Netflix did it again with Full Swing
Another stellar sports docuseries
I’m a pretty passive golf fan. I’ll watch the majors and check in on other Tour events every now and then. Most of the time, I couldn’t tell you what’s going on on a given weekend.
Full Swing has accomplished what Drive to Survive did for Formula 1. It takes a sport and makes passive fans — or even people who have never watched a round of golf in their life — want to tune in to the damn Honda Classic because you understand how much it means.
The personal look into some of the player’s lives adds so many layers you don’t get otherwise. The mindset they have going into tournaments. Rookies who just want to make the cut versus veterans who are disappointed with anything outside of a top five finish
Also, there’s zero chance Sean Foley isn’t the biggest douche bag in the world.
Episode Breakdown and Thoughts (Spoilers)
Ep. 1 Jordan Thomas and Justin Spieth
Great intro to the series. We have two of the biggest names in the sport and their stories. Growing up friends/rivals and now competing each week to beat each other while maintaining that friendship.
I didn’t realize how much of a dry spell Spieth has gone through. Only two Tour wins and no majors since 2017. Only four top 10 finishes in the 16 majors since 2019.
JT on the other hand got that elusive second major win at the PGA championship last year. Otherwise, he’s had a similar dry spell with just a few more wins sprinkled in in the past few years.
Ep. 2 Scottie Scheffler and Brooks Koepka
Two very different stories here. Scottie Scheffler coming hot on the scene last year with four Tour wins including the Masters and a second place finish in the US Open. Scottie’s a real simple, likable guy.
Koepka saw similar, quick success in the three year span of 2017-’19. He won four majors in that stretch. He only has one win since that 2019 season. A lot of the conversations with Koepka made it sound like he’s washed up and may not ever find it again. Him talking about what goes through your head when there’s little expectations and you feel like you’re on top of the world. Hopefully he can get back to winning in the PGA after his boondoggle with LIV.
Ep. 3 Competition from LIV
We’re primarily following Ian Poulter and where he’s at in his career. In his mid-forties, Poulter is looking for stability and some work life balance as he realizes he probably over the hill.
The move to LIV for him is an obvious choice. He almost matched his career PGA earnings in guaranteed money from the LIV. More money, less golf and a lot less pressure. Why not?
Ep. 4 Joel Dahmen
Man… this episode was brutal. Dahmen was the first player I’d never heard of up to this point. At first I hated him because he seemed like a guy who just didn’t try that hard but played it off as a joke… and got sympathy for it??
Then we get the story of his mother’s death when he was young and his eventual battle with cancer. That personal insight into why Dahmen isn’t always as intense and doesn’t take himself as seriously as other golfers.
Thankfully this episode ends on a high note with Dahmen qualifying for and finishing 10th in the 2022 US Open.
Ep. 5 Matt Fitzpatrick & Dustin Johnson
Again, we get two very different stories here. A young Matt Fitzpatrick looking for his first Tour win and Dustin Johnson’s decision to jump to the LIV Tour.
Fitzpatrick finishes a crushing fifth place in the PGA Championship. After starting in the final pairing on Sunday, Fitzpatrick falls apart and makes way for Justin Thomas’s eventual win. He’s in the same spot on Sunday in the US Open and comes through to get the win. Very nice. Not a very memorable guy but you’ll say, “Hey good for him” anytime he’s at the top of a leaderboard.
Dustin Johnson has had his fair share of Tour success. Dating back to 2008 he has 24 total wins and two major victories. Unlike Poulter, he can still compete at a high level week in and week out on the Tour. His move to LIV is framed more as wanting a change in his career. Completely understandable. If someone — no matter their shady morals — guaranteed me millions of dollars for a “career shift” I’d probably take it. That “career shift” being do what you do now but less often and on a smaller stage.
Ep. 6 Tony Finau & Collin Morikawa
The narrative around Tony Finau is that he apparently cares too much about his family and isn’t selfish enough to win on the PGA Tour… that’s so messed up. If it was up to the journalists on the show this is what they’d have Finau do:
Collin Morikawa really does have that dog in him though. He is pretty selfish but not to a fault. He never comes off as a bad guy but he does clearly have that intensity and “all about me” attitude that makes a golfer great.
We also get some sweet shots of the Masters. Can’t wait for spring.
Ep. 7 Sahith Theegala and Mito Pereira
Episode 7 follows two rookies making their way through their first season on Tour. Both fall short of the first victory on a few occasions throughout 2022.
I’ll be pulling for Theegala from here on out. He seems like a real genuine, nice guy. His dad also rocks.
Not mentioned is that Mito Pereira and his friend Joaquin Niemann, who’s featured heavily in this episode, are now with LIV… lmao.
Ep. 8 Rory McIlroy
Just as the first episode is a great opening, this is a perfect final episode. We all know Rory. We all love Rory. He’s taking a big leadership role in the PGA and the direction the Tour is wanting to go. He’s second fiddle only to Tiger in who a lot of the players look up to.
Following up his bone crushing third place at St. Andrew’s with the Tour Championship helps tell his story and where he currently is in the golf stratosphere. He said it best, people would probably listen to him in the first place, but the good play to back up his leadership is huge.
Similar to Spieth, Rory needs another major. He hasn’t won one since 2014… that doesn’t seem possible. Hopefully he’ll build off his top ten results in all four last year.
Rating:
I loved full swing. The only gripe I have is for how much they talked about Tiger, it would’ve been nice to get him in front of a mic.
