On January 24, LIV Golf put out a press release to announce their first major partnership with an influencer. Rick Shiels has been a long-time content creator on YouTube for golf since 2012 under the name Rick Shiels PGA. In this deal, Shiels will become an ambassador and content creator for LIV Golf.
What This Partnership Means For LIV
This move acts as a way to bring in the next generation of golf fans, while also embracing the tools and potential that social media and online creators have. Shiels himself has the largest golf YouTube channel sitting at 2.93 million subscribers. His view count is currently sitting at 935 million. This was a logical move for LIV Golf to make given all the good press and quality around Shiels. It will most likely pay off for them, as Shiels has been praised for his production and content quality. This is a multi-year contract, and although it is unsure how long this contract is, it is poised to benefit both parties in the foreseeable future greatly.
What This Partnership Means For Rick Shiels
In Shiels’s announcement, he stated that he will be at all 14 LIV events this year. Shiels is making plans for games he will be playing against prop players for his channel, separate from official LIV events. This will be mixed in with interviews and demonstrations as a sort of series of coaching videos. He commented:
“Partnering with LIV Golf provides an incredible opportunity to take my content to the next level. From playing with some of the best golfers in the world to showcasing their courses and teams, I can’t wait to share this journey with my audience. Together, we’re bringing fans closer to the action and showing the world a new side of golf.”
As part of this deal, Shiels will also start Totshots, a golf program designed for children 3-5. LIV Golf has promised $50,000 annually to the program. This will of course hurt his ability to cover PGA events as this is an exclusivity deal with a competitor. However, Shiels is making big promises to keep his long-standing series going. He also has plenty of new stuff to come.
What The Future Holds
Currently, LIV Golf is going through a shake-up. Despite major changes, this is shaping up to be a good deal between Shiels and LIV Golf, the future holds a lot of promise for them. Fans and newcomers alike have a lot to look forward to with this one.
