After several teases, it appears that the news Rick Shiels was set to announce has been confirmed elsewhere, with reports suggesting that he is indeed about to join LIV Golf.
Fans of YouTube golf have been intrigued by what has been going on with Rick Shiels lately, with his most recent full length video coming back in December. Meanwhile, he has dropped a number of teasers since.
The latest appeared to let the cat out of the bag. Shiels posted a video on X showing him putting on a jacket. With that, many fans guessed Shiels was signing for LIV as there did appear to be similarities between the jacket he was wearing and the one Jon Rahm had on when his move was announced in December 2023.
And Flushing It has now reported that Shiels has signed an influencer deal with LIV. The Englishman is set to create content for the league from the upcoming season.
The criticism Rick Shiels has had of LIV Golf
The problem – as some fans have already picked up on – is that Shiels has not always been the most complimentary about LIV in the past. In fact, some of his comments may lead to some awkward conversations behind the scenes.
In February 2024, Shiels did not hold back in his view on the commentary.
“This is not directed at any particular commentator but I think the comms is terrible. I’m not saying I can do a better job, I’m not. It just seems really fake. Just seems a bit fake, a little bit not natural. These guys are professionals don’t get me wrong. I just don’t think they’re the strongest presenters for what now is this new futuristic golf event, sorry. I don’t think I can do better, but I don’t think they’re the best,” he said.
And, perhaps more worryingly for LIV, he has hit out at the team aspect of the league.
“I just feel like the team element, I just wasn’t bothered at all,” he said. “I went in there with a real mindset, I was like, right, come on Rick, is there any connection to any team? I’ve been very lucky to play with, film with quite a lot of the guys across all different teams. And I just don’t land on a team at all,” he said.
“It just doesn’t connect with me. If anything, it’s distracting from the actual playing of really good golf. It just feels like it’s a bit of a side-story, I don’t understand how fans are interested in it.”
What Shiels has said he likes about LIV Golf
But it was not all negative from Shiels when it came to assessing LIV. Speaking after attending LIV Golf UK at JCB, he suggested that he really enjoyed the experience.
“The shotgun start is still a concept that I’m not sure as a viewing experience online is perfect yet,” he said. “As a viewing experience on a golf course live, I don’t think much beats it because you can sit in one position all day. From the shotgun start at 2:30 until 7 o’clock, you get four and a half hours of golf every 10 minutes on that hole, and you see every one of the golfers you plan to see that day.”
Meanwhile, he would also suggest that he was almost disappointed in a week where LIV was not on.
“I’m going to say something and I think it’s going to get me in some hot water. I slightly missed LIV this weekend. Just slightly. I’m starting to realise that this weekend because I only had one choice, to watch the PGA Tour, I quite liked the alternative choice if I wanted to. If someone said to you every Saturday you can have a Chinese, you’d be like ‘oh okay’. But if someone said there is a Chinese or an Indian on the menu, you could have a choice. I don’t know what choice I would have made, but I would have liked one, which really surprised me,” he said.
LIV making a very smart move after an underwhelming off-season
LIV appears to be making more of an effort to appeal to the YouTube golf space. Bryson DeChambeau used his channel to become arguably the most popular player in the world. Meanwhile, Phil Mickelson also has his own channel. And they are not the only ones, with the likes of Torque and Majesticks getting involved with the platform.
It is baffling that the PGA Tour has not done more to appeal to the fans who consume most of their golf content on YouTube. And it seems that LIV Golf are working on capitalising.
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