Player's Journal: Micheal Kim Talks Transparency

*In Partnership with Titleist* | As Told To Shane Bacon

My parents don’t follow me on Twitter. My brother is the only one who regularly checks up on it that’s within my world. Honestly, when I’m posting to Twitter, I feel like I’m posting it to strangers so it’s so weird to have friends or PGA TOUR players come up to me and compliment me on a post.

Social media has become a part of who I am as a professional golfer. I almost enjoy talking about the downs as much as I do the ups. You see, a lot of fans see the private jets, and I feel like there is way more to the PGA TOUR golfer than that. Especially the middle of the pack golfer that I am a part of.

Max Homa got me into it, even if he doesn’t know that. I played with him a few years back in Napa. Our careers never really jived; when he was playing well, I was playing bad and when I was playing well, he was struggling. So I hadn’t seen his brand and popularity grow to the level that he is now. I remember playing with him and he had such a big following and I was really surprised by that. He had this social media presence and considering he’s way more witty than I am, I figured I needed to find my own lane with Twitter.

Homa and Kim line up a putt during the morning foursomes matches on Day Two of the 2013 Walker Cup at National Golf Links of America on September 8, 2013.

I remember when I started I was going to commit to whether people liked it or not, and I remember thinking other than tournament days I’m going to post something every single day.

When I first started, once a month I’d get a guy or spectator yelling “hey, love what you’re doing on Twitter” and now this year it’s multiple times a day.

I’ve heard guys mention to their friends, “Hey, his Twitter stuff is great, I don’t know if you follow him.” It’s cool to hear. When I first got out here, I was mistaken for other players, so to see that change has been a welcome change.

When you write down your weekly breakdowns on social media, it's easier to take it all in as opposed to keeping all the bad stuff in your head. I’ll talk about the swing things I’m working on, the mental stuff I’m working on and to write them down is, in a way, therapeutic.

I’m not sharing deep secret stuff, I’m just sharing everyday life. They’re not expecting some ground breaking stuff, just a little peek here and there whether it’s tee gifts we get once in a while or how does the pimento cheese taste like at Augusta, stuff like that. And that’s not hard, I just have to put a little effort into it and my followers have appreciated that and through that they root me on which is fantastic.

That said, If I’m giving the perspective of the PGA TOUR or a PGA TOUR player, the weight of the PGA TOUR is behind that as well, so I try to keep that in mind before I send it out. Whenever I hear a funny story, I’ll write that down in my notes app. Some stories I definitely can’t post. When we are on the road, you hear funny stories here and there and players will tell me this isn’t for Twitter. Other times I’ll ask permission to post certain things.

I get more of the “don’t post this” as opposed to the “how about posting this” from my peers which is fine. Over the years, I’ve toned it down a little when it’s something that I wouldn’t be comfortable saying to someone in person and that’s the line I draw.

That isn’t to say I haven’t had my moments. There are a few Twitter mulligans; once or twice I got a call from a rep saying hey, that's not something you need to share. And, like everybody else on social media, I run into the trolls that are simply there to tear you down.

For me, there are a couple of types; the daily fantasy “you lost me money” types of responders which I just don’t have time for. I didn’t tell you to bet on me!

Another is the LIV supporters on Twitter; it’s funny to me because I don’t have that much of a problem with LIV guys, I just love poking fun at them just to get the reaction and they take it as a personal vendetta to respond to me when I struggle or miss a cut.

I’ve learned that the block button is an interesting tool; if you block certain people they take it as a badge of honor but if they keep commenting I’ll hit the block button super fast.

A few other rules I try to stick to with Twitter is leaning on the time-spent alarm and getting off it after 45 minutes each day. Also, if I’m on the “following” tab and avoid the wilderness that is the “for you” page it’s much better.

Of course, there are times I break those rules. When I was finished up in Houston this year, I took to Twitter to ask the points expert, Nosfuratu, if I was in the Masters. That was not to be funny, I was actually asking if my finish was good enough to get me back to Augusta National. That was a day I blew past my 45 minute Twitter alarm because I kept refreshing Twitter to see if I got in.

What is my future with social media? Well, if and when I win again on the PGA TOUR, I’ve thought about a live stream for the first time. But I’ve also thought about retirement and what I’ll be willing to share.

I didn’t know where I’d be when I started it but it’s grown much more than I would have guessed at the start. It’s helped me grow my brand and get my name out there along with my good play as of late. It’s been great connecting with fans in a meaningful way and I’m excited to see where it’ll take me into the future.

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