My9Iron · Player Bio
Ben Hadden Bio
Professional golfer. Creator. YGT breakout star. Ben Hadden is chasing the PGA Tour — and documenting every step of it, from an All-American finish at Kansas Wesleyan to the wildcard shot that introduced him to a whole new audience.
Quick answer: Ben Hadden is a professional golfer and creator known for documenting his pursuit of higher-level tour status, his THE TOUR series and a breakout wildcard performance in Your Golf Tour.
The Shot That Introduced Him to a New Audience
“The Back Nine” — YGT Event 1, Episode 2, Bryan Bros Golf channel, July 2, 2026. Starts at the moment: paired with Peter Finch in alternate shot on the par-5 18th, Hadden’s 2-iron approach set up Finch’s eagle putt — sealing Team Brad’s spot in the Finals.
What Makes Ben Hadden Memorable
Ask why golf fans know Ben Hadden right now, and it isn’t one thing — it’s a real playing career colliding with a real content career at the same time.
Ben Hadden at a Glance
From Iowa Western to an All-American Finish
Hadden was raised in the Kansas City area and introduced to golf by his father, a PGA Professional. He began his college career at Iowa Western Community College, earning Academic All-Region XI First Team recognition for the 2015–16 season, before transferring to Kansas Wesleyan University.
Hadden has described his Kansas Wesleyan career as including four collegiate tournament victories, 16 top-10 finishes, nine top-five finishes, four runner-up finishes, a national player-of-the-week honor, and All-American recognition during his senior season — coming, by his own account, within one stroke of winning the 2019 national championship. He graduated cum laude in 2019 with a degree in Marketing Communications.
Turning Professional
Following his college career at Kansas Wesleyan, Hadden began pursuing professional golf. He has described his first professional event as a 65 — six strokes under par — good for a five-stroke win at the United Airlines Pro-Am.
Q-School, Mini Tours, and the Grind
Hadden earned conditional PGA Tour Canada membership through 2022 Q-School, finishing in the group that received status through the season’s reshuffle portion. He documented the experience directly on his own channel.
He remains an active competitor. Recent results include mini-tour rounds as low as 62 and a tied-fourth finish in January 2026, along with a start at 2026 PGA Tour Americas Q-School in Texas, where he shot 73-69-73-67 to finish six-under and tied for 67th.
In April 2022, Hadden was forced to withdraw from an All Pro Tour event in Texas after roughly $5,000 worth of clubs were stolen from a vehicle at Squaw Creek Golf Club — an unusual, independently reported detail from his professional journey. He documented the whole thing on his own channel, and redirected the GoFundMe he set up toward The First Tee instead of keeping it for himself.
“THE TOUR: my clubs got STOLEN (had to WD from a tournament)” — his own channel, April 12, 2022.
Away from competition, Hadden served as a volunteer assistant golf coach for both the men’s and women’s programs at Kansas Wesleyan during the 2023–24 season — another dimension to a golf career that spans playing, coaching, and content.
Building THE TOUR
Hadden’s central creator asset is THE TOUR, a continuing documentary series following his attempts to compete professionally. In his own words, from his Always Press site: “A full schedule of professional golf costs about $75,000 a year. Travel, entry fees, Q school, food, equipment, instruction, fitness, and living expenses make it extremely difficult to fund a full schedule without help from sponsors.”
That candor is part of what makes the series resonate — it isn’t just match content, it’s a real account of what it costs to keep chasing a tour card, told episode by episode. One early example, when the grind hit an unusually literal setback: his 2022 episode on the tournament withdrawal after his clubs were stolen.
His Good Good Connection
Before building his own channel into what it is today, Hadden made early appearances within the Good Good ecosystem. He later shifted his focus to Ben Hadden Golf full-time, where his channel has grown to nearly 100,000 subscribers.
The Wildcard Who Helped Win It
At Grant Horvat‘s and the Bryan Bros’ Your Golf Tour’s opening event at Pursell Farms, Brad Dalke selected Hadden as Team Brad’s wildcard for the back nine. Paired with Peter Finch in alternate shot, Hadden’s 2-iron approach on the par-5 18th set up Finch’s eagle putt — the shot that sealed Team Brad’s advancement to the Finals over Team Grant, the team built around Luke Kwon and captained by Horvat.
Hadden’s involvement didn’t end there. Three days later, in the Event 1 Finals, he played his own individual 18-hole match against John Peterson — the two tied at 69 apiece, a result that contributed to Team Brad’s overall 3-1-1 win and the $250,000 first-place prize.
Golf Digest quoted fellow YGT player Ryan Ruffels describing Hadden as one of the best and most underrated golfers on YouTube — a real, third-party read on his level, not just a house opinion.
Ben Hadden, “I’d Play the YGT Every Day if I Could” — his own reflection on the shot and what it meant, from his own channel.
Ben Hadden on YouTube Shorts
“The greatest clutch shot in YGT history”
A vertical recap of the same 18th-hole moment from Watch First above — 290 yards out, elimination on the line.
Helping Super Bowl Champ Victor Cruz with his chipping
March 28, 2026 — the instructional side of his content, working with a name well outside golf’s usual orbit.
“This YGT unboxing contains SPOILERS”
July 19, 2026 — a different angle on his YGT run, beyond the shot itself.
The key to getting the most out of your golf workouts
December 14, 2024 — the training and fitness side of his content.
His YGT moment kept generating attention well after the fact — other creators have since sought him out directly, including a head-to-head challenge match built specifically around his new visibility.
Teaching, Coaching, and More Matches
The YGT shot is the moment most people find him through, but it’s a small slice of what he actually posts — instruction, one-off lessons for other creators, and straight head-to-head matches make up most of the channel.
“Ben Hadden Shows Me ANY Golfer Can Add Speed & Distance (5 Tips)” — his five best ways to add distance off the tee, taught to another creator.
“Ben Hadden Gave Me a Lesson Before Our Match!” — informal coaching for another creator, ahead of a head-to-head, June 2025.
“Ben Hadden vs. DOD KING USING TEES (stroke play)” — a straight competitive match, December 2025.
More Golf Creators on My9Iron
Brad Dalke — Hadden’s YGT team captain, the other half of this story — does not yet have a confirmed live My9Iron bio page as of this build (checked against the August 6, 2026 site inventory). Add him here once one exists, rather than linking to a guessed slug.
What Clubs Does Ben Hadden Use?
Ben’s documented setup blends Callaway and Mizuno irons, Callaway Opus wedges, and a longtime L.A.B. Golf DF3 putter now facing a real challenger.
Full Specs, Shafts & Lofts
For the complete club-by-club breakdown — including the blended iron set and his ongoing putter test — see the dedicated Ben Hadden WITB page.
Frequently Asked Questions About Ben Hadden
Build a Bag Around Your Own Game
Ben’s clubs are built around his own swing and tournament needs — not a template for what your bag should look like. Compare your own speed, strike, and miss against today’s driver, iron, and golf-ball categories instead.
Fact-checked against Kansas Wesleyan University, PGA Tour, Minor League Golf, Golf Monthly, Golf Digest, YT Golf Stats, and Ben Hadden’s own channel and Always Press site, as of August 5, 2026.