YouTube star Shiels sees unrivalled year of growth

Rick Shiels can now lay claim to hosting the biggest golf YouTube channel on the planet after the PGA Professional’s channel surpassed 561,500 subscribers.

Shiels joined YouTube almost eight years ago and initially gained notoriety for his in-depth, impartial and informative golf club reviews. Since then, the 32-year-old has developed a diverse portfolio of content, built around his impartiality, ranging from instructional tips to product reviews of the latest equipment, and insightful and entertaining challenges.

The channel, Rick Shiels PGA Golf, now accounts for almost 40 million minutes of viewing globally each month and has grown by 240,000 subscribers over the past year – meaning he not only has the biggest golf channel on YouTube, but the fastest growing.

Earlier this year, Shiels was also instrumental in staging the first ever YT Golf Day, an event that brought 44 of the world’s most popular content creators with a combined following of more than 19 million people together for a unique event that raised over £15,000 for Prostate Cancer UK.

• The channel, Rick Shiels PGA Golf, now accounts for almost 40 million minutes of viewing globally each month

• It has grown by 240,000 subscribers in the past year, making it both the biggest and fastest growing channel

• Shiels has also amassed a highly engaged audience of almost one million across Twitter, Facebook and Instagram

“I could have never dreamed when I started out in 2012 that I would have the biggest golf YouTube channel in the world, and I feel very privileged to have amassed such a loyal and supportive audience,” said Shiels, who has partnered with the likes of Garmin, Nike, The R&A, Golfbidder and Mastercard.

“My passion for the game has never been greater and I’m excited to continue this journey, producing entertaining content that brings people closer to the game they love, and hopefully inspires them to play more golf.”