New Netflix docu-series on PGA Tour

[Ex Blade User]

1 hour ago, Dutch1008 said:

But that’s the point. If it wasn’t for basketball or golf, nobody would know MJ or Tiger. Those sports introduced them to the world, they’re inseparable. They aren’t famous for being famous like the Kardashians, they’re famous for their profession. 

She famous for something as well. It’s how you get noticed these days. 

[MUNIGRIT]

19 hours ago, Dutch1008 said:

What does this even mean? Michael Jordan isn't known outside of basketball. Cristiano Ronaldo isn't known outside futbol. Lewis Hamilton isn't known outside F1. Nobody became a fan of Michael Jordan because of his golf course architecture. Nobody recognizes Lewis Hamilton simply as a social justice authority. These dudes are known for their sport.   

 

What exactly are you trying to get at? Because your statement basically reads, "The Beatles aren't even known outside music". 

Totally inaccurate about MJ. He has the most recognized logo in the world.

[Dutch1008]

6 minutes ago, MUNIGRIT said:

Totally inaccurate about MJ. He has the most recognized logo in the world.

The logo is meaningless w/o the basketball legacy behind it. 

[bscinstnct]

19 hours ago, TiScape said:

I disagree and offer the following clip as proof. The show he was on appears to be similar to a late night or morning show here. Rory known far and wide there outside the golf world as the “washing machine golfer kid”. Famous

 

 

“”Full Swing ok but “Natty 4 Life” far more dope!

 

Especially Mike Ohearn. Amazing what hard work and a lot of chicken and rice can do for ya 💪 🤣

 

[tiderider]

19 minutes ago, MUNIGRIT said:

Totally inaccurate about MJ. He has the most recognized logo in the world.

remember something phil j. said about him after the 2nd three-peat ... said he went to tibet or somewhere off the map like that, and there's a kid in a remote village with an mj shirt who wanted to play bball ... 

[m d g]

On 2/21/2023 at 12:18 PM, Trap Junior said:

Its the worst thing I've ever watched on Netflix, up there with Alien Abductions.

You take that back!!

[Custom]

On 2/21/2023 at 2:18 PM, Trap Junior said:

I'm surprised to read so many positive comments.  Its the worst thing I've ever watched on Netflix, up there with Alien Abductions.

 

If this series is supposed to make people think golf is cool and exciting you will soon find it has the opposite effect.  It made the game look ridiculously dull and boring even to golf fans like me.  Each episode became blander than the last.  Got so bored I couldnt even finish 2 episodes. 

 

The Koepka episode was bar the best of a bad lot.  A least there was some swearing and insight into him. 

 

Justin Thomas and Spieth was a total bore.  They are not exactly full of charisma and are dull personalities.

 

McIlroy doesn;t feature much at all nor does Tiger Woods, who are about the only names non golf fans will know who they are.

 

Matt Fitzpatrick won't be winning personality of the year anytime soon either.  He's not exactly a fascinating character.

 

Overall a really dull series that made golf look boring played by spoilt little brats flying around in private jets for playing a posh sport.

 

 

Wow very negative my guy, seems like you follow the general trend around this forum of being negative about everything. I honestly loved the show, my girlfriend who has never been into golf watched it with me and now is into golf and wants to watch pga events and knows the players names. Stop taking life so serious and enjoy it for what it has to offer bud, also 2 episodes doesn't make you qualified to comment.

[Custom]

22 hours ago, Trap Junior said:

I watched all the episodes but didnt finish 2 of them.  Is that hard to understand? 

The way you worded it yeah i would say most would understand that as you didn't even get through 2 episodes.

[MUNIGRIT]

33 minutes ago, Dutch1008 said:

The logo is meaningless w/o the basketball legacy behind it. 

What does that have to do with MJ not being known outside of basketball? He is well known outside of it despite starting it there.

[johnathonweavers]

Might be a hot take....

 

I love how they followed Koepka and showed the viewers how he was really struggling. The rumours about him questioning his decision and wanting to come back to the PGA Tour fires me up haha. Would love to see top form Brooks back in tour threatening!

 

[Gareth]

Finished the series now and thoroughly enjoyed it. 

[Stevens24]

3 hours ago, Dutch1008 said:

The logo is meaningless w/o the basketball legacy behind it. 

He had the most sought after shoe from the moment they came out and he hadn't played an NBA game yet. And Nike was just a running shoe company before him.

Edited February 22, 2023 by Stevens24

[84425]

I was surprised by:

- the focus on money. They showed how much each player earned each tournament. Almost as if the money is more important than the place you finished (or the score). Also everyone with a private jet or chef got on the show. Would have been so much more interesting to (also) see the person fighting for his tour card and sharing rides with other players to save some money. 
- they got lucky with the group of people the followed (Fitzpatrick, Mito, JT, Dahmen) as they performed well in majors (with a bit of drama as well). And Brooks was interesting for the exact opposite reason (i’ll never forget his “This is the worst i’ve struggled in my whole life.” While jumping in the pool of his i don’t know how many million dollar mansion by the water). 
- the lack of golf(practice) they showed. Yeah they all workout, but don’t they all spend half of the day onnthe puttinggreen?

 

i wonder if any series could turn people into ‘people watching golf’. Unlike F1 a randdom pga event doesn’t have much drama. Or it is spread out over 4 days, for 8+ hours per day. Not condensed into one 2 hour race (and maybe 1 hour of qualifying). People that start watching golf after seeing this series will stop watching golf after (or during) the first tournament they watch because they don’t get to see any of the drama from the series (plus imho watching golf is boring). 

[Dutch1008]

30 minutes ago, Stevens24 said:

He had the most sought after shoe from the moment they came out and he hadn't played an NBA game yet. And Nike was just a running shoe company before him.

A few things. First, the shoe wasn't released until April 1985 towards the end of his rookie year. Second, the original Jordan's did not have the jumpman logo. Third, Jordan was a household name after hitting the game winner in the NCAA tournament. People knew about and cared about college basketball far more in the 80's than today. 

 

Lastly, what we have here is a failure to communicate. I obviously haven't done a very good job of explaining my position, so I'll try one last time. Yes, Jordan and Tiger became global icons who transcended their sports and into the mainstream cultural zeitgeist. Very few athletes have ever done this. But that doesn't mean Tiger is known, "outside of golf". He's known because of his golf. You can't separate Tiger from golf or MJ from basketball. 

[Robby_Hughey]

20 hours ago, OKMrazor said:

So as a filmmaker your argument is it's good because there's a lack of competition?  Sure, I guess.  If that's your measure.  I sure watched the entire thing, but it also left me wanting more (not in the good way).  Everyone I know who's watched the entire thing (eagerly) was left with a general "meh" reaction.

 

I think they have incredible footage and access, as well as a great platform, but storytellers all make choices, and they should perhaps spend some time reevaluating some of the choices they made early on.  There were surely more compelling narratives and arcs than were presented.  Hopefully season two hits a little better.  

The series is compelling because it's portraying a story that is unknown. It's novel. The viewer is taken on a journey of Sahith Theegala moving out of his childhood home and into the adult world. Joel Dahmen overcoming trauma, and personal battles.

 

The majority of avid followers of golf on this forum probably knew Tony Finau has 5 kids and is of Samoan descent. But has anyone ever seen him wearing gym shorts in his backyard, doing practice putting drills with his oldest son? 

 

The emotion displayed by each one is incredible. They're real, raw, and unseen. That's a perspective CBS or Golf Channel has never shown. 

[Dutch1008]

4 hours ago, MUNIGRIT said:

What does that have to do with MJ not being known outside of basketball? He is well known outside of it despite starting it there.

What does "outside of X" mean? 

 

I've never played soccer, don't have daughters who play soccer, have never watched a women's soccer match, but I somehow know who Mia Hamm and Alex Morgan are. Does that mean I'm "inside of soccer"? or that Mia Hamm and Alex Morgan have ascended to a level of fame "outside of soccer"? If the former is true, than the population of what constitutes "inside" is freaking huge. If it's the latter, than I find it very hard to believe the only golfer to ever be known "outside of golf" is Tiger.  

[caniac6]

I was surprised how many guys wore their hats in the clubhouse, especially in the dining areas.

[dwboston]

2 hours ago, Stevens24 said:

And Nike was just a running shoe company before him.

 

This isn't even remotely true.  Jordan came out of college after his junior year in 1984.  Nike had several successful basketball shoes before that, including the Nike Legend and the original Air Force One.  Jordan wore the Nike Air Ship originally in the NBA before the first Air Jordan was ready in 1985.  I was playing hoops in high school from 83-87 and had all of those except for the Air Ship.  The Legend was my favorite.

[ldchristopher]

The second episode was interesting because there was this narrative that Koepka “didn’t really care anymore.” That he got his wins, got his majors, but didn’t really enjoy golf and was checking out. His struggles and frustrations made it pretty clear he cared plenty (at least before the big Saudi check). He was just playing really poorly and stuck inside his own head. 

[TiScape]

12 hours ago, bscinstnct said:

“”Full Swing ok but “Natty 4 Life” far more dope!

 

Especially Mike Ohearn. Amazing what hard work and a lot of chicken and rice can do for ya 💪 🤣

 

Are they “Natty 4 Life” like ‘Liver King’ was before he was outed for taking $11,000 a month worth of various gear! 😝 

Seriously tho, I’ll check it out. Thanks 💪🏼

Edited February 23, 2023 by TiScape

[Rapidcat]

7 hours ago, caniac6 said:

I was surprised how many guys wore their hats in the clubhouse, especially in the dining areas.

 

Many of them are going bald.

[OKMrazor]

12 hours ago, Robby_Hughey said:

The series is compelling because it's portraying a story that is unknown. It's novel. The viewer is taken on a journey of Sahith Theegala moving out of his childhood home and into the adult world. Joel Dahmen overcoming trauma, and personal battles.

 

The majority of avid followers of golf on this forum probably knew Tony Finau has 5 kids and is of Samoan descent. But has anyone ever seen him wearing gym shorts in his backyard, doing practice putting drills with his oldest son? 

 

The emotion displayed by each one is incredible. They're real, raw, and unseen.

 

There is no season-long arc - or series-long arc - for that matter. There is no compelling tie from one episode to the next and no stakes are shown (unless you count the oft-repeated miss-a-cut, no-check-for-you - which is slim narrative pickins').  They even managed to let the rising LIV threat play out drama-free.

 

They pop up in timelines jumping in and out as if they're throwing narrative darts at the season schedule, hoping they land in a pretty outline.  Sahith Theegala's "journey" plays out over a single episode, as does Dahmen's and Finau's. I agree "that's a perspective CBS or Golf Channel has never shown" of Finau/Dahmen, but just because CBS hasn't shown something in this (different) format doesn't mean Netflix did it well.  **I did think both of those episodes had good qualities, but that doesn't mean they were a resounding success, and they carry too much water for the series' shortcomings.  How did any of that play in the larger context of a season or its story?

 

I keep hearing existing golf fans are not necessarily the intended audience, but if that's the case they did an awful job of explaining how a season builds and progresses.

[Bye]

I am 3 episodes in. 

 

It is always fun to see JT & Jordan interacting. 

 

Nothing was mentioned though about Bones speaking to JT on the range late on the Saturday at the PGA. For some reason I remember at the time of Bones giving him a good talking to about being more positive. 

 

The Brooks episode just summed up golf. When your good everything in the world is great, but when your off you just want it to swallow you up. It was brutally honest, especially for someone who puts on such a facade in public. 

 

[TLUBulldogGolf]

14 hours ago, 84425 said:

I was surprised by:

- the focus on money. They showed how much each player earned each tournament. Almost as if the money is more important than the place you finished (or the score). Also everyone with a private jet or chef got on the show. Would have been so much more interesting to (also) see the person fighting for his tour card and sharing rides with other players to save some money. 
- they got lucky with the group of people the followed (Fitzpatrick, Mito, JT, Dahmen) as they performed well in majors (with a bit of drama as well). And Brooks was interesting for the exact opposite reason (i’ll never forget his “This is the worst i’ve struggled in my whole life.” While jumping in the pool of his i don’t know how many million dollar mansion by the water). 
- the lack of golf(practice) they showed. Yeah they all workout, but don’t they all spend half of the day onnthe puttinggreen?

 

i wonder if any series could turn people into ‘people watching golf’. Unlike F1 a randdom pga event doesn’t have much drama. Or it is spread out over 4 days, for 8+ hours per day. Not condensed into one 2 hour race (and maybe 1 hour of qualifying). People that start watching golf after seeing this series will stop watching golf after (or during) the first tournament they watch because they don’t get to see any of the drama from the series (plus imho watching golf is boring). 

 

I second a lot of this. I don't know why I'm supposed to care about how much money they won. Maybe mention purses for the big tournaments if you have to but otherwise I don't understand the focus. Just a bunch of guys that can already afford private jets and fancy rental homes winning more. At least Dahmen was somewhat relatable and looked to live fairly modestly.

 

I think an episode devoted to the 'grind' aspect or even to tournament prep including practice rounds, club testing, etc. could have been really interesting. 

[dcmidnight]

6 minutes ago, TLUBulldogGolf said:

I think an episode devoted to the 'grind' aspect or even to tournament prep including practice rounds, club testing, etc. could have been really interesting. 

I've read this comment a lot and while I dont disagree...I always love to see club testing afterall - but Firepit is literally doing an entire YT series about the grind right now and its called...The Grind. Its been really good so far. Players most folks wont have heard of and its not PGA-spcifiic, its across multiple tours.

 

Personally I think non-golf nerds - which is who I think this series is aimed at - would be bored to death by watching something like that.

[TLUBulldogGolf]

1 minute ago, dcmidnight said:

I've read this comment a lot and while I dont disagree...I always love to see club testing afterall - but Firepit is literally doing an entire YT series about the grind right now and its called...The Grind. Its been really good so far. Players most folks wont have heard of and its not PGA-spcifiic, its across multiple tours.

 

Personally I think non-golf nerds - which is who I think this series is aimed at - would be bored to death by watching something like that.

 

Maybe, they could have even just gone through a full tournament week, they wouldn't have had to be long segments. Instead we got to hear what a cut was 10 times. 

[IndyArcher]

19 hours ago, Dutch1008 said:

What does "outside of X" mean? 

 

I've never played soccer, don't have daughters who play soccer, have never watched a women's soccer match, but I somehow know who Mia Hamm and Alex Morgan are. Does that mean I'm "inside of soccer"? or that Mia Hamm and Alex Morgan have ascended to a level of fame "outside of soccer"? If the former is true, than the population of what constitutes "inside" is freaking huge. If it's the latter, than I find it very hard to believe the only golfer to ever be known "outside of golf" is Tiger.  

 

It is clearly true that without basketball, no one would likely know Michael Jordan, and without golf, the name Tiger Woods would be irrelevant. What is equally true is that people with virtually no knowledge about basketball or golf recognize the names of MJ and TW in a casual conversation. My wife basically loathes watching sports, and aside from a few names like Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck (We're from Indianapolis) and Jeff Saturday (because he spoke at our church one Sunday), she could not identify the names of many--if any--professional athletes. But she knows MJ and TW. Why? Because they are cultural icons. How they got to be that is important, though. 

 

In short, both of those individuals transcend their sports, but only do so BECAUSE of their sports. 

Edited February 23, 2023 by IndyArcher
grammar correction

[dcmidnight]

23 minutes ago, TLUBulldogGolf said:

 

Maybe, they could have even just gone through a full tournament week, they wouldn't have had to be long segments. Instead we got to hear what a cut was 10 times. 

 

Dont disagree. Just saying that for the average guy off the street that this is aimed at - they arent going to want to see how boring practice rounds actually are or watch a guy testing the differences between the newest Ventus release.

[Dave230]

I enjoyed the Koepka episode, made him more interesting that he's been on Tour. But if I hear 'this is what a cut is' one more time from Dethier or Ballonis...

 

Poulter just came across as entitled I think and there's far too much of it filmed on private jets.

[Dave230]

4 hours ago, OKMrazor said:

I keep hearing existing golf fans are not necessarily the intended audience, but if that's the case they did an awful job of explaining how a season builds and progresses.

Scheffler is world number 1 in the first episode, then he's world number 17 going for his first win, so confusing for people watching with no knowledge.

 

Then Sean Foley says the Heritage can kickstart your season, of all the events to pick all season, that is not a sentence I would use about the Heritage necessarily.

 

The timeline on the first 3 episodes is all over the place, I felt I understood it because I know the actual season, if you had no knowledge you'd be confused as to what the actual season is when it goes from April to May to February to April to March to April in the first three episodes.

Edited February 23, 2023 by Dave230