Tiger Woods has been a tough man to pin down.
Any budding golfer will be familiar with Rick Shiels, a PGA professional and YouTuber who boasts nearly three million subscribers by sharing tips on how amateur players can improve their game.
Shiels created his channel in 2011 while working at Trafford Golf Centre and has since amassed 854million views in total, attracting a host of celebrities and golf stars to collaborate with him.
He has created videos with Tommy Fleetwood, Rickie Fowler, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and Bryson DeChambeau among others, but one name still eludes him and it is golf’s most prestigious of all.
Tiger Woods is yet to make an appearance on either Shiels’ channel or popular podcast, despite the Brit’s repeated attempts. He is yet to even publicly meet the 110-time title winner despite the 48-year-old being his sporting idol.
“Tiger Woods is the reason my 11-year-old self got into golf in the first place back in 1997, coincidentally when Tiger won the Masters,” Sheils previously told Metro. “He is the reason why I’m doing golf, he is the reason why I’m doing YouTube, he is the reason why golf is in the place that’s in now.
“To be able to shoot anything with Tiger – even if it’s just cleaning his golf clubs – would be phenomenal. It’d be a passion piece for me, but as golfers we love Tiger so much, so that’d be amazing.”
When asked if he had tried to get in touch with Woods, Shiels replied: “I try most days. I feel like I need to employ someone just to hound Tiger’s management.”
Tiger Woods keeps turning down Rick Shiels. (Image: Getty)
Woods is no stranger to filming content for YouTube, however. Earlier this year he recorded a video with Barstool Sports’ Fore Play Golf channel, where he reviewed the hosts’ tee shots and coached them in a video that has over three million views.
He similarly put on a driver clinic with Rory McIlroy and Nelly Korda for TaylorMade golf in June, but Shiels still hasn’t been able to work with Woods, but not for a lack of trying.
Another golfer that sat atop Shiels’ list, however, is DeChambeau. The coach believes that the recent US Open winner is one of few who can boast a star power similar to that of Woods.
“Nobody has become close to Tiger in attracting new golfers over recent years,” he added. “Bryson’s got that – and I hate to say it – that X-factor that can really, really shine a positive light onto golf. So being able to do something with him and look at the way he’s changing golf really excites me.”
And just over two years on from that glowing endorsement, Shiels filmed a series of videos with DeChambeau over both of their channels, reaching 8.5 million views across all seven pieces of content.
