For those who observe golf personalities on YouTube, chances are high you’ve come throughout Padraig Harrington’s “Paddy’s Golf Suggestions” movies on his YouTube Channel.
Instruction content material can typically get overwhelmingly technical however Harrington’s “hearth chat” model is disarming and simply digestible. He’s constructed a small however loyal following of 176,000 subscribers after the concept for documenting his recommendations on a YouTube channel was born in the course of the pandemic when he posted his first video on Sept. 29, 2020, (shot on his iPhone) on the chipping inexperienced of his Dublin, Eire, residence.
The three-time main winner says his inspiration for these movies comes from his ardour for sport enchancment.
“I simply love the sport and I would like individuals to get higher at it,” Harrington stated in an interview with MyGolfSpy. “Why do I do Paddy’s Golf Suggestions? It’s all due to pro-ams. I play quite a lot of pro-ams and I really like teaching the fellows that play in them. It simply comes naturally, I suppose. I really like them and questioning why a few of them are pretty much as good as they’re and why a few of them are underachieving.”
While you learn the feedback on his YouTube channel, followers are clearly appreciative of the time he takes to make the movies and in addition how personable he’s at tournaments as they watch him from exterior the ropes. Some are fortunate sufficient to play in pro-ams with him. Harrington acknowledges his gregarious character naturally connects him with unlikely, and generally unsuspecting, college students.
“Mainly, each one that comes inside eye contact with me, you’re getting a lesson. That’s simply the way in which I’m,” the 53-year-old stated.
“I’m not going to change into a YouTuber”
Harrington embraces the part-time coach function however his focus remains to be on enjoying full-time as he preps for his fourth full season on the PGA Tour Champions. The Irishman and long-time caddie Ronan Flood talked this subject over at size as they seemed round at what all the opposite YouTube golfers like Bryson DeChambeau are doing with their channels.
“It’s humorous. We talked about doing instructing movies and (Flood) checked out me and stated, ‘You recognize you’re not going to vary.’ And I stated, ‘Properly, what do you imply?’ and he says, ‘If you wish to develop your YouTube channel, you’re going to must do what Bryson does. You’re truly going to must go on the market in your weeks off and spend time with celebrities, at totally different golf programs, with like Bryson’s subjects like Break 50. That’s an excellent problem.‘”
However Harrington is a realist and he understands there is no such thing as a manner he has the power and additional time that Bryson does to make that prime stage of content material. Harrington says he performs about 30 occasions per yr so it doesn’t depart him quite a lot of leeway.
“I’m unsure what number of occasions Bryson is enjoying, 22 or one thing. So he’s received eight weeks on me to make that YouTube content material. Nevertheless it’s actually good, I’ve received to say. As a participant, he’s the primary one to actually cross that divide. I take pleasure in his content material—put it like that. I watch it.”
Harrington’s need to instruct and provide leisure golfers a few of his sage recommendation is there however he has to handle his obligations.
“I must exit of my manner to try this like Bryson does and my caddie instructed me, ‘You continue to suppose you’re a participant. You continue to like enjoying.’ And that’s what I actually love—enjoying the sport. So I’m not going to surrender that point. I’m not going to change into a YouTuber. I simply can’t. I can’t spend 30 days of the yr doing that.
“I’m completely satisfied sufficient to do my particular person classes and do the issues that I’ve time to submit as a result of that’s on my time. I can do these after I wish to and I can handle it. I’m answerable for it. However to take the subsequent step can be an excessive amount of. I’d must retire. And I don’t suppose I wish to retire from enjoying golf for the time being. I don’t suppose I’m going to go to the subsequent stage like Bryson has performed however I’m going to proceed on with the stuff I like doing on YouTube.”
A special tackle the YouTube golf rat race
Most of Harrington’s movies are between six and 20 minutes in size which is smart for a chatty character just like the two-time Open Championship winner who appreciates having the ability to say issues with out time parameters.
“I had performed business shoots previously for firms and once they say that I must nail my strains in two minutes it truly creates a little bit of stress. Like you need to be on level for that actual time. I like having some flexibility.”
And Harrington additionally likes to let his manufacturing crew hit the file button, execute his first take and transfer on to the subsequent factor. He wouldn’t be bothered to restart from a small mistake.
“All of those movies and ideas you watch are first takes. Each video I do. Now, I’d restart within the first 30 seconds if I received it flawed however as soon as I’m within the video for 2 or three minutes I’m not going again to the beginning. So if I fumble at that stage, I’m simply going to hold on like nothing occurred. I’m not going to re-edit a video since you attempt to try this and doing a two-minute video takes an hour. If it ended up turning into like that, I simply wouldn’t do these movies.”
Fortunately he employs a multi-camera manufacturing crew to file the movies with him and give you what he calls “shiny” thumbnails to get viewers’ consideration on YouTube.
“I do the content material however I don’t know do the advertising and marketing aspect of it. YouTube is all about these sound bites and the thumbnails and all that form of stuff. I wouldn’t know that and I actually wouldn’t have the inclination. I’ve learn a bit bit about it however I want a manufacturing crew behind me in relation to the precise YouTube stuff and placing it on the market and attempting to get these clicks.”
So what number of days a yr does Harrington find yourself spending on his golf ideas movies?
That’s a loaded query. On the floor, he does two to a few lengthy manufacturing days at a course per yr. Harrington, his manufacturing crew and supervisor Adrian Mitchell search to place out two quick movies per thirty days from these days of multi-camera filming.
“Every single day I’m engaged on the preparation for my ideas and fortunately I’ve found an excellent useful resource: it’s referred to as the PGA Tour Champions. All of the gamers have little nuggets of data so I spend a complete yr gathering—I’m mainly plagiarizing, if you wish to say. I’m trying in all places to seek out the following tips. So it’s the yr of preparation after which I in all probability do two massive days of filming after which quite a few little days when it comes to the video manufacturing.”
Mitchell evaluations every quick video from a golfer’s perspective to make sure they’re comprehensible and informative—they usually often are.
Timeless, old-school classes
An excellent instance of Harrington’s brilliance at instructing is his easy but informative explanations that attraction to a large viewers. His “Easy methods to Management the Clubface at Impression” video from this previous October is a first-rate instance. It’s 11 minutes lengthy—and he regularly speaks to the digital camera and says issues like “we” would wish to do this drill. He then reveals two or three sensible drills for the bogey golfer that give prompt suggestions on clubface management.
“I’m getting suggestions and that’s necessary,” Harrington says as he places water on the face of his driver to see every vary ball’s dimple marks from impression. He additionally attracts a black dot on some golf balls to collect quick suggestions of which groves he’s hitting with iron pictures.
With out breaking focus or power stage, Harrington then seamlessly transitions to incorporate newbie golfers within the second half of the video by instructing them to not concentrate on hitting the ball straight, however reasonably on hitting pictures that transfer to the left or proper by overly manipulating the clubface. The concept being that, so as to know the place sq. contact is, you may determine it out greatest by exaggerating the opposites with both a shut or open clubface at impression.
“Padraig actually enjoys teaching and serving to golfers enhance in any respect ranges—from newcomers to the sport to extra skilled gamers,” Mitchell says. “That features in the course of the pro-ams he performs every match week, in addition to via his YouTube channel.”
Harrington’s supervisor stays in contact with the manufacturing firm they use for manufacturing, post-production and social (Viral Nation) all through the enhancing course of, making requests for amendments—after which he provides last approval when he deems every video is prepared for {the golfing} public.
“I take the angle after I movie these that you simply take it or depart it,” stated Harrington. “For those who don’t like what I’m saying otherwise you don’t like my content material, there’s loads of different individuals to observe. For those who do like my content material, effectively, then that’s nice. And this content material all got here from the COVID time after I first began doing these movies.”
As for what’s subsequent in 2025, Harrington is mulling whether or not he desires to return for a time to capturing some recommendations on his iPhone after which getting these shorter movies out on his X and Instagram feeds.
“I’d truly desire to do (video ideas) extra typically with shorter movies. And that’s possibly a mannequin going ahead the place I simply return to two-minute movies on Twitter and Instagram like I used to do in COVID. That may be loads simpler. I might simply movie them on my iPhone and right here you go, when you prefer it or when you don’t. The query at all times with this stuff is how a lot do you wish to commit, how a lot manufacturing do you wish to put into it to get to the subsequent stage? Are you ready to go that additional manner? Proper now with my golf, I’m not ready to show round all that point.”
Harrington says he want to produce extra movies in 2025 on how gamers can coach themselves.
“In the long run, the weekend warrior is de facto most inquisitive about hitting the golf ball higher. So I’m in all probability pondering my subsequent technique on YouTube is attempting to present classes that may assist individuals educate themselves. So when you see this, that is what it is advisable do in case your divot seems like this. That is what you’re seemingly doing and that is what it is advisable do correctly with divots.”
Harrington says he’s obsessed with teaching technique for golfers as effectively however thinks these sorts of movies simply don’t resonate with the YouTube golf viewers.
You possibly can’t say the person isn’t obsessed with instructing. And he’s an excellent instance of an skilled in his craft who’s capable of get out of his personal sport and outcomes to seek out pleasure in others’ enchancment—even when he’s not inquisitive about maximizing views like different YouTube golf celebrities.
Prime Photograph Caption: Padraig Harrington has a small however loyal YouTube following. (GETTY IMAGES/Christian Petersen)
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