PGA Tour winner Smylie Kaufman discusses NBC Sports stardom, Augusta National, in exclusive Q&A

10/04/2024 01:32 PM

SB Nation sat down with Smylie Kaufman to talk about numerous topics, including his rise to broadcasting prominence at NBC Sports.

Thirty-two-year-old Smylie Kaufman has quickly become one of the most popular individuals in all of golf.

He has his own podcast, The Smylie Show, where he interviews players, guests, and anyone within the golf world, talking about various subjects, from golf tips to trips he has taken. He is also a stalwart on NBC Sports broadcasts, walking with marquee groups and providing tremendous intel on what is actually happening on the course. His easy-going demeanor, charming sense of humor, and ability to relate to so many different types of people have turned him into a star.

But Kaufman spent a few years battling it out on the PGA Tour before he became a staple on your screens. He even won the 2015 Shriners Children's Open, coming from six strokes back on Sunday to win by one. He shot a 61 that day at TPC Summerlin.

Six months later, he found himself in the final group at the 2016 Masters, paired with Jordan Spieth. If you are reading this, you likely know what happened to Spieth on that fateful Sunday—Kaufman touches on that in our conversation below.

A week later, though, his wrist became an issue. That injury would plague him for years to come as he struggled to tee it up in PGA Tour events, let alone contend in them. He then missed 32 cuts during the 2017 and 2018 seasons, and by now, his mental health began to trouble him. He lost his confidence in his swing and himself.

Kaufman made five starts on the PGA Tour in 2019, missing four cuts. He then took a quick trip to the Korn Ferry Tour, making seven starts but missing the cut in six. He withdrew from the other event he played in after an opening-round 81.

That explains why he eventually decided to do something else in golf. So luckily for him, ESPN invited him to join its ESPN+ broadcast during the 2022 PGA Championship, and well, the rest is history.

One on One with Smylie Kaufman, the former PGA Tour pro who is now an NBC Sports star:

(Editor's Note: This conversation has been slightly edited and modified for readability and clarity.)

SB Nation: Did you ever envision that you'd become a broadcaster after your playing career?

Smylie Kaufman: No. I tell people all the time it's the dream job I didn't know I had dreams of having.

So, I've been very fortunate to land on my feet, and it's something that, in the game of golf, and to be involved at the highest level of the sport, it really has become a dream job.

People ask me all the time, 'Are you gonna turn pro again?'

To which I say, 'Why would I ever leave this?'

This is one of the coolest things ever. I get to travel on the PGA Tour during the best weeks of the year. I've gotten to experience a Ryder Cup now, a Presidents Cup, two Open Championships, two U.S. Opens, and, of course, the incredible PGA tour calendar that NBC has. It's just been very rewarding and very fun, and it's a totally different level of busy than before.

I have a lot more going on now than I did. I think back to when I was still playing, how much I really practiced and worked a routine to the point that when I show up now and play golf, my expectations are, you know, still high. But then I got to remind myself, 'Dude, you don't practice or play. So, let's chill out a little bit here on your expectations.'

But just to put a bow on your question, yeah. I would have never dreamed of it, but it's been a lot of fun.

SB: My understanding is that ESPN took a shot at you with Southern Hills, right?

Kaufman: That's where it all started. I was at Southern Hills for the PGA Championship.

It was kind of scary because I had no training. It was just, 'Go put on your headset and go out there.' The only advice I got wasn't even good advice. It was actually scary advice.

They said, 'This is kind of a sink or swim type of thing. You either can do it or you can't." And I was like, 'Huh. Okay. Well, I don't know if I should be nervous or should I try too hard.'

So I started on the back nine, put on my headset, and got to the bottom of the hill. But it was a tough week for our headsets, and I wouldn't have known this. It was my first time ever having a headset on, and the static was just so bad. And now I know that if that happens, I just talk to my producer and say, 'Hey, I can't hear anything. Don't bring me in. I've got static in my ear.'

But anyway, at Southern Hills, I'm just trying to do my job. So Will Zalatoris is there and I'll never forget this. He's in the right rough, behind a small tree, and in a buried Bermuda lie. He's going to a front pin, and so my golf brain and PGA Tour brain are thinking, 'He can't hit this inside of 30 feet.' So that's what I said. That was my first setup of a shot. Then Willy Z whacked his wedge out of there and hit it to about four feet. So I'm thinking, 'Man, this is a tough start, and I still can't hear anything.'

Luckily, the day got better as the day went on. But you have to learn this job on the fly. And I'm glad I've been able to learn from a lot of really talented people in this industry.

SB: What would you consider the most important broadcasting lesson you've learned over the past few years? To add to that, who did you get that lesson from?

Kaufman: I have received a couple of good lessons. The first one was from Trevor Immelman. I worked with him before he got the CBS lead analyst role.

He was doing some Golf Channel work in the fall, I guess, maybe two years ago. He was the analyst, but he has also been an on-course walker, which is what I was doing. So, he just tried to stretch my boundaries a bit: 'Explain why a player is thinking this. Tell me more than it's 157 yards to the pin.'

He even said, 'Just go a whole day, don't even give me a number, and just give me anything that you find interesting.' That just expanded the role for me. It's very easy to get into, you know, 157 yards to the pin and give all these numbers.

So that was a valuable lesson Trevor gave me there.

And there are other lessons, too, like understanding time. How much time do you have on the air?

Some days, you're not in rhythm because the broadcast is going to other groups, and your guy—it depends on how your guy is playing because I only call live golf shots—I don't call any tape shots—so if we're there live, you hear me, if you're with my group and we're not live, you don't hear me.

Understanding time has been a valuable lesson. There have been some other things that aren't quite as important, but those are the top two.

SB: How did the Friday Happy Hour come about?

Kaufman: It's funny. So in Phoenix, I knew they wanted to do something at the 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale, and I found this out because they were trying to get, I think, Travis Kelce, they were trying to get maybe Jimmy Fallon. I guess they had Kevin Kisner locked up to do it, so they went through the list of trying to get somebody and couldn't find anybody to do it.

And so they said, 'We couldn't find anybody to do this. Do you want to do it?'

So I said, 'Hell yeah, I wanna do it.' And so this is before happy hour really started.

But the idea was to be there on Saturday afternoon with all the big groups coming through.

And the WM Phoenix Open just happened to have the worst weather ever this year. It was cold, windy, rainy. So, unfortunately for us, because of the restarts and them not being on time because of the schedule, we had the back half of the wave come through that evening, so we didn't have all of the leaders on our side. So we got the back half of the wave, and then Kisner and I went full tilt. We really leaned all the way in and just said, 'You know what, we're going to have a good time with this—it would be just like if Kis and I were sitting there at a bar watching the golf, saying exactly what comes to our mind. Granted, not everything came out that pops into our brains, or we probably wouldn't be working anymore. But it was a lot of fun, and I think NBC and our executives realized that, whether it was Kis being there or not, they just felt like we needed to keep doing this.

So, Friday seemed to be the round early enough in the week to where we're not taking away from the golf experience on the weekend. You can have guys who just got off the course come on the show and tell us about how the course is playing and their rounds, and personalize the player. So it's really helped, I think. First off, from my standpoint, the players, I have a lot to thank them for because they gave their time up, but it's also given us an opportunity to get to know these players a little bit more.

I feel like I can open these guys up, and we're having a conversation, and it's not quite media-based. It's much more like, 'Hey, we're just talking shop,' and that's what I want it to be. Of course, we'll throw in some fun production elements they'll have to react to. They don't know what's coming. And if we have enough time, we can really nail it.

For instance, at the U.S. Open this year, I didn't know Bryson DeChambeau would be the US Open Happy Hour guest until 20 minutes before.

I'd done all the planning as if he was going to do it, but I didn't know if he was actually gonna say, 'Hey, actually, yeah, I'm in.'

So, Happy Hour can be very stressful getting guests, but when they do show up, it's gone really well. I have gotten a lot of really good feedback from the fans just walking on the grounds, people who just really enjoy watching it. I would have never dreamed at the beginning of the year that this would have been part of my calendar year, but it's been great.

SB: Who do you look up to for inspiration in the broadcasting space? Do you have any favorite announcers or producers that you admire?

Kaufman: You know, that's a great question. That's probably a question that not many people ask because I think you hear people talk on the TV, and you probably don't think about us leaning on people. But I feel that Curt Byrum and I have a really good relationship, and he's not afraid to tell me, 'Great job,' but he is also the first person to say, 'Hey, we need to work on this,' or, 'We probably could have done more of this.'

He's been in this business for a very long time and is very good at anything he does. I have leaned on Curt, and we have a really good relationship.

And then Dan Hicks has been somebody that I've always been able to go to for anything. You know, getting with NBC, I've had some very big groups in some very big moments, and it's different when you get to 16, 17, and 18, at big, big events about how you set the stage, how the traffic should be—and just understanding how we're going to set this all up.

So that's been a bit of a learning curve because sometimes you want to let those moments breathe, let them just unfold, and have Dan, the great play-by-play guy he is, set up the scene in that moment. I think I've had to learn when to step in and when to step out in those instances.

SB: You have the Smiley Show, too. How does podcasting compare to broadcasting? And what's your favorite moment thus far from the Smiley Show?

Kaufman: The show has helped me grow as an interviewer. As easy as I assumed it would be, I feel it's a challenge. It's something that I feel like I've had to grow in. I've had to learn what I do well and what I don't do well and try to improve in those areas.

And I feel like the show has been great for me to do that. Honestly, it was a seamless transition into the Happy Hour stuff because of the show. I'm already having these conversations with these guys on the podcast.

And that's where I think NBC was thinking, 'All right, he kind of already does this. Let's throw him on TV and have him do it.'

But I think my favorite episodes… Gosh, I mean, I've had so many great guests, and honestly, it's hard to pick just one. But my favorite one would probably be Viktor Holand, who was fun because he had such a great year in 2023.

I had some really interesting and funny moments with him at the Ryder Cup, but then we also broke down his golf swing and chipping. So we kind of golf-nerded it out.

We talked about what a great year he had.

Viktor Holland was probably one of the most interesting episodes we have had. We have him on the books to do it again, and we're going to have him back on, which I think will be really interesting to hear, 'Okay, last year was unbelievable. Now, tell us about this year because it was such a roller coaster.' So, I'm looking forward to that next conversation.

SB: Me too, and I love your podcast. Selfishly, my favorite moment on your show was when you guys talked about your Ireland trip.

Kaufman: Yeah, that's not surprising. I think a lot of people enjoy boys' golf trips, and if you throw them in Ireland, it's like, 'Okay, give me the scoop.'

SB: What was hilarious, at least for me, was you played County Louth two days after I did.

Kaufman: Oh, no way! That place is epic and very much underrated.

SB: It's so underrated. I actually wrote an article about how I think it's the most underrated course in Ireland. I loved it, and I can't wait to go back.

Kaufman: It had a perfect mix of Irish scenery, the dunes that frame the holes, proper links, you know, really good tests, and just the layout. I just felt like it was incredible.

It was probably my favorite course of the whole bunch because it just combined everything.

We did everything, too. We went scenic, then very dunesy, then straight links style with Portmarnock, but when you get to County Louth, it's a combination of them all.

SB: It's so cool, and nobody really knows about it here in the States.

Kaufman: It's just so crazy. We showed up, and about 40 or 50 people were on the tee. It was great.

SB: It was funny because the club captain sent me a picture of you guys literally two days after I played with him. Too funny. I love hearing about how much you love County Louth, which leads me to my next question: what's your favorite course in the world?

Kaufman: That's a great question. There's something special about stepping on the grounds at Augusta National that I think will always be such a fun experience for me. Knowing that I've stepped on that first tee, with an opportunity to win a green jacket, brings back memories of not only playing but also my childhood of watching this place. It's a golf course that I enjoy playing, too.

So that's the one that comes to mind. I know it's such a whatever answer. But it would have to be there.

SB: Understandable! And that is a perfect segue to my next question: The 2016 Masters. You're in the final group. You didn't have the day you wanted, but you witnessed one of the most unfortunate tragedies in Masters history. What's going through your mind there?

Kaufman: Honestly, I wasn't even calculating it at all because I still had Jordan Spieth winning. He makes the bogies at 10 and 11, but they were just so whatever that I didn't even think he was making bogeys because he had played so well and made so many putts on the front.

Then, I think walking to the 13th tee is when I started doing the math because I made a birdie.

And then I was like, 'Wait, he did what?' I'm trying to figure out what he made, and I was like, holy crap. It's a seven. So now I'm trying to figure out how close I am to the lead because I'm thinking, 'Do I have a chance now?'

You really don't know until you get around the corner on 13. We both hit good three woods and then walked up to the green. Then I could see that Danny Willett was well out in front and that I needed to do some work, which I unfortunately didn't.

I actually played well that day. It was the best 81 I've ever shot. I just gave away so many strokes on the greens and had multiple three-putts. I'm not a three-putter who struggles with the speed.

It's just hard to get below the hole at Augusta National on a Sunday, and I was a foot away from having tap-in birdies, and I was ending up in some weird spots, but I'm proud of the way I played that week, and it was a great memory. If you're going to do it once, you might as well play in the final group, give yourself a chance, and have a pretty good seat on the 12th hole.

SB: What's one part of the game that you believe amateurs should work on the most?

Gosh, you know, I believe you should start at the hole and work yourself back.

I honestly believe simplicity in this game is important. I could easily say, 'Always take more club.' I think that is important, always to take more club, but I would start with developing a short game because if you have a good short game, even with poor players that I play with, I just feel like those players can get away with more—whether it's a scramble or you're just able to be a little bit more competitive in this game. Hitting the long ball is great, and chasing speed is fun, but starting at the hole and working yourself back is more important for improving your game.

Now, I wouldn't say that for everybody, but I would probably put that as a general word of advice: start the whole thing, learn how not to three-putt, and learn how to hit out of bunkers so that you are not throwing shots away.

I think that's where you see the biggest jump for golfers with handicaps: 'Why did I jump from a seven to a three?' Most of the time, it's not because they got a new driver and they're hitting it as well as they ever have. It's likely because their short game has improved. There are plenty of answers to go with, but that's probably where I'm going.

SB: And finally, what excites you about your new relationship with Swag Golf?

Kaufman: I'm really excited that it's an innovative, young, and different type of golf company that's entered the space with such a great organic audience. And in this day and age, especially with me being in media, I have a lot of respect for companies that can just put out really good stuff and develop a cult following. Swag Golf has done that to a T. They have done an incredible job, from the apparel to the head covers to the putter I love to use. I actually did pretty well with it today.

They've really checked off a lot of boxes and developed such a great audience, and I just happened to be one of them. As soon as I realized how great they were doing and that this aligned exactly with how I would say my career went when I tried to pick sponsors. I like to do things that are different than other people, and luckily, there are a lot of other people who share the same sentiment as me when it comes to Swag Golf.

SB: What's your favorite product of theirs?

Smylie: It's the Boss Putter.

Then, honestly, there's a bunch of head covers. The list goes on. Scrolling down their feed, you'll say, 'Oh, yeah, I like that one. Oh, I like this one.' You end up doing this on just about every other post. I am a creative guy, so when I see really cool head covers, they catch my eye. I have always collected head covers, especially the cool ones I used to get on tour. Swag Golf has really taken that to the next level.

But the putter, though—it's called The Boss, and I have the 2.0 now.

I've always considered myself a really good putter, and I wouldn't have switched to something if I felt like, 'Ah, I'm not going to use something that wasn't going to help me because I still wanted to play good golf.'

But I feel like I've been putting as well as I ever have, and I am just shocked at how good it is.

The sight lines are so clean. I find it really easy to line up, and this is for someone who doesn't get to get on a chalk line like I normally do and do all my drills. It's nice to put something down that feels comfortable in my hands.

The eyeline is easy for me to line up, so I don't feel I need to practice that much. I feel comfortable where I want to show up, like today, and I feel like I can still make putts from just about everywhere.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation's Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThroughfor more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.