For nearly two decades, John Whyte has led Sporting Insights’ DP World Tour equipment census. The data is used by the Tour and brands to trace trends in equipment usage and identify sponsorship opportunities.
To democratise the data and bring golf fans closer to the golfers they love, John now runs the highly successful Instagram channel @SMS_on_Tour (the name recognizing that the equipment census started when Sporting Insights was still Sports Marketing Surveys).
SMS_on_Tour now brings What’s In The Bag (WiTB) data to over 73,000 followers, averaging between 4-5 million views per month and reaching more than 400,000 accounts.
Recognising that not all those who are interested in the data use Instagram however, John will soon be launching a new website – SMSonTOUR.com
We sat down with John to ask him how the role has changed in nearly twenty years of travelling the world.
What are your first memories of travelling and working on the European Tour?
My first event was the European Open at The K Club in July of 2006 so this is my 20th year working on the DP World Tour. I remember surveying Robert Rock as my first bag like it was yesterday!
Briefly, what does the role involve?
The equipment survey that we conduct on the DP World Tour sees us go through the bags of every player, at every event to record the equipment that they use. In a full field event of 156 players, there will generally be groups of three with tee times ten minutes apart, but going off both the first and the 10th holes. We usually have two people on the practice facilities on any given Thursday. That means those two people have to record every club, shaft and grip used by every player every ten minutes, so around three minutes per bag. We also record club lofts, shaft weights and other spec data.
What are the common challenges on the range?
Identifying new players is a constant challenge. Obviously we know a lot of the players and caddies, but every week there will usually be players making their tour debut, often local, and we need to identify them and itemise their bag in a short time window. There are over 1000 different golfers who compete in DP World Tour events every season. Another challenge is players who are still deliberating over club choices, which is more common than you might imagine. It’s not unusual for a player to still have two drivers or two putters in their bag on the range or putting green just prior to teeing off for their first round. We have to be sure which one they are going to take onto the course. Weather conditions can be challenging too. The Tour follows the sun around the globe, and while that’s a huge bonus, it often means dealing with very hot, tiring days, and there are always plenty of rainy or windy days per year. Trying to conduct the survey in the wind and driving rain is always tricky!
What’s your favourite event to cover?
I’ve been lucky enough to visit many fantastic cities whilst doing this job. Sydney and Cape Town are two of my favourite cities, but my favourite event is the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek in South Africa. The course is on the border of the Kruger National Park so the commute back to the hotel often includes a detour into the park for a few hours to spot the amazing wildlife that the country has to offer.
How do you build rapport with players and caddies?
The DP World Tour is like one big travelling family so you get to know everyone pretty quickly whether it be on the practice range or out at the local restaurants in the evening. When carrying out our job, we’re respectful of the players and caddies going about their business, but it’s a pretty laid back environment.
How has your own role changed?
The events have become more global since I started the job, with more than half of the events outside of Europe now. The role hasn’t changed too much over the years, but the time spent getting the logistics sorted has increased.
What was the inspiration for starting the social media account?
I saw that there were other social media accounts posting golf equipment information from the DP World Tour, but as we had inside the ropes access at every event, I found a way to combine the equipment survey with taking the WiTB photos too.
What are the most important lessons you’ve learned with the Instagram account?
I had never used Instagram before starting the account and I’m still learning as I go! The most important thing that I’ve learnt is to be consistent with posts and to listen to what our followers would like to see. Our access to the players is what sets us apart from over accounts so I’ve tried my best to use this to our advantage.
What’s next for SMS on Tour
SMSonTOUR.com will be launching soon. We’re currently working hard adding as much historic content as we can whilst the web developers finalise the site. The website will allow us to bring much more content to our followers. I’m excited with how the website looks and think that our followers are going to really enjoy it.
We’ve also got Jack Cornish joining the team. Jack is a 25-year-old Aussie who I first met at The Open in 2024. He currently lives locally to me in Norfolk so it has been great to have him help out at DP World Tour events. He has covered a lot of the long-haul events over the last 6 months which has meant that I have spent less time travelling and more time focusing on the website launch.
