This thought first comes to mind in the first ten minutes of Bryson DeChambeau Break 50 next to Steph Curry.
At first it is just a kernel of an idea. But then it becomes more than that: A feelingand soon a very real question.
Why does he bother doing anything else?
That is the Bryson effect, as best I can describe it. He’s revolutionizing the game not so much through a muscle or a law of physics as through the power of YouTube. It sounds corny, but the truth is indisputable: Bryson has gone from golf superstar to Internet hero, the rare person capable of capturing the attention of both Mr. Nicklaus and Mr. Nicklaus. And Mr. Beast. With 2.5 million subscribers and a constant source of access to celebrities and viral stars, Bryson’s channel has become the kind of place where fans of all backgrounds can get into golf without fear of pretension or boredom.
So, how did he do it? I lay down on the couch – erhm, books – I spent a week looking at the things that make Bryson a viral megastar, and I found a few common themes.
1. Authenticity
I can already feel your eyes rolling. In the eyes of some golf fans (and for good reason), Bryson is not the YouTube star he claims to be and spends much of his golfing hours outside the heavily edited bubble of YouTube (and inside the heavily edited bubble of golf television) whiny or grouchy or picking fights with his Ryder Cup opponents.
But DeChambeau has told us time and again that YouTube is where he feels like he can be his craziest self. While that may not be reflected in the pained expressions that often find their way into his thumbnails, it is do manifest in the videos that end up on his channel.
When the cameras roll in his YouTube videos, Bryson shows a side of himself that we don’t normally see on the golf course: someone who shares anecdotes from his era about great players, who approaches his celebrity guests with a touch of curiosity and sincerity, and who isn’t afraid to laugh at himself. His vibe is unabashedly goofy and deliberately hyperbolic, and while that may sound like a joke to some, I find it in line with the person I’ve seen when the cameras are off.
While Bryson may be a fierce – and sometimes overly intense – tournament competitor, that side of him rarely shows up in his videos. Instead, his clips feel much more like the outgrowth of a sports-obsessed 15-year-old, rather than the fever dream of a coldly calculating businessman.
2. Production value
Bryson isn’t the only professional golfer to enter the world of YouTube in recent years, but he is one of the few pros who has rightfully committed himself to the quality and consistency of his production setup.
His footage uses a series of high-fidelity cameras shot at short intervals and edited with top-notch graphics. In the Steph Curry Break 50Sharp eyes see how Bryson waited for his car to stop moving to strike up a conversation with Curry, which made for a steadier camera view and clearer sound, while drones and a host of shooters ensure that no big moment is lost. No, that’s not quite Citizen Kaneyet impressive.
The truth is, this stuff isn’t That complicated to pull off, but so many YouTube-hosting brands fail at the easy things, leaving high-effort videos to disappear into an uncaring algorithm within seconds of publishing. When Bryson’s videos don’t deliver, it’s never due to a lack of technical knowledge, and since the man at the center of this production is one of the best professional golfers in the world, I give him full credit.
3. Algorithmic understanding
I’m not sure if the credit for this one goes to Bryson himself, but it’s clear someone in his job understands the real business of YouTube, where videos are sorted based on the amount of attention they attract.
Bryson’s franchises feature a clear, understandable hook, a great thumbnail, and a montage in the first minute that keeps viewers watching (Break 50 (the best example of these qualities). As the size of his YouTube production grew, so did the size of his videos, which now feature (relatively) tasteful product integration and runtimes of over an hour, boosting the “Average Watch Duration” metric that determines whether videos perform or flop.
4. Celebrity Access!
This is where it helps to have a deep Rolodex. Bryson quickly came across the real great skill of incredibly successful content creators: their inbound comes to him.
His golf fame and YouTube bonafides have made the job of bringing in high-quality guests and entertainment dramatically easier. Celebrities like Steph Curry will join the show knowing they’ll also get something out of the venture, whether it’s YouTube subscribers, golf invites, sponsorships or some combination of the three.
5. Golf skills
There’s something to be said about the feeling of suspended belief you have when you watch one of the great players of this generation attempt to break 50 in a two-man battle from the front tees. Whether DeChambeau is performing or flopping, he is the center of the show – and the overall sense of infinite possibility serves as a dose of lighter fluid for each of his videos.
Is his golfing skill enough to make it interesting either way? What Bryson does? No, and that is why so many other professional golf types have failed where he has succeeded. But Bryson’s skill at all of the above, combined with his golfing ability, makes his golfing ability difficult to ignore.
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#tips #Bryson #DeChambeaus #YouTube #deep #dive