Originally from Healesville in the Yarra Valley of Victoria, Australia, he attended Melbourne Grammar School, as a boarder, for 11 years.
Recruited from the Yarra Valley Football League (YVFL) club Healesville, [3][4] Goold was a half back and played in two Carlton premiership sides.
The first in 1968 saw him line up at centre half back and the second came two years later in the 1970 VFL Grand Final which would be his last league game.
Goold represented Victoria at interstate football, including at the 1966 Hobart Carnival, where he earned All-Australian selection and finished second in the Tassie Medal voting.
A fashion designer during his football career, which earned him the nickname "Ragsy", after he retired from football, Goold took up farming at a property in Ellerslie, Victoria, and became involved in horse-breeding, specifically polo ponies.