Staff WriterPGA Professional Rick Shiels has become the first golf creator in history to surpass one billion YouTube views, a milestone that says plenty about his own persistence and rather more about the way golf is now watched, learned, argued over and occasionally endured by the modern player.
There was a time when golf instruction on screen meant a solemn man in pleated trousers explaining grip pressure as though disarming a bomb. Shiels arrived with a camera, a lesson tee and the sort of straightforward delivery that made improvement feel less like homework and more like a nudge from a mate who happens to know what he is talking about.
Thirteen years later, that modest beginning has grown into Rick Shiels Media, a creator-led golf business with more than 1.1 billion YouTube views across its wider network, more than 3.7 million subscribers and over 150 million hours of watch time. The flagship Rick Shiels channel alone has now passed the billion-view mark.
That is not just a large number. It is a shift in gravity.
From PGA Pro To Golf’s Digital Front Door
Rick Shiels uploaded his first golf lesson video to YouTube in 2012, when golf content on the platform was still relatively sparse and often stiff enough to require a chiropractor.
Back then, the game’s media ecosystem was largely built around television highlights, traditional coaching segments, governing bodies and broadcasters. YouTube was not yet the clubhouse bar, the practice ground, the fitting bay, the travel desk and the equipment counter rolled into one.
Shiels helped change that.
His channel moved from instruction into equipment reviews, course vlogs, travel series, challenges, documentaries, podcasts and collaborations with major champions, Ryder Cup players, world number ones, sports personalities and leading golf brands. The important bit is that the tone never felt as if it had been polished by a committee in a windowless room.
The appeal was simple: useful golf content, delivered consistently, without making the viewer feel like a fool for not knowing their launch angle from their lunch order.
A Billion Views, One Video At A Time
| Metric | Figure / Detail |
|---|---|
| Historic milestone | First golf creator in history to surpass 1 billion YouTube views |
| YouTube views | 1.1 billion+ YouTube views across the Rick Shiels Media network |
| YouTube subscribers | 3.7 million+ YouTube subscribers |
| Hours watched | 150 million+ hours watched |
| Cross-platform audience | 7.3 million+ followers and subscribers across platforms |
| Flagship channel output | 2,577 videos published on the flagship channel |
| Full-time team | 12 full time team members |
| Market reach | Audience spanning every major golfing market worldwide |
| Founded | 2012 |
| Year | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 2012 | First video uploaded |
| 2016 | 100,000 subscribers |
| 2019 | 500,000 subscribers |
| 2020 | 1 million subscribers |
| 2025 | 3 million subscribers |
| 2026 | First golf creator in history to surpass 1 billion YouTube views |
The numbers are hefty enough to need their own trolley.
Since launching the flagship channel, Shiels has published 2,577 videos covering coaching, equipment reviews, course play, travel, major championships and interviews with some of the most recognisable names in golf.
Across Rick Shiels Media, audiences have watched more than 150 million hours of content. That equates to more than 16,000 years of viewing time, which is roughly how long it feels when the group ahead insists on reading every putt from four sides.
The wider Rick Shiels Media network now reaches more than 7.3 million followers across YouTube and social media, with audiences across major golfing markets including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia.
For golf, the milestone matters because it confirms something the sport has been edging towards for years. Fans no longer rely only on broadcasters, tours or brands to shape how they consume the game. They follow personalities, formats and communities. They want reviews before they buy, tips before they practise, course vlogs before they travel, and a bit of honesty before they part with time or money.
Rick Shiels On Reaching One Billion Views
On reaching the landmark, Shiels said: “When I uploaded my first video in 2012, I never imagined we’d one day be talking about one billion views. What started as a way to help a few golfers improve their game has become something much bigger than I could ever have imagined.
“People often ask what the secret has been. The truth is we’ve just turned up, every week, for thirteen years and tried to make content golfers genuinely want to watch.
“One billion views is an incredible milestone, but what means the most to me is what sits behind that number. For more than a decade we’ve had the privilege of entertaining, educating and connecting with golfers all over the world. Every single view represents someone choosing to spend a little bit of their time with us and I’ll never take that for granted.
“Golf has given me a career, a business, friendships and opportunities I could never have dreamed of. If our content has helped people discover the game, enjoy it more, improve their golf or simply spend time with friends and family, that’s something I’m incredibly proud of.
“This milestone belongs to everyone who’s watched a video, left a comment, subscribed to the channel or supported us along the way. Without that support, none of this happens.”
More Than A YouTube Channel
The story of PGA Professional Rick Shiels is no longer just the story of a golf coach with a popular YouTube account. Rick Shiels Media now employs a team of twelve and operates a portfolio of content brands including H.I.T Golf and The Rick Shiels Golf Show podcast.
That is the part of the achievement that may prove most instructive for the wider golf industry. The modern golf audience does not sit neatly in one place. It watches YouTube, listens to podcasts, scrolls social media, studies reviews, follows personalities and expects the whole thing to feel immediate, useful and human.
Shiels has built a platform that understands that behaviour rather than complaining about it from behind a blazer.
The business has also collaborated with some of the biggest names in golf and sport while continuing to produce independent content for viewers around the world. That balance — access without losing the everyday golfer — is not easy. Get it wrong and the whole thing begins to smell faintly of a lanyard.
Why This Milestone Matters For Golf Media
Golf has always been a game of instruction, opinion and equipment temptation. In that sense, YouTube was almost designed for it. A golfer can watch a driver review, a bunker lesson, a course vlog and a podcast clip before breakfast, then still three-putt from 18 feet with the confidence of a man armed with new information.
The success of Rick Shiels Media shows how far the sport’s media habits have moved. A creator-led golf channel reaching one billion views would once have sounded fanciful. Now it looks like the natural result of consistency, trust and an audience hungry for golf content that does not arrive wrapped in broadcaster varnish.
PGA Professional Rick Shiels has not merely crossed a statistical line. He has helped redraw the map of golf media, proving that a coach with a camera, a clear voice and enough staying power can build something that rivals the old gatekeepers.
Not bad for a journey that began on a driving range. Then again, golf has always rewarded those who keep showing up, even when the weather is filthy and the swing is making threats.
