If you’re a golf fan and love social media, you’re probably familiar with Tiffany Joh. If not, check out her You Tube channel or Instagram and Twitter accounts for a jolt of fun.
Joh has a creative presence where she often makes music video parodies playing guitar and/or singing her own lyrics. She recently posted a video of her bowling during an LPGA Tour rain delay and also dressed up in a Pokemon Pikachu costume during a tournament week in Europe.
“I personally like it when I see PGA Tour guys ribbing each other on Twitter,” said Joh, who graduated from UCLA in 2009 as the first four-time All-American in school golf history. “I like leaving evidence that we like to do that too. I love being able to say something that’s really smart-aleck to Michelle Wie and then have her reply back and just have this back and forth; I think it’s entertaining for a lot of people.”
From a fan’s perspective, Joh sees Twitter as a good platform to interact and see what players are up to off the course.
“I think it’s just having the direct, almost face to face, contact with fans that makes it fun,” she said. “It’s one thing when you’re walking down the fairway and someone shouts something at you, but it’s really hard to be able to connect with someone while you’re playing a round of golf. If someone tweets you, you might not have any idea of who they are but you can respond to them. It’s almost like a text message without giving out your number.”
Joh’s early golf success included U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links titles in 2006 and 2008, and in May the Poway resident was named to a Pac-12 all-century women’s team that includes Annika Sorenstam and Lorena Ochoa. She turned professional in 2009 and joined the Futures Tour in 2010, notching her first victory that year at the New England Golf Classic. Since joining the LPGA Tour in 2011 she has one top-10 finish and earned approximately $800,000 on the course.
Joh, who turns 30 on Dec. 8, started playing golf at the age of 12 in San Diego. She points to Torrey Pines North as the place she played most often because of its friendly junior rate. Balboa Park and Oaks North were also in the rotation, and these days she practices and plays at Maderas, in addition to Torrey Pines, while in town.
“I surf a lot in the La Jolla Shores/Del Mar area, so I actually go putt at Torrey Pines a lot in the afternoon because it’s a public course and there’s no dress code, so I can totally show up in board shorts,” she said with a grin.
Don’t be surprised if you also see her at Encinitas Ranch after a surf session in Carlsbad.
“It’s probably not good that I schedule my practice routine around the waves,” she said, “but, hey, it’s fun.”
Joh plays in about 30 tournaments a year and says the Cambia Portland Classic is among her favorites because the Oregon city is “kind of hipster” and reminds of her San Diego. Still, there’s no place like home, so she spends as much time as possible in Poway.
“If I ever have a week off I’m always spending it at home,” she said “I’m always one of those people that if I can I stretch out my time, if I can leave on a Tuesday and only play nine holes of a practice round for a tournament, I’ll totally do it.”
Joh is also happy for the chance to rekindle her love for music.
“Before I was a golfer I was a total marching band geek,” she said. “I think it’s more me getting back to it than a new passion rising up. I grew up playing violin and piano and the flute. I was on the marching band in middle school, but once I got to high school I just stuck to high school golf.”
Music and golf intermingled at the Kia Classic pro-am at Aviara this year when Joh was paired with members of Santa Barbara-based Iration.
“Before that I’d never really listened to reggae,” she said, “but a lot of my friends I surf with are reggae fans so I checked out their stuff and now I’m super into it.”
Joh likes smaller venues such as Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach and The Casbah in San Diego for local shows, so it was fitting that the big stage accompanying her Pac-12 all-century team selection felt a bit out of place.
“It was kind of shocking,” she said. “I could off the top of my head think of at least nine or 10 other people that were more deserving of it than I was, but I feel really fortunate and really flattered that I was chosen to get put on the team. It was very unexpected.”
