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Then the LIV Golf Drama made its gigantic cameo. The Players Championship was when the first leaks and prospects of this new tour were brought to the forefront, and the Netflix cameras were rolling with Ian Poulter, one of the earliest adopters. At least his children\u2019s continuous mocking of his dad\u2019s \u201cfunky\u201d fashion was present to cut the tension of his profiling. As the curtain closes on Poulter\u2019s 2022 hopes to be at Augusta, having his locker room tantrum right next to his opponent Matt Fitzpatrick was an electric moment that shows the tight quarters in golf. Soon after, a 46-year-old Poulter is more reflective at home and understands the temptation at hand to take the LIV money for their debut event (which he eventually does). We cut scene to the icy press conference, Big ol\u2019 bags of money, and \u201cgolf\u2026but louder\u201d vibes that LIV golf is introducing – more to come from that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Game of Golf<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
On the lighter side of the game that really needs more cameras, there are just all-out goofs that are totally realistic with their expectations like Joel Dahmen. The fun-loving pro has a traumatic background with loss and illness and his and his family\u2019s life, but you would never know it if you saw his bright and humor-filled demeanor in and around the game of golf. The white claw and beer-filled friendship of Joel and his BFF slash caddie Geno are on full display for the cameras, and I’m not sure you could have picked a better pairing for season one. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
U.S. Open week from The Country Club was a massive focal point of episode four, where Dahmen had a top ten and his best finish in a major and Matt Fitzpatrick triumphed in a massive spot to claim his first major. Fitzpatrick\u2019s journey is all in the details, as he\u2019s literally documented every shit he\u2019s hit (he estimates 7000) since age 15. What the Netflix cameras showed you with these bulldogs was just how much of a grind each day is for the average or undersized Tour pro, who isn\u2019t used to being in contention very often. The nerves, negative thoughts, and doubt are real, even for the guys you see play on TV with regularity. Before Fitzpatrick could triumph at Brookline, his over-nervousness and collapse on Sunday a month prior at the PGA showed the inconsistency this game offers. It was a silent car ride home that day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cut back to Centurion in London, where the LIV golfers’ ban from PGA Tour events was handed down as the cameras rolled – Dustin Johnson and his family were rolling in money and laughing at the dancing memes. DJ is just as delightfully aloof and casual behind the scenes as you\u2019ve seen from him in fifteen years in pro golf. He speaks candidly about his \u201cpast career\u201d on the PGA Tour but does leave the door open for the tours to coalesce and unite. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bring in the New Guys<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
As for the new look of the PGA Tour in a post-Tiger and Phil world, family man Tony Finau and young star and two-time major champion Collin Morikawa are spotlighted. Finau\u2019s parents didn\u2019t even know the game of golf but they knew what it could provide. Tony and his brother picked up clubs and did the rest, and now Tony\u2019s game has paved the way for him to play in the greatest tournaments in the game and make his family proud. Collin, on the other hand, is completely devoted full-time to his body, mind, and golf game. There are no distractions of parenting and it\u2019s all-in on work over relaxation as he visits specialists and grinds out extra practice time between events. It\u2019s hard to believe that we\u2019re already pondering if we\u2019ve seen Morikawa\u2019s peak before hitting age 25 – he was quick to deny that take in his confessionals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not everyone\u2019s peak in pro golf is the same, and Netflix was keen to profile Tour rookies who we have no clue about. Chilean golfer Mito Pereira rolls with the crew of Latin American golfers on tour, and by now that entire group has defected to the LIV Golf Tour. The familial vibe they share is a home away from home relationship that is to be envied, and it showcased the cliques that exist on Tour. The other rook highlighted was 24-year-old Sahith Theegala, who worked through a bit of grinding and qualifiers to get his way on Tour. The Indian-American child prodigy was a dream come true for his dad, but not all dreams are formed immediately. Theegala had a heartbreaking close call at the 2022 Waste Management, where his family watches on in angst, and is later seen openly sobbing after the round. The tie for third was a monumental paycheck for his young Tour career to continue on, but the emotion of the moment was met with the best parenting moment of the season. Mito\u2019s close call and 72nd hole choke job at the PGA followed the same tone of heartbreak: the cruel reality for most on Tour. His girlfriend was inconsolable just spectating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Talk about a Cliffhanger<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The season one finale ends with a bang as it\u2019s Rory and the PGA Tour vs LIV Golf. An introspective Rory at a charity breakfast talks about fighting the disruption in golf with authority, and not being afraid of the contentiousness. Since he was young, Rory \u201cwould tell anyone that would listen\u201d about his future dominance in the game, which to his credit all came true. While it felt like the stars were aligned for him to win The Open at St. Andrews, it was not to be as Cam Smith aka The Mullet spoiled that party and then rolled over to the LIV party immediately after. Nonetheless, Rory\u2019s mission to grow the game and dominate it rolls on – from youth clinics to tech partnerships and tour board meetings, Rory\u2019s plate was full in Season 1 and it all concluded with Rory\u2019s Tour Championship victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All in all, Season 1 of \u201cFull Swing\u201d is a success in finding the best raw emotion and storytelling within the professional golf scene. My content-hungry brain would have liked to see more off-course, at-home hanging-around type of material, but I understand how fragile our attention spans are these days and Netflix can\u2019t keep everything. What this series did well is orate a crazy as hell year in golf for anyone to easily digest whether you watch the PGA Tour or not. Thanks to the willingness of some of the world\u2019s best, this could be a mainstay in content for golf lovers in years to come\u2026especially if 2022\u2019s level of drama continues.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The new Netflix documentary “Full Swing” follows the PGA Tour, and what a year they chose to start following it. Our review here:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":67989,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[797,43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-67988","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editorial","category-pga-golf"],"yoast_head":"\n