Rick Shiels was one of the pioneers of the bustling YouTube golf scene, which now includes Peter Finch, Grant Horvat, and LIV Golf star Bryson DeChambeau.
The platform has grown exponentially in recent times, particularly after DeChambeau’s fund-raising collaboration with former President Donald Trump.
Engaging videos seem to be released daily, and interest is growing. After all, YouTube, unlike many broadcast services, is entirely free for the consumer.
Shiels’ channel is now approaching the three million subscriber mark, and the 38-year-old’s content is going from strength to strength with recent videos, including 18 holes at Royal County Down and a ten-shot challenge against Justin Rose.
However, does the YouTube star ever get bored of filming content?
Rick Shiels explains the tough side to YouTube golf
In the latest Rick Shiels Golf Podcast, Shiels was asked whether he ever gets bored of filming golf content.
“Yeah. It does,” said Shiels. “Playing golf, as ridiculous as that seems to people who might only play once every couple of weeks if you do play golf a lot of times. And I can imagine it on tour; I bet it gets boring sometimes. And you’re like, I can’t really be arsed today.”
Shiels went on to explain why filming is very different from playing golf with his mates.
“It’s more like, I think, potentially the audience – and I don’t want them to – don’t understand the intricacies of going out and playing golf while filming for so many days in a row,” he added. “I think if it was just going out and playing golf with a couple of mates, I could play ten days in a row.”
He added: “But trying to film and talk about every shot and go through the process. And often, we will go to new courses, and it’s really nice, but we will get a lovely welcome from golf courses, and they will want to show you around the golf club and the history. It’s that entertaining side of things.
“You have to be on. It’s not the boredom, it’s more the energy levels are drained by the end of a filming week. There’s a couple of times where I’ve been like, I’m done. Let me drive home and not talk to anyone.”
Rick Shiels is the number one golf YouTuber
Of course, DeChambeau is the emerging name on the platform, but the space as a whole probably wouldn’t exist without Shiels’ influence. He’s in the premium market and will attract attention almost irrespective of the content he produces.
Effectively, he’s the Titleist Pro V1 of the YouTube golf scene, everyone’s go-to.
Other notable names who were present during golf’s early days on YouTube include Mark Crossfield and Peter Finch. Crossfield’s content is typically centred primarily around equipment. In contrast, Finch produces a brilliant variety of engaging videos, ranging from unique collaborations to playing major championship courses and providing insightful equipment advice.
Nevertheless, it’s important to remember that Finch started gaining popularity after initially appearing in videos with Shiels, the man who has undoubtedly been at the heart of golf’s meteoric rise on the platform.
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