7 "Full Swing" Takeaways: Never let ZJ near the Ryder Cup again...

When you get a non-Friday newsletter from me, it means one of three things.

1. It’s a major week

2. I am avoiding other work

3. I binged Full Swing

I didn’t want to get bogged down with Full Swing Season 2 thoughts on a Friday after polishing off the second season of the series this weekend.

Here are a few things that were top of mind as I watched the USA get their ass kicked in the Ryder Cup.

1. The lack of PGA Tour “coverage” in this season was conspicuous. The majors and the Ryder Cup were the main focus, which is fine. Most of the PGA Tour discussion came in the opening episodes where it was put into conflict with LIV. Not much juice behind the PGA Tour season, we didn’t even see Viktor Hovland winning the FedEx Cup.

2. The third episode with Joel Dahmen and Wyndham Clark was fantastic. It made me think a lot about the guys in the middle tier of the PGA Tour and how much stress they have. A lot of that stress has manifested in them acting entitled because they are afraid of losing their jobs if the PGA Tour and LIV reform professional golf. Dahmen’s newfound fame, coupled with playing badly, is heartbreaking. At one point he is having a heart-to-heart with his caddie, Geno Bonnalie, and admits that shooting 76 when you’re somewhat famous on Tour is embarrassing. He also tells him to go and caddie for Talor Gooch and earn $17 million. A good insight into the downward spiral that can happen so quickly to pro golfers when they start playing poorly and have others depending on them.

3. Wake Forest golfer Rachel Kuehn was one of my biggest revelations from the series. She was in the Fitzpatrick brothers episode because she is dating Alex Fitzpatrick (they met at Wake Forest). She just came across as insightful and thoughtful. Someone to root for this spring in ANWA and the NCAA National Championship. She’ll be a pro next year, too.

4. I think Keegan Bradley should be on a list of possible future Ryder Cup captains. This is not a Bostonian riding for a fellow New Englander. He’s not someone I really enjoy watching, but after watching him lose out on a Ryder Cup spot with cameras and his family surrounding him in his living room, I thought he handled himself well. He’s a two-time Ryder Cupper and a major winner. He has the resume.

5. Zach Johnson should never be allowed near a Ryder Cup team again. ZJ might be heckled even more after Full Swing. I knew that Justin Thomas and Johnson were close and shared houses together on the road, but to watch Johnson have dinner with Thomas, Rickie Fowler, Jordan Spieth in England during the Open Championship made me angry. I was on record saying JT should have been picked because of his past performance. The Boys Club narrative was certainly driven home during the Ryder Cup captain’s pick episode. That might be a bad edit for ZJ, but the chummy nature that exists between those four players was certainly part of the selection process.

6. This quote from Z. Johnson also stood out: “It’s (The Ryder Cup) the best thing we have in our game.” I’d be lying if the chasm between pro golf and recreational/amateur golf hasn’t been on my mind recently, and maybe I’m reading too much into the quote. But when he uses the word “our” who is he talking about? If you choose to read between the lines, it separates out the game. Using the word “Our” indicates he believes there is a “their” in the game. “Their” game would be the amateur game? LIV?

   I’ll admit that this might be persnickety, but Johnson bothered me enough in the final three episodes that the quote stood out to me as divisive.

7. Overall, I thought the season was good. I liked the addition of W. Clark to the mix, and they always do a nice job of creating dynamics between two different players in each episode to keep it interesting. It’s why the Brooks Koepka and Scottie Scheffler episode last year was so compelling. I’m sure some things will happen this year that might shine a brighter light on a couple of the storylines Full Swing pulled out this season.

What did you think of Full Swing?

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