Gabby Golf Girl vs. Hally Leadbetter | On The Tee | Golf Digest

Hally Leadbetter takes on @gabbygolfgirl in a three hole match at Boca Lago Golf & Country Club in Boca Raton, FL.

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Sorry, it doesn’t sound very another one or is that fine? Oh, sorry. That’s all good. All good. I’m Hie. This is Gabby Golf Girl. Gabby, are you ready to play some golf? Yes. So, the rules are simple. It’s a point for a fairway, a point for a green, point for an up and down, five points for a birdie, and a million points for a hole in one, which I think we’ll have on the last hole. Yeah, definitely. Sound good? Yes. I’m 100%. Oh, and of course we can give each other points whenever, wherever, for whatever reason. Great. I’m good with that. Cuz that’s how the show works. And however many points as I want. Yep. Okay. Perfect. It’s easy. You’ve got it. All right. Gabby, you’re on the tea. Okay, perfect. Seven wood in hand. Lay up to 195. I’m going to stay right middle of the fairway. Gorgeous. Should be good there. Very nice. One point for Gabby. Good shot. All right. Perfectly straight down there with you somewhere. Gabby Golf Girl, you’re seriously so awesome. And I’m curious like I want to learn how Gabby Golf Girl came to be. So tell me when did you first pick up a golf club? I started pick I picked up a golf club when I was 2 years old. That was because it was my birthday. My parents loved golf and they kind of just wanted to get me into it. I kind of was obsessed with just being out there with my dad and my mom. I just loved it. So my dad, he would like literally take us to the range and every three shots in a row that I hit good, he’d give me a quarter. Okay. And that to me was like the best thing in the world. So he kind of bribed me a little bit. Definitely. And now you now you do it with hundreds though, right? Exactly. Okay. Exactly. And I was like, “Oh my gosh, I got $6. was like that’s amazing and I was like 5 years old and then I started playing tournaments cuz I actually liked golf after that. So then what about the content creation side of things, the Instagram, the YouTube when did that come into play? So I started doing that like three years ago now. My trainer at the time he was like started social media grew to like 50,000 followers like kind of overnight in two months. I was like what did you do to gain all these followers? And he was just like I posted every single day posted golf workouts. You should try it. I’m like I don’t know what I’m doing. It’s like you do know what you’re doing. You’ve done golf workouts since you’re eight. So, I started posting golf specific workouts. Didn’t really take off really. And then I started like posting my golf videos. I’m going to hit the shot. Hook under a tree. Shape out the shot. I just did specific shots and it worked out. I don’t know how. Well, it’s definitely working out. That is for sure. All right. So, we have got 129 here. Okay. Okay. Going from your T-OT. Oh, it’s right at it. Sit down. Beautiful shot. Thanks. Very nice. All right. Okay, let’s see it. Oh, I yanked it. Come back left. Get left. That was a good swing. Okay, pin high. Pin high. I will take it. That’s a good shot. So, another thing that I heard you say, Gabby, is that one of the reasons that you really went all in so much on social media is that you had been sort of ostracized a little bit at school and like you had some bullying going on. I’m curious if you could talk a little about that and do you feel that you found your community more so in the creator space? Yeah. No, I I um definitely had some hard times in school. Definitely a little bit of bullying and and you know, I think a lot of people go through that. It was definitely tough, but I used social media. Well, I guess I thought golf was my outlet and it was, but social media became my passion. I just loved it. And when I was in school, I was like, how do I build my social media to the point where I get out of this situation? I basically built it to the point where I could leave school, leave inerson school, do homeschool. I would say a lot of people ask like, “Do do the negative comments bother you?” Don’t care. When you have people say it to your face, you realize like what does somebody saying in their basement make a difference? Like I don’t care. I I take that situation that I was in in school and I realize like it worked out for good cuz it made me find my passion and I love what I do. I don’t care what people say and I can truly say that before I totally cared what people said, right? So, I had to go through that to find the fight. And I think like a lot of girls out there younger, take the situation that like you are not happy in and turn that into something that you love. Yeah. I mean, that for you to find that silver lining and then to make that into what you’re doing now is it’s such a great lesson for anybody that’s in a situation where they’re just like, “Hey, this isn’t this isn’t a fit.” Exactly. I’m curious from when you first got started, how has your relationship with golf changed? Yeah. Oh my gosh, it’s changed so much. I used to play tournaments and like it was a lot. I was starting not to like the competitive side for me. I didn’t realize how other people wanted to crush other people that were super competitive. That just didn’t make sense to me. So now with the social media, I’ve had such a positive outlook on the game. I love it. I love competing more because I found my calling outside of tournament golf. I love that. What have you got here? Let’s see. I like to step out my putts. Not because I have a separator, too. Okay. Do you have like a formula or no? Um, I mean, I I normally just go like one, two, three, four, six, seven, eight. I just And then just times it by three. I just like to know how many feet my me too is. When I’m in a tournament, I like to know how many feet the putt is, cuz if I make the putt, the rest of the time in the round, I’m thinking, I made a 27footer, so I can make this. That’s how I think. But I don’t have a formula. I wish I had like some sort of formula to the putting. I just kind of like think one, two, okay, if I make this putt, I can make a sixfooter on the next hole. Okay, I love that. I think for me it it stemmed more from like a distance control thing because back in the day when I was playing golf more seriously, I would do a lot of putting drills and I kind of knew that like this stroke would go 20 feet, this stroke would go 30 feet. And for I didn’t really like consciously do it after a while, but I just knew I was like, “Okay, I feel this out. This is a 27 footer. This is a 27 footer.” But I like that mindset as well, being like, if I make this, I just made it 27. Yeah, exactly. And then you think 21 ft. I got that. It’s easy. No problem. I got it. All right, let’s see here. Up and kind of over the ridge. You got it. Okay. That’s a good putt. Oh, that’s a good sit. Stop. No, that’s a good stroke. Okay. Is that good? Yes. You’re good. Okay. It’s a very friendly match. What’s the point system? I don’t I’m So I Thank you so much. I have two points cuz I hit a fairway and a green, right? Okay. And you have two points and you have this for five points. Little bit left to right. There we go. Five points. All right. Very nice. I’m liking this point system. It’s fun. Okay. Second hole. The score is 72 with an incredible birdie on the first. Thank you. Ready, Abby? I’m ready. All right, you lead us off. Okay. You want me away? Yes. So good. Thanks. Very nice. Thank you. Good drive. Thank you. Good shot. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Two good drives. I’ll take it. So, I asked you how your relationship with golf has evolved over time. How has your content evolved since you got started? So much. I started with golf workout videos. Um, not many people watch that, but I moved to golf. I moved to golf tips. Then I moved to like I’m going to shape out the shot. I’m going to pull it off. Then whole vlogs. Then trick shots, which originally before I started social media is what I love to do. Trick shots. Golf trick shots. Yeah. Like juggling and stuff like that. And I would do these like insane trick shots and they get no views. Then when I had the platform started to get like 100,000 followers, I could do the trick shots and show them and people were like impressed. I was like it was all worth it. All these videos that had 2,000 views before I started social media, now they’re getting views. That’s so funny. What is the process that you have when you do create a video? Um, for short form, it’s a little bit different. We map out like what core five ideas we have. We try and stick in those categories and then post one of those like once a week. I used to post every single day for two years without stop. Like not even if I was sick, I had backup content that I would post and everything was pretty much filmed from that day unless I was like sick. Got it. Got it. And now I do like five times a week on Instagram, which is like perfect for me cuz I didn’t want to get to the point where I was just putting out stuff just to put out stuff. Really want to like be intentional about it. And then on YouTube I do like once a week. What’s something that someone might be surprised to learn in terms of like the behind the scenes of it all? Good question. Um, I would just say that it takes a lot more work than it than it looks like. Um, being a girl in golf, and you know this, but like especially in content, it’s a lot harder and there’s a lot less opportunities for girls. And I don’t want to be like that person that’s preaching, but it’s so true. It’s just facts. Go, go, go, go, go, go. It’s not enough club. Ah, it’s okay. All right. It’s all good. All good. Yep. That’s good. Short out of the green and you’re putting. I’m good. Good shot. Soft. Good shot. You’re good. Okay, that’s a good one. Thank you. Thank you. I think you’re definitely right with playing 130. So, who are some people in the space or or brands that you would love to collaborate with? Oh, okay. I’ve I’ve gotten a lot of them that collab with brands that I’m so happy I’m now partnered with Callaway and I was just telling you before, I genuinely love the brand, love the people. For me, like the biggest thing is who I’m partnered with with the people. If you’re a good person, like you necessarily won’t see me partner with people that I’m not like a big fan of. I love that. You know, like You’re not just like, “Oh, this person has a lot of followers, so I have to do something with them.” No, I’m very specific and choosy on who I do collabs with, or at least who I know to a point has always been good to me. Um, but for like collab wise, for for brands, there’s a lot of brands I’d like to work with. A lot of brands outside of golf that I’m a big fan of. Yeah. Well, okay. Pick a food brand. Food brand. Oh my gosh. I’m not like a fast food person, but anything with like an oable I Okay, I love that. I could see a little Gabby golf girl acai bowl. How do you balance like you’re going into your senior year of high school? Yeah. You’re homeschooled, but you’re still going to school. How do you balance the golf, the YouTube, the editing, and the school of it all? Yeah, it’s a lot. I mean, a lot of people ask and it’s like I think you give up on something in your life. Like to chase a dream, there’s something that you’re going to have an imbalancement of. And then if you don’t trace the dream, you’ll probably regret not having that. You know what I’m saying? So like for me, I’ve got my family and I’ve got like one or two really close friends from when I was little who I keep in touch with, but other than that, it’s all worked for me and I love it. Like that’s genuinely how I am. If I didn’t do that, I would feel like a bunch of regret for not chasing my dream. Yeah. So, you might miss some birthday parties, but you’re feeling I’m okay with it. You’re okay with it? Yeah. 7 8 9 10 11 12. How many steps? 12. Okay. I think you’re going to be like what? 10 or nine? Nine. 27. I’m due. And you hit a good putt last time, so that’s the point. Okay. Are you in in or in or out? Pin girly in’s good for now. I’m all good. Be good. That was good speed. Good speed. We’ll take it. Really good. Go, go, go, go, go, go. That’s pretty good speed. You got all into the green. It’s like this is just like I know. I know. Well, everything’s into the green uphill. Seems downhill, but it’s not. You’re good. Okay, good. Still five back. One more left. Time for a hole in one. I know exactly. That’s what we need. That’ll be great. All right, guys. We are four to nine in points. Par three. Last hole here. Um the YouTuber and me is going to did the little intro here. Yes. But I’ve forgotten to give you any sort of like extra points and do like I also forgot. It’s all good. So, it’s fine. We could do close to the pin on this hole for extra close to the pin for let’s say five points for five to get me back in it. Keep it interesting. I wanted to learn about the signature Gabby golf girl drill/shot that you hit on the actual golf course. Okay. Okay. Do you want to do it like that on this hole? Yeah. Okay. All right. So, here’s how it works. It’s kind of like this thing that went viral by accident sort of. It’s a drill that I learned and I turned it into my real golf swing um after like practicing a thousand balls like this because I could not fix my swing and this is the only thing that helped me. So, if I’m going to go with that off the tea, it usually goes a little bit shorter. So, I’m going to go with like my five iron equivalent. Okay? But basically what you do is you put it on the shoulder right here. You don’t move. You want to turn your shoulders as much as possible and extend as much as possible. And then you just make your swing from there. It’s a little choppy. Some people call it the robot online, but it’s it works if you can make contact. Here we go. Wow. Get right. Sit down. It’s a little bit too much club, right? Little bit too much, but it’s solid. But that’s the swing. That’s what you want to try and do. Okay. Well, we’ll see how this goes. Okay. On the shoulder. out. So, turn with your turn with your lead shoulder as much as possible and then go out. Try and keep your club on your shoulder the whole time. Turn. Yep. Yep. And then out. Yes, that’s perfect. Okay. Ooh, that felt good. All right, let’s try this. Just try and keep the club turn out on the shoulder as long as possible. Okay. I feel like my wrist don’t want to do that. I know. I know. Okay. Here. Turn. Yes. Yes. Good. It was clean. Okay. Yeah. I just needed more a little more club. No, but that’s that’s what you hit. Do you hit the seven iron? I hit the seven. If you did it with the six, you’d probably be really good. Yeah. Gabby, talk to me a little bit about your just overall goals with golf. Yeah. Oh. Oh, no. You’re not gonna lose my head cover. Your overall goals with golf and the YouTube channel. Yeah, honestly, I I overall goals, you know, I’d love to inspire young girls and boys, golfers, but I think a lot of people say that and it’s tough to like take action on that. The reason I did this was because, like I mentioned before, I wanted to get out of a situation that for me was just toxic and I found what I love. So, if I’m really trying to find like a goal that I want other people to take from it is forget about golf for a second. Golf is the vehicle, but social media is my passion. Find your passion in whatever you’re doing and try and do that as a job. That’s what I figured out to do. Like, my passion is to create content. If you told me that 5 years ago, I’d be like laugh in your face cuz I can’t talk to the camera. I’m too afraid. But like, and now you do it so naturally, which is awesome. Exactly. And also like you go through situations in your life that are seem like dead ends. Mhm. But it it really is true like another door opens. You’re going to find something that you love and just go through with that all the way. Like don’t be afraid. I love that. It’s there for a reason. I’m fired up. You’re like a You’re like a Gen Z Anthony Robbins. That’s funny. All right. You got You got this. Okay. So, here’s a question for you. Speaking of being Gen Z, what do you think that golf can do to appeal? Again, I think we’ve made strides, but what do you think golf can do to appeal even more to the next generation of golfers? Um, I think there’s a lot of things honestly we’re not there yet. Like a lot of people say, “Well, we’re making so much progress.” And we are, but like social media is where it’s at. Like that’s where you’re going to get people to get into golf. And all of my brother’s friends, they’re younger and like they never wanted to play golf. My brother hates golf. Recently, in the past 6 months, he’s been obsessed. Really? Yeah. Like, this is the kid who would not sit in a golf cart to save his life. And now is obsessed because all the influencers, he watches them. They’re so cool. All the athletes getting into the sport. He’s a big fan of basketball. Basketball players are playing golf. Um, NFL players are playing golf. And I think it’s just getting more eyes on the sport and and being less uptight about it. Like if my brother wants to go to the course and you know mess around like you know got to let that happen I think. I think be good. Wow. Go in. Go in. Go in the hole. Go in. Oh wow. Oh touch is so good. I’m going to I’m going to give you What do we got? Like let’s say how how many points are we at right now? Well you you have this up and down for another point. So that’ll be how many producer Greg? 10. Okay. 10 points. So you’re at four. Four. I have to make this for six to tie you. Perfect. Perfect. Let’s do that. This is for six points right here. For six points. If I chip it in. You got it. Let’s give it a go. Oh, go. That’s a good chip. I gave it my best. I know. I know. I gave it a good chip uphill. All right, Gabby, you kicked my butt. That was good. You’re good. No, you’re good. That was so much fun. Nice up and down. That was great. Thank you so so much. I appreciate it. We’ll do it again sometime. For sure. I would love to. Okay. So, tell everybody where they can find you. Um on YouTube. Uh probably link in the description, right? Yep. Okay. My YouTube’s in the description and Instagram’s also in the description. Tik Tok, Facebook, anything like that. So, Gabby Golf Girl. All right. There we go.