In the second installment of our limited-run podcast series on Netflix’s Full Swing, hosts Shane Ryan, Sam Weinman, and Alex Myers discuss a much-improved second episode that focuses on Brooks Koepka and Scottie Scheffler. We discuss the portrayal of Koepka as a one-time dominant force now in the throes of a prolonged slump; how it contrasts to Scheffler, an amiable up-and-coming star who catapulted up the world ranking last year and won his first major at the Masters; and how the filmmakers appeared to have righted the ship after a sluggish start.

Check out Shane's recap of the episode here.

Welcome one and all to the world premiere of the new Golf Digest podcast "Full Swing Thoughts." As you might gather from the title, we're here to talk about all things 'Full Swing,' the new Netflix documentary looking at the year 2022 in professional golf. We start today with the JT and Jordan episode, and Golf Digest stalwarts Sam, Alex, and Shane go deep on what they loved, what they didn't love, and what made them laugh as the series kicks off. Was this a successful start? Could 'Full Swing' rival 'Drive to Survive,' the blockbuster F1 documentary? Can Justin Thomas learn to use a credit card machine? All this and more as we analyze and over-analyze episode one.

Make sure to check out Shane's recap of the first episode as well.

Shane Ryan, Sam Weinman and Alex Myers will be your guides through the upcoming Netflix show "Full Swing." The trio will discuss what the show gets right, what feels a bit off and everything in between. With each episode, we'll have a podcast to break down everything you just saw, and there may be a special guest to wrap it all up.

For the first time in the sport’s history, the defining moments of the professional golf season took place somewhere other than on a golf course. The ongoing battle between the PGA Tour and the fledgling LIV Golf circuit instead took place in private backchannels, on social media, and even in the legal sphere. But as much oxygen as it took up in 2022, it was hardly the only event that mattered to golfers and golf fans. In this year-end episode of Local Knowledge, Keely Levins, Alex Myers, Shane Ryan, and Sam Weinman discuss what resonated with them most in a wild 2022, from the high-profile dramatic episodes to moments of personal poignance.
 

An 18-hole experiment with our 11-handicap editor and PGA Tour veteran Joel Dahmen began with a simple question: How much easier would golf be if a tour player hit all your drives for you? In this week's Local Knowledge, Sam Weinman takes you behind the scenes of a memorable round in which he and Dahmen teed off for one another and then played their own balls from there.
You can also read the story and watch the video on the round here.

What are NFTs? And what could they possibly have to do with golf? Our Shane Ryan didn’t really understand them at first, and he certainly didn’t know what they had to do with a game played on grass. But as Ryan discovered, NFTs are making inroads into the golf world, some quite modest, others rather dramatic. In this episode, he explains NFTs basics for novices, and what it all might mean for golf.

Even as golf has experienced a surge in popularity in recent years, a number of golf courses are undone by challenging economics and mismanagement. Many of those courses close outright, while others fight to stay alive in the face of considerable headwinds. In this episode, Alex Myers talks with Golf Digest's Keely Levins and Joel Beall and others about a handful of golf courses that got creative in their efforts to remain afloat, those that still met their unfortunate demise, and why so many golf courses to their communities represent much more than mere real estate.

Every time elite professional golfers are asked to come together in a team format, it comes with the awkward adjustment of needing to think about more than themselves. What’s often overlooked is how much golf requires an inordinate amount of self-interest. From how golfers practice, to the time they spend away from home, to even their choice to pursue an individual over a team sport, Shane Ryan explains why even the best-intentioned golfers need to be selfish to succeed.

There is no worse tag in golf than that of a cheater. In a game that prides itself on honor and self-policing, the players who betray that trust even once struggle to restore their reputation. In the aftermath of an incident in a qualifier tournament, Alex Myers looks at the particulars of the case, but also the wider world of cheating in golf—how often it happens, why it happens, and why it's so counter to golf's core principles.

For most golfers out there, the scores we shoot have little tangible significance. We maintain a handicap, maybe play for a few bucks, but otherwise, no one really cares but us. And yet for many golfers, the difference between 80 and 79 is a landmark milestone. On this week’s episode, Sam Weinman and Shane Ryan discuss their respective quests to break 80. They consult with pros, sports psychologists, and some of the golfers they play with, to understand what’s been holding them back, what they need to make it happen, and what it will signify to them if it does.