“Rick Shiels is joining LIV Golf… I’d bet my house on it”

Is Rick Shiels about to join LIV Golf?

Golf’s most popular YouTuber, Rick Shiels, has been teasing something big, and some internet sleuths think they’ve worked out what it is…

Rick Shiels is the biggest golf YouTuber going. He’s been posting videos for almost 13 years and clocked up just shy of three million subscribers. Within the world of golf YouTube, to borrow some Ron Burgundy parlance, he’s kind of a big deal.

So when he posts not but two trailer videos in consecutive weeks, while having not posted a ‘proper’ video for over a month, it gets people wondering what’s coming next from YouTube’s favorite golf pro.

The first teaser, a 34-second cinematic number entitled ‘The new era is here’, saw Shiels hit a few balls and say nothing other than, “You ready?” before a date popped up. 24.1.25, it was revealed, would be the date this “new era” began.

A week later, we got just over a minute of something called ‘The next chapter…’ which looked back on Shiels’ YouTube beginnings and growth, with a slightly cheesy voiceover that felt more fitting for a Mercedes advert than a YouTube golf video.

The videos generated plenty of speculation about what Shiels has up his sleeve.

Some feared this was another unduly elaborate teaser for more merchandise, because Shiels’ track record after elongated teaser campaigns isn’t great. There was the ‘I have HUGE news’ video where the “HUGE news” was Rick having worked with ECCO to release some golf shoes featuring his logo and a bit of red. And, before that, Rick declared “This is my biggest announcement yet” which turned out to be the release of some headcovers, towels, and apparel with ‘RS’ and a few of his catchphrases printed on them.

“If this is more merch then we riot!” said @liam12317.

“With a trailer like that, I hope it isn’t just another piece of merchandise with Rick’s name glued onto it,” agreed @GamingGrenade1.

In Shiels’ defense, he’s far from the first influencer to release branded merchandise, and the stuff he’s released has always appeared to be of good quality.

Whatever is coming, many fans felt two trailers was probably one or two too many.

Now, I’ve been around the internet long enough to see plenty of overblown teasers that eventually lead to disappointment, but the fact Shiels believes whatever is coming on 24 February justifies two trailers makes me think it’s something big. He’s a smart guy with a sizable team of media-savvy staff; I don’t think they’d do this campaign and expect people to be delighted if the big reveal was the launch of some ‘RS’-branded golf socks.

So, if the big Rick Shiels announcement actually is going to be big, what could it be?

A few serious theories have been put forward.

One of those is that Shiels is to follow in Grant Horvat’s footsteps in becoming part-owner of Takomo Golf. The direct-to-consumer brand relies heavily on influencers for promotion and has already given a stake to Horvat as well as the Bryan Bros and Golf Sidekick.

Personally, I’d be surprised if Shiels was about to join them. Rick has always avoided tying himself to one manufacturer as doing so would undermine the impartiality of his club reviews and, no offense to Takomo, but if he ever did sign an equipment endorsement, I think it would be with a bigger brand. I also think he’d be downplaying this to some extent, rather than making as big a deal as possible out of it with a series of teaser videos.

Another theory is that Shiels is moving to America – or, at least, has bought a second home there. This seems very plausible. Escaping the British winter for warmer climes would appeal to most golfers, but especially those who film golf content for a living. My only question mark over the validity of this theory is that I don’t think Shiels would have released two cinematic trailers if the payoff was going to be that he’d expanded his property portfolio.

Which leads us to the ‘Rick Shiels x LIV Golf’ theory.

@keatonhaskell6842 seems pretty certain he’s worked it out, although I’d find it easier to trust him if he’d managed to spell ‘Rick’ correctly.

The most popular suggestion theory is that Shiels has signed some form of deal with golf’s breakaway circuit.

Shiels is self-aware enough when it comes to his own golf game to realize he’s not going to make it as a bona fide player on the LIV tour any time soon. But it’s not impossible that the LIV Golf league is looking to borrow the PGA Tour’s ‘Creator Classic’ concept and feature influencers to attract more eyeballs, with Shiels as the centerpiece. It’s arguably a more natural tie-in for LIV than for the PGA Tour, given LIV events are broadcast live on YouTube (as well as on Fox Sports from 2025 onwards).

It could be that Shiels has signed to be a LIV presenter or pundit.

There are even some clues in Shiels’ teaser video – ‘easter eggs’, I think the kids call them – that support the LIV theory.

In some behind-the-scenes footage of a video edit, Shiels appears to be sat next to LIV Golf star Brooks Koepka.

Content featuring the two would be interesting as they have historical ‘beef’ dating back to the 2022 Open Championship at St Andrews, when the five-time major champion reportedly had Shiels ejected from a bar he had booked for a private function.

And the font behind Shiels at one point in his trailer video looks very similar to the styling used by LIV Golf.

There’s nothing official confirming any sort of relationship between Rick Shiels and LIV Golf. As stated, Rick and his team are smart and know how to play the media game; LIV has been the biggest talking point in golf for the last few years so it’s possible he’s planting these seeds to make people think his announcement is LIV-related and get them talking about it. If that’s the case, then mission accomplished, considering this article and the online speculation. It could be a complete red herring and the announcement could be something entirely different. Only time will tell. Let’s just hope, whatever it is, it ‘be phenomenal’.

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About the author

Rob McGarr – Contributing Editor

Rob has been a writer and editor for over 15 years, covering all manner of subjects for leading magazines and websites.

He has previously been Features Editor of Today’s Golfer magazine and Digital Editor of todays-golfer.com, and held roles at FHM, Men’s Running, Golf World, and MAN Magazine.

You can follow him on YouTube where – depending on what day of the week it is – he’ll either be trying his best to get his handicap down to scratch or shoving his clubs in a cupboard, never to be seen again.

Rob is a member at Royal North Devon, England’s oldest golf course, where he plays off a three-handicap.