be able to compete out there, and so to get the opportunity to hey, I know, like we can help tell the story, like really brings more eyeballs to these events. I get that, but at the same time, like it's like I'm there, like I want to compete, and I see when I was there in Bermuda, like I wanted to, like I see these guys practically now I want to like beat these guys and show that proved myself that I'm just as good or whatever. So it's cool that I'm able to do that, and I'm excited, but because again, you know, who knows what's gonna happen next week. But it stirred something in me that like pushes me towards playing or wanting to play more tournament golf. So I'm excited, nervous again. Home state, so it's just gonna be different. But heck, maybe Wesley one in his only tournament in his in South Carolina. Maybe I win in my home state as well, and we just have the uh the trifecta. What would you say there, the brother brother double.

01:00:22
Speaker 1: Well, we'll work on the name a little bit.

01:00:24
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'll be I'll be dreaming and uh yeah, I just not thought with that pretty good pumps me up. Maybe I will win. I don't know.

01:00:31
Speaker 1: All right, Thanks for coming on the pod.

01:00:33
Speaker 2: Hey, appreciate it.

01:00:44
Speaker 1: This episode of the Friday Golf Podcast was produced by Matt Rucius. Thank you, Matt. If you'd like to do something real quick, really easy to support the Friday Golf Podcast, go to wherever you're listening to us and leave us a rating and review. Those really help us find new listeners and keep growing, expanding improving what we're doing at Friday Golf. Thank you for listening, and we'll be back again soon with another episode