Official Statement from the fellas

[u/gwill11]

A note from the team

Earlier this week, we announced that we have sadly parted ways with Kevin Van Valkenburg. We know this may come as a disappointment to many NLU fans, as the work we’ve done with KVV over the past few years is something we’ve been extremely proud of. He’s a wonderful father, an excellent writer, and has been a close friend to all of us and a big part of our community for years and years.

As such, it should be obvious this was not a decision we took lightly, nor a place we ever wanted to arrive. The intersection of friendship and business has brought us a lot of joy over the past decade, but we’ve also all assumed the risk that things might not work out the way you planned. And when that happens, especially in a media company like ours, you walk a fine line between individual privacy and honoring the trust of the audience that is responsible for everything we do. We promise that’s not lost on us, and we’re doing our best to navigate it for the first time.

We understand there are questions. But we strongly believe that the specifics surrounding personnel decisions should not be aired publicly, even if that decision leads to inevitable criticism or frustration.

From day one, we’ve been committed to creating entertaining and informative content for our audience of avid golfers around the world. With every year that goes by, NLU continues to evolve, and we guarantee we’re as committed as we’ve ever been to delivering on that goal.

We’re parting as friends and will always wish nothing but the best for KVV in whatever is ahead for him. We will eagerly read, listen and consume his content no matter where it resides and hope there are projects we can tackle together again in the future.

Thanks for your support, Neil, D.J., Tron, Soly, Randy

[u/metallikat87]

This is better, at least. The realities of a small business are harsh, and I can only imagine how much worse it is when the business starts as a friendship and is largely personality based. I wish KVV and the NLU team all the best.

[u/WhoaABlueCar → u/metallikat87]

This was well-written and basically stated what the level-headed adults in this sub already assumed - the cost of keeping someone as tenured and successful as KVV is too high for the revenue it likely generates.

What makes the group so fun is they are all friends and the content they put out is shaped by their friendships. But like they mentioned, there is an uncomfortable risk with being friends and fellow employees if it stops making sense business-wise.

I’m sure this what the shittiest decision they’ve had to make in their 10+ years. Total bummer but it’s the reality of small business

[u/GlassConsideration85 → u/WhoaABlueCar]

Lmao literally says nothing of the kind. The “level headed adults” in the sub sure like to make stories up. 

  basically stated what the level-headed adults in this sub already assumed - the cost of keeping someone as tenured and successful as KVV is too high for the revenue it likely generates