Austin Reaves dominates with a basketball in his hand, but lately, he’s also revealed he knows his way with a golf club. He’s actually been playing golf his entire life. Reaves grew up in the beautiful “Natural State” — Arkansas — which has a handful of unsung wonderful golf courses and is also home to the legendary (and hilarious) John Daly.
Since signing a four-year ($54 million) contract with the Lakers, he’s been playing golf at all the best courses in the country, frequenting the Angeles National Golf Club in L.A. for luxury and convenience, among many others across the country. But really, this basketball pro loves any chance to play golf. It’s not all about status for him, he just wants a golf club in his hand as often as possible.
If you’ve ever listened to Reaves speak, you’ll know he’s a down-to-earth, overall stand-up guy. He doesn’t drink or smoke, and you’ll hardly ever find him at a party or in a nightclub setting.
Reaves would rather spend his time playing video games with his friends and teammates or challenging himself physically or mentally. According to his best friend Trent Swaim, Reaves also enjoys a competitive game of chess. But at this point, does Reaves having a various array of talents really suprise us? I digress.
How Reaves revealed his love of golf to his fans
Last year, Reaves introduced himself to the broader golf community by starting a golf TikTok page with his friend for the heck of it to document their golf trips.
Based on the way Swaim described it to me a few months ago, these were just two young men reunited for a summer who hadn’t seen each other in way too long since Reaves’ basketball career had skyrocketed. And keep in mind we’re talking about being reunited at home in Arkansas (which is also my home state), and trust me, unless you’re in one of our (few) larger cities, there’s not typically a whole lot to do.
Therefore, as boredom inspires creativity, these guys headed to the golf course, iPhones in hand and jokes up their sleeves.
Reaves and Swaim were just messing around at first. The videography was shaky, the editing was rookie at best and the audio was low-quality. But the personality and potential were all there. Plus, they had come up with a super dope name: @HillbillyBogey, which they coined from his high-school nickname, “Hillbilly Kobe.”
Extremely ingenious; if you ask me, perfect. But surprisingly, (especially considering Reaves’ NBA popularity, despite the low video production quality), it took what seemed like the entire last summer for the Hillbilly Bogey pages to take off.
But Reaves and Swaim continued to post.
A gradual build in golf popularity
It seemed the Hillbilly Bogey videos just weren’t finding Reaves’ fans’ FYPs or timelines. Plus, they were working with pre-filmed footage since Reaves had to leave again mid-summer to play with Team USA overseas.
But being one of the best (and most popular) hoopers of the Millenial/Gen-Z cusp generations, of course, Reaves’ golf TikTok (and Instagram) page was undoubtedly going to work out.
And so it did.
Naturally, after a few months of consistent posting and a couple of posts going viral, his golf audience grew exponentially. For example, this video below of him absolutely pureing a shot using a backward lefty club at Topgolf went crazy last October.
Once Reaves returned to L.A., he asked Swaim if he’d want to move out to L.A. with him and continue their social media golf journey. Of course, this was an opportunity that couldn’t be passed up. Swaim relinquished his high school teaching and coaching career in his small Arkansas town and hightailed it to SoCal to join his lifelong best friend Reaves.
Soon enough, Reaves was collaborating in videos with some of the most famed golf influencers in social media such as Garrett Clark, the face of Callaway’s Good Good Golf.
Thus began the abundant golf brand deal offerings
Reaves already has his own basketball shoe, but now, he’s receiving brand deal offerings left and right from golf-centric companies.
When the golf community (we’re a pretty tight-knit group, and word travels fast) learned Reaves was doing his golf thing, everyone wanted (and still wants) their logo on his chest, headcovers on his clubs and/or their bag in his hand.
But only one brand has secured a slot (so far) and that’s the esteemed TravisMathew golf apparel brand. Check out their announcement post below.
We’re looking forward to seeing what becomes of Reaves’ partnership with TravisMathew. As for what golf brand he signs with next (if even another at all), the possibilities are endless, so stay tuned for more to come.
Maybe we’ll start seeing Reaves playing in celebrity tournaments sooner rather than later; it seems more than highly likely.
You can follow Reaves on his personal Instagram and/or his @HillbillyBogey accounts to keep up with his next moves — golf and otherwise.
Or follow Reaves and Swaim on their YouTube channel. Check out their latest video, where they play a fun 6-hole scramble with Ben Baller.
