PGA golfer Max Homa is using Twitter to help grow the game of golf

• PGA professional Max Homa is the most interesting man in golf.
• Homa is a modern athlete, with a podcast and a wry Twitter presence that has earned him many fans.
• Homa told Insider that he hopes to use his influence to grow the game.

Max Homa is the most interesting man in golf.

A two-time winner on the PGA Tour, Homa has had a phenomenal year in 2021 that pushed him into the top 40 of the World Golf Rankings.

Homa spoke with Insider over Zoom while promoting his partnership with Gillette Deodorant and their "The 72 Club" initiative.

This conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity.

I was a bit confused to hear you were working with Gillette until I realized this was their deodorant rather than razors. How did this partnership come about?

Yeah, I was confused too. When I was presented with Gillette, I thought to myself, "This is a lot of hair to trim out."

But it's a deodorant, and it's amazing. The fact that Gillette is getting in the golf world is really cool for the game. What they're doing with the 72 Club and the NextGenGolf City Tour is awesome for growing the game of golf as well.

When's the last time you were clean-shaven?

Not since college. My coach used to make me shave all the way down, and I hated it.

I spoke with Harold Varner III earlier today and asked him if he had any questions I should ask you. He asked, "How did you become the king of Twitter?"

Oh wow. I had a lot of weekends off for a while, so I had extra hours. I had a lot more time on my hands when I wasn't playing as well. I think Harold's the funniest dude in real life that there is. Behind a screen, maybe I take on the persona that Harold has.

I guess to answer it seriously, I think I understand, uh, why Twitter was made. It's shockingly not made to convince people of your political views. It was made to connect with people and find common links. Just tweeting dumb stuff in a hotel room, being observant at an airport, other people are kind of like, oh yeah, I think that way too, and laughing about it.

That's the coolest part about Twitter. It was really made so some kid in his dorm room could tweet at LeBron James and say great game, and LeBron right back can say "thanks," or like the tweet. All of a sudden, you just talked to the best basketball player in the world. I wish people would grasp that a bit more.

Is there a follower on Twitter you've earned that you're especially proud of? Or someone you'd still like to get a follow from?

There's definitely a couple. All the athletes that I just respect the hell out of that follow me. I've even gotten some of their numbers and then we've met up. That kind of stuff is really cool. Again, why I think social media can be good. I met Chris Vernon last week in Memphis. He's the man, and that would've never happened without Twitter. I think it'd be really cool if like, the Biebs ever followed me at some point. I know he likes to golf and he's like, you know, pretty much the coolest person there ever was.

Between your podcast and your Twitter presence, you are in a pretty unique position as a modern athlete, especially in the world of golf. Was building this type of following always a plan for you?

I guess a little bit. Someone I really respect and looked up to was Rickie Fowler. He was kind of the first guy I can remember once I was old enough to notice, someone who I was like, "Man, that guy is actively doing something for his brand." Like, the Rickie Fowler brand. He had a plan and it seemed like he was executing it.

Thinking about that, they talk about the word legacy a lot, and I think it sounds a lot bigger than it really is, but we should all kind of leave our mark with whatever you do in the world. And I was thinking, man, I really love the game of golf. I grew up at a public golf course where we just had a blast. And I said, well, I'd like to grow this game of golf. And in an odd way, through social media, you can help grow the game.

Even if it was one more kid that decides, "Hey, I'm going to give this a go." Even if it doesn't mean professional golf, just going out and playing, that's what I want from what I'm doing.

When you hear a kid say, oh man, you're my favorite player, that means somebody wants to go hit a few golf balls. That's just kind of been my goal.

You're extremely open about your mental game on the course, especially on your podcast. Were you ever hesitant to speak about that side of the sport?

Watching sports with my dad growing up, if I talked through the post-game interviews, he would tell me to be quiet and listen, and you'd learn a lot. I don't know if that just sunk in, but I've always appreciated that honesty, because you can learn something from it.

It doesn't do me any harm to be honest and tell you how I'm feeling. There's probably some things I might leave out that are a little deeper. But for the most part, I find it therapeutic to talk about it at times.

Okay, probably the most important question I'm going to ask. What's the best thing on the menu at Augusta National?

The domestic light beer is good. I don't know which one it is, but it's good. I don't eat much cheese, so I've never had the pimento cheese sandwich, but the weirdest thing you'll get - in the sense that it says it's as good as it can possibly be - is they have this chicken sandwich, grilled chicken. There's nothing on it except maybe pepper. And it's a little bit cold and it is really good. It could just be because you're at Augusta. I'm not sure. But I get like four throughout the week while I'm there.