At its most elemental level, Netflix's eight-part docuseries on the PGA Tour, "Full Swing," is designed to satisfy both the most fervent golf fan and the casual observer.
Structured as a behind-the-scenes look at the life and luxury of professional golfers, it offers plenty of access to fascinating narratives that allow a deeper dive on the sport and players for enthusiasts, but there's enough drama and universal themes at play for the reality TV fan.
What heightens the series is that executive producer Chad Mumm and his team at Vox Media Studios picked "one hell of a year" — as pro golfer Ian Poulter put it — to document the inner workings of professional golf. Last year saw the rise of the rival and controversial LIV series golf tour and created one of the most tumultuous seasons of the PGA Tour in history.
Mumm, who is the Chief Creative Officer at Vox Media Studios, tells Wisconsin Public Radio's "BETA" the fortuitous timing was actually years in the making. He had made annual pitches to PGA brass during golf outings at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
"We would go out and talk about a bunch of ideas and how we could work together," he says. "But this was always at the top of my list: We should do a doc series immersive inside the PGA Tour. And every year they would say, 'That sounds awesome, but we're not quite ready yet.'"
Things changed in 2019. Mumm chalks some of that up to new leadership. Jay Monahan had recently become commissioner of the PGA Tour and was open to exploring new ways of reaching new audiences.
"I find myself in Las Vegas. We play golf again, and I brought it back up on the first hole and by the 18th hole we sorted out what would eventually become 'Full Swing,'" Mumm says.
Fast-forward to 2022 and Mumm's team was signing on several major players to follow. Embedded in his pitch was Mumm's philosophy and approach for the series.
"We wanted it to be authentic and we had said it has to be real. It has to be warts and all," he explains.
One of the biggest storylines of the past year was the launch of the rival LIV Golf tour. Backed by the Saudi Public Investment Fund, LIV raised eyebrows with the exorbitant contracts they were offering players to join.
LIV also surfaced debates on whether that money was worth it to help a nation "sportswash" it's checkered past. Mumm's teams were granted access to several players who wrestled with a decision to accept the invitation.
"It was like the whole world got flipped upside down in one minute. All of a sudden, you have this camaraderie that exists on the PGA Tour, this kind of traveling circus, and here we are — like now all of a sudden, there's this division," he says.
"It's unprecedented in sports, as far as I can tell, where you have something like this happen like during the season," Mumm continues. "It wasn't in the offseason. It wasn't when players were all at home. They were all together in the...same locker room, looking at each other now with like a new kind of decision to make."
The production team hadn't planned on the LIV launch while prepping for the year. But since they already had access to several pro golfers who happened to be contemplating a move to the Saudi tour, they approached it as an opportunity to step out of the way and record history.
"What we wanted to do is really let the players tell their side of the story, whether they stay or go. And we were able to have a lot of access to be able to see those decisions come to fruition," says Mumm. "Let the players, you know, bring us into their world. If it was important to them, it was going to be important to us."
Besides having an inside track on the biggest story concerning golf this past season, "Full Swing" was fortunate to have access to several players who ended up winning some of golf's biggest tournaments.
Justin Thomas and Matthew Fitzpatrick both allowed cameras behind the scenes in their camps as they competed for major wins in the PGA Championship and US Open respectively. But, what might be equally dramatic is the moments with tour players who are grinding things out.
"The difference between a player in the top 10 in the world and a top 100 ranked player is like one shot a round. So, you realize that the margin for error out here is so razor-thin," says Mumm. "Our mission for the show is to try and understand what is the difference. You know, what gives those players that extra edge."
It's in those episodes where the series finds some emotional punch. One episode that works to demonstrate the caddy/player relationship unfolds into a moving treatise on lifelong friendship after loss.
It follows tour pro and class clown, Joel Dahmen, and his caddy as they grind out a US Open spot. As the episode unfolds, there's heartfelt loss and love beneath the goofball exterior of Dahmen and his caddy.
"It's expensive to play and travel in pro golf. And if you're not making cuts, you're not making money or you're walking away in the red every week. And so, we wanted to get a sense of what that feeling was like. And, you know, we really got to see that through Joel."
Another episode follows two of golf's non-white superstars and contrasts their drastically different approaches to the game while linking their passion directly back to Tiger Woods and the representation he offered that sparked their journeys.
Two-time major winner Collin Morikawa approaches the game with a fierce dedication and a zealous perfectionism. Meanwhile, his fellow pro, Tony Finau, surprised many on tour when insisting his entire family travel with him. He was warned that the grueling schedule wouldn't allow for both family and focusing on winning. He proved doubters wrong by winning back-to-back tournaments.
"Tony's story is one that I found to be so inspiring because of his background and everything that he's gone through and to be both a great father and also a competitor that can win twice in a row, it's just it's super inspiring."
The saga between LIV and the PGA concludes the series with a profile on Rory McIlroy. The one-time wunderkind has turned into the unofficial face and captain of the PGA. He was a vocal leader in a player's only meeting last year that promised new efforts to retain players and to heighten competition on the PGA Tour.
Mumm says that he isn't surprised that Rory became the face of the PGA. "Full Swing" captures a lot of frank and candid footage of Rory's locker room conversations with fellow players as he looked to stem player defections to rival LIV.
"Rory certainly has given us no indication that he is not anything but his true self in every interaction that we have with him. And he is polished and as accomplished as a player he is I think he's even more impressive as a person and as a thoughtful leader," says Mumm.
"It was fun to see inside his world a bit and just to see the relationships he has with these other great players."
"Full Swing" is streaming on Netflix.