MKTG's Joe Hills explores how YouTube creators are reshaping the future of golf fandom – and why brands, broadcasters and rights holders need to pay attention.

As The Open tees off this week, it’s not just Rory’s pursuit for a home soil Claret Jug grabbing attention, it’s what’s happening online that’s shaping golf’s future.

A new wave of fans are engaging with the sport not through broadcasters or traditional highlights, but through creators.

And nowhere is that more apparent than on YouTube.

Insights from dentsu Sports Analytics’ Decoding 360, a global survey of sports fans, reveal that YouTube is the number one platform where golf fans follow sport across the globe.

Over the last five years, golf fans switching to YouTube has outpaced every other channel as well:

And here are some of the biggest names leading this shift for golf on the platform:

• Rick Shiels – 2.9 million subscribers (@RickShielsPGA) – A former PGA coach and basically the OG of YouTube golf. Rick does honest gear reviews in his HIT Studio, coaching tips and course vlogs with other YouTubers in a down-to-earth style.

• Bryson DeChambeau – 2.1 million subscribers (@BrysonDeChambeau) – Bryson’s gone from PGA bad boy to one of the most liked guys on the LIV Tour and his YouTube has to have helped that. His channel is very fun to watch… he does challenges like ‘Can I break par with a set of clubs from Temu’ to partnering up with huge names like Tom Brady, Dude Perfect and even Donald Trump. His channel is unique in the sense that he’s an active tour professional taking on these challenges and collabs.

• Good Good – 1.8 million subscribers (@GoodGood) – This is your classic group of mates having fun and playing golf with each other. The camaraderie between the players is natural and you feel like you’re walking alongside them playing along when you watch. They also do unique challenges that aren’t often seen on other channels.

• Grant Horvat – 1.3 million subscribers (@GrantHorvatGolfs) – Grant is ex-Good Good but went his own way back in 2022 and since then has hit over 1m subs on YouTube and made content with Tiger Woods, Scottie Scheffler, Nelly Korda and many more. Super chilled out guy, with a swing like butter.

(Picture: @BrysonDeChambeau)

Golf creators on YouTube are creating more than just your traditional golf content, they’re telling stories, entertaining viewers and most importantly being accessible.

They make golf feel fun and inclusive, whether they’re playing casual rounds with friends, setting up fun challenges or bringing in celebrities for viral collabs.

They show the bad shots as well as the good, and in doing so, they break the old-school image of golf being closed off or overly serious.

Younger fans are tuning in not just because of skill, but because of the vibes. Scroll through the comments on YouTube and it’s obvious the “just like playing golf with your mates” feeling to the content is what keeps people entertained and coming back for more.

And it’s not just in the comments we see this, as David Berson, president and CEO of CBS Sports, puts it:

“It’s no secret the sport of golf tends to skew older. Televised golf viewership tends to skew older. The more we can get young people involved, excited about the game, if we can do that through social media, through YouTube, you name it, I think we’ll all benefit. And the sport will benefit. Bring it on.”

It’s a clear signal that the future of golf lies in new formats, new platforms and new energy and this is exactly what YouTube creators are bringing to the game.

These creators are relatable, their content is entertaining, and it fits the way Gen Z and Gen Alpha consume media:

• Short-form

• Mobile-first

• Personality-driven

It’s “entertainment golf” and it’s working… Golf creators are regularly outperforming the likes of the PGA Tour and LIV Golf on YouTube too.

Over their last 10 videos, Good Good Golf averaged around 540k views per video, significantly outperforming the PGA Tour (85k) and LIV Golf (55k). That’s over six times more than PGA Tour and nearly ten times more than LIV, showing just how powerful YouTube creators have become in the sport. On a personal level, I started watching Good Good and other golf creators as they were more relatable than watching the pros shoot a 64 off the back tees, but YouTubers felt like they mirrored my experiences with mates out on the course.

(Picture: @GoodGood)

And on the commercial side, it’s not just golf brands taking notice. While golf companies like TaylorMade, Golfbidder and Callaway have long been active in the space, a growing number of mainstream brands are now partnering with golf creators to tap into their reach and relevance. From Mercedes-Benz creating content with Rick Shiels and x2 Masters Champions Bernhard Langer to the drinkware company YETI co-branding merch with Good Good, these partnerships go well beyond product reviews or sponsorship badges.

We’re seeing everything from original content series to product collaborations and competition promotions. What makes them effective is the authenticity behind them, creators have built trust and loyalty with their audiences and now hold huge influencing power.

And that trust drives real engagement and real sales.

These collaborations feel less like advertising and more like storytelling, helping brands show up in the culture of golf rather than just around it.

(Picture: @LukeKwonGolf)

A perfect example of this approach in action is Takomo Golf – a direct-to-consumer golf brand from Finland that built its reputation entirely on YouTube.

With no retail presence and prices often half that of traditional brands, Takomo bet big on creators instead of traditional marketing.

By partnering with YouTubers like Golf Mates, Luke Kwon, Grant Horvat, Claire Hogle and the Bryan Bros, they generated serious buzz around their clubs and serious sales too. So much so that they now face around a 10-week lead time just to ship out new orders. Golfers are buying clubs they’ve never even tested in person, purely off the strength of trusted YouTube recommendations from the creators.

It’s a clear sign of the influence these creators have when it comes to driving real purchase decisions.

But it’s not just brands that should be paying attention. Rights holders and tournament organisers can also benefit from this creator-led movement.

By inviting influencers to events like The Open, they can open new forms of behind-the-scenes access, promote ticket giveaways or co-create content that offers a fresh perspective on the event, something golf is in need of to attract the younger crowd.

When done right, this creator content feels authentic and like a backstage pass to a golf event with your mates.

(Picture: @GrantHorvatGolfs)

When Grant teamed up with the Bryan Bros for their Open 2025 video with the R&A, it hit one million views in under 24 hours – backed up by 35k+ likes and 5k+ comments. Numbers like that suggest genuine fan engagement, not a paid boost.

If golf wants to grow with the next generation, the content needs to evolve from the main rights holders in the game. Highlights are great and serve a purpose, but more challenges, more collaborations, more behind-the-scenes content and spotlighting your talent is key… all built for platforms like TikTok, Insta Reels and YouTube Shorts – content that’s native to how young fans engage.

Creators aren’t the answer for everything, but they can help you hit new audiences, make sales and most importantly, grow the sport we all know and love.

This week, while the world tunes into The Open, there’s a parallel world of content driving just as much buzz. It’s time the wider golf ecosystem embraced it. Because the next wave of golf fandom isn’t just coming, it’s already here.