PGA Tour set to revamp social media policy, long a source of frustration among players

Credit: Aaron Doster - USA Today Sports; YouTube

The PGA Tour is reportedly set to update its social media policy after years of pushback from star golfer Bryson DeChambeau and a host of other competitors.

According to Front Office Sports, the PGA will allow players to capture more content on-site going forward.

The limit on video footage length will reportedly increase from two minutes to three minutes. Players will be able to post broadcast footage from six holes (up from just one hole) at the conclusion of a round’s TV window, totaling up to one minute of highlights. After events end, the PGA will allow players to use up to eight minutes of broadcast footage per video and 120 minutes across a channel, up from five and 60, respectively.

And, according to FOS, there remains no limit on content filmed from a PGA Tour site on non-competition days.

Notably, the PGA Tour will use YouTube Content ID technology to retain AdSense revenue from videos that include footage from the competition, though players will no longer be required to transfer ownership of their entire channel to the PGA.

All eyes will be on DeChambeau to see how he responds to the rule changes. Especially since leaving for LIV, DeChambeau has built an enormous following on YouTube, amassing nearly 2.7 million subscribers. The two-time major championship-winner even told FOS earlier this year that it would be “incredibly viable” to build a career around YouTube and the majors if the PGA did not modernize its policies.

While golf is known for being prickly about copyright enforcement, this mentality has arguably been to the sport’s detriment. Golf has long been one of the more reliably popular sports content verticals on YouTube, but the professional game has been left behind.

DeChambeau, meanwhile, draws millions of views per video. His content ranges from recorded play-throughsand competitions with other creators toan interview series. LIV was far more lenient, but DeChambeau’s contract expires later this year as the Saudi-backed league faces extreme uncertainty.

The updated rules would seemingly benefit younger golfers trying to break into content creation, but whether they appease DeChambeau and others with established followings remains to be seen.

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