Previously known as Niblicks GC, two-time Masters winner Bubba Watson announced a change in title for his team before the 2023 season. Having joined the LIV Golf League as non-playing captain at first in the summer of 2022, Watson was keen to put his stamp on the franchise once he picked his clubs up again, and - working with former teammate Harold Varner III - the pair came up with the idea of the RangeGoats.
Referencing the location at which Watson made his first ever swing of a golf club - the driving range at Tanglewood Golf Course in Milton, Florida - Watson said: “It just goes back to the roots of who I am, where I come from. You know, I didn’t live a glamorous lifestyle growing up and I’m taking a wild guess that Harold didn’t either. So that’s where the whole process started in my mind."
Following a largely unsuccessful first season for the side formerly known as Niblicks - they ended outside of the top-five clubs who made it to the very first team championship - Watson outlined another reason behind the fresh moniker, which also includes the GOAT acronym familiar to many a sports fan.
Speaking to the LIV Golf media team back in February 2023, Watson said: “If we keep losing like the Niblicks did last year, then we can just say we’re really good on the range, but we’re not very good on the golf course!"
Following on from a poor opening campaign, the RangeGoats almost completed a remarkable u-turn 12 months later. Largely helped by 2023 Individual Champion, Talor Gooch's three-win season, RangeGoats capitalized on a strong performance at the year-ending Team Championships in Miami to leap up from fourth to second.
Watson and Gooch were aided in their quest for team glory last year by Varner III and Thomas Pieters. The Belgian will return in 2024, but Varner III has moved on to 4Aces in a trade deal which brought Peter Uihlein to the pink squad.
Meanwhile, a rocky season alongside Brooks Koepka at Smash GC was finally brought to an end during LIV Golf's Transfer Window as Gooch and Matthew Wolff switched teams - a deal that Watson felt the outside world would see as "dumb" given Wolff's struggles under the Smash GC captain.
But Watson believes he can help a true power hitter discover his best form once again, starting with LIV Golf Mayakoba - the first of 14 tournaments in 2024.
RANGEGOATS GC PLAYERS
- Bubba Watson (captain)
- Matthew Wolff
- Thomas Pieters
- Peter Uihlein
