Paige Spiranac and Content World Is Taking Over the Spectator Side of Golf; the YouTube vs Traditional Sports Era

Good, good golf. Rick Shiels. Paige Spiranac. Bryson DeChambeau. What do they have in common? Seemingly nothing, from the surface. But they do have one connection established recently. All of them boast a significant presence on YouTube as golf content creators. DeChambeau, obviously, has a larger identity that transcends his new venture in the virtual world. Nevertheless, the scientist has put considerable time and effort into churning out some interesting content.

The viewership for all things YouTube Golf is also quite staggering. The 2023 Tour Championship averaged around 4.6 million views on CBS. By comparison, Rick Shiels Golf, a famous YouTube channel, garnered 6.7 million views alone from a video of him playing with a swingless club. Does that hint at a change in the traditional viewership experience?

How does the PGA Tour compare to popular golf channels?

The PGA Tour, with its seemingly endless depository of the best clips from yesteryear and, at the same time, behind-the-scenes clips, only boasts a subscriber count of 1.31 million. The subscriber count is considerably higher than LIV Golf, of course. But it pales in comparison to what the most popular YouTube golf channels boast.

Take Good, for example. The channel, which bills itself as “6 dudes, 1 golf channel,” was created in July 2020. An omnichannel golf entertainment medium where members travel to the world playing golf on different courses has a subscriber count of 1.42 million. The Tour channel, in comparison, was opened in 2006, during the early days of YouTube.

Most recently, rising Australian star Min Woo Lee played with Stephen Castaneda, Garrett Clark, Brad Dalke, and Matt Scharff, an integral part of the Good Good family at Pro-Am of the American Express. Speaking after the event, the 25-year-old said, “It was a cool experience for sure. It was nice to play with guys my age and that I can relate to a little more.”

Lee also lets go of the crux of the matter. “They’re hitting this age range of like 18 to 30, young people that are starting to get into golf and it’s amazing for the sport,” Lee said. “It only boosts the game.” That’s also one of the reasons why golf suddenly became so popular on social media.

But we haven’t come to the biggest golf channel on YouTube yet. Rick Shiels, perhaps the Internet’s favorite golf ‘coach, boasts a subscriber count of 2.74 million and upwards. Aside from tips and tricks, Shiels often speaks with PGA Tour and LIV Golf pros and often goes head-to-head against them, obviously with some caveats. The channel opened seven years after the PGA Tour on YouTube and has garnered total views of 759,436,941.

Paige Spiranac, although more popular on Instagram than YouTube, has 382K subscribers. The 30-year-old’s content ranges from on-course tips and fun challenges to collaborations. Collaboration is also one of the big reasons behind YouTube Golf’s astonishing success.

The meteoric rise of YouTube Golf

YouTube is more accessible than traditional golf broadcasts. Certainly, the platform has its own commercial vices and gets a lot of heat for that. But compared to the PGA Tour’s broadcasts and commercials every few minutes, YouTube ads are more bearable to the general audience.

Also to remember, in the era of a gradually diminishing attention span, you need to be creative to retain the viewers’ attention. Hence, ‘Golf, but Louder.’ Although that hadn’t worked too well for the upstart league, loud and fun golf works brilliantly for amateur golfers and influencers.

One club challenge, a hole-in-one challenge, or even a blindfolded challenge. The beauty, and indeed, the main attraction, is watching the PGA Tour Pros in their casual avatars. So, when PGA Tour or LPGA Tour pros tee up with and sometimes against average to below-par golfers, what draws the viewers is the fun aspect of it rather than a serious battle of the best. Also, the opportunity to listen to the pros talking about their quirks and never-before-heard stories.

The entire video offers an opportunity to watch their favorite golfers unwind and let their hair down. These collaborations and fun duels, sometimes with pros and sometimes with other golf YouTubers, have helped them create an ecosystem away from the professional confines of pro golf. A safe haven that even pros are coming to enjoy.

Players are following suit as well

Bryson DeChambeau enjoys a significant presence both on the Greens and virtually. The eight-time PGA Tour winner started his social media journey on YouTube two years ago and has 413K subscribers. DeChambeau has also latched onto the trend of offering tutorials on his channel. Perhaps a no-brainer considering his on-course accolades.

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A celebrated hard-hitter who regularly crushes 300+ yards of drive, the scientist started with golf tips. However, in the off-season, the Crushers GC Captain invited Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson, and Sergio Garcia for a duel. The one-club challenge with the Spaniard raked in 348K views, whereas the battle with Lefty reached the 3M mark.

DeChambeau has also invited other famous YouTubers, such as Rick Shiels, Bob Does Sport, Grant Horvat, and Garret Clark, to his channel. The 2020 U.S. Open Champion most recently partnered with Paige Spiranac to ‘fix’ her game.

This is not to say eventually virtual Golf will take over the sport. However, the facts show that the popularity of Golf is increasing, but it hasn’t reflected on the TV ratings as much. Whether a better broadcasting deal with lesser intervals will change the scenario remains to be seen. But YouTube Golf is here to stay and as DeChambeau’s journey shows, future Pros might think of coming to this virtual side as well.

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