The four-time major winner is one of the smartest superstars in golf, and now he’s getting into off-course ventures.
Since his dominant run in the summer of 2014, Rory McIlroy has been a leading voice in golf. That run did not just cement his status as a legend of the game with the potential to join a class of just a handful of all-time greats, but it also pushed him even further into a greater public role as the sport’s most thoughtful star. No one gives an interview, a press conference, a podcast like Rory. He is forthcoming and critical, introspective and intelligent when he speaks. That’s a scarcity in a game full of mostly boring robots, especially at the top tier.
This is not meant to be a love letter about Rory — I’ve unashamedly written plenty of those over the years both about his play and his propensity to let it rip in the press. But his approach has obviously earned him a strong, admittedly sometimes-fawning, relationship with the media. Now he’s jumping into media and business himself and it’s unsurprising to see it come from an smart tour pro who wants to do big things.
In conjunction with Golf Channel, Rory announced a subscriber-based digital operation called GolfPass. It’s an ambitious effort by Rory to start thinking beyond his golf life in the mold of Arnold Palmer, arguably the greatest “brand man” in the history of sports. Palmer founded the Golf Channel some 25 years ago and now Rory thinks he can be the impetus behind an operation taking off on the digital side.
This GolfPass concept will include original video, a podcast, travel and instruction content, and a suite of other options for users who want to play, not just watch golf. For this, the platform is relying mostly on Golf Channel’s built-in network of tee times and travel services, as well as their digital instruction libraries.
We’ve seen other players dabble with media, including Tiger Woods, who partnered with Discovery last year for his own original video series. Mike McCarley, the President of Golf for NBC Sports, said that concept and this Rory enterprise are “not even close” in terms of what they comparatively offer the consumer. Rory was quick to say this also does not mean he wants cameras tracking him around the course like he’s in a “reality show.” He did say, however, that he loves the podcast format and has always felt comfortable with it. He has made several appearances over the years on the No Laying Up and Shane Bacon podcasts and excelled in that format. So more Rory content, in that vein, is good.
McIlroy also stated he wants to put everything in one place to get more people into the game and excited about playing the game. He articulated that this is about making the game more accessible and easier for the avid golfer and non-avid golfer alike, which is a point we’ve heard around many launches. There is a very simple and wholesome motive here — Rory loves golf, he loves what it has given to him, and he earnestly wants to make it better and easier for more people. This can be true and and it can also be true that there is, quite obviously, a profit motive here. Palmer made a fortune in off-course business endeavors, and there are business interests for Rory with this. The subscription will be $9.99 per month.
Subscription services are obviously a trend in digital media and the demand for this subscription service is obviously TBD. Golf Channel brings a pretty significant and developed network to it already with their tee times, travel, and instruction assets and users.
The larger story, at least as far as I’m concerned, is Rory getting into this kind of venture, and what terrain the new generation of superstars will mine for off-course pursuits. “I think he would be very proud that I’ve taken on this role,” Rory said of Palmer. Tiger has his TGR industries group, but who and what comes after him? We know Rory is one of the more thoughtful and intelligent stars of his or any generation so it makes sense he wants to do more. This is a massive project with lofty ambitions but also feels like it’s the start for someone like Rory.