Full Swing: An Intimate Look into the Lives of Top Golfers

Netflix's Full Swing provides viewers with a unique and fascinating look into the lives of some of the world's top golfers during a tumultuous season for the sport. The show follows fourteen professional golfers, providing an inside look at the PGA Tour and its newest competitor, the Saudi Arabian-backed breakaway competition, LIV Golf.^[0]

The series was created by the same production company that made the successful Formula 1 series “Drive to Survive,” Box to Box Films.^[1] It also follows the same format, with requisite jet-setting drone footage and access to exclusive places where the golfers work and live.

Full Swing is framed as a classic underdog narrative, with the PGA Tour defending its traditional values against the perceived moral decay of the upstart LIV Golf.^[2] It also adds a little drama, with retired golfer Brandel Chamblee calling LIV a threat to “the foundation of the game” and questioning who will “draw a line in the sand.”^[2]

The series also dives into the personal lives of the top golfers and their families, with Rory McIlroy being featured saying “(Expletive) you, Phil. I hope that makes it in.” It also follows the struggles of players like Joel Dahmen, who is brutally honest and humble to a fault. The show ends with McIlroy describing how Tiger Woods is always the first to send a congratulatory text after he won the Tour Championship and FedEx Cup.^[3]

The show also features insights from Brooks Koepka, Matt Fitzpatrick, Tony Finau, and Jordan Spieth, as well as interviews with other golfers and commentators. The series is available to stream now on Netflix and provides an engaging look into the lives of some of the most talented golfers in the world.

0. “Netflix's Full Swing driving fans crazy with one thing — ‘the cut'” What To Watch, 17 Feb. 2023, https://www.whattowatch.com/news/netflixs-full-swing-driving-fans-crazy-with-one-thing-the-cut

1. “‘Full Swing' attempts to look behind the scenes of PGA Tour and generally succeeds” Desert Sun, 16 Feb. 2023, https://www.desertsun.com/story/sports/golf/2023/02/16/netflix-series-full-swing-takes-golf-fans-behind-the-pga-tour-scenes-generally-succeeds/69911188007/

2. “Netflix's ‘Full Swing' Flips the Underdog Sports Narrative” Collider, 18 Feb. 2023, https://collider.com/full-swing-netflix-sports/

3. “Full Swing: Netflix golf show episode rankings, recaps, highlights” Golfweek, 15 Feb. 2023, https://golfweek.usatoday.com/lists/netflix-golf-full-swing-release-episode-recaps-pga-tour-liv/