Introduction
Golf used to be the stuffiest sport on television. Then YouTube got hold of it. A wave of creators turned the game into something fun, social and genuinely funny, dragging a whole new generation onto the course. These channels now shape which clubs people buy and how the sport sees itself. If you want to understand modern golf (or market to golfers) you start here.
Here is the leaderboard, why these creators matter to brands, plus the trend driving it all.
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The leaderboard
Here are the top golf creators on YouTube and what each is known for. Subscriber figures are reported and shift over time.
| Creator | Subscribers | Known for |
|---|---|---|
| Rick Shiels | ~2.9 to 3M | Club reviews, swing tips, ex-PGA coach |
| Good Good Golf | ~1.7M+ | Group brand, events, Callaway partner |
| Grant Horvat | ~1.36M | Challenges, PGA Tour Creator Classic winner |
| Garrett Clark (gm_golf) | ~1.3M | Match-play challenges, guests |
| Bob Does Sports | ~961K | Comedy golf, celebrity matches |
Sources: Essential Golf, MyGolfSpy, CreatorDB, Sportskeeda. Reported figures, approximate.
Why they matter to brands
Golf creators are not just entertainers. They have become a core marketing channel for the entire sport.
- They move gear. Rick Shiels' reviews reportedly sway nearly 20% of online golf equipment purchases.
- They build brands. Good Good runs its own apparel and club lines alongside a Callaway partnership.
- They reach the young. These channels brought a fresh, global, under-40 audience into golf.
- They convert. Engaged, purchase-driven audiences make them more efficient than many tour sponsorships.
The trend in numbers
The rise of golf YouTube is not anecdotal. The data backs it up. Figures are reported.
| Signal | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Watch-time | YouTube golf grew ~48% from 2022 to 2025 |
| New golfers | Over 30% say YouTube was their first learning source |
| Short-form | Golf Shorts and Reels grew ~110% year over year |
| Gear influence | Top reviewers sway a fifth of online equipment buys |
Sources: industry survey data 2025, as reported. Figures approximate.
How brands work with them
Golf creators offer brands far more than a logo on a hat. The partnerships tend to run deeper than traditional sports deals.
Equipment brands send clubs for honest reviews, knowing a Rick Shiels verdict carries real weight. Apparel and lifestyle brands sponsor challenge series and events, where the product appears in genuine play rather than a static ad. Some creators, like Good Good, have gone further and built their own product lines, becoming brands in their own right. The common thread is authenticity: golf audiences trust these creators precisely because the content feels real, which is exactly what makes the marketing work.
How to use this with Flinque
The big names are only the start. For most brands, the smarter play is a mid-sized or micro golf creator whose audience tightly matches the product, often at higher engagement and far lower cost than the household channels. The challenge is finding them, then confirming their following is genuine.
Flinque is built for that. You can search 10M+ verified creators by niche, including sport and golf, benchmark engagement to see past subscriber counts, then run a fake follower check before you partner. Admire the leaderboard, then find the creator who actually fits your brand.
Want to partner with golf creators? Find them on Flinque.
Use Flinque to search 10M+ verified creators by niche, run a fake follower check and benchmark engagement. Start free with no credit card.