I write to you from 37,000 feet in the air, headed to an undisclosed location to play 36 holes of golf with a guy I met on the internet 6 months ago. 

Strange, yes. If you read that to me a year ago I wouldn’t have believed you. The internet has flattened many things about the human condition, but none more-so than the very connective tissue that ties us together. 

Yes, we had phones that could make calls across the world many decades ago, but how would you know who to call? 

On Twitter I can post a random thought and thousands of the right people will view it. It’s allowed me to build this publication while concurrently connecting with the people with whom I share core values. And now? I’m on a plane headed to do “due diligence” on a guy with a cotton shirt company. 

The beauty of the “home and home” is it has no boundaries. 

I’ve discussed trends from big letter hats, to slow play, to proper etiquette and everything in between, but no trend shocked me more than what I witnessed this past weekend. 

I saw a few videos circulating of players in USGA-sanctioned US Open qualifiers who decided to make content out of their round. 

This must stop. 

I understand the need to video yourself on the golf course to create content. I don’t like it, but I understand the times. Golf is hot right now + the world is glued to screens = an endless demand for golf content. 

Entrepreneur-minded creators have flocked to the sport like it’s California in 1849. The game is outgrowing its foundation, as I’ve argued in the past. This phenomenon is further evidenced by creators taking their cameras and tripods to competitive medal events.

As a fellow competitor, I’m not sure how I’d react to a fellow player setting up a tripod before every shot. Actually, I do. I’d be irate. 

It creates added stress to an already stressful round, and misses the entire objective of the day. Filming yourself playing competitively betrays what the game is about. You are telling the field you don’t really care about the integrity of the field, or even about how you play, as long as you walk away with something to monetize. It’s unbecoming, and indefensible behavior. 

The act of filming creates the feeling like the tournament is a performance with the creator as the lead and the other players as patrons. That’s not what competitive golf is about. It’s about competing against one another, and the camaraderie which is a byproduct of that competition. 

Host of the second annual Giles Invitational, Kinloch Golf Club sits on a portion of what was originally a 1,934-acre family-owned tract in Manakin-Sabot, Virginia.

The club itself originated as a collaborative vision among three principals: Marvin "Vinny" Giles III, C.B. Robertson III, and Charles K. Staples. What began as a concept for a daily-fee public facility quickly evolved into something far more ambitious. After engaging Lester George as architect in early 1999, the group was so struck by the property's beauty and potential that they abandoned the daily-fee model entirely and committed to building a world-class private club.

The club began accepting memberships in July 1999 and opened its golf course and practice facilities on April 14, 2001. That same year, Golf Digest named Kinloch its Best New Private Course in America. The course's design philosophy emphasized minimal earthmoving and a natural parkland aesthetic. The Tudor-style clubhouse followed in fall 2002, evoking the club's Scottish namesake. In 2025, Golf Digest ranked Kinloch the No. 1 course in Virginia.