Welcome, officially, to golf in 2026.
Sure, it took us an extra week to get going in ’26, thanks to the postponement of the beloved Sentry at Kapalua. But with Jordan Spieth starting the year bringing five 3-irons to Hawaii for the Sony Open, Than If we agree that he is better off with a 7-wood, then it is safe to say that the new year is off to a good start.
Are Also a new year for golf friends in the media – a corner of the sport that is growing as quickly and as diversely as any other. It feels like just a few years ago the only discourse surrounding golf media surrounded the volume of commercials on broadcast. Now there are debates about multiple tours, multiple networks and multiple disciplines.
It’s been a busy 2025 for golf media. In addition to rising ratings and the creation of a brand new golf league (the TGL), there were also big stories in Hollywood (where AppleTV debuted Stick, Full swing returned for a third season and Happy Gilmore 2 shattered Netflix records) and of course on YouTube, where golf’s years-long flirtation turned into full-blown love.
With the ever-expanding nature of golf entertainment in mind, let’s take a look at the five stories we’re excited about in 2026.
5. What could be happier than Cheerful?
Happy Gilmore 2 may be difficult to repeat. The film exceeded even the most optimistic expectations of those in the golf world and became one of Netflix’s biggest cinematic releases. ever. No other golf movie franchise owns Cheerful‘S mix of cult fame status and celebrity cache, meaning it will be difficult to repeat Happy’s fame in 2025. But Hollywood is a cyclical business, and successful films often lead to success more movies. Could that mean golf will get more attention on the silver screen in 2026? No films are in development yet, but you can bet the PGA Tour partners at Pro Shop (who want to serve as golf ambassadors in Hollywood) are kicking the tires.
Elsewhere, golf entertainment is on the agenda for another season of fun on television. Stickthe AppleTV show starring Owen Wilson, had relatively less success than Happy Gilmore 2but it still deserved a second season from Apple. Full swingon the other hand, will return for a fourth season on Netflix, covering all the drama from a season that ended in chaos at Bethpage.
4. Giving Shanks
Johnson Wagner didn’t think his golf career would manifest into social media stardom. Even if he had envisioned him gaining fame on social media, it certainly didn’t resemble the version that came out in 2024 and 2025, when Wagner became the foremost expert on live TV.
But fame works in funny ways, and Wagner’s sudden Internet fandom led to the biggest promotion of his TV career, when he joined CBS as the third walking reporter behind Dottie Pepper and Mark Immelman. CBS doesn’t change personnel often, and Wagner represents the network’s biggest talent shift for ’26 (following the departure of longtime analyst Ian Baker-Finch and the promotion of longtime walking reporter Colt Knost to slowly fill that spot). All eyes will be on Wagner as CBS begins its coverage of the Farmers Insurance Open.
3. Something old, something new
There are plenty of noble reasons to start a new sports league, but there is one ignoble truth: Your success is only as good as your TV ratings.
For the two newest golf competitions (LIV Golf and the TGL), 2026 will be a crucial year in this regard.
For TGL, the goal is consistency. After a surprisingly strong start to the league’s inaugural season in 2025, TGL has seen continued ratings declines on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC. Of course, some degree of decline was expected after the league’s highly publicized start, but if TGL can demonstrate that its ratings are stable at a level above ESPN’s primetime averages, the league would have a crucial data point supporting its survival.
For LIV, growth is the goal. Saudi Arabia-backed startups have faced changes in both network partnerships and competitive orientation over the past four years. As the league focuses on achieving global success, they hope to show that the LIV fan base in the United States is growing steadily and reliably (although a battle with, or even a comparison with, the PGA Tour remains well outside the realm of possibility).
2. Bryson, YouTube and the creator economy
Perhaps no golf character has better typified YouTube’s new, old-fashioned vice than Bryson DeChambeau, who suggested he could walk away from the golf league that paid him a $100 million signing bonus and create content full-time if his contract demands weren’t met.
Perhaps Bryson was merely benefiting from his influence in those contract talks, but the fact that he was able to credibly float by leaving LIV for YouTube reflects the golf platform’s explosive growth.
I predict we’ll see even more exponential growth in 2026, with a big windfall for established creators like Bryson and those just moving into venture capital like Good Good Golf. Now YouTube the 2.5 billion monthly active user threshold in 2025 and revenue on the platform up more than 8% year-over-year, the arrow still points directly up on the platform. The golf company would be wise not to fall behind.
1. The return of the “old” Golf Canal
One medium result from recent years that was not on my bingo card? Golf Channel’s divestiture from its NBC Sports overlords.
If I’m honest, I’ve always felt that GC and NBC were too closely tied to successfully split into two separate entities — at least, not while Golf Channel and NBC were sharing talent in terms of PGA Tour rights. But I am impressed with how the new, independent Golf Channel has functioned. A new long-term deal with the DP World Tour made too much sense for both parties, and the network appears to be aggressively scouring the waters for other live golf programming opportunities (such as the network’s expanded LPGA offering in ’26).
For my money, live golf and Live from are the two precious gems of Golf Channel. More hours of both in 2026 would mean a return to the Golf Channel of old – and that might not be a bad thing (you know, like the network’s new, old logo).
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