My9Iron · Creator Golf Biography
DOD King Bio: Carter Smith
The driver-off-the-deck specialist who turned a no-tee golf challenge into a creator career and joined the 2026 Internet Invitational.
Who is DOD King?
DOD King is the golf-creator identity of Carter Smith, a golfer associated with Norfolk, Virginia, whose trademark is hitting driver directly from the turf without a tee. He built his audience around the difficulty of that shot, competitive matches and a theatrical challenge to conventional tee use. His creator handle is @cvagolf.
How Carter Smith became the DOD King
Smith played high-school and college golf before pursuing his own path. In a September 2023 interview with GOLF’s Subpar podcast, he described leaving college after a year while aspiring to professional golf, then working in golf and installing bathroom tile. A friend persuaded him to record his unusual tee-free driver swing in early 2023. The clips spread on social platforms and attracted both fans and critics.
The pushback became part of the act. Smith answered commenters with confident challenges, coined a running ‘war on weasels’ against tee users and built a persona that viewers could recognize immediately. In his Subpar interview, he described how the momentum convinced him and collaborators to leave other work and make golf content full-time. This is a creator-growth story built around a repeatable visual hook rather than a conventional professional-tour résumé.
What does driver off the deck mean?
Driver off the deck means striking a golf ball with a driver while the ball rests directly on the ground. Most players use a tee with the driver because its large head and low loft make clean turf contact difficult. Smith’s content reverses that assumption: the difficult shot is the point. His videos show both the technique and the competitive consequences when he attempts it throughout a round.
In his 2023 Subpar appearance, Smith described carrying driver around 301 yards off the turf. That was his own reported distance at the time, not an independently measured current average. His approach is a personal competitive style, not general equipment-fitting advice for recreational golfers.
Creator golf, collaborations and business
Smith’s channel expanded from short clips into full rounds, one-on-one challenges and longer competitive stories. A July 2023 upload, FULL ROUND with the DOD KING, documents 18 holes at Sleepy Hole Golf Course and captures the persona beyond a single viral shot. He also appeared on GOLF’s Subpar podcast with Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz, explaining the origin of the brand and his ambitions.
His official @cvagolf link hub connects his YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook accounts. His creator activity has also included apparel collaborations such as Sunday Swagger’s DOD King collection. A later Mizuno sponsorship has been reported, but sponsorship is not proof of an exact current club-by-club bag.
How good is the DOD King at golf?
He has a background in competitive golf and posts full rounds and money matches, but social clips alone cannot establish an official handicap. A third-party tracker calculated an approximately +0.1 creator-video handicap in late 2026 from recorded rounds. That is an estimate from published video scoring, not a verified USGA Handicap Index.
DOD King’s Internet Invitational team and results
Smith joined captain Brad Dalke’s Red Team in the 64-player 2026 Internet Invitational at Big Cedar Lodge, Missouri. His partner in the opening team matches was comedian Andrew Santino.
Episode 1: Scramble
DOD King and Andrew Santino faced Wesley Bryan and Robby Berger (Bobby Fairways). The Red pairing lost 2 and 1 according to the published event match tracker.
Episode 2: Alternate shot
Smith and Santino played Sam Heung Min and Claire Hogle in alternate shot. Their match was halved. Across the two recorded matches, the DOD King–Santino partnership finished with one loss and one tie, and Red Team did not advance from the opening team phase.
These are event-specific results, not a career win-loss record. For the current tournament standings and episode schedule, see the My9Iron Internet Invitational hub.
Watch DOD King golf videos
Full Round with the DOD King
Smith’s own July 2023 upload follows a full 18-hole round at Sleepy Hole Golf Course and gives viewers a fuller look at his driver-off-the-deck technique and competitive personality.
Watch the official DOD King upload
Internet Invitational 2026 — Episode 1
The official opening episode includes the Red Team scramble featuring DOD King and Andrew Santino.
Internet Invitational 2026 — Episode 2
The official alternate-shot episode covers the second round of team matchups.
DOD King frequently asked questions
What is DOD King’s real name?
His commonly reported name is Carter Smith.
What does DOD stand for?
DOD means driver off the deck: hitting a driver without placing the golf ball on a tee.
Where is DOD King from?
He is associated with Norfolk in southeastern Virginia.
What team was DOD King on in 2026?
Brad Dalke’s Red Team at the 2026 Internet Invitational.
Who was DOD King’s Internet Invitational partner?
Andrew Santino partnered with him in the opening scramble and alternate-shot matches.
Is DOD King a professional tour golfer?
His documented public career is primarily as a golf content creator and competitive amateur-style match player; the sources reviewed do not establish PGA Tour membership.
More creator golf profiles
Explore Brad Dalke, Big John, the 2026 Internet Invitational and more creator biographies on My9Iron.
Sources
GOLF.com creator profile · GOLF.com technique and interview · GOLF Subpar interview · Official social directory · Dated event tracker.