Youtube golf is changing, who's you favorite at the moment

[jimb6golf]

Youtube golf has changed quite a bit over the past few years with many of the stalwarts not posting much at all any longer.  It seems that some of the more exciting, entertaining channels have matches with other YTs or pros and they can be very entertaining.  Among my favorites at the moment are Luck Kwon, Grant Horvat and the Bryan Bros - all of which are putting out fun videos and matches (you must watch Kwon's New Zealand series for the scenery and Taco).  And Bob Does Sports is pretty good as well. Some of the original channels have fallen off a bit including Marc Crossfield, Rick Shiels, Chris Ryan, etc. but can be ok to watch at times.  At times the YT golf matches can be more fun than watching the PGA.   Not a fan of LIV at all but the PGA needs to do something to get some viewing excitement.

[cliche]

My favorite at the moment is Taco Golf when he's playing with is friends Tooms, Sam and Luke Kwon. Excellent golf, great courses (when in NZ) and the humor is just great. 

[LBB]

Bob Does Sports for me.  More of a comedy sitcom on a golf course.  Cutsy meltdowns and FP Eurosteps are what keep me coming back.

 

Their matches with PGAT pros are also great IMO because they don't make the matches overly serious.  Keegan Bradley and Max Homa I found extremely entertaining.  

 

I also enjoy Not a Scratch Golfer.  Nothing flashy with his content, but it resonates with me.

[WipeyFade]

My absolute favorite is No Laying Up, their content is some of the best available. It seems they fly under the radar some and attract different viewers compared to other YouTube golf channels. The Golfer's Journal also puts out some pretty cool videos. Golf Sidekick has helped to change my outlook on scoring for the better, and he may have the best sense of humor out of all the golf YouTubers. 

[Gdane]

At the risk of repeating this answer from another thread, I greatly prefer channels that focus on travel and golf courses, rather than the "XXX challenged me to a match" channels.  Because of that No Laying Up is really the only must-watch content for me.  Early Adventures in Golf were great as well but I don't find myself watching a lot of EAL's new content.  I also enjoyed the Busta Jack 50 states stuff bc of all the different course profiling, but don't have any interest in their challenge videos.

 

 

[Llortamaisey]

In my opinion the YT space has become over saturated with golf content. Like any good marketplace, the cream rises to the top. Gone are the days of the early adopters that benefited from lack of content creators, which lead to an unnatural advantage through the algorithm. I think that’s why you don’t see the old stalwarts as much anymore. The juice isn’t worth the squeeze. 
 

As far as the new content creators go, it doesn’t get any better than the delusional confidence of the DOD King. 

[Dill Pickleson]

Rick Shiels for me.

[cdnavalanche9312]

Golf Sidekick is the one and only BAUS of YT golf.  Taco Golf is also very good, only when he's not playing with Kwon, that guy is insufferable.  Harry, Tooms and Sam are his best playing partners hands down (same with the guy who was betting on NFL during a round, can't remember his name tho) 

[BabyCarrot]

Golf Sidekick, Taco Golf, Elite Fit Golf/Mobile Clubmaker, James Wiltshire.

 

Really gotten into Taco since discovery about a month ago

[hm59]

These days I enjoy watching a few guys with barely any subscribers who do videos on courses around where I live. It's fun to see how others square up on the courses I've played a bunch of times. Plus having a small subscriber base means they act like normal people and aren't trying to play up their personalities for the sake of making money from views, likes, comments etc.

Edited May 7 by hm59

[Soloman1]

watching an 18 handicap chopping it around a course is probably easier to tolerate than the tsunami of screaming ones with “gain 30 yards in 5 minutes!” or “go from a ten to scratch in one week!” or “Hogans really real secret!”

 

golf entropy.

 

the only problem with the youtube personality folks is that everyone is named bro. i can’t tell them apart.

 

 

Edited May 7 by Soloman1

[Hawkeye77]

7 hours ago, jimb6golf said:

Youtube golf has changed quite a bit over the past few years with many of the stalwarts not posting much at all any longer.  It seems that some of the more exciting, entertaining channels have matches with other YTs or pros and they can be very entertaining.  Among my favorites at the moment are Luck Kwon, Grant Horvat and the Bryan Bros - all of which are putting out fun videos and matches (you must watch Kwon's New Zealand series for the scenery and Taco).  And Bob Does Sports is pretty good as well. Some of the original channels have fallen off a bit including Marc Crossfield, Rick Shiels, Chris Ryan, etc. but can be ok to watch at times.  At times the YT golf matches can be more fun than watching the PGA.   Not a fan of LIV at all but the PGA needs to do something to get some viewing excitement.

 

Rick Shiels fallen off?  No.  He's heading rapidly toward 3 million subscribers, lol.  He's had some pretty noteworthy interviews as well - Faxon, Faldo, Grieve, Fowler - hoping he does more of that, I'm sure it's hard to keep coming up with stuff.  But he doesn't need to put out content every day and has the podcast and the other channel and so forth.

 

Pete Finch I think is over 600,000 and has been steadily increasing and had a great match out this past week with Padraig Harrington.  Also a podcast and a second (or third) channel, so pretty busy.

 

James Robinson seems to be gaining ground steadily - he's enjoyable and seems to have a lane he's happy with.  He puts out content every day but I don't watch it all.

 

I'd watch Iona Stephen play solitaire, lol, she's fun and honest and a good player and puts out some good content from interesting places sometimes -- i.e., Kenya, seems a little stuck recently but willing to tag along.  Low key and she has a sweet yellow lab, and (jealous) she lives in St. Andrews.

 

Crossfield leveled off a long time ago, but can't say he's done a lot since a certain point to really push his channel like he used to.  Maybe he's at a comfortable place with career/life but he got pretty drama driven for awhile and maybe did himself some injury with "fans", who knows, but doubt he's unhappy.  He's had some good stuff from time to time over the years re swing ideas that seem to show up in similar ways later as the new, greatest thing and are often right on point.  Coach Lockey tries pretty hard but not sure how successful his channel will be in the long run, who knows.  That Dan Hendricksen seems to be determined to find new ways to fail at YouTube, IMO.  

 

I'll watch Matt Fryer on occasion and Andy Carter and Andy Sullivan - just depends.

 

If it's entertaining, I'll take a chance on it.  I don't spend time really going behind the few channels I watch so can't say much about some of the newer kids on the block but have seem some matches when they cross over.  

 

 

 

 

[RoverTiger]

8 minutes ago, Hawkeye77 said:

 

Rick Shiels fallen off?  No.  He's heading rapidly toward 3 million subscribers, lol.  He's had some pretty noteworthy interviews as well - Faxon, Faldo, Grieve, Fowler - hoping he does more of that, I'm sure it's hard to keep coming up with stuff.  But he doesn't need to put out content every day and has the podcast and the other channel and so forth.

 

Pete Finch I think is over 600,000 and has been steadily increasing and had a great match out this past week with Padraig Harrington.  Also a podcast and a second (or third) channel, so pretty busy.

 

James Robinson seems to be gaining ground steadily - he's enjoyable and seems to have a lane he's happy with.  He puts out content every day but I don't watch it all.

 

I'd watch Iona Stephen play solitaire, lol, she's fun and honest and a good player and puts out some good content from interesting places sometimes -- i.e., Kenya, seems a little stuck recently but willing to tag along.  Low key and she has a sweet yellow lab, and (jealous) she lives in St. Andrews.

 

Crossfield leveled off a long time ago, but can't say he's done a lot since a certain point to really push his channel like he used to.  Maybe he's at a comfortable place with career/life but he got pretty drama driven for awhile and maybe did himself some injury with "fans", who knows, but doubt he's unhappy.  He's had some good stuff from time to time over the years re swing ideas that seem to show up in similar ways later as the new, greatest thing and are often right on point.  Coach Lockey tries pretty hard but not sure how successful his channel will be in the long run, who knows.  That Dan Hendricksen seems to be determined to find new ways to fail at YouTube, IMO.  

 

I'll watch Matt Fryer on occasion and Andy Carter and Andy Sullivan - just depends.

 

If it's entertaining, I'll take a chance on it.  I don't spend time really going behind the few channels I watch so can't say much about some of the newer kids on the block but have seem some matches when they cross over.  

 

 

 

 

I still watch a bit of Rick. I'll be forever grateful to him for being there (so to speak) with some tips when I got back into golf a few years ago after having not played since adolescence.

 

Peter Finch used to strike me as a bit smug and smarmy, but I've warmed to him of late. The latest content with Harrington is pure gold.

 

James Robinson gets some steady viewership from me. Somehow the straightforward, less polished style works for my eye.

 

I don't always seek out Matt Fryer, but I usually watch his stuff when it pops up in my recommended videos.

 

Another one who is flying under the radar a bit is Hannah Holden. She's straight up with her golf, no fluff or BS.

 

It dawns on me now that there is a distinct English Northwest flavor to my preferred viewing. My 20+ year connection to Blackburn is having too much of an influence on other aspects of my life. 😂

[Hawkeye77]

1 minute ago, RoverTiger said:

I still watch a bit of Rick. I'll be forever grateful to him for being there (so to speak) with some tips when I got back into golf a few years ago after having not played since adolescence.

 

Peter Finch used to strike me as a bit smug and smarmy, but I've warmed to him of late. The latest content with Harrington is pure gold.

 

James Robinson gets some steady viewership from me. Somehow the straightforward, less polished style works for my eye.

 

I don't always seek out Matt Fryer, but I usually watch his stuff when it pops up in my recommended videos.

 

Another one who is flying under the radar a bit is Hannah Holden. She's straight up with her golf, no fluff or BS.

 

It dawns on me now that there is a distinct English Northwest flavor to my preferred viewing. My 20+ year connection to Blackburn is having too much of an influence on other aspects of my life. 😂

 

Hannah is great!  

 

Finch is just socially awkward, not smug, and maybe not a natural to the camera in some ways, IMO when trying to entertain, but he's really good on his podcast when I watch.  I get why he comes off a bit odd to many, and although I've been watching him since he and Shiels were doing course vlogs many years ago, it took awhile to figure him out and . . . he's okay.  

[RoverTiger]

1 minute ago, Hawkeye77 said:

 

Hannah is great!  

 

Finch is just socially awkward, not smug, and maybe not a natural to the camera in some ways, IMO when trying to entertain, but he's really good on his podcast when I watch.  I get why he comes off a bit odd to many, and although I've been watching him since he and Shiels were doing course vlogs many years ago, it took awhile to figure him out and . . . he's okay.  

Yeah, I've come to the conclusion that I was too hard on him at first. I'd have a pint or two with him now.

[NixLix26]

No Laying up gets my vote.  
the strapped boys is a fun watch. 

[Avidswampthing66]

No Laying Up, and I like to throw in Bryan Bros bc the brothers have some great matches with high-level golf (and guests)

I watch TXG for gear reviews.  I'm a golf sicko, but I'm ok with that 

[Avidswampthing66]

40 minutes ago, RoverTiger said:

I still watch a bit of Rick. I'll be forever grateful to him for being there (so to speak) with some tips when I got back into golf a few years ago after having not played since adolescence.

 

Peter Finch used to strike me as a bit smug and smarmy, but I've warmed to him of late. The latest content with Harrington is pure gold.

 

James Robinson gets some steady viewership from me. Somehow the straightforward, less polished style works for my eye.

 

I don't always seek out Matt Fryer, but I usually watch his stuff when it pops up in my recommended videos.

 

Another one who is flying under the radar a bit is Hannah Holden. She's straight up with her golf, no fluff or BS.

 

It dawns on me now that there is a distinct English Northwest flavor to my preferred viewing. My 20+ year connection to Blackburn is having too much of an influence on other aspects of my life. 😂

Yeah, Hannah is pretty great for sure

[Avidswampthing66]

5 hours ago, Gdane said:

At the risk of repeating this answer from another thread, I greatly prefer channels that focus on travel and golf courses, rather than the "XXX challenged me to a match" channels.  Because of that No Laying Up is really the only must-watch content for me.  Early Adventures in Golf were great as well but I don't find myself watching a lot of EAL's new content.  I also enjoyed the Busta Jack 50 states stuff bc of all the different course profiling, but don't have any interest in their challenge videos.

 

 

Same here.  I really liked EAL bc he was down to earth and loved Adventures in Golf, but then it got kinda weird and superficial feeling.  Where a video could be "I just played golf in cowboy boots after taking mushrooms"  

It feels like forced cool.

 

[DCCarpenter]

One guy who puts out good relatable videos is Mister Short Hitter. He plays to a very low handicap with not much distance off the tee, even plays local tournaments and does good recaps of his rounds. 

 

 

[tipuga93]

Bryan Bros are still #1 for me. I really enjoy watching Wesley and George play golf. Everyone else I find a hard time staying interested in because it's too corny. 

 

Oddly enough I enjoy Bryson's channel despite him being the king of corny. Go figure 

[RPMzz]

8 hours ago, cliche said:

My favorite at the moment is Taco Golf when he's playing with is friends Tooms, Sam and Luke Kwon. Excellent golf, great courses (when in NZ) and the humor is just great. 

 

OKEH!!!! Can't forget about Harry as well. Really hope to see Taco & crew playing in the States in the future. A crossover with Bryan Bros, Horvat, even GG would be amazing. Just chuck it in there!

 

---

 

OTOH - I can't stand most 'solo' Rick Shiels videos. Every video is a new tip or piece of equipment that YOU MUST TRY to improve your game! I haven't followed him long enough to know his history, I guess he's an accomplished coach... I just get the impression he's forever been 'average' at golf (terrible at chipping...) and NOT IMPROVING for like 20+ years. I can see how his content could be relatable (not being very good/not trying to get better...) or relaxing or entertaining for some. Not someone I want to hear tips from (although yeah he is still better at golf than I am! 😜). EDIT- not to mention I probably caught several episodes where he really was down/dogging on himself with negativity -- definitely want to avoid consuming content like that for my own mental game.

 

I did a quick search to see if my impression was shared elsewhere... this explains it I guess! Quote from Summer '23:

Quote

I remember watching Rick in 2019-2020 and he was a solid golfer, hungry to play better and push his brand. It seems he’s just lacking a little ambition and discipline to continue to play better.

 

Edited May 8 by RPMzz

[RoverTiger]

20 minutes ago, DCCarpenter said:

One guy who puts out good relatable videos is Mister Short Hitter. He plays to a very low handicap with not much distance off the tee, even plays local tournaments and does good recaps of his rounds. 

 

 

Not a Scratch Golfer fits this bill as well. Extremely relatable stuff.

[TCJ]

I don't watch much Youtube, but when I do, it's Club Pro Guy

 

[aenemated]

5 hours ago, Avidswampthing66 said:

Same here.  I really liked EAL bc he was down to earth and loved Adventures in Golf, but then it got kinda weird and superficial feeling.  Where a video could be "I just played golf in cowboy boots after taking mushrooms"  

It feels like forced cool.

 

 

I loved when EAL was doing the more Tony Bourdain kinda content. Travel and story focused with excellent production value. The Miura factory one specifically - man, what a great one. I actually had the pleasure of meeting him at the Westchester driving range near LAX several years back and we talked about the awesomeness that is Rustic Canyon. Stellar course in Simi Valley I used to play a lot. 

 

He dropped off on the good stuff though when he picked up some sponsorships and just kinda feels like veiled marketing anymore. Which I get. Get paid, dawg - rock'n'roll. 

 

Seems the ae channel needs to happen. 😂

[JAMH03]

I think this may confirm I'm on the spectrum. Scott Fawcett, James Ridyard are my 2 favorites.

Ian is another one I really enjoy Matt is good as well sorry the split up. They were perfect. 

So many that are good. I miss the 2 from Diego they were fun to watch play it felt like they were in my regular foursome. Mr Shortgame does an excellent job.

Rick and Finch together are great their used club matches are great.

Bryson is killing it super entertaining. Shiels and Crossfield driver reviews are wonderful.  The woman from UK who does equipment reviews is wonderful Hannah?

In fairness I think we'd do better if someone made a cheat sheet and we could just circle the ones we liked. I'm sure I'm forgetting some of my other favorites.

Fun topic.

[Golfingfanatic]

Mostly stick to NLU these days. Current season tourist sauce shows how far they've come from a production value perspective compared to season 1 in Australia.

[pseudoswede]

I don't really care for any of the YT golf content, but for absolute goofiness, I watch Twin Tour Golf and their mini-golf tournaments.

[jimb6golf]

In addition to those I mentioned above, I do enjoy watching Iona Stephens, Peter Finch and NLU.  There are still some good instruction sites including Chris Ryan and Me and My Golf, worth watching as well.  I would agree the market has become saturated or at least stale.  There's only so much of the A vs B competitions you can watch, but both Kwon's and Bryan Bros videos are still enjoyable and nice to watch as all the golfers involved are really good.  And I would agree that early EAL videos and trips were great to watch but now seem like a glorified commercial for Random Golf.    And just to clarify 'falling off' was referring to watchability - some of these channels seem a little repetitive and stale is all.  The bigger point might be that some of the YT competition sites are more enjoyable than watching the PGA at times.

[WipeyFade]

2 hours ago, Golfingfanatic said:

Mostly stick to NLU these days. Current season tourist sauce shows how far they've come from a production value perspective compared to season 1 in Australia.

I would binge watch the Scotland and Ireland episodes when my youngest son, who is now 3, wouldn't sleep as a newborn. Through watching the Scotland Tourist Sauce episodes and the recent Film Rooms they did with Jim Hartsell I have developed a slight obsession with Scottish golf and can't wait to make my own pilgrimage. 

Edited May 8 by WipeyFade