SEEKONK – There were 11 former champions in the field at the 121stRhode Island State Amateur, but the biggest name on the tee sheet was a Cranston native making his debut.
Mike “Sonny” Kollet planned to work in golf, but never could have predicted it happening the way it did. The former burned out assistant pro turned social media influencer didn’t have any cameras following him Monday at Ledgemont Country Club in Seekonk on the first day of qualifying rounds for the state amateur, showing that’s he more than just a guy goofing off on the course for clicks.
“I wanted to see if I had it,” said Kollet after shooting a 1-over par 72, putting him in the thick of achieving one of his goals. “I’m sure it would be the greatest content ever, but there are so many better players out there.
“I just want to make it to match play.”
Kollet graduated from Cranston West in 2007 and went to Coastal Carolina, intent on finding a career in the golf industry. He put down a foundation early working at Button Hole and Cranston Country Club as a teenager and after college, started working as an assistant pro at Metacomet Country Club.
Working in golf sounds great right up until you have to do it. It’s long days followed by longer ones and after a few years, Kollet found himself burned out. He left Metacomet in 2013 and started working in the family business, Dry Clean City & Tailoring in Cranston.
In December of 2019, Kollet started messing around on Instagram and decided to start posting memes. That led to the creation of Group Chat Golf, a page where Kollet used his brand of humor to create relatable golf content.
He posted with intent, creating memes that were shared around the internet. He grew the account to over 10,000 followers in the first four month, doubled that number 20 days later and by the end of 2020, had over 100,000 followers.
Followers and likes are great, but they weren’t paying the bills. Kollet was still working in the dry cleaning business and drove Uber as well while creating golf content at night. He then made the decision to put his face on camera and created a brand that was built around himself and his personality.
Kollet grew his following and companies started sending him free merchandise for him to mention in a post or a story. His first big payday came in 2024, when Topgolf paid Kollet $50,000 to drive an ice cream truck from Los Angeles to Boston, handing out treats as part of a promotion for the national golf facility chain.
“That was when I was like OK, I need to figure out how to make this a business,” Kollet said, “instead of playing free golf all the time.”
Instagram remains Kollet’s bread and butter – his account has over 200,000 followers – but he also posts clips to Facebook and TikTok. Kollet has also joined the YouTube golf revolution, giving himself another outlet to post his content.
“Passion for me comes with the comedy. I love golf, but I love making people laugh and feel comfortable,” Kollet said. “Golf needs that. It’s a game where it’s tough enough to get started and it’s tough to be in a room where there are people that are better than you.
“I just want everyone to know we’re all the same. We all started bad and are all bad some days and good the others.”
His average work day means creating and posting daily content, an idea that only sounds easy to those who haven’t actually tried to do it.
“I usually try to come up with an idea in the morning and I’ll shoot that idea during the day,” Kollet said. “It takes about an hour to finish the edit and I’ll put it out that night. I don’t do stuff in advance – I do it as I go.
“I try to do something every day because I think that really is the recipe – staring in everybody’s face every day is the key.”
Monday wasn’t about content – it was about golf.
Kollet’s comfort level with Ledgemont – he’s a member – was a big reason why he decided to make his State Amateur debut.
While he’s an unknown as far as leaderboards are concerned, his face is familiar for those who digest golf content. A few days prior to the event, Kollet started following one of his Day 1 playing partners on Instagram and on Monday, got a quizzical look when that player spotted him on the practice green.
“He thought I was just handing out and then he realized I was in the group,’” Kollet said. “… He was like, ‘I thought I left a good comment or something.
“… It’s funny when stuff like that happens.”
In a golf environment, Kollet usually gets noticed by someone. He enjoys interacting with fans, but also enjoys a certain level of fame that allows him to be anonymous in most other settings.
What it doesn’t prevent is battling the same nerves any golfer faces on the first tee of a competitive round.
“It’s different. I’m used to playing with a bunch of golf creators that everyone probably knows and it’s a little more laid back,” Kollet said. “These guys are great players and it’s serious.
“It’s just fun to represent the club out here.”
Kollet showed his game isn’t because of a good edit. He made a birdie on his second hole of the day, followed it with a bogey and then answered a bogey on his seventh hole with a birdie on the par-4 17th hole.
As rain slowly started to fall, Kollet got hot. He ripped birdies on Nos. 1 and 2 before giving one back on No. 3. The rain picked up and a bogey on No. 6 and No. 9 left him at 1-over.
“It was more about going out there and seeing what I had,” said Kollet about why he wanted to play. “I’m playing so many rounds putting out, I figured I might as well do it for something.”
Day 2 of qualifying play is set for Tuesday and Kollet will be right in the thick of being one of the 32 players who try to earn their way into the match-play portion of the tournament.
If he does, he’ll be back on the course Wednesday and will keep coming back until someone beats him. If he doesn’t qualify, he’ll be back on a course somewhere, creating content that people across social media enjoy.
“I feel like I’m retired,” Kollet said. “My friends have jobs and during the week I’m like ‘what am I going to do on the golf course?’
“I’m the luckiest man in the world and I don’t take it for granted at all.”
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Mike Kollet’s dream was to work in golf. Now he’s living it online.
