Punch Shot

With Full Swing, Netflix tries to tease drama out of the most staid of sports: Golf.

- Michael Croley

 

The average golfer takes a few holes to get going. And Full Swing, the new series from the creators of Netflix’s hit Formula 1: Drive to Survive, also gets off to a slow start. It opens by profiling the friendship and rivalry of young superstars Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas. The episode, “Frenemies,” showcases a professional golfer’s life and the decadence it entails—showing the pair in the cabin of a private jet, drinking beer and ribbing each other. They’re competitive, but the rivalry feels overshadowed by the camaraderie. These guys are a little too well- behaved to make interesting television.

But in the fourth episode, which zooms in on some lesser names, the show really starts to find the flag. Not every player comes from a well-heeled background; for those who are struggling to make a living at the game, the stakes are higher. What comes across in the eight episodes is the sport’s incredible capriciousness: Certain victory can twist shockingly into painful defeat, and a player’s fate turns on each swing. Fractions of an inch can alter entire outcomes—and lives.