NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
The sport of golf is one of the most competitive fields any athlete could break into.
Only a handful of golfers make it to the PGA or LPGA Tours. Some get stuck in the Korn Ferry Tour or Epson Tour, while others head for green pastures with LIV Golf.
Golfers like Tisha Alyn have found a different way to make an impact on the sport – becoming one of the most-followed influencers in the sport. Alyn boasts more than 1.3 million followers on TikTok and another 519,000 followers on Instagram – numbers that rival the likes of Paige Spiranac, Grace Charis and others.
Alyn took up the sport when she was 3 years old and began competing when she was 7. She’s been across the entire country from junior golf to NCAA Division 1 with Cal State Fullerton – and it has never been about anything else.
“Golf was always my main path,” Alyn told Fox News Digital in a recent interview. “I used to be a competitive dancer as well, and for anyone who follows me or knows anything about me I’ll showcase some fun dance trends and whatnot, but besides that, golf was always my main focus.
“For those who aren’t that familiar with golf, it really takes all of you. It is a lengthy sport that takes time in your day, and it is one of those sports, because it is low impact, you can do it and do it for so long. So my parents their goal for me was to always compete at a high level, play at a high level, achieve a scholarship, so golf was always it for me.”
Alyn said she played professionally from 2015 to 2018 but gaining funding to be able to continue to play at a high level took its toll. She said she made a larger focus on growing her social media right around the time platforms like Instagram reached its peak.
She said she hoped she could use social media to earn sponsorships and other paid opportunities.
TISHA ALYN AIMS TO ‘CREATE A NEW ERA OF WOMEN’S GOLF’ WITH HER BRAND
“As I was going on my professional golf career, it grew in tandem with social media at the same time. Come 2018, when I stopped, I was going through injuries, I was going through a lot of personal things,” she said, “I thought, ‘I think it is time to put the bag down, stop playing professionally and pursue social media,’ because I see something really big here, and I always was pretty good at finding trends and seeing what is going to be that it factor.
“And I knew at the time even though there wasn’t that influencer or personality, like we didn’t have words for it, but I knew social media was here to stay. You know, looking at where we are now, it is basically the tried and true. It’s where you go for any and all things media. So, I like to say I chose the right path after putting the bag down.”
Pursuing a career with a social media mindset is completely different from making one.
LIV GOLF STAR BROOKS KOEPKA DESTROYS TEE MARKER WITH DRIVER AFTER WAYWARD SHOT
A lot of time is spent creating and producing content and keeping a positive mindset is something that anyone who is extremely online is. With all the positives that come with a successful entrepreneurial career, so comes the backlash anyone would face on social media.
Alyn, much like Spiranac, gets her share of social media scoundrels in her mentions. She told Fox News Digital that the key for her was to stay focused on her goals.
“Staying focused on your own path and your own career I think is everything, and I am someone who is pretty feisty compared to my friends and peers around me, so I am not afraid to put up a fight or say what I feel when people especially come at me,” she said. “I know I don’t have it the worst among other people in my world. I’m good friends with Paige, and she really deals with it and I always tell her every time I see her you have the thickest skin … We don’t wake up with a following right.
“So, as you grow in it, you grow that thick skin with it. I can’t imagine for those who have been one hit wonders how that must be for them to suddenly be criticize in front of the world, but for me, I just grown to wipe it off, you know dust it off the shoulder, because a lot of times they just want your attention. I think the comments that do hurt the most when they don’t just attack me but they attack the people I love around me, and I think that is when it is kind of the most hurtful. But, you know, it is just kind of how that saying goes – those that throw hate at you are just envious and that is kind of how I feel, and they also give engagement, like if you want to comment thanks your growing, your growing my post, my profile, what have you, your feeding into the algorithm thank you for that.”
LPGA Tour legend Annika Sorenstam expressed support for golf influencers in their efforts to grow the game, lauding the ability of influencers to “bring a different view or perspective into the sport” in an interview with Fox News Digital.
“I mean that to me means the world,” Alyn said in response. “I have been able to work with Annika a few times so we do have a type of working relationship there but to get that affirmation from someone who is quite literally a legend in the game I think means everything.
“There is still a lot of, you know, beliefs on influencers and personalities being in the space, but I think that for those who do it right, I want to say that I believe I do it the right way, to try to inspire and grow the game. I think that is here to stay, and I think Annika see’s that, and she is utilizing social media. She is trying to grow on her platform as well, so it just means the world.”
Fox News’ Connor McGahan contributed to this report.
Read the full article here