Recapping Rickie Fowler’s Epic #SB2K16 Trip

If you somehow haven’t seen it yet, Rickie Fowler, Smylie Kaufman, Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth (you’ve heard of him, yes?) recently took a trip to Baker’s Bay in the Bahamas last week to decompress after the Masters. They called it #SB2K16. I dubbed it the 6th major (which caught on) as the foursome played shirtless golf, jumped off balconies and drank a bunch of …. uhhh …. Sprite all week.

Thomas recently named Kaufman MVP of #SB2K16, but let’s be real about this thing, none of it happens without Fowler. He got the gang together — this is his territory, by the way, the spot he used to take the model girlfriend — and even invited Rory McIlroy (who turned him down!)

One of the unintended consequences of the week was that my 31-year-old dad self had to figure out Snapchat because that’s how the entire thing was documented. It legitimately took me 20 minutes to download and figure out how to follow Fowler and Thomas. After that, I couldn’t get enough. I watched every second fearful I would miss … well anything really.

A recap of the best moments.

Jordan Spieth’s belly button

https://vine.co/v/iFQVmAAqYrn

Have another beer, Jordan.

Thomas, Fowler and Kaufman reenacting the Spieth wedge at No. 12

This was jaw-dropping to me. It’s only been two weeks!

Spieth doing Feherty

https://vine.co/v/iUuI0g2nqIU

Strong to quite strong.

Smylie on the cart, Thomas on his head

Update pic.twitter.com/3zKvO9IKYO

— No Laying Up (@NoLayingUp) April 22, 2016

The @RickieFowler #SB2K16 Snapchat w/ Spieth, Smylie & Thomas is greatest athlete/social media usage, ever. #OKstate pic.twitter.com/7JW91RgY7L

— Andrew Carter (@Andrew__Carter) April 22, 2016

Can you imagine Tiger, Furyk, Phil and Vijay doing this in their primes?

The balcony jump

#sb2k16

A video posted by Smylie Kaufman (@smyliekaufman10) on Apr 21, 2016 at 4:24pm PDT

I can’t fathom being an agent for one of these guys. Having to sit back in the States just praying the Snaps don’t end because you know if they end that means Spieth went wayward off a bridge or Rickie didn’t quite clear the balcony that next time. My goodness.

Not everybody was a fan of the 6th major, but I thought it was great (minus the copious gallons of Sprite that were consumed). It’s fun to see the best players in the world in their element, and I specifically liked the way it was shared (it’s incredibly difficult to re-share Snaps, if you haven’t noticed).

As Golf Digest’s Mike Stachura pointed out, the trip felt more … genuine than most stuff we see:

Oddly, I think the spring break with Rickie and his boys might be the 21st century equivalent of the barnstorming tour days of the 1930s and the round-the-world exhibition matches of the Big Three in the 1960s. Players were together then in a way this generation, through this glimpse from Fowler’s Snapchat account, seems to more happily embrace.

Maybe I’m overstating the impact of a few postcards on some throwaway social-media account. Maybe, but I think it’s fair to say that we not only see our stars more closely than ever in our sport’s history, we are closer to them (at least virtually) because of how they electronically reach out to us. Somehow this almost instantly vanishing virtual connection seems more real than yesteryear’s handshake and autograph.

I don’t want to overrate its importance — because at the heart of it it was sort of just a bunch of mid-20s bros doing mid-20s bro stuff — but it was pretty fascinating to see one of the three best players in the world (and two of the six best) unhinged on an island with nothing to do but Snap it out to the world. And it was fun. Maybe (probably) that’s all it was. But it was sure better than watching Martin Piller and Ricky Barnes duke it out at the Texas Open.

Also … welcome to the 21st century of covering sports!