It is hard to look at the success of YouTubers without envy and regret, knowing what we know now.
From Rick Shiels in the golf world to KSI in whatever world, they had the foresight more than a decade ago to stand in front of a camera and crack the code before anyone knew there was a code to be cracked.
Shiels has just shy of three million subscribers. He started on YouTube with basic instruction videos about how to grip the club and technique, and this evolved into golf club reviews, golf course vlogs at top venues and collaborations with top players.
You could mark his ambassador deal with LIV Golf as the peak of his success. A new tour with a portion of the game’s biggest stars, with the financial backing of an entire nation state, recognised the value of signing on the dotted line with a vlogger, and the vast audience that has watched him week in and week out for years.
“Over the years, more channels have come out and the viewership has grown. You’ve got more choice,” Shiels said to NCG.
“YouTube has taken over TV. People are now, in the evening, turning on their TV and pressing the YouTube button. It’s taken over mainstream media as long as the eyeballs are there.”
YouTube golf now mirrors a streaming platform like Netflix, and Shiels and a handful of others are pioneers. In the UK, you can also watch Peter Finch, Matt Fryer and Andy Carter, for example. In the US, you can watch Good Good, Grant Horvat, Bob Does Sports or the Bryan Brothers, and these names are just the tip of the iceberg.
You can watch it all for free. Once one video is over, the conveyor belt brings you to the next, and the wheels on the bus of addiction go around and around. The power of it is not lost on the professionals, either. Shiels once wanted to have the playing career of a Bryson DeChambeau or . Now, they want the career of Shiels, as both have their own YouTube channels.
