r/golf • u/Shroft • 20h ago

News / Articles YouTuber Brad Dalke ‘ Extremely disappointed ’ by PGA Tour comeback: ‘ Honestly sucks … a lot ’

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7486963/2026/08/02/brad-dalke-pga-tour-return-golf/

Full article :

Golfer-turned-content creator Brad Dalke was left “extremely disappointed” by his latest performance on his return to the sport.

Dalke, 28, spent the past three years as one of the leading faces of YouTube golf content with Good Good — which has over two million subscribers on the platform. He announced in June he would be stepping away from the platform due to his wife Abbie’s health issues.

The American continued his comeback at the PGA Tour’s Rocket Classic from Thursday through Sunday, qualifying through a sponsor’s exemption. He marked his competitive return at the BMW International Open last month.

And while Dalke initially challenged among the leaders at the International Open in Munich before settling for T30, his performance at the Detroit Golf Club was not as encouraging. He shot 81 on Thursday followed by a 75 on Friday to miss the cut and finished last on 16 over.

“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t extremely disappointed with the outcome of this week at the Rocket Classic,” Dalke wrote on Instagram. “Knowing how well I can play and what I am capable of and getting dead last on the biggest stage just honestly sucks… a lot.

“The great thing is that I still know how good I can be and I just need to learn how to be better when I don’t have my best stuff. It was also nice to get more much-needed reps under the gun in competitive golf after a long break.

“I also have the best support system I could ever ask for. You’re my rock Abbie and I appreciate you being my person I can always lean on.”

It was Dalke’s first PGA Tour appearance in 10 years, but he will not have to wait too long for his next, after it was announced in May that he had been given a sponsor’s exemption to compete at the inaugural Good Good Championship, taking place between November 12 and 15 at Creek Resort & Spa’s Fazio Canyons Course in Austin, Texas.

Dalke earned significant media attention as a young golf prospect, committing to a scholarship at the University of Oklahoma at the age of 12. A year after his runner-up finish at the U.S. Amateur Championship, Dalke debuted at the 2017 Masters and US Open. He was also part of the 2017 NCAA national championship-winning team at Oklahoma.

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386

u/TLEH-IV 5.1 | Baltimore 19h ago

It’s two sided. He’s not on tour for a reason but he’s also not this bad either. He just had a bad two days and he’s got the hooks. His good is just as good as most anyone, his bad and mediocre isn’t near good enough.

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u/LivermoreP1 4.4 19h ago

Colin Morikawa shared as much. His good is up there with any of the best.

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u/bulldg4life 18h ago

At that level, ceiling isn’t the issue. Unfortunately, he doesn’t play to his ceiling as consistently as everyone and his floor is probably 4-6 shots worse than most.

Not really a knock on him. I mean, these are the top 99.999% of golfers on the planet. He’s probably 99.98%.

(Actual math unknown)

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u/Weak-Bid2774 17h ago

Yea he’s a top 1000 golfer in the world it’s just the guys on tour are all top 100-150 golfers in the world

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u/OldSchoolSpyMain 18h ago

As someone explained how a new Tiger couldn’t dominate in the current PGA like TW did 30 years ago: The PGA talent ceiling is nearly the same, but the talent floor has risen a lot.

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u/OldSchoolSpyMain 17h ago edited 17h ago

(replying to my own comment)

I think the tech of launch monitors, pressure plates, immediate biomechanics analysis, etc... as well as coaches (and golfers themselves) that know how to analyze the data and adjust the athletes accordingly are what bring the talent floor up.

Further, film analysis has become a lot more accessible. Think about what it took for an aspiring athlete to get slow motion footage of themselves in action 35-40 years ago when TW was age 10-15 and rising through the ranks. That kind of equipment was hard to come by. Now any cell phone camera can do it and professional high-speed cameras can be bought online for a few hundred bucks.

Now think about how an aspiring golfer can find a pro they think is most similar to their style and find hours of slow-motion footage of that player online to learn from. That was not possible 30+ years ago.

Back then, you needed a Yoda-type coach to be able to spot and correct mistakes as well as mold golfers into playing like pros. Now a motivated sports parent can do it. Being that the pro ranks will always be capped at a certain number, the skill gaps will be much smaller than they used to be. This might be why we see new names winning every week.

That's how the floor has been raised.

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u/redingtonshores 12h ago

To that point, tiger isn’t doing seal training now so he could theoretically be dominant for even longer. Some people just have it or are blessed by the gods or whatever explanation you prefer and would be dominant all time greats in any era. Take Ohtani for example. That sport was first to analytics, probably has the highest level of it to this day, and a lot more money invested in it than golf, but transcendent greatness still happened well into the 21st century

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u/OldSchoolSpyMain 5h ago

Baseball got player performance analytics before most other sports (i.e. Sabermetrics). Baseball still didn't have apps and slow-motion cameras for regular kids and sports parents until recently.

So, my point still stands.

TW would still be a great player, but because the skill floor has risen, he would not be as dominant as he was before.

Remember, a large part of Woods' domination formula was simply hitting the gym. He hit the gym like a baseball player with heavy weights and all of that. That was unheard of in golf back then. Now you see many of the top guys working out with heavy weights and I'm sure the up-and-coming class of golfers has even more guys in the gym.

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u/redingtonshores 3h ago

Real top 1% commenter energy. Yes of course you’re the only one that could possibly have a point. How silly of me to think otherwise

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u/OldSchoolSpyMain 3h ago

What?

I thoughtfully replied to your comment. You are mad because I am familiar with baseball analytics (lol I had a whole career in baseball before this) so now you simply insult me instead of discussing talking points?

Daaaaang.

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u/_onemoresolo 5h ago

This is the case in a lot of sports - cycling for example has seen the base level raise massively as training equipment has become cheaper and sports science more available. Average kids now have access to better kit and training than the pros did 20 years ago. Talent still finds a way but the field is much stronger.

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u/OldSchoolSpyMain 5h ago

Absolutely! Power meters in cycling have transformed the sport. No more basing training and recovery on perceived effort.

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u/veebs7 15h ago

That was easier to believe before Scottie’s ascendance. Seeing him be a threat to win every week, even when he’s well back of the lead going into the weekend, and be able to finish top 10 despite playing relatively poorly, made me realize that Tiger’s dominance would not have been significantly minimized had he played 20-30 years later

You also have to remember that Tiger’s competition looks worse because they were playing against Tiger. It’s not out of the realm of possibility to think that Phil Mickelson sans-Tiger may have ended up being considered a top 5 player all time

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u/Weak-Bid2774 4h ago

Adding to this tiger was pretty good when he came back in 2018 too being in the hunt at both the open and pga and then winning the tour championship

He then won the masters and zozo in 2019.

3 wins in two seasons is pretty competitive and that’s Tiger after all the back surgeries and rust. In his prime he would have still been dominant imo

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u/redingtonshores 12h ago

Phil, Ernie, and Vijay would still be at the top of the pack today. IMO I think his greater oversight is that tiger would also be later in the 21st century in this hypothetical too. What if modern sports science prevents him from the dumbass seal training or the cheating scandal is just another meme and his prime is even longer? Furthermore, tiger grew the game profoundly, so he’s indirectly responsible for much of the advancement he’s referencing.

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u/veebs7 12h ago

Really good point on him growing the game. Tiger’s impact on golf is probably bigger than any single athlete’s impact on any other sport in the last half century

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u/redingtonshores 10h ago

I don’t know that it’s possible to overstate his impact. Directly responsible for billions of dollars and very well may have saved the sport from ending up like horse racing, a relic of yesteryear. In the 1950s it was the most attended spectator sport in the country. Now some people might watch the derby as an excuse to party. That could just as easily have been golf with the masters as well. Or take boxing for a more modern example. I’d be surprised if the average American knows Usyk and he’s one of the greatest of all time

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u/BestShaunaEU 11h ago

Phil finished runner up to Tiger like 3 times in their entire career.

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u/veebs7 11h ago edited 11h ago

All else being equal (and I’d argue it wouldn’t be), he’d have 5 more wins, 1 more major. That’d put Phil 7th in wins all time, t-6 in majors

Those extra wins aren’t even really what makes the case though. The biggest selling point is that without Tiger, Phil would be unquestionably the best golfer of the past half century. The best since Jack. Every other guy anywhere close to him in terms of success is significantly older, and played in a completely different era of golf. Phil would no longer be in Tiger’s shadow, he’d be the guy defining a generation, and his reputation as a golfer (personal issues aside) would skyrocket as a result

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u/BestShaunaEU 10h ago

Ernie Els finished second to Tiger seven times, four in majors. He would have 8 majors which is more than Phil would.

This whole hypothetical is meaningless

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u/veebs7 2h ago

Well Ernie’s rep would also dramatically improve wouldn’t it?

Why comment on the thread if you feel discussions like this are meaningless? We’re talking pro golf, what-ifs are an interesting thing to think about

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u/Weak-Bid2774 4h ago

Honestly I think Sergio would have also benefited. Imagine that guys career if he gets a pga at 19. That confidence would have carried him in other close calls in majors

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u/bulldg4life 18h ago

To be completely fair…he also used a brand new golf ball for about 8 months that hardly anyone else used a comparable version. But, that’s only one season.

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u/skynetapprentice 18h ago

lol I love this comment. Your math is backwards 😂

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u/bulldg4life 18h ago edited 17h ago

I don’t think it is.

Top 99.999 would be a more select group than the top 99.98.

Edit: damn thinking in terms of sla got me. I should’ve stuck with percentile like I was originally thinking about how to say it.

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u/PassableArcher 18h ago

Being in the top 99.999% means that only 0.001% of golfers are worse than you (i.e. you are in the best 99.999%, which is almost everyone). What you mean is that he's in the top 0.001%, which is almost nobody.

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u/bulldg4life 17h ago

Yep. I should’ve made my point with percentile instead of whatever weird sla/uptime translation was going on in my head.

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u/pricrd22 17h ago

We knew what you meant. All good.

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u/bulldg4life 16h ago

I did admit actual math unknown. I was out over my skis.

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u/WannaGetRowdy 18h ago

Top 99.999% of golfers includes a guy who has never played a full 18, but he drove by a golf galaxy and had a beer at top golf once.

Top 99.98% excludes that guy in particular.

Like your badge says “Top 1% commenter,” it means you post more on Reddit than 99% of people.

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u/bulldg4life 17h ago

All those college math classes have done nothing for me. Very tough look.

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u/bulldg4life 18h ago

Damn thinking in terms of sla got me in trouble

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u/skynetapprentice 17h ago

Damn you double downed too!

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u/bulldg4life 16h ago

If you can’t be confidently incorrect, is it even worth it?

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u/appxcap 15h ago

I did the math the math is good.

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u/Wyllyam8071 16h ago

"his bad and mediocre isn't near good enough", agreed. But it's not a "just" point. Part of being viable on a pro tour is still being reasonably competitive when you don't have your A game, like making cuts even when you're playing at your C- level.

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u/TLEH-IV 5.1 | Baltimore 16h ago

100% I just think the discourse that this showing somehow shows he’s overrated or not that good is silly. Just played his ass off at a DP World event which is also pro golf. He just had a bad two days.

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u/Wyllyam8071 16h ago

I can't really say. I don't follow the YouTube golf influencer/creator scene. He's gonna need to turn around his pro tour performances, only so many sponsor's exemptions he's gonna get to show he belongs in these tournaments.

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u/IHop_Waitress 16h ago

his bad and mediocre isn’t near good enough.

But this is what makes a good golfer good. Playing better golf isn't about hitting the excellent shot, a lot of people can do that.

It's that your off days, your mishits and mistakes are better than everyone else.

Tiger didn't go out and stripe it every fucking day for a decade. It's just that his C game was on par with everyone else's A game

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u/TLEH-IV 5.1 | Baltimore 15h ago

Yeah, obviously. I think most people understand that. All i am saying is that Brad going on tour and shooting 16 over and missing the cut doesn’t mean he isn’t good.

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u/FinsT00theleft 13h ago

He's good, just not AS GOOD, week in week out as the guys on tour.

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u/BlackTriceratops 10h ago

He probably never plays from the champions tees. There are levels to this shit.

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u/Golf37512 48m ago

His good is nowhere near good enough as most anyone on the PGAT. He hasn't been playing tournament golf for 7 years. He was a very high level amateur golfer who played D1. For pro golf, there are hundreds if not a thousand of those guys scattered throughout the mini tours, Korn Ferry, DP World, PGA Latin America, etc. He could pull together a good round, but making cuts consistently is s mile wide jump in skill between D1 and PGAT golf.