YouTuber shares hilarious story claiming Rory McIlroy's grip not good enough despite latter recording career Grand Slam

Modified Apr 16, 2025 18:31 GMT

PGA: Masters Tournament - Final Round - Source: Imagn

YouTuber and golf influencer Grant Horvat recently spoke about his father's obsession with club grip and expressed how he'd go as far as to correct even Rory McIlroy, who claimed the 2025 Masters last week to complete a career Grand Slam.

Grant Horvat appeared on the latest episode of The Smylie Show, a podcast co-hosted by former PGA Tour player Smylie Kaufman and Charlie Hulme. The golf influencer joined the show to discuss everything from how he got into the game of golf and his dream collaboration.

During the interview, Horvat explained how his father, Steve Horvat, who is a former PGA Tour player, instructed him on golf, especially with grips. (5:24 onwards)

The 2025 Creator Classic champion started off about how his father is obsessed with grip:

"My dad being a pro, we had the correct fundamentals right off the rip. He was all about the grip. My dad was obsessed with the grip."

Speaking about what extent his father would go with his obsession, Horvat said:

"I think my dad would walk up to Rory McIlroy on the range right now and check his grip. I know he's got a good grip, but my dad would be like I think we can get it more in the fingers or something."

Horvat went on to demonstrate how his father would want the grip to be and discussed grips of some of the golf professionals, such as Bryson DeChambeau and Collin Morikawa.

Grant Horvat and Smylie Kaufman were at Augusta to witness the 2025 Masters tournament last week. Kaufman recorded recap episodes for every round of the tournament alongside his co-host, Charlie, while at Augusta. The two also discussed the odds of players, including the eventual winner Rory McIlroy, ahead of and during the tournament. Kaufman also works with NBC's Golf Channel to cover PGA Tour events.

Smylie predicts how many Masters' titles Rory McIlroy can win

On April 13, Sunday, Rory McIlroy won his first green jacket after coming close on several occasions over the years. With his win at Augusta, he completed his career Grand Slam and also ended his 11-year major drought.

In a recent episode of The Smylie Show, the former PGA Tour player answered a question about how many green jackets Rory McIlroy can win in the future. Kaufman predicted that the Northern Irish golfer can win three more Masters titles.

"I think he'll win another one. I'll go with three, three green jackets."

Smylie and Charlie, co-hosts of the show, discussed McIlroy's win in detail, breaking down each round and several shots in the episode after the final round of Masters.

Kaufman also expressed his opinion about Bryson DeChambeau's comment about Rory McIlroy not speaking to him all day at the fourth round of the tournament. The golf analyst made a guess about it being 'a conscious decision' made from McIlroy's end and his team.

About the author

Started out as a Golf Listener, soon got her bearing as a writer.

As an established Content Writer, Anusha aspires to be a Sports Journalist and joining Sportskeeda is the first step she's taken in that direction. From little to no golf knowledge, she now hopes to cover a PGA Tour event live, one day.

She graduated Bachelors of Arts with triple majors- Journalism, Psychology and English Literature. The two subjects, Psychology and literature, greatly influenced her writing, one by assisting in readers' perspective and one by improving language & vocabulary.
This gives her an edge while framing articles, as she knows what you want readers want and how to engage with them without all the huff and fluff. She strives not only to bring you genuine news stories, but to deliver perfection!

Besides golf, Anusha follows tennis and cricket avidly. She has even published several tennis news articles in one of her previous roles. This role nudged her towards Sports writing and reporting, and she decided to pursue MA in Sports Journalism in the future to nourish this dream.
Anusha has dabbled in different fields before she came back to her true passion. From travel blogs and B2B content to digital marketing and scripting digital ads, she has worked in various areas, and has a takeaway from each of those roles.

Outside journalism, Anusha either binges Mystery thrillers or writes poems, occasionally picks up a book and buries her face until she finishes it. In short, she is
A Potterhead with an eye like Sherlock, be it for content or errors!

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Edited by Sumeet Kavthale