Atlanta sketch comedy group works at mastering the madness that is golf

Chewning was captivated when YouTube launched in 2005, and was a huge fan of “Saturday Night Live,” especially then-cast member Andy Samberg’s digital shorts. Inspired by Samberg, Chewning made a rap video about attending chapel at Providence Christian Academy, sharing it with his teachers and classmates.

“I stood in the back while they watched and listened as they laughed,” said Chewning. “I loved that feeling. I knew that was what I wanted to do forever.”

Credit: (Courtesy of Billy Stahlmann)

Credit: (Courtesy of Billy Stahlmann)

After graduating from high school in 2007, Chewning attended Georgia Perimeter College to complete his core classes (while sporting his second round of braces, he noted), then he moved to Orlando, Florida, to attend Full Sail University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in film.

Chewning dabbled in stand-up comedy in his early 20s and worked for Boosterthon, a job where he fundraised for schools, then moved on to a handful of other jobs, including wedding photography and videographer gigs with marketing agencies. Then, in 2012, Vine, a video sharing platform, launched and changed his life.

“Vine videos were just six seconds, which is wild,” said Chewning. “I had just six seconds to be as funny as I could. My videos were one-liners, puns, dad jokes and nonsense, but they worked.”

Many of Chewning’s videos went viral. When Vine shut down in 2017, he had 1.3 million followers and a Rolodex of corporate contacts. He went on to work with AT&T and multiple sports media companies, writing, performing and directing funny content, then became the creative director for Oust, a digital media company.

Even in his free time, Chewning could not escape the desire to write comedy. In 2021, as he wrote out pages and pages of sketches that all revolved around golf — his favorite hobby ever since he played on the high school golf team — he realized he was on to something.

“I had so much content and started picturing golf sketch comedy as its own thing,” said Chewning. “Historically, the game of golf has been uptight and intense. The pros have to be so locked in while they’re playing. They may throw out a fist pump, but the game is known for being quiet, solo and demanding. But it can also be really funny, as can most anything.”

As he hit his creative stride, Chewning contemplated the perfect name for his venture.

“I wanted a name that looked good on a shirt, could stand alone, would represent old school golf and Atlanta, too,” said Chewning. “That’s when St. Andre Golf came to me. It’s a nod to both St. Andrews Golf Club in Scotland and Atlanta’s own Andre 3000,″ from the rap duo Outkast.

Credit: (Courtesy of Billy Stahlmann)

Credit: (Courtesy of Billy Stahlmann)

For eight months, Chewning collaborated with a dream team of friends, a design partner and four investment partners, including his good pal and former Atlanta Braves pitcher Collin McHugh, to create the St. Andre Golf brand. He reached out to two friends he’d met through comedy, Jonathon Pawlowski, 37, and Hannah Aslesen, 34, and the trio began filming content that revolved around golf and sometimes included original songs.

“They had no idea what they were getting into, but they were down to make funny stuff with friends,” said Chewning.

Aslesen had not played golf before, but she was familiar with the culture because she worked at a country club in high school and college.

“I loved the idea of making relatable golf content,” said Aslesen. “Golf can feel stuffy and hoity-toity, but we want to connect with people on their level. You’re not that great? Hey, me either. Let’s go have fun and not worry about the pressure.”

St. Andre Golf launched on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, X and YouTube in August 2022 and posted five times a week for the first few weeks. Satirical videos about things like losing balls on the golf course, fibbing on scorecards and getting paired with a weird partner gained immediate attention.

“The goal was to become unavoidable for golf sickos who follow all the golf meme pages,” said Chewning. “We hoped we’d get on some big golf meme accounts, like Zire Golf and Nuclr Golf, within our first six months to a year, but it only took a week. We exploded, and my relationship with Jonathon and Hannah became, ‘Please don’t leave me, you’re part of this forever.‘”

As their followers grew, big brands, including Covington, Georgia-based Bridgestone Golf, took notice.

Bridgestone’s senior marketing manager Adam Rehberg only saw a few St. Andre Golf sketches, and he was hooked.

“They showed that they really understood the golf landscape, and we really liked that,” said Rehberg. “I did what every self-respecting person would do and slid into their DMs. I asked if they’d be interested in working with Bridgestone and appearing in a sketch with Tiger Woods.”

Chewning was in shock when he received that message.

“It was so beyond bucket list,” he said. “I mean, it’s Tiger Woods. And Bridgestone Golf? I’ve played with their clubs and balls for years. It was so fortuitous that they reached out. I mean, we probably would’ve said yes to anyone at that point, but thank God it was them. They’re based in Georgia, we love their products, and they gave us the opportunity to film with Tiger Woods — just a dream.”

St. Andre Golf still partners with Bridgestone and filmed with Woods again, as well as Jason Day, Fred Couples and many more pros.

St. Andre Golf does occasional projects with other brands, but they have contracts with Bridgestone Golf, the PGA Superstore, Johnnie-O apparel, canned cocktails company Long Drink and the Atlanta Drive Golf Club.

They’ve traveled around the world, including Dubai in January, and they’ve played some of the most renowned golf courses, including Pebble Beach, Pinehurst and Oakmont. They became profitable two years after launching, and St. Andre Golf is now a full-time gig for Chewning and Aslesen. Still part of the cast, Pawlowski also works as a freelance actor and filmmaker.

While Chewning, who got married in September, said he thinks about what’s next every day — maybe developing a show, maybe a movie — he is also content with current circumstances.

“I get to joke around on a golf course with my best friends for a living,” said Chewning. “We get paid to make people laugh. It doesn’t get much better.”