'Full Swing' attempts to look behind the scenes of PGA Tour and generally succeeds

Early on in the first episode of "Full Swing", the new Netflix limited series documentary about the PGA Tour, an off-camera voice makes the statement, "It is a traveling circus."

The first episode, which premiered Wednesday, might not give a complete view of a circus with clowns and trapeze artists and elephants, but it's clear that the series will give fans of the PGA Tour and non-golf fans alike a look behind the scenes of professional golf that it has never been seen before.

"Full Swing" is the latest Netflix venture into sports documentaries, following its successful Formula 1 series "Drive to Survive." While there are no literal crashes into the wall like there were in the Formula 1 series, the "Full Swing" series will take viewers through a year where professional golf figuratively hit a few walls with the advent of the LIV golf tour and the fractured relationships caused by the rival tour.

LIV was only briefly touched on in the first episode of the new series, called "Frienemies." The focus of the episode was on the buildup to the 2022 PGA Championship and the long-time relationships between friends Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas. On the surface that might not sound like compelling television, but it does a good job of providing a framework for what the rest of the series will offer.

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The careers of Thomas and Spieth are examined as Thomas wins his second major championship, with both Thomas and Spieth providing access to their lives on and off the course and the depth of their friendship. But Spieth and Thomas are hardly the only voices in the episode, with Thomas' father and coach Mike heavily involved, as are short interviews with eight other players from Rory McIlroy to Rickie Fowler to Scottie Scheffler. Other voices include golf coach Sean Foley, CBS broadcaster Amanda Renner and the voices of others like Jim Nantz and Nick Faldo.

Regular rich guys

"Full Swing" tries to walk a fairly fine line between portraying golfers as regular people with regular problems and showing them as high-power rock stars of the sports world living a life with pretty good perks. Thomas and Spieth are seen flying in a private plane cutting cards for money, not something regular people do all the time. On the other hand, Thomas is shown shopping for allergy medicines at CVS and struggling with the self-checkout machine, something that most people can relate to.

McIlroy said this week at the Genesis Invitational that the PGA Tour needs to adopt a marketing philosophy centered on the game's biggest stars, much as the NBA has done. "Full Swing" certainly seems to take aim at that, and it will be interesting to see if the major champions like Thomas and Spieth are the focus of every episode or if some journeymen get some air time as well.

For all the excitement about CBS putting microphones on players and doing in-round interviews in recent weeks, having played miced up on the course and off is the real appeal of "Full Swing." Hearing the players' true thoughts at certain moments — yes, there is profanity, but nothing you might not hear in your recreational weekend foursome — is gold. We all chastise ourselves for a bad shot, and so do the best players in the world. Listening to Spieth and Thomas play a money game in a practice round is as entertaining as it sounds.

Okay, some of the things in the episode might be irritating to hard-core fans, such as Renner explaining how a PGA Tour event works with the number of players and the 36-hole cut. But Netflix is also trying to satisfy non-golf fans who might be getting a look at the professional golf works for the first time. It's an attempt to not only grow the game, but to grow Netflix's audience at the same time.

Upcoming episodes (for those who didn't binge-watch the entire series Wednesday) promise looks at the party that is the WM Phoenix Open and a deeper dive into the battle between the PGA Tour and LIV. But the political stuff was certainly on hold in the first episode, where you see what friendship and competition on the PGA Tour are all about.

The first episode of "Full Swing" was promising for sure. With LIV and the PGA Tour conflict in the future, the series should only get better.

Larry Bohannan is the golf writer for The Desert Sun. You can contact him at (760) 778-4633 or at larry.bohannan@desertsun.com. Follow him on Facebook or on Twitter at @larry_bohannan. Support local journalism. Subscribe to The Desert Sun.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Netflix series 'Full Swing' takes golf fans behind the PGA Tour scenes, generally succeeds