“Full Swing”

The docuseries “Full Swing” on Netflix pulls you into the world of golf just as Jordan was pulled into the world of Looney Tunes in Space Jam.

“Full Swing” follows in the footsteps of  “Drive to Survive”, a similar style series that covered F1 and was extremely successful. This dramatically increased the viewership of F1 specifically in the U.S. The PGA Tour and Netflix made this in hopes of increasing viewership and fending off the competing LIV Tour. The LIV Tour is a tour funded by the Saudi Public Investment Fund and snatched many players away from the PGA Tour with high contract values and a smaller schedule that appealed to the players. 

The taping of “Full Swing” could not have come at a better time as players began switching to LIV in the middle of the season. “Full Swing” captures some of the players that flipped to LIV and some of the reasoning behind their move.

Criticism

Overall I think that “Full Swing” checks all the boxes and accomplishes everything it set out to do. The show works very well for those not wholly familiar with the world of golf. It explains concepts like par and the midweek cut as well as, the importance of the majors and what LIV would do to the golfing landscape. 

However, I think that “Full Swing” does not work nearly as well for those already involved in golf. The explanations that seem helpful for those new to the game seem repetitive and unnecessary for seasoned members of the golf community. 

Additionally, the drama and build-up of whether or not a player will make the cut or win the tournament comes off dry as it has already happened and some viewers already know the outcome. In contrast to F1’s “Drive to Survive”, “Full Swing” is not in chronological order and some tournaments are skipped due to them not covering the winner. 

The Players

“Full Swing” has and will continue to have a large impact on the players that it covers. Players that the show had a large impact on specifically were Brooks Koepka, Sahith Theegala, and Joel Dahmen.

Starting with Brooks Koepka, a four-time major winner and one of the best of this generation. The show’s taping comes at a time of high adversity for Brooks. Following a series of injuries, Brooks was severely out of form and struggling to get back to where he was in the years 2016-2019.

The show displays how Brooks is lost and struggling. What we see in the show likely contributed largely to why Brooks made the switch as he has gone on the record saying that if he knew he would return to form he would not have joined LIV.

This past season Brooks did return to form capturing the Wanamaker Trophy at Oak Hill and finishing tied for second in The Masters. Netflix has already announced that cameras were on Brooks during his win in the 585 and hopefully, he has a future episode dedicated to his win. 

Sahith Theegala was another player who received a bump from the show. Theegala however, was overshadowed by his father Muralidhar Theegala.

Muralidhar is often seen following his son Sahith and passionately cheering. Sahith is one of the tour’s new budding stars and earned his first win at the Fortinet Championship.

The final player who arguably received the biggest boost from “Full Swing” is Joel Dahmen. Dahmen and his caddie Geno Bonnalie received an episode to themselves and took full advantage of it. 

During the episode, the show conveys a different side of the tour that is not always shown. While the other episodes showed the players at the top and the ones trying to get there. Dahmen is a change of pace. “Somebody’s got to be the 70th-best golfer in the world. It might as well be me”.

“Joel is definitely different to many of the other golfers out there. Joel is capable of being top 30 in the world I would say, that being said I don’t know if Joel wants to be top 30 in the world.” – Geno Bonnalie

In addition to his careless attitude, Dahmen has to be one of the most relatable characters on the tour. Another example came during a U.S. Open qualifier where after 18 of the 36 holes Dahmen downs some alcoholic beverages as he believes he has no shot at qualifying. However, Dahmen turned it around and played great on the second 18, earning himself a spot in the U.S. Open where he finished inside the top 10.

The Future

Looking forward, “Full Swing” was renewed and hopefully will capture more of the world of golf including Brooks Koepka’s PGA win at Oak Hill, Brian Harman’s domination at The Open in Hoylake, and the big one, the Ryder Cup in Rome, Italy. My hope is that with the basics out of the way, the show will dive deep into the drama that came along with the merger of the PGA Tour and LIV.

 In conclusion, I would definitely recommend “Full Swing” to people new to the game of golf but would say that it is not the greatest experience for seasoned veterans of golf, and hopefully this changes with the second season and becomes a better watch for all.