Who are the 100 Most Influential People In Golf 2023?

The 100 Most Influential People in Golf

Meet the tour stars, YouTubers, Instagrammers, equipment designers, company CEOs, course architects, legends, rule-makers, deal-breakers and controversial disruptors who’ve had the biggest impact on our game this year.

JUMP TO: How we did it | 100-76 | 75-51 | 50-26 | 25-11 | 10-1

Welcome to The 100 Most Influential People in Golf 2023.

The word ‘influencer’ has evolved significantly over the last decade. It’s no longer confined to tour stars or men in suits who make decisions behind closed doors. Social media, Netflix and an evergrowing number of podcasts have given everyone a voice. Some are just more influential than others.

If you want an idea of how hard it is to get in our second annual list of the Top 100 Most Influential People in Golf (see our 2022 ranking here), you just need to look at No.100: The World No.1, Scottie Scheffler!

Ahead of him are a lot more players, coaches, industry execs, course designers, social media stars, TV personalities… even a DJ!

When we started planning this list over the summer, we spent several hours over a number of days discussing what constitutes influence in golf. Is it a massive social media following? Is it governing the sport or setting trends in equipment design? Is it having a Major Championship to your name, or leading a team to victory in the Ryder Cup? Or does it simply come down to power and agreeing to a partnership without anyone knowing about it?

In the end, we decided it is all of those things and more.

This is a global list – open to anyone, anywhere – of those whose decisions, money or content affect the way you enjoy and consume the game. We scored every person who made the final 500+ shortlist and split them according to their influence over your game and the game in this calendar year.

So, let the ranking begin…

The Most Influential People in Golf 2023: 100-76

100 SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER

The world’s best golfer

Scheffler led the way on the course for much of 2023, despite failing to add to his maiden Major win at last year’s Masters. But consistency tee to green alone does not grant you the power and adoration which should go hand-in-hand with being World No.1.

He has the platform to seize influence from the game’s other top players but needs to show more of himself in a field of outgoing personalities.

99 MAX HOMA

More than just a keyboard king

The affable American is golf’s social media king, but this year he has emerged from behind the keyboard to become an influencer where it really counts.

He broke into the world’s top 10 and displayed major credentials in the Ryder Cup pressure cooker. Homa is a popular addition to the game’s elite and continues to build a cult following by being accessible and relatable across Twitter/X and the podcast circuit.

98 TOM KIM

Asia’s new megastar

The South Korean is taking the PGA Tour by storm. Aged 21, Kim became the youngest player since Tiger Woods to win three PGA titles after retaining the Shriners Children’s Open in October.

His bravado, talent and unassuming personality make him a marketer’s dream in Asia, which is why Nike moved quickly to tie him to a big-money deal in January.

97 Ludvig Aberg

The talk of the tour after a breakout summer

Not since Rory McIlroy hit the big time has there been this much excitement around a European golfer.

Aberg dominated the amateur circuit, made an instant impression on the PGA Tour and then became the first player in 44 editions of the Ryder Cup to be selected without having played in a Major Championship.

The 24-year-old made yet more history by teaming up with Viktor Hovland to inflict a 9&7 foursomes defeat on US power pair Scottie Scheffler and Brooks Koepka.

A first victory at the European Masters, just 75 days after turning pro, suggests he is a man in a hurry. His RSM Classic win on the PGA Tour came after we’d finalized the 2023 influential list but will form part of our 2024 scoring.

Here’s everything you need to know about Ludvig Aberg and his WITB.

96 DUDE PERFECT

The YouTube phenomenon

Tyler Toney, Garrett Hilbert, Cody Jones and twins Cory and Coby Cotton attempt trick shots and ridiculous challenges and sports stunts for the enjoyment of 59.8 million subscribers on YouTube and 12 million followers on Instagram.

This year they attempted to break golf world records with the assistance of Rory McIlroy. Hilbert also played in the Ryder Cup celebrity All-Star match at Marco Simone.

95 SUZANN PETTERSEN

The Solheim Cup comeback queen

More people than ever tuned in to the final day of the Solheim Cup this year, a vast audience watching as Pettersen’s European team came back from a first-session whitewash to lift the Cup for a record-breaking third time in a row. The performance was, in many ways, an embodiment of Pettersen’s passion and steely determination. The captaincy is in safe hands for another year.

94 ALEXANDRA ARMAS

Ladies European Tour CEO

Within months of taking on her role in early 2020, the pandemic was threatening the LET’s very existence. But alliances with the LPGA and Golf Saudi have not only provided security for the future, but also helped make 2023’s combined prize pot of €35m a record-breaker.

She’s eyeing an LPGA merger in the future and a reduction of golf’s gender pay gap.

93 BOB DOES SPORTS

Golf’s own Top Gear trio

Bob Does Sports was never intentionally set up as a golf channel in late 2021, but after finding success with their golf content, they haven’t looked back.

Robert Berger, Nick Stubbe and Joseph Demare document their golf journey to 643,000 YouTube followers, as well as hosting events, recording podcasts, and flogging their own range of merchandise – Breezy Golf.

92 ZACH JOHNSON

A bad influence

Questionable wildcard picks and pairing decisions saw his USA Team trounced at Marco Simone, not helped by rumored infighting. He talked Spieth into changing club at a pivotal point in his Saturday fourball match; the Texan promptly dumped the shot into the water, leading some to brand Johnson “the worst Ryder Cup captain ever”.

91 MATT FITZPATRICK

Major man going his own way

Matt Fitzpatrick has never been afraid of being different. His obsession with detail and stats have long separated him from his peers and now he’s pioneering the use of the Stack System and an unorthodox reverse-hands short-game technique.

His innovation didn’t bring him further Major success in 2023, but it gave us mortals something new to practice at the range besides the Happy Gilmore.

90 KIM BRALY

The main man at KBS Shafts

You need serious know-how to not just design one game-changing golf shaft, but to come back and do it all over again.

Braly is the brains behind Rifle Precision (now known as Project X), a company sold to True Temper in 2006. He has since convinced swathes of tour pros and manufacturers that his KBS models are even better. Viktor Hovland, Cameron Smith, Justin Rose and Phil Mickelson are just a few of his many fans.

Check out Braly’s work in our guides to the best KBS iron shafts, wedge shafts, and putter shafts.

89 BOB VOKEY

Legendary wedge master

Vokey is synonymous with unmatched craftsmanship in the wedge department, which he puts down to listening to the needs of the world’s best players and the resources Titleist provide to bring his ideas to life.

Vokey wedges are best-sellers with golfers of all abilities and nigh on 40 percent of all sand, lob and approach wedges on tour bear Vokey’s iconic name.

88 SCOTTY CAMERON

The king of putter makers

Trusted by dozens of Major champions, including Tiger Woods, Jordan Spieth and Nelly Korda, Don T. ‘Scotty’ Cameron has earned a reputation as the world’s premier putter maker.

Cameron’s love for “the art of putting” continues today, designing the finest milled putters using innovative methods, new materials, modern shapes and concepts.

87 TOM DOAK

The king of course design

Tom Doak may have sold his Renaissance Golf design business to a number of his associates, but he remains very active in his own right.

Te Arai (North) has just opened in New Zealand, and looks like another instant Doak classic.

His protégé Angela Moser is working on the new course at Pinehurst, while another of his star pupils, Clyde Johnson, is building the second course at Cabot Highlands (Castle Stuart to you and I).

86 PAIGE SPIRANAC

Social media juggernaut

You may have your own opinion on why so many people engage with her social media channels and podcast, but facts are facts. She remains the most followed and engaged golfer on Instagram, with brands queuing up to work with her.

This year she authored her first children’s golf book, Hattie Goes Golfing, and launched her OnlyPaige website, offering paid-for instruction.

85 ROSE ZHANG

The future of women’s golf

Easily the most talked about player in the women’s game right now. The 20-year-old only turned pro in June but the hype machine was fuelled by her performances in the unpaid ranks where she won a record 12 times in 20 starts at Stanford and spent 141 weeks as the world’s top-ranked female amateur, the most of all time.

She was celebrating again at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur in April, and then made an even bigger statement two months later by defeating Major champion Jennifer Kupcho in a playoff at the Mizuho Americas Open on her LPGA Tour debut.

The kid is so special that she has earned praise from and comparisons to Tiger Woods.

84 VIKTOR HOVLAND

Europe’s next Major man

A breakthrough year for Hovland, who finished the PGA Tour season with back-to-back wins to clinch the FedEx Cup and its coveted $18 million bonus prize.

He took that momentum to Rome, where he returned 3.5 points from five and endeared himself to fans with his goofy personality.

Now the talk is of a first Major, but that talk is all ‘when’ rather than ‘if’.

83 DAVE SCHNIDER

CEO and President of Fujikura

Unlike head manufacturers, shaft brands don’t pay pros to play their products, so Schnider is clearly doing things right. Often referred to as ‘the stock shaft to the PGA Tour’, on account of so many of the world’s best players trusting Fujikura, Rory, Tiger, Scheffler, and Hovland all play them, which has led to the brand becoming a stock shaft for recent TaylorMade drivers.

Check out what happened when we visited Fujikura’s golf lab in California and find out what we think are the best Fujikura iron shafts.

82 CHRIS CONSIDINE

True Temper CEO and President

True Temper Sports have a history of purchasing rival brands, and Considine also heads up brands such as Dynamic Gold, Project X, Accra and AeroTech, so he wields considerable influence.

The company is still most famous for the Dynamic Gold, however. Today, the model is the most-played iron shaft on tour, even though it was developed from a 1940s design.

81 MICHAEL BLOCK

The people’s champion

Michael Block was the Cinderella story of the PGA Championship. Paired with Rory on Sunday, the 47-year-old club pro made a slam-dunk ace and finished inside the top 15 to qualify for next year’s event.

He’s done the rounds on podcasts and at charity days since then, accepting sponsor’s invitations to play in PGA Tour events and proving it’s never too late to chase your dreams.

80 NO LAYING UP

Global online golf behemoth

NLU launched as a website in 2014, previewing tournaments and covering big golf stories. Then they exploded. Today, they have close to a million followers and have produced over 750 podcast episodes, with recent guests including Scottie Scheffler, Patrick Cantlay and Max Homa.

They also have their own merch, and partnerships with global brands that include Callaway, Titleist and BMW.

79 FORE PLAY GOLF

Alternative sports brand

An offshoot of Barstool Sports, Fore Play present the US’ biggest podcast and are now also one of golf’s fastest growing YouTube channels, thanks to their brash content and matches against the PGA Tour’s biggest stars.

A multi-event broadcast deal with the PGA Tour is now in the works for next season after they received praise for streaming the Korn Ferry Tour’s NV5 Invitational on barstool.tv.

78 BRANDEL CHAMBLEE

Golf’s most acerbic analyst

Chamblee makes headlines with his willingness to critique top stars and discuss controversial topics – a refreshing change from those pundits afraid to ruffle feathers.

It would be quicker to name the players he hasn’t taken a shot at this year than list those he has, but his greatest ire has been reserved for LIV, and the PGA Tour’s deal “with a murderous dictator”.

77 SAL SYED

Arccos Golf CEO and founder

Arccos’ on-course shot tracking system and Caddie app allow us to make more informed playing decisions and shoot lower scores. Syed credits five of his six hole-in-ones to his innovative grip tag tool that combines shot tracking with AI and strokes gained analytics.

Backed by some of the biggest brands in golf, Arccos is the ‘Official Game Tracker of the PGA Tour’.

76 DJ KHALED

Award-winning rapper and producer

The New Orleans-born hip-hop star is a social media machine, churning out golf content every few hours to 37.8 million Instagram followers.

As well as making the front cover of Golf Digest in March, Khaled was named as a Ryder Cup ambassador in Rome and ran his first charity golf day, which raised $110,000 for his own foundation and aims to make the game more diverse. He’s currently teasing his own golf TV show, named after his popular catchphrase, Let’s Go Golfing.

The 100 Most Influential People in Golf 2023: 75-51

75 CHRIS LINDNER

President of FootJoy

FootJoy have been the No.1 shoe at every PGA Tour tournament since 1945 – and for that Lindner deserves a portion of credit.

As President since 2016, Lindner has increased FootJoy’s offering for women and supplied Tiger with a pair of FootJoy Premiere Packard golf shoes, which he’s preferred over his own signature line at the last two Masters. As far as endorsements go, we can’t think of many better!

Find out what we think the best FootJoy shoes are.

74 MARTIN EBERT

The R&A-approved architect

Martin Ebert remains the Royal & Ancient’s go-to guy for courses poised to host its championships, most notably The Open.

He produced ‘Little Eye’, the new par 3 at Hoylake that caused such noise before this year’s Open.

In partnership with Tom Mackenzie, work is now well underway at nearby Royal Birkdale, as well as various other classic courses stretching from Hankley Common to New South Wales.

73 PETER FINCH

Leading content creator

The last 12 months saw the Manchester-based YouTuber quit competitive professional golf to focus exclusively on making content.

Collaborations with YouTubers from both sides of the pond helped grow subscriber numbers, including a long-awaited rematch with Rick Shiels, while partnerships with brands including FootJoy, Golfbidder, Shot Scope and BMW have boosted Finch’s income and opportunities.

He also made his debut on the Today’s Golfer cover in our September issue… Undoutbtedly a career highlight for the PGA pro.

72 DAVID HUNTER

Shot Scope CEO and Founder

Hunter combined his passion for golf and background in electrical engineering to create one of golf’s most innovative and powerful game improvement tools, sold in over 100 countries.

Shot Scope aim to create products and services you cannot go golfing without, and their range of distance measurement and shot-tracking devices are a testament to this, reducing their users’ handicaps by more than four shots!

Found out how Shot Scopes products measure up in the best shot-tracking devices.

70= BEN CRENSHAW & BILL COORE

Golf’s most in-demand designers Bill and Ben opened the South course at Te Arai within the last year, and Point Hardy will also soon be revealed.

Another Cabot development, this time in Saint Lucia, has already been ranked among the World’s Top 100 Golf Courses.

They have four more opening this year too: Wicker Point, Brambles, McArthur (The Back Yard) and Streamsong (The Chain) – a truly remarkable number.

69 DAVE SAMPSON

Ryder Cup course creator

The Englishman has worked on many courses for European Golf Design but he rose to prominence in September when the Ryder Cup visited his creation, Marco Simone. An original course was already in place but Sampson had full licence to re-do it to make it Ryder Cup-ready.

It was a widely-celebrated success as Europe prevailed – and entered our Continental Europe ranking at No.89.

68 JAMES LEDFORD

President of Golf Pride

You may not think a grip company carries much influence, but we wouldn’t be able to play the game without them. Around 80 percent of tour pros use Golf Pride without a contract – and those numbers are replicated at club level too.

Ledford signs off on all the latest products and recently spearheaded the opening of a Global Innovation Centre at Pinehurst, which boasts a first-of-its-kind retail lab.

Check out our guide to the best Golf Pride grips.

67 PETER DAWSON

Chairman of the OWGR

The former R&A Chief Executive has been back in the spotlight this year as an adjudicator of sorts in LIV’s fight for Official World Golf Ranking points. By rejecting their plea, Dawson has shaped the future format of golf’s breakaway league, impacted its appeal to stars yet to be lured, and determined whether some of the world’s best players will qualify for Majors.

66 DAVID McLAY KIDD

Award-winning architect

The President of DMK Golf Designs and creator of Bandon Dunes is busy in America and will open some eyebrow-raising new courses in the coming months, but it is his work in Portugal that gets him this slot.

Terras da Comporta (Dunas) entered our Continental Europe Top 100 at No.9. That makes it Portugal’s instant No.1 best golf course and the second best in Iberia. As it matures and settles down, it will rise further. An instant modern masterpiece.

65 BROOKS KOEPKA

The new face of LIV Golf

Koepka became the first LIV player to win a Major with his third PGA Championship victory in May, and was the sole PGA Tour defector on the 2023 US Ryder Cup team.

Golf’s alpha male continues to beat his own drum and is never short of a controversial opinion, though Full Swing showed him in a more vulnerable light, which may have changed a few perspectives on him for the better.

64 LIANG CHEN LEE

Fusheng Chairman and CEO

You’ve probably never heard of Liang Chen Lee, but he has the keys to the largest supplier of golf clubheads globally, and that gives him significant influence.

With factories in China, Vietnam and Taiwan, Fusheng produce tons of drivers, fairways, hybrids, irons, wedges and putters every year for several of golf’s biggest brands. Without them, the lead time on orders would be a lot longer.

63 MARTY JERTSON

Ping product guru

As Ping’s Director of Product Development, Jertson is credited with the design of many of the brand’s most successful clubs, and listed on over 125 patents.

His influence spans every level of player, from superstars like Viktor Hovland – who this year called Jertson 90 minutes before his PGA Championship tee time to ask how the precipitation was going to impact things like spin rates and friction on the face of his Ping clubs – to absolute beginners and everyone in between.

He’s also one of the co-founders of The Stack System, the weighted training aid used by Matt Fitzpatrick to increase clubhead speed.

62 MOLLIE MARCOUX SAMAAN

Commissioner of the LPGA

A record-breaking $108 million prize fund in 2023, up 54% from 2021 (her predecessor Mike Whan’s final year), shows Marcoux Samaan has taken her LPGA role in her stride.

Her next step is to appoint strategic advisors to secure investment in the tour, and drive broadcast exposure and commercialization of the Solheim Cup.

61 CHO MINN THANT

Asian Tour Commissioner/CEO

Thant took a big risk by choosing Saudi money over the safety net of a DP World Tour partnership, but the Asian Tour have reaped the benefits this year by luring LIV golfers to play in their biggest events.

Prize money hit a record high and the International Series has expanded into the Middle East, Asia, Africa and now Europe, with events in England and Scotland.

60 JUSTIN THOMAS

Two-time major winner who temporarily lost his game – but not his fans

Justin Thomas started the year seeing his 2022 PGA Championship win spotlighted in the pilot episode of Netflix’s Full Swing documentary. But most of the headlines he made in 2023 were owing to his startling drop-off in form.

He was widely deemed unselectable for the Ryder Cup but turned things around with a gallant display that justified his wildcard pick. We named him one of USA’s leading players in our Ryder Cup rankings.

He also starred in the inaugural Netflix Cup, which pitted four PGA Tour stars against four F1 drivers in the streaming platform’s first-ever live sports event.

59 HIDEAKI KAWAMATSU

SRI Sports SEO

SRI own Srixon, XXIO and Cleveland Golf, who have endorsements with players including Brooks Koepka and Hideki Matsuyama. At the helm is Hideaki Kawamatsu, who has guided the company to a top-three position in the global share of golf equipment, driven a record 15 percent growth in sales on 2022, and headed up initiatives reducing plastic usage by 50%.

58 STEPH CURRY

An NBA champ almost as influential on the course as on the court

Alongside basketball, Curry found time in 2023 to win a celebrity golf tournament with an ace, become a part owner in a new TGL team and launch a TV show, Niiice Shot, on Golf Channel.

The World Golf Hall of Fame announced that in 2024, Curry will receive the Charlie Sifford Award, acknowledging his role in advancing diversity in golf.

57 RAJ SUBRAMANIAM

CEO of FedEx

With PGA Tour stars being tempted by LIV Golf’s mega bucks, the FedEx millions signed off by the firm’s CEO have never been more crucial.

The 2024 FedEx Cup champion will receive a $25 million bonus, a substantial $7 million increase on this year. FedEx’s current PGA Tour sponsorship deal expires in 2027, so they’ll want to keep Subramaniam sweet.

56 DANNY MAUDE

A YouTube coach with 1.14 million subscribers.

Leeds-born Maude doesn’t get the attention that some other YouTubers receive, but his ability to simplify the game through understandable concepts has seen him gain more than 250,000 subscribers this year… and strike a blow for a coaching platform often criticized for overpromising and technical indulgence.

Alongside his YouTube channel, he offers a host of coaching plans on his own website (dannymaude.com) and continues to provide group and one-to-one lessons as the Head PGA Pro at Canterbury Golf Club in Kent.

Read our interview with Danny Maude.

55 GUY KINNINGS

Ryder Cup Director

It was not only captain Luke Donald who faced an uphill battle after Europe’s thrashing at Whistling Straits in 2021 – the European Tour’s Ryder Cup Director Guy Kinnings did, too.

Ultimately, Donald won plaudits but Kinnings had much to do with ensuring on-and off-the-course success for Italy, Europe and the DP World Tour, for whom the match is an essential source of revenue. Kinnings delivered so well that Rome reaped three times the commercial revenue Paris did in 2018.

54 NIALL HORAN

Pop superstar turned golf leader

The 30-year-old former One Direction star turned his attention to his true obsession in 2016, setting up his own management company, Modest! Golf. His influence on the game has grown significantly since.

Besides managing the likes of Tyrrell Hatton and Leona Maguire, Horan was instrumental in the birth of the ISPS HANDA World Invitational.

With his 40.3 million followers on X and 32.7 million followers on Instagram, he’s bringing a massive new audience to the game.

Leveraging his influence, Horan helped the R&A launch Golf.Golf, a learn-to-play initiative designed to bring more players into the game.

Read our interview with the pop superstar.

53 ME AND MY GOLF

Online golf coaching kings

Brits Piers Ward and Andy Proudman offer straightforward, simple instruction that’s helped millions of golfers improve their swing. They don’t do club reviews. They don’t opine on X. Their mission is simple: to help every level of golfer play better. They do that via their own YouTube channel and podcast, training aids and online coaching programs, including one with Today’s Golfer.

They also coach PGA Tour star Aaron Rai, who hit his highest World Ranking of 61st in October.

See Me And My Golf’s best tips.

52 BOB PARSONS

Founder and CEO of PXG

As if making the world’s finest clubs wasn’t a big enough goal for Parsons, now he’s trying to revolutionize how golfers buy equipment. PXG have opened 24 standalone retail stores across the US, Korea and UK which cut out the middleman and offer a highly customized experience, and they’ve just opened their first UK store – PXG London South.

They’ve also entered the golf ball space with PXG Extreme (find out how it performed in our robot golf balls test) and are starting to appeal to the masses with a more affordable range of clubs.

51 DAVID PILLSBURY

CEO of Invited

As CEO of the world’s largest owner and operator of private clubs, Pillsbury is a disruptor of industry. He’s overseen the rebranding of ClubCorp to Invited and welcomed Jordan Spieth as an investor in the company, which now owns and operates 180 golf and country clubs. They are also $29 million better off after selling their BigShots business to Callaway Topgolf.

The 100 Most Influential People in Golf 2023: 50-26

50 PHIL KENYON

The world’s most respected and sought-after putting coach

When tour players need help with their putting, they inevitably call Phil Kenyon. The Lancastrian counts five of this year’s Ryder Cup participants among his star-studded client list, including World No.1 Scottie Scheffler and Europe’s hero Tommy Fleetwood.

Incredibly, he also runs an online putting academy with over 2,000 members, sells his own range of Visio training aids and is the Director of Instruction at Formby Hall’s Putting School of Excellence.

See how Phil Kenyon can save you six strokes.

49 GREG MCLAUGHLIN

World Golf Foundation CEO

Previously at the helm of the Tiger Woods Foundation, McLaughlin now plays a key role in delivering on the WGF’s mission statement of protecting golf’s values and passing them onto future generations. An unsung hero, McLaughlin helps celebrate the game (through the World Golf Hall of Fame) and grow it for future generations (through the First Tee program).

48 TIM SCHANTZ

President and CEO of Troon

Since replacing founder Dana Garmany as CEO, Schantz has secured investment from Rory and helped cement Troon as the world’s largest third-party manager of clubs. This year they bought the management and consulting division of Invited, their 13th acquisition since 2007. They now service more than 825 properties, including The Grove and Trump Turnberry.

47 MARK STEINBERG

Golf’s most powerful agent

Tiger’s trusted agent for more than three decades, it’s easy to argue – as his position here suggests – that much of Tiger’s success has been built on Steinberg’s business acumen.

But he has evolved to become more than just Woods’ ‘Yes’ man. As a partner at Excel Sports Management, he represents 35 clients, including Collin Morikawa and Justins Rose and Thomas.

46 JUSTIN ROSE

Major man, major mentor

A winner again on the PGA Tour in 2023, the Englishman rode that wave into a sixth Ryder Cup appearance where he contributed as points winner and cool-headed advisor to fourball partner Robert MacIntyre. That role highlighted his leadership qualities, as do his continuing efforts to grow the game with the Rose Ladies Open, Justin Rose junior program, and the Justin Rose Academy.

45 JON RAHM

Europe’s new heavyweight

It was Jon Rahm, and not Rory McIlroy, who led out Luke Donald’s men on days one and three of the Ryder Cup, signs of a power shift among the European side. And it is a leadership status Rahm more than earned with his victory at Augusta last April.

His charitable contributions also mean his influence extends across all levels of the game.

44 LUKE DONALD

The mastermind of Europe’s Ryder Cup victory

Few people will make this list through a singular achievement, but Donald truly was the architect behind Europe’s triumph. He created the perfect American antidote with the course set-up, and his statistically-driven decision to switch to foursomes for the opening session was a gutsy master stroke the US never recovered from. There have been calls for him to retain the captaincy, which hasn’t happened in Ryder Cup blue for 30 years.

43 JEAN-FREDERIC DUFOUR

CEO of Rolex

Rolex’s grip on the game can be seen through its associations. It started in 1967 with Arnold Palmer and today they count Tiger, Jack, Rahm, Lexi and Annika Sorenstam among their ambassadors. They sponsor many of the game’s biggest events, including the Ryder and Solheim Cups and all of the men’s and women’s Major Championships. That kind of investment carries a lot of clout in the professional game.

41= RON PRICE & TYLER DENNIS

Chief Operating Officer of the PGA Tour & President of the PGA Tour respectively

Three days after testifying before Congress, Price teamed up with Dennis and took over day-to-day operations of the PGA Tour for five weeks due to Jay Monahan’s leave of absence this summer.

The pair are now leading talks to reach a definitive agreement with the Saudis before the December 31 deadline.

40 JON WATTERS

Foresight Co-President

Under the guidance of Watters (pictured left), who heads up operations alongside Scott Werbelow (right), Foresight Sports have become one of the game’s most trusted launch monitors, used by players, coaches and fitters alike.

Consider TG converts: Foresight’s class-leading product, the GCQuad, is so accurate that we use it for all our best equipment tests.

39 GOOD GOOD

YouTube heavyweights

Only the second golf YouTube channel to reach one million subscribers (after Rick Shiels), Good Good travel the globe, playing in Pro-Ams, breaking world records and partaking in matches and challenges.

This year they hosted a Good Good Championship for fledging pros, with a $100,000 purse, and joined forces with Odyssey to launch a limited-edition putter.

38 STEVE OTTO

R&A ‘scientist’

Modestly describing himself as “merely a scientist”, Professor Otto is a key figure across many areas, from creating the World Amateur Ranking to heading up the R&A’s equipment standards department.

As Executive Director-Chief Technology Officer, his job is to test and analyze thousands of balls and clubs to protect the integrity of the ancient game.

37 JONATHAN SMITH

Environmental champion

Smith is the Executive Director of the GEO Foundation for Sustainable Golf, a body that works alongside events and organizations such as the R&A and Ryder Cup to emphasize the importance of environmental responsibility.

This year witnessed progress in halting biodiversity loss, reducing water demand, and maximizing the industry’s collective effort.

36 STEVE PELISEK

President of Titleist clubs

Pelisek is a 30-year Titleist veteran and has been President of Titleist clubs since 2016. It’s no secret Titleist golf balls have kept the lights on at Titleist towers for decades, but Pelisek’s mission is to take those Pro V1 fans and turn them into full-line ambassadors. He believes there are as many as eight million dedicated golfers globally the brand can appeal to.

35 THOMAS PAGEL

The USGA’s rules guru

If not a name you will recognize, Pagel’s role as the USGA’s Chief Governance Officer means he influences every round of golf played in the US (and Mexico).

He wears many hats but the most significant sees him lead the Rules Modernization initiative, working with the R&A to make the Rules of Golf easier to understand and implement for all golfers. You’ll thank or curse him for that.

34 MIKE MCCARLEY

CEO of TMRW Sports

Anyone who counts Tiger and Rory as business partners is a major player in golfing circles.

Their TMRW Sports venture is behind a tech-infused golf league, called TGL, which is launching in association with the PGA Tour.

McCarley is the money man behind the scenes, quietly building an all-star investor list which is the envy of every Fortune 500 company.

33 JOE ASSELL

GOLFTEC’s CEO and MVP

Since 1995, co-founder Assell has overseen GOLFTEC’s growth from humble beginnings in Denver to a world leader in data-rich golf instruction, with over 250 centers, including 180 in the US.

Their recent acquisition of SkyTrak and expansion into the Middle East indicates why GOLFTEC’s trajectory is one of the strongest in the sport.

32 ANNIKA SORENSTAM

The greatest female golfer of her generation and President of the International Golf Federation

Sorenstam inspired a whole generation as a player and continues to do so through her own foundation, which provides golf and educational opportunities at junior, collegiate and professional levels. Some 125 alumni have now gone on to play on the LPGA, while $8 million has been invested back into junior golf.

Her brand is now so big that she has an LPGA event bearing her name – ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican event – which debuted this month with the largest purse outside of the Majors and Tour Championship.

She continues to host the co-sanctioned Scandinavian Mixed on the LET and DP World Tour and has been re-elected President of the IGF to help prepare for next year’s Paris Olympics.

31 KLAUS ELDRUP-JORGENSEN

TrackMan CEO

Over the last decade, TrackMan have revolutionized how we play, practice and watch golf thanks to the vision of co-founder Eldrup-Jorgensen (pictured, left).

They’ve also pioneered the launch of the NEXT Golf Tour, played on TrackMan simulators with players competing for real-world tour starts.

30 PHIL MICKELSON

Ageless troublemaker

Competitively, the 53-year-old managed just one top-five finish all year, but it was a special one as a final-round 65 grabbed a share of second at the Masters.

In interviews and on social media he continues to stir the LIV pot, hence his inclusion here. He also brushed off allegations that he’s placed over $1 billion in bets over the last 30 years, including a $400,000 wager at the 2012 Ryder Cup!

29 ROBERT MAXFIELD

Chief Executive of the PGA

Maxfield is keen to modernize the game and make it welcoming to all. Research commissioned by the PGA found that 17.5 million people across GB&I are engaged with golf without stepping foot on a course, which Maxfield sees as a chance to increase the 4.9 million ‘on course’ players. “It gives the industry the chance to diversify the sport’s fan base and user base,” he says.

28 BRYSON DECHAMBEAU

A Major-winning, long-driving, opinion-dividing LIV star

DeChambeau’s first full LIV Golf season was a characteristically conspicuous one. He became just the fourth man in history to shoot 58 on a main tour at The Greenbrier.

He then captained his team to victory in the LIV Team Championship, sharing £11.5 million with Crushers comrades Anirban Lahiri, Charles Howell III, and Paul Casey. His relentless quest for distance saw him switch to a driver made by long drive specialists Krank and shave his legs for improved aerodynamics.

He’s now trying to rival Topgolf by putting his money behind a new golf entertainment venture called UnderPar Life, which he says will offer a more affordable option. The first venue is set to launch in Texas as early as next year.

27 GREG NORMAN

Head of LIV Golf

After being the most talked about golfer in 2022, Norman has become the forgotten face of LIV. He failed to deliver on his promise to recruit a batch of big-name golfers (although he looks set to make up for that for the 2024 season if reports are to be believed) and was then marginalized by his bosses as they instigated peace talks with the PGA Tour.

He still managed to expand LIV’s schedule from eight events to 14, but he won’t be sticking around much longer if Jay Monahan has his way.

26 CHAD MUMM

Executive Producer of Netflix documentary Full Swing

Following the success of F1: Drive to Survive, Mumm convinced the PGA Tour to give golf the Netflix treatment and spent the whole of 2022 following its main protagonists. The Full Swing series made bigger stars out of Tony Finau and Joel Dahmen, to name just two, and peaked at No.2 in the US and UK charts (read our Full Swing review).

A second series is set to drop in early 2024, while Mumm has just teased the launch of his own golf-centric media company.

The 100 Most Influential People in Golf 2023: 25-11

25 GRANT MOIR

The R&A’s Rules Guy

Promoted to the role of Executive Director at the start of the year, Moir leads the R&A’s governance and has a big say on the Rules of Golf that dictate how every golfer plays the game. He also works closely with the R&A’s equipment standards team, protecting the traditions of the game amid the rampant, unrelenting advances of technology.

24 MARY LOU BOHN

Titleist Golf Balls President

The majority of Acushnet’s net sales are attributed to their golf balls – and with net sales north of $2 billion, that’s a lot of Pro V1s sold! Around 70% of pros play Titleist golf balls, which is some endorsement for Bohn, the highest-ranking female on this list.

Her gender shouldn’t be a talking point in 2023, but she is breaking down barriers in what remains a very male-dominated industry.

23 BRIAN BAZZEL

TaylorMade product creative

He may not directly hold the purse strings, but if TaylorMade had no products to sell, there would be no brand, so for fans, this is a hugely influential guy.

Bazzel heads up Product Creation, which involves taking responsibility for the gear that Rory et al use. Part of the role is chairing TaylorMade’s ‘Friday Club’ meetings, where category managers develop fresh product and technology ideas.

22 JASON WESSELY

Head of Golf at Sky Sports

Wessely is responsible for overseeing Sky Sports’ ground-breaking coverage which showcases the sport 50 weeks a year, but most notably during the Majors.

The highlight of 2023 was the Ryder Cup, which utilized an innovative sharing of on-course facilities with Golf Channel and reaped record 3.7 million viewing figures for the event, a week after also setting a new bar for the Solheim Cup.

21 KEITH PELLEY

CEO of the European Tour Group

We were questioning the merits of a strategic alliance – and the decision to give away 10 of their best players to the PGA Tour each season – until Pelley shifted the terms in his favor and invited those who finished from 126-200 in the FedEx Cup to take up full DP World Tour membership.

He also deserves credit for muscling in on the framework agreement, and for asserting his authority by suspending and fining members who defected to LIV Golf – a decision which was later upheld in court.

20 ED HERLIHY

PGA Tour Policy Board Chair

Herlihy built his reputation as one of the US’ top mergers and acquisitions attorneys and was a major protagonist in the secret talks between the Saudis and PGA Tour that rocked the game. The Augusta National member has since been listed as one of four executive committee members of the proposed new PGA Tour Enterprises venture.

19 JOHN K. SOLHEIM

CEO of Ping

Only the third CEO Ping has ever had, John K. is responsible for protecting and building on the company’s 64-year history that includes club design and the Solheim Cup. It’s not a role he takes lightly.

“It’s the third generation that loses a business, generally,” he said. “If you get to the fourth generation, you have a legacy business.”

No pressure…

18 JACK NICKLAUS

Still-relevant, octogenarian GOAT

The winner of 18 Major Championships continues to expand a commercial empire that takes in multiple partnerships with brands, his own apparel line, a still-relevant instructional book, and the design, or redesign, of more than 425 courses worldwide, many of which host tour events.

He did suffer a setback this summer when he failed to regain control of his name and likeness, owned by a former business partner, following a federal court ruling. He will also be rebuilding the 16th hole at Muirfield Village after its redesign drew criticism at the Memorial Tournament he hosts. That he is willing to do so is typical of a man who has a champion’s desire to remain relevant.

Read our exclusive interview with Nicklaus from our visit to his North Palm Beach offices.

17 ANDREW GEORGIOU

TV titan

As President and MD of Sports at Warner Bros Discovery, Georgiou made a big call to axe GolfTV, the international home of the PGA Tour, and bundle everything under Discovery+ and Eurosport with a larger monthly subscription fee.

The backlash – and lack of availability in selected territories – meant Discovery’s $2 billion international broadcasting agreement was quietly renegotiated in January, with the PGA Tour taking back control of media rights in Asia, Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Discovery still retain streaming rights in much of Europe and Latin America until 2030, hence Georgiou’s position on the list.

He also agreed to a multi-year sublicense contract last summer which keeps Sky Sports as the PGA Tour rightsholder in the UK and Ireland.

16 RICK SHIELS

Social media superstar

Golf’s biggest YouTuber has racked up 750 million video views, built a multi-million-pound brand, relationships with some of golf’s best-known companies, a team of staff, and even a hit podcast.

His reviews can make or break a product’s chance of success, while his audience size has granted him access to many of the game’s biggest names, including Ian Poulter, Adam Scott, Rickie Fowler, and Lee Westwood.

Challenges like a 500km cycle and running the London Marathon have seen him raise over £65,000 for charity.

Read our in-depth interview with Rick Shiels, where he explains how he went from club pro to global star, and what the future holds for him. And check out our detailed guide to Rick’s equipment.

15 JIMMY DUNNE

A Wall Street dealmaker and Vice-Chairman on the PGA Tour Policy Board

Dunne is credited with bringing the PGA Tour and PIF together and brokering one of the most controversial deals in history.

He has a long history of mergers and acquisitions as an investment banker and is so well-connected that he belongs to Augusta National, Pine Valley and various clubs in Ireland. He’s also the President of the ultra-exclusive Seminole Golf Club, which gives you an idea as to the kind of company he keeps.

It’s one of the reasons Jay Monahan asked him to join the PGA Tour’s Policy Board as an independent director in November 2022, with the remit of making sure the Tour’s biggest names didn’t jump ship.

His influence peaked in April 2023, when he met PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan at Beaverbrook Golf Club and paved the way for the framework agreement. It was Dunne who gave Rory McIlroy, a close friend, the heads-up four hours before it became public knowledge, and we now know from leaked court documents that Monahan has earmarked Dunne to oversee LIV alongside Ed Herlihy.

14 FRED RIDLEY

Chairman of Augusta National Golf Club

The seventh Chairman of Augusta has more on his plate than any of his six predecessors. While racial and gender controversies have been swiftly resolved by the world’s most influential private club, Ridley’s inbox contains two issues that have the potential to change the professional game: who to invite to the Masters from LIV Golf, and rolling back the ball. The power rests in Ridley’s hands.

13 DAVID ABELES

CEO of TaylorMade

It’s been a big year for TaylorMade, one of the few billion-dollar golf companies. Along with the launch of Stealth 2 woods at the start of the year, we’ve had a new ball, new P790 irons, new Spider Tour putters, and even a partnership with Red Bull’s F1 team.

Behind the scenes, Abeles has resurrected Adams as an online-only, direct-to-consumer brand, and made a “material investment” in PopStroke, Tiger’s golf-entertainment business that mixes upscale putting courses with restaurants, bars and other gaming experiences.

12 DAVID MAHER

Acushnet President and CEO

Valued at more than $3.5 billion, Acushnet – which owns Titleist, FootJoy, Scotty Cameron and Vokey, among others – is the largest manufacturer of golf equipment, producing some of the best balls, wedges, putters, shoes and gloves.

Maher has been part of that journey for the last 32 years, but has had the final say on all major decisions since 2018.

In the last three years, he has overseen a period of sustained growth and emerged as one of the biggest critics of the rollback proposals. His voice carries significant weight.

11 SETH WAUGH

CEO of the PGA of America

A mentor to Jay Monahan and a former colleague of Martin Slumbers, Waugh is the well-connected and well-respected leader of one of the world’s largest sports organizations.

The PGA of America serves 30,000 pros and he oversees more than 30 tournaments and controls operations for Team USA in the Ryder Cup.

His biggest move to date has been relocating the PGA to a new HQ in Texas, dubbed the ‘Silicon Valley of Golf’. PGA Frisco, to give it its real name, hosted its first of 26 scheduled Majors with this year’s Senior PGA Championship.

The 100 Most Influential People in Golf 2023: 10-1

10 SEAN MCMANUS

CBS Sports CEO & Chairman

McManus may be retiring in April next year, but his signature can be found on a pair of nine-year, multi-billion-dollar rights deals with the PGA Tour.

He has overseen three decades’ worth of Masters and PGA Championship broadcasts and signed off on innovations that include in-play interviews and Predicta-ball, which predicts where the ball is going to land in-flight.

CBS is now golf’s longest-running broadcaster, with rights to around 19 PGA Tour and seven LPGA events. His No.2, David Berson, has very large shoes to fill as his successor.

9 RICK CORDELLA

New Head of NBC Sports

Cordella plays a major role in our continued enjoyment of the sport. He manages NBC’s entire sports portfolio of brands, which include Golf Pass, Golf Now, NBC Sports, The Golf Channel and Peacock, so forth. Their network presents more than 450 hours of live PGA Tour golf each season, in addition to the DP World Tour, LPGA, The Open Championship, US Open, Ryder Cup, Solheim Cup, Presidents Cup, and all of the women’s Majors.

NBC’s crowning jewel is The Golf Channel, which is available to 500 million in nine languages across more than 700 countries.

8 JAY MONAHAN

Commissioner of the PGA Tour and secret negotiator

If trying to keep tabs on the state of play in the war between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf is akin to keeping a grip on a wriggling fish with fingers plastered in butter, then Monahan appears to be the chief of clandestine butter-smearing.

Until the first week of June, he was the unbending figurehead of golf’s quest to repel the Saudi-funded disruptors. But little did anyone know that, alongside PGA Tour Policy Board members Jimmy Dunne and Ed Herlihy, Monahan had been covertly meeting with PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan in Venice and London.

The golf world was plunged into shock at the news and it hasn’t really recovered. Monahan promptly took a one-month leave, citing “mental and physical health challenges”. He returned to his desk but Xander Schauffele pointedly observed: “He had my trust, he has a lot less of it now and I don’t stand alone when I say that,” before going on to suggest Monahan should quit.

Quite what the agreement between the old world and the rebels is, no-one quite knows, but US Department of Justice is concerned it violates anti-competitive legislation.

In last year’s rankings we wrote that Monahan has “never faced a more tumultuous time as the head of the PGA Tour”. Guess what? This year trumped 2022, and 2024 has the potential to pile on more pressure still.

7 OLIVER ‘CHIP’ BREWER

President and CEO of Topgolf Callaway Brands Corp

Topgolf Callaway Brands Corp was launched in September 2022, bringing together a family of brands including Topgolf, Callaway Golf, TravisMathew, Toptracer, Odyssey, OGIO, Jack Wolfskin, and World Golf Tour. At the heart of this conglomerate is Oliver ‘Chip’ Brewer, who previously headed up Adams Golf before joining Callaway in 2012.

A host of the game’s biggest stars, including Jon Rahm, Xander Schauffele, and Sam Burns, are Tour Staffers, demonstrating faith in the brand’s continued ability to craft world-class golf clubs, not least in the putting department where Odyssey remain the No.1 flatstick for tour wins in 2023.

The group project a net revenue of $4.4 billion in 2023, spearheaded by a 16% growth in Topgolf, which has just been recognized as a Special Olympics competition for 2024 and beyond.

6 RORY MCILROY

Four-time Major champion, Ryder Cup talisman and golf pioneer

The quest to land a fifth Major remains an elusive one for the Northern Irishman, despite adding another three top 10s to his tally in 2023. On the other hand, he did pocket the $15 million Player Impact Program (PIP) prize and finish top scorer at the Ryder Cup for the first time, fuelled by a non-hierarchical leadership role he first defined and then relished, including his spicy Saturday night dust-up with caddie Joe LaCava.

He also claimed the Scottish Open in a thrilling finale that demanded two of the finest shots of his career.

In the boardroom, he continues to take an anti-LIV stance, though his loyalty to the PGA Tour was tested by the news of Jay Monahan’s secret talks with the Saudis. “I do have confidence in him,” McIlroy insisted of the Tour’s commissioner, before admitting that he had been left feeling like a “sacrificial lamb”.

Most intriguingly, 2023 witnessed yet more proof that McIlroy is seeking stimulation away from the golf course. He, Tiger Woods and their company TMRW Sports have pioneered TGL, a tech-based league that will feature Monday night team events from January 2025, aired in a primetime TV slot by ESPN and set in a custom-built arena with a virtual course and short game area.

Rory is also involved in a consortium that has invested £175 million for a 24 holding of the F1 team Alpine. “Sports team ownership used to be limited to private equity and people who had a ton of money, but now sports stars are becoming more savvy,” he said.

Rory also added that he had recently rejected overtures to join Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth in their Leeds United venture, mainly on account of being a lifelong Manchester United fan. “I would love to be able to own a tiny percentage of the club I grew up cheering on as a boy,” he said. “That would be very cool.”

5 MIKE WHAN

CEO of the USGA and former Commissioner of the LPGA Tour

Whan became USGA top dog in 2021, just the eighth CEO in its 128-year history. He did so after a hugely successful 11-year stint as Commissioner of the LPGA Tour, transforming it from a struggling entity to a thriving global tour, with more events, prize money and media coverage.

His new role saw him secure the US Women’s Open’s first-ever sponsor, doubling the prize purse to $10 million.

“I’d get the question, ‘What does the USGA do?’” he told The New York Times. “I came up with: Unify, Showcase, Govern and Advance. Advance was the big one that was missing. We don’t want to preserve; we preserved croquet and that’s not good.”

That advancement includes investing in sustainability, particularly in reducing water usage, and ensuring America develops junior golfers in a way that competes with Asia’s so far unmatched talent factory.

Whan won tour players over when he vowed to avoid interfering with course selection and set-up for the USGA’s 14 national championships, a shrewd move given predecessor Mike Davis faced regular criticism for making host courses too challenging.

Instead, Whan’s focus on off-course improvements has seen the USGA build a second headquarters at Pinehurst and a permanent player pavilion at Pebble Beach. Whan sees no sense in courses spending months erecting and dismantling huge structures for one week’s use, preferring to make it easier for them to stage the biggest events more often and host other tournaments in between.

“We want to make sure these cathedrals of golf accept the responsibility to host not just the biggest and the most financially lucrative events,” he said.

You can’t please everyone all of the time, though. Whan’s alterations to the US Open entry criteria exiled one man, LIV Golf’s Talor Gooch. Fellow LIV star Phil Mickelson labeled it a “dick move”.

3= MOHAMMED BIN SALMAN & YASIR AL-RUMAYYAN

The ruler of Saudi Arabia & the Governor of the PIF, respectively

Stronger together than apart, the Saudi moneymen represent golf’s greatest power couple and are the biggest disruptors to the status quo in the modern era. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has the keys to the Public Investment Fund (PIF) and uses his right-hand man, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, to ‘wash’ his country’s reputation by gaining supremacy across major sporting assets in the West.

With the help of Greg Norman and other finger puppets with useful connections, the PIF have bought their way into golf, bankrolling LIV to the tune of $2 billion and propping up the prize funds on the Asian Tour and LET to record highs.

This summer they finally penetrated the PGA Tour through a secret round of talks, putting an end to an ugly lawsuit. In return for getting his Excellency a seat at golf’s top table, the PIF have reportedly agreed to contribute in excess of $1 billion to fund a new golf entity, of which Yasir Al-Rumayyan has already been appointed chairman.

That deal remains subject to government approval, but either way they are in a strong position to capitalize. Jay Monahan has already lost his moral high card and admitted that they are unable to compete against “a foreign government with unlimited funds”.

How MBS and Al-Rumayyan intend to recoup such vast expenditure no one really knows, but they are delivering on their promise to help grow the game in their own, unique way.

In his role as Chairman of Golf Saudi, Al-Rumayyan is heading up a mass participation program that has already provided 1,000 women and girls with their first golf membership in Saudi. Next, he wants to host 700 beginner events and add golf to the curriculum, so there are more than 135,000 school participants by 2025.

Anything seems possible with a $620 billion war chest at his disposal, and while you may not agree with his methods or the motivations of his paymaster, golf (and LIV golfers especially) have been big beneficiaries so far. The PGA Tour better hope they are, too!

2 MARTIN SLUMBERS

Chief Executive of the R&A and Secretary of the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, aka golf’s most powerful man in a suit

Brighton-born, former Deutsche Bank executive Slumbers took over from Peter Dawson as Chairman of the R&A in 2015. Apart from the US and Mexico, the R&A governs golf worldwide, which means they and Slumbers are responsible for more than 41 million golfers in 144 countries with the consent of 159 organizations from amateur and professional golf, plus the running of 28 championships that range from the Boys’ and Girls’ Amateur Championships, right up to The Open Championship.

Almost every aspect of the game, at every level, is presided over by Slumbers. The rules, the changes to your handicap and the pace of play are all within his remit. Likewise, the distribution of world ranking points (as a member of the board for the Official World Golf Ranking), the distance debate and the ongoing technology wars with manufacturers.

Little occurs in golf without Slumbers having a significant influence. Of course, this entry is more about the position than the specific person, but Slumbers has impressed with the quiet efficiency with which he’s assumed the role. 

One of his first big challenges came in 2016 when Muirfield voted against admitting women to the club. Slumbers removed the Honourable Company from The Open rota – then reinstated it when the club had a rethink.

Slumbers’ decisive action was illustrative of the direction in which he is steering the R&A and the game as a whole: a refusal to move with the times and focus on the future is at odds with his vision. The 63-year-old has one eye on the past but both fixed firmly on the game’s future.

This was made clear with the publication of a 40-page R&A blueprint for ensuring the game thrives over the next 50 years. “We need to attract more women and children into golf via grassroots, including embracing short and less traditional forms of the game,” he says. “The traditions are important, but we need to look at the wider ecosystem… to broaden the game.”

The R&A have been driving growth, bringing newcomers to the sport through its various championships and programs, all designed to make the sport more inclusive and accessible. An additional 10 million adult golfers (outside the USA and Mexico) are now playing the game since 2016, with 61.2 million engaging with the sport in some form.

The R&A have done – and continue to do – a lot of good in the game under Slumbers’ watch, including Golf It!, a new community-based golf and entertainment facility in Glasgow which he calls the future of the game.

You can read our exclusive interview with Martin Slumbers, where he discusses the rollback rule and the prospect of the R&A entering into a partnership with the Saudis.

1 TIGER WOODS

Golf’s greatest needle-mover and a 15-time Major champion

Question: How can a player who entered only two tournaments in 2023 (and withdrew halfway through one of them), took no part in the Ryder Cup, and slipped to 1,316th in the World Ranking possibly keep their position as the most influential person in golf?

Answer: He is Tiger Woods.

The greatest golfer of all time has been sidelined by injury all year, but it would be disingenuous to suggest that anyone else even comes close to matching his influence on the game.

Tiger’s allure remains so strong that even a short clip of him hitting chip shots or caddying for precocious son Charlie relegates all other golf stories to ‘other news’. And Tiger’s been doing a lot more than that in 2023.

His TGR Foundation continues to raise millions for charitable causes, with Tiger calling it “my chapter two – my way of building a legacy that’s about more than birdies and bogies”.

He opened a Manhattan sports bar with friend and golf fanatic Justin Timberlake, with another due to open yards from the Old Course next year. He’s also the face of the PGA Tour 2K23 video game and his course design business continues to go from strength to strength, with Mexico’s El Cardonal now a PGA Tour venue. Tiger’s next layout is already in the works and, at 8,000 yards from the back tees, we wouldn’t be surprised to see the Marcella Club in Utah becoming a championship venue.

He is a strong favorite to be the next USA Ryder Cup captain, with Davis Love III, a two-time captain and one of Zach Johnson’s 2023 assistants, calling Tiger “the logical choice” and insisting “it’s his call”.

That call may depend on whether Tiger has time alongside so many other commitments. In a period of unprecedented tumult, he has become to the PGA Tour what Batman is to Gotham City. His role as chief protector of the PGA Tour was rubber-stamped when he joined its Board of Directors and Tiger has been arguably the tour’s most important weapon in its fight against LIV, having turned down a rumored billion-dollar offer to defect.

Golf writer and author Alan Shipnuck believes that helping save the PGA Tour has helped Tiger, too.

“This battle for the soul of professional golf gave Tiger a purpose,” he says. “It gave him a rallying cry. He was this galvanizing figure for the PGA Tour, fighting for its legacy. I really think it’s been a crucial part of Tiger’s road back from that (car) accident, to have more human connection and to feel the love and the warm embrace of his colleagues. I don’t think you can overstate how important that has been for Tiger.”

While we’d all love to see him lift another trophy in trademark Sunday red, the prospect of Tiger securing a record-breaking 83rd PGA Tour victory to move ahead of Sam Snead on the all-time list or threatening Jack’s Major record looks increasingly unlikely, though you can never say never about a man who won a Major on one leg.

Tiger’s return to competitive action will come at his Hero Open in December before an appearance alongside Charlie in the PNC Team Championship. How how much he’ll play in 2024 remains to be seen, but whatever happens on the course, Tiger’s impact on the game remains enormous and golf will always be his raison d’être.

“The joy is different now,” he says. “I’m limited in what I can do now, but to be able to share some of the things I experienced with my dad – the late-night putting or practice sessions that we did at the Navy Golf Course – to share the game and create new memories with my son, it’s incredible. It’s the appreciation of being able to play this game.”

With 14-year-old Charlie 10/1 to win a Major before his 30th birthday, would it surprise anyone to see him do so at Augusta or St Andrews, with pops on the bag, completing Act Three of Tiger’s golfing odyssey as he passes the baton to Woods Jnr.?

How we ranked the 100 most influential people in golf

Measuring individual influence in the golf industry isn’t easy. Sifting through hundreds of worthy candidates is even harder. Like last year, this global list is based on who influenced ‘your game’ and ‘the game’ over the last 12 months; other years will be different.

You will recognize many of the people. There will be some you have never heard of, and others who may not be household names, but play a crucial role in your enjoyment of the game.

There are leaders from the world of equipment, course design and coaching, from social media, the tours, the governing bodies, the tech firms and broadcast media.

We measured their influence across seven categories, which were then marked by a panel of golf industry experts, marked as follows:

YOUR GAME

Equipment design (maximum of 10 marks) | Course architecture (10) | Instruction (10) | Inspiration (15)

THE GAME

Financial influence (25) | Voice/Sway (15) | Innovation (15)

About the Author

Michael Catling – Features Editor

Michael Catling is an award-winning journalist who specializes in golf’s Majors and Tours, including DP World, PGA, LPGA, and LIV.

Michael joined Today’s Golfer in 2016 and has traveled the world to attend the game’s biggest events and secure exclusive interviews with the game’s biggest names, including Jack Nicklaus, Jordan Spieth, Tom Watson, Greg Norman, Gary Player, Martin Slumbers and Justin Thomas.

Get in touch with Michael via email and follow him on X.