The first rule of golf Twitter is don’t talk about golf Twitter, but the second rule is even more important.
Don’t ever, under any circumstances, accept swing advice from golf Twitter.
Evidently Sauce Gardner still has a lot to learn. The 23-year-old superstar cornerback for the New York Jets is a recent addition to the golf internet, but his star has already grown precipitously. Gardner has started playing golf during a rare downbeat in the NFL offseason, and though he is only two weeks into his journey with the game, it is clear to even the most passive observer of his social media feeds that he has gotten the golf bug badly.
“This drive just went 240+ and straight, but it looks like I’m hitting an iron (form wise) (sic) and not a driver,” Sauce tweeted earlier this week, sourcing the internet for fixes to his golf swing. “Drop tips below.”
The post quickly went viral, and resulted in responses from what felt like half of the golf industry hoping to get a piece of the Jets’ eponymous young star. Soon TaylorMade and the PGA of America had responded with tips regarding Gardner’s club setup and form, and Gardner’s game had improved in kind, including video evidence of his first birdie.
In the days since, Gardner’s Twitter account has been ground zero for a guy with a lot of money and a newfound obsession with golf. He revealed to the public that he is building an indoor golf simulator in his house for play during the football season, has fielded invitations from a number of private clubs in the New York metro area, and even earned an invite from Bryson DeChambeau for a personal golf lesson. On Friday morning, he greeted his Twitter following by sharing the contents of the previous night’s dream.
“Had a dream I hit a hole-in-one on a Par 5,” he posted. “Woke up and told myself to keep dreaming.”
In his first-ever 18 hole round, Sauce carded a 96 at Forrest Hill Field Club, a private golf course in Bloomfield, N.J. In the aftermath, Gardner shared another batch of swing photos — this time of Scottie Scheffler — asking for advice on how to better mirror the World No. 1’s position at the top of the backswing. After a few hours worth of replies, he responded again.
“I love Golf Twitter,” Gardner said.
The love affair has been swift and serious between Sauce Gardner and golf — so swift and so serious that even the PGA Tour’s official social channels have joined in on the fun from this week’s Rocket Mortgage Classic, asking players for their feedback on his swing.
“Sauce is just getting going,” Rickie Fowler said in his press conference Friday, smiling. “I like the possibilities.”
The feeling, it appears, is mutual.