Winners and Losers From Full Swing Season Two

Editor’s Note: “Full Swing” Season Two was released on Netflix yesterday, March 6. MGS had early access to the show and will be releasing commentary on the series throughout the week. This article includes spoilers. 

A year after making its debut, Netflix’s “Full Swing” series is back. 

Season Two has some captivating moments, especially in the first three episodes. Here is my review for the new season, which does a nice job delving into pro golf’s drama. Tomorrow I will share my most captivating quotes of the series. 

For this piece, I’ve compiled a few winners and losers from the season. A “winner” to me is anyone I thought came across favorably relative to how golf fans typically perceive them. A “loser” did not come across as favorably, although I use that word lightly. 

At the end of the story, I include my “winners and losers” when it comes to the actual production of the series.

Winners: Joel Dahmen and Geno Bonnalie

These two might be the most captivating player/caddie duo in golf. 

At a time when pro golf seems increasingly less relatable, Joel Dahmen and Geno Bonnalie represent the best of what golf as an entertainment product can be. 

Dahmen’s golf game hit rock bottom in 2023. He’s a new father with a new house and has recently become more popular in a matter of months after being the breakout star of “Full Swing” Season One. 

With all that going on, he admits he hasn’t put the same level of effort into practice. It gets dark in Episode Three (“Mind Game”) as Dahmen chastises himself on repeat. 

“Being famous and shooting 76 is the worst f—– thing in my life,” Dahmen laments. 

Bonnalie is brutally honest during his sit-down interview, explaining that he wants Dahmen to see a sports psychologist. The episode explores how Dahmen is still struggling with the effects of unresolved trauma, including the passing of his mother earlier in Dahmen’s life. 

Bonnalie’s boss has become unbearably negative during the downward spiral, their dynamic losing its luster. 

“Something in him felt like he didn’t give a s—,” Bonnalie says. 

And later in the episode: “I definitely thought about giving him an ultimatum.” 

Dahmen resists getting mental help throughout the episode until a dramatic final scene where the two of them, talking during a flight, get into an emotionally charged discussion about their future together. 

“I want you to go caddie for Talor Gooch (on LIV) and make $17 million and then come back,” Dahmen says. 

After Bonnalie explains how he wants to continue looping for his close friend, Dahmen agrees to see a psychologist. The two embrace, tears running down their cheeks. 

It’s great TV and something you can’t fake.

Loser: Rory McIlroy

McIlroy’s mental struggles throughout the show are equal parts interesting and understandable. 

I put him slightly into the “loser” category because it seems like he is consumed by anger (at least in this brief time period that was documented) more than we all realized. 

While PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan mostly lurked in the shadows, bumbling his way through guiding the organization in 2023, McIlroy answered hundreds of press conference questions and served as the unofficial voice of the Tour. 

Everyone recognized it was difficult for him to balance golf politics with golf performance, but the first two episodes lay bare the extent of that burden. 

McIlroy describes himself as closer to Monahan than any other player. He explained how the two of them had been working together closely, critiquing LIV and frequently discussing strategy for the Tour. 

When the framework agreement is announced, McIlroy voices his frustration publicly—but he is even more animated in the documentary. 

“I’m almost at the point where it’s like, ‘F— it, do whatever you want,’”  McIlroy says in the aftermath of being ambushed by the proposed partnership between the Tour and the Saudi’s Public Investment Fund. 

Even before that point, the stress is clearly deteriorating McIlroy’s mental state. After a top-10 finish at the PGA Championship, he contemplates tearing apart his golf swing. 

“My technique is nowhere near as good as it used to be,” McIlroy said. “I almost feel like I want to do a complete reboot. It’s the only way I feel like I’m going to break through. It feels so far away. I’m not at the stage in my life where I feel like I can do these two week bootcamps. 

“I feel good enough to f—— top q0 in my head but I’m not good enough to win. Like pull away. Like winning f—— majors.” 

A month later, McIlroy came one stroke short of a playoff in the U.S. Open. 

“Gonna get one of these things f—— sooner or later,” he says after that close call. 

There is a lot more to unpack and I highly recommend the watch, but it’s evident how much McIlroy was struggling emotionally with the pressure.

Winner: Wyndham Clark

Clark is the unexpected breakout star of Season Two. 

I don’t know about you but I haven’t spent much time rooting for Wyndham Clark. In fact, there were millions of golf fans rooting against him in the U.S. Open as Clark won the title instead of fan favorites like McIlroy or Rickie Fowler. 

However, Clark inspires real emotion. 

There is something admirable about how Clark, a college golf star with terrific physical attributes, successfully dealt with anger toward himself after losing his mom to cancer. 

He went to therapy and then started seeing a sports psychologist, finally putting all the pieces together. We get to see several clips of his work with Julie Elon, the psychologist who takes on a motherly role that Clark was missing. 

His improved mental game is tested to the extreme during the U.S. Open but he answers the bell multiple times. 

It’s hard not to get emotional when you see him tap in for victory and hear his voiceover: “I’m reminded of my mom saying, ‘You’re going to be someone great.’” 

When Fowler shakes Clark’s hand on the 18th green and tells him that his mom would be proud of him—that is a waterworks moment. 

Clark comes across as likable and genuine rather than another faceless pro golfer. We need more of that in golf. 

This is the same episode (“Mind Game”) as Dahmen and Bonnalie. It’s easily my favorite of the season.

Loser: Zach Johnson

A quick note in here to say that Zach Johnson’s Ryder Cup captaincy somehow looks even worse after watching this season.

Johnson repeatedly talks about his disdain for not being able to “bring 30 guys” to the Ryder Cup and inspires none of the passion that counterpart Luke Donald brought to the European team.

We also get a shot of an exhausted Johnson in the car coming back from day one of the Ryder Cup. He talks about his “brain being fried” and that he can’t think about pairings for Saturday.

None of it came across like he wanted the responsibility of leading a team.

We also can’t excuse Johnson calling Justin Thomas “J-Tizzle” as a nickname.

Winner: Keegan Bradley

Put simply, Bradley seems genuine in his love for the Ryder Cup.

Bradley wanted to be on the team badly and that passion is appreciated. It is a heartbreaking moment when Bradley gets the call from Johnson informing him that he didn’t make the team.

To his credit, Bradley handled the situation well. Cameras later showed him watching the Ryder Cup from his house, and his spirit toward the American team appeared very authentic.

“It’s anger, sadness, all the things,” Bradley says about not getting picked. “But then it’s like there’s no wrong decisions with who’s on the team, everyone’s such a great player.”

It especially hurts having seen his unpacked suitcase from the 2014 Ryder Cup (his last appearance in the event) and asking his wife, “Want to go to Rome?” moments after winning the Travelers Championship.

I will say, however, that the show plays up this storyline more than the reality of the situation.

Bradley did win the Travelers but that was his only top-10 finish in his last 14 events before being selected. He had no top-20 major finishes (and two missed cuts in majors) while also ranking behind Americans Russell Henley and Sahith Theegala (two players who did not make the team) in Data Golf’s Strokes Gained ranking.

The show also depicts the final captain’s choice as a battle between Bradley and Thomas. The reality was more like the final spot came down to Bradley or Sam Burns.  

Regardless, Bradley looks genuine and passionate.

Winner: Rickie Fowler

Fowler easily could have gone to LIV. His game was suffering and he is aging into the back nine of his career. 

He stayed on the PGA Tour, successfully battling back into good form instead of taking guaranteed money. 

Personally, I think that counts for something. 

It’s been hard for me to get emotionally attached to Fowler over the years because he is guarded. You won’t see him do many podcasts. He comes across as a likable guy during interviews but you get the sense he keeps everything close to the vest. 

I thought he opened up a little bit in Episode Two (“The Game Has Changed—Part II). We see Fowler and his wife discuss how he struggles to share feelings. We see him crying while thanking his family after winning the Rocket Mortgage Classic. We see him grinding over his swing with Butch Harmon. 

He wants to be fulfilled by competition and the work that goes into being one of the best players in the world. 

Fowler shows there is a lot more to life than maximizing profit.

Loser: Dustin Johnson

I appreciate Dustin Johnson for his straightforward attitude toward taking the LIV money. 

I don’t appreciate him trying to convince us that Tour players shouldn’t be rewarded for their loyalty in the case of the Tour and LIV uniting. 

“The guys who went to LIV, we took a lot of criticism,” Johnson said. “We’re the ones who took the risk for everything so why should they be compensated?” 

Yeah, dude, that is what the money’s for. You were paid way over market value to be a part of a sportswashing exercise carried out by people who couldn’t possibly care less about the future of professional golf as a whole. 

The criticisms and risks involved were consequences of your choice. 

Now you want your money and Tour players should be punished for staying in a league where the majority of the best golfers play golf? 

It would be wild if Tour players were not compensated for their loyalty in some form—and it seems like they will be through the new equity program. 

A note to all LIV players: Take the money if you want but don’t whine about reaping what you sow (world ranking points included). 

While it’s not much of a surprise, Johnson comes across as someone who could leave professional golf at any moment.

He describes his U.S. Open prep as “lazy” and continues to trot out LIV’s limited schedule as a primary reason for him leaving. 

For the record, Johnson played 18 and 20 events, respectively, in his last two full seasons on Tour. He played 18 events last year as a full LIV member. 

Winner: Behind-the-Scenes Details

The best part of “Full Swing” is the behind-the-scenes detail. It doesn’t have to be much but the little details add color to characters and moments. 

Here are some examples I connected with: 

In Episode One, we get McIlroy giving a breakdown of his Spotify. While it seems pointless to some, I think this is an awesome segment. We now know that he listens to The Shotgun Start podcast (this is hilarious for those familiar with the SGS) and the Tim Ferriss Show. He has a DJ Khaled mix and plays the Encanto soundtrack for his daughter. They are somewhat meaningless details but it’s entertaining and makes him seem more relatable.  What an amazing pick-up in Episode Two for the show to get a conversation between McIlroy and Fowler talking about the lack of light near the end of the third round in the U.S. Open. “I was going ape s—,” McIlroy tells Fowler. This is catnip for golf lovers. The USGA comes off looking foolish for scheduling tee times so late in the day. 

One more request for way more on-course audio, even if it’s a practice round. One example is when Tom Kim is playing a practice round with Thomas and Spieth at the Players Championship. The elder statesmen are needling him throughout the round. “He’s too nice, I can’t even give him s—,” Thomas says. All of the locker room footage is gold. They could probably just stick a camera in the locker room at each event and make an entire show from that. One of my favorite examples is Rory walking out for his round at the PGA Championship, tapping a picture of himself from 2012 and saying, “Need to be more like that guy.” 

Loser: Not Digging Deep Enough

This series has great potential—and we see that potential in moments during Season Two—but I think it gets stuck digging one inch deep and a mile wide instead of the other way around. 

Here are some criticisms:

I think the show would improve if scenes were allowed to breathe more. I’m not a huge fan of how the series is edited. Showing a driver swing and then cutting to a ball landing in the rough on a par 3; using driver audio after someone hits an iron shot; pumping up the audio for when the ball goes into the hole; superimposing TV coverage onto a screen when it clearly wasn’t on in real life—all of it comes across as a little fake. There is a video game feel to it.  The show only briefly references Koepka’s episode from Season One where he is in full mental breakdown mode. That was the moment of the first season for me. I was really looking forward to the show explaining how he has progressed mentally from that low point but the brief explanation they gave didn’t scratch that itch for me.  The framework agreement between the PGA Tour and the PIF is not explained well at all, which was interesting given how concepts like Ryder Cup points get broken down multiple times. That agreement was a rough draft of a partnership that had to be negotiated further to be made official—it was a piece of paper that looks more meaningless by the day as I write this in early 2024. The show captures the shock and anger of the moment but mostly skips explaining exactly what that agreement meant and what the consequences could be.  Kim was the only player to get his own episode. Why didn’t they pair him with an older player who is trying to keep their playing career alive? That would have been more interesting. This type of juxtaposition worked well for the “Quarterback” documentary on Netflix that detailed Patrick Mahomes (the best quarterback in the NFL), Kirk Cousins (nearing the end of his career) and Marcus Mariota (just trying to survive in the league).  The highlights (and there a lot of them) come off flat when there is such little added context. It was basically like watching a YouTube video of the broadcast. The show has almost no meaningful audio from the Ryder Cup, with a couple of notable exceptions. In previous episodes, we’re watching highlights of Kim and the Fitzpatrick brothers with no player/caddie audio or anything else within the competition. Those details make the show more interesting. 

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