WEBVTT - Full Swing Reactions with Megan Schuster 0:00:00.080 --> 0:00:02.840 I miss a green, for example, I'm already upset. When 0:00:02.880 --> 0:00:04.960 I find my ball in the bunker, I'm really upset. 0:00:05.040 --> 0:00:07.000 And when I find my ball in a brid egg 0:00:07.240 --> 0:00:10.080 Friday Egg, the dreaded Frida Egg Frida Egg, Frida egg 0:00:10.400 --> 0:00:12.719 Egg Frida egg bride egg Lie, I'm about ready to 0:00:12.800 --> 0:00:36.200 run off the gum. Welcome to the Friday Egg Podcast. 0:00:36.320 --> 0:00:40.200 I'm Garrett Morrison, and today we are talking about Full Swing. 0:00:40.920 --> 0:00:44.120 Full Swing is the docuseries on professional golf that just 0:00:44.240 --> 0:00:48.519 premiered on Netflix and has created a tremendous buzz in 0:00:48.560 --> 0:00:51.280 the golf world. Everybody's talking about this, and I would 0:00:51.320 --> 0:00:54.000 imagine that there are a lot of podcasts in your 0:00:54.080 --> 0:00:57.320 feed on this very topic. So I hope my guest 0:00:57.400 --> 0:00:59.720 today and I will be able to introduce some fresh 0:00:59.720 --> 0:01:03.600 stuff into the conversation. But right off the bat, I 0:01:03.680 --> 0:01:06.520 just want to say that it's really exciting. I think 0:01:06.680 --> 0:01:10.840 that professional golf is getting the Netflix treatment. There's real 0:01:10.920 --> 0:01:14.560 potential that it will attract new interest in golf and 0:01:14.880 --> 0:01:18.480 deepen people's appreciation and understanding of the game and some 0:01:18.560 --> 0:01:22.160 of its characters. And it's just a huge accomplishment that 0:01:22.200 --> 0:01:25.440 it got made at all. So congratulations to Chad Mumm 0:01:25.480 --> 0:01:28.920 and Paul Martin and the whole production team there. So 0:01:29.080 --> 0:01:32.080 with that said, my guest is Megan Schuster, who is 0:01:32.120 --> 0:01:35.720 an editor and podcast host for The Ringer. Meghan has 0:01:35.760 --> 0:01:39.280 covered both golf and Formula one for The Ringer, so 0:01:39.319 --> 0:01:42.080 I figured she would be an especially insightful guest for 0:01:42.200 --> 0:01:45.240 this episode because Falsewing is more or less trying to 0:01:45.280 --> 0:01:48.720 follow the model of Drive to Survive, which was the 0:01:49.160 --> 0:01:52.360 is the Netflix docu series that has done a lot 0:01:52.360 --> 0:01:56.080 to popularize F one in America. I've been wanting to 0:01:56.080 --> 0:01:58.040 have Megan on for a long time. She's one of 0:01:58.120 --> 0:02:01.400 my favorite voices out there, so really excited to have 0:02:01.480 --> 0:02:05.160 this conversation with her. So let's talk about the issue 0:02:05.560 --> 0:02:09.000 of spoilers and when the best time to listen to 0:02:09.040 --> 0:02:12.800 this podcast might be. Our intention is to make this 0:02:12.960 --> 0:02:17.360 episode something you could listen to before or after watching 0:02:17.440 --> 0:02:20.640 all eight episodes of the full Swing season, but we 0:02:20.720 --> 0:02:24.000 do talk about specific moments in the series. Now, the 0:02:24.040 --> 0:02:27.880 traditional notion of spoilers I don't think really applies here, 0:02:27.919 --> 0:02:31.160 because if you're listening to this podcast, you probably know 0:02:31.320 --> 0:02:34.760 basically what happened in professional golf last year. I would 0:02:34.800 --> 0:02:37.040 be shocked if you didn't know who won the Majors, 0:02:37.080 --> 0:02:40.840 for instance, and the show is in some part about 0:02:40.840 --> 0:02:44.120 who won the Majors. Now, there might be some people 0:02:44.160 --> 0:02:47.200 out there who don't want to know anything about what 0:02:47.240 --> 0:02:51.320 the Netflix camera's caught behind the scenes, so that's up 0:02:51.320 --> 0:02:54.600 to you. But basically our goal here was to ride 0:02:54.600 --> 0:02:58.200 that line between giving a general overview of the show 0:02:58.760 --> 0:03:03.720 and talking about some of the most interesting specific scenes. 0:03:04.440 --> 0:03:07.000 Now for a more in depth take on Full Swing, 0:03:07.440 --> 0:03:10.080 we at The Friday Egg have actually created a whole 0:03:10.120 --> 0:03:14.079 separate podcast. It's called Full Swing Thoughts, and it's hosted 0:03:14.160 --> 0:03:18.560 by Andy Johnson, Brendan Porath, and Joseph Lamania. I haven't 0:03:18.600 --> 0:03:21.160 listened to every episode yet, but I'm excited to dig 0:03:21.200 --> 0:03:24.639 in because those guys are so smart and funny. Now, 0:03:24.720 --> 0:03:27.440 Full Swing Thoughts, this new show is intended to be 0:03:27.520 --> 0:03:30.680 consumed after you've seen the series or as you're watching 0:03:30.760 --> 0:03:34.399 the series, so it's a little more in depth specific 0:03:34.960 --> 0:03:38.440 and I could imagine that this podcast right here could 0:03:38.480 --> 0:03:41.760 be one that sort of introduces Full Swing to you 0:03:41.960 --> 0:03:45.600 and gives you some ideas about our take on it 0:03:45.720 --> 0:03:48.720 and some discussion around that, and then Full Swing Thoughts 0:03:49.040 --> 0:03:51.680 can really get into the nitty gritty for you. You 0:03:51.720 --> 0:03:54.840 can find full Swing thoughts wherever you get your podcasts, 0:03:55.000 --> 0:03:57.840 and there's also a link to the feed in the 0:03:57.880 --> 0:04:01.760 show notes for this episode. Check that out and without 0:04:01.760 --> 0:04:08.800 further ado, let's go to Megan Shuster. All right, so, 0:04:08.920 --> 0:04:10.840 Meghan Schuster, do you go by Meg? 0:04:12.520 --> 0:04:15.760 I'd go by Meghan, but my social media I signed 0:04:15.840 --> 0:04:17.159 up for it when I was in high school and 0:04:17.160 --> 0:04:19.440 it all has Meg on there, So I get called 0:04:19.480 --> 0:04:21.960 both pretty often at this point in my life and 0:04:22.400 --> 0:04:25.800 fine with both, but I generally would introduce myself as Megan. 0:04:25.800 --> 0:04:29.200 Okay, because I feel like sometimes people see a Meghan 0:04:29.279 --> 0:04:33.240 and just automatically start calling her Meg, which isn't isn't 0:04:33.279 --> 0:04:35.520 always wanted. We do have a Meg in the frieda Egg, 0:04:35.640 --> 0:04:38.680 so happy to keep you as a Megan. So how 0:04:38.760 --> 0:04:41.240 did you you cover both golf and F one for 0:04:41.320 --> 0:04:44.000 The Ringer? I know you worked for Grantland I believe 0:04:44.200 --> 0:04:48.920 as well Rip Rip, so golf and F one? How 0:04:49.000 --> 0:04:52.360 did you end up covering golf for The Ringer's what's 0:04:52.400 --> 0:04:53.320 your background in the game. 0:04:53.600 --> 0:04:55.840 Yeah, golf was a little bit of a happy accident. 0:04:56.600 --> 0:04:59.080 The Ringer started in twenty sixteen and we just didn't 0:04:59.120 --> 0:05:01.960 have a whole lot of peace on staff who either 0:05:02.040 --> 0:05:04.279 loved golf or had the ability to cover it. We 0:05:04.320 --> 0:05:06.159 have a lot of golf fans on staff, but most 0:05:06.200 --> 0:05:10.239 of them are heavy into other sports, other major responsibilities. 0:05:10.279 --> 0:05:12.440 They didn't really have time to kind of follow it 0:05:12.480 --> 0:05:14.440 in that way. So I think it was ahead of 0:05:14.480 --> 0:05:19.080 maybe the either twenty sixteen or twenty seventeen Masters. They 0:05:19.120 --> 0:05:21.400 asked me if I was interested in writing about it, 0:05:21.440 --> 0:05:23.440 and I just kind of jumped into it from there. 0:05:23.839 --> 0:05:27.520 I've always been a big golf fan horrible golf player, 0:05:27.680 --> 0:05:30.200 so I always feel like a little bit of a 0:05:30.240 --> 0:05:33.679 fraud when I talk about golf listen and write about golf, 0:05:33.720 --> 0:05:37.000 because it's the whole game. Thing does not come naturally 0:05:37.080 --> 0:05:40.400 to me. But yeah, one of my favorite sports to watch. 0:05:40.839 --> 0:05:42.800 It has become one of my favorite things to cover. Too. 0:05:43.279 --> 0:05:46.440 Cool. And you've also been getting into F one. You 0:05:46.640 --> 0:05:49.960 sometimes co host or host the Ringer F one show 0:05:50.080 --> 0:05:53.640 as well, and that's relevant for the current discussion of 0:05:53.760 --> 0:05:57.560 golf and the Netflix documentary because of course they're sort 0:05:57.560 --> 0:06:00.359 of trying to follow the F one I Have to 0:06:00.400 --> 0:06:04.000 Survive model, where there was this very popular F one 0:06:04.080 --> 0:06:07.680 docu series about the sport, and a lot of people 0:06:07.839 --> 0:06:11.599 ended up getting into Formula one because they watched that 0:06:11.680 --> 0:06:14.920 documentary and we're sort of fascinated by it. So did 0:06:14.960 --> 0:06:17.440 you get into F one through Drive to Survive? Where 0:06:17.440 --> 0:06:19.160 you want of? I don't know if there's a name 0:06:19.320 --> 0:06:24.200 for that, that generation of F one fans, but I'm 0:06:24.240 --> 0:06:26.440 among them. Are you among them as well? 0:06:26.720 --> 0:06:29.479 I am? Yes, it was one of my kind of 0:06:29.480 --> 0:06:32.640 COVID lockdown shows. I'd had multiple co workers recommend it 0:06:32.680 --> 0:06:34.760 to me, and it was just something that I never 0:06:34.839 --> 0:06:37.160 really thought I would enjoy. I've never been a big 0:06:37.240 --> 0:06:40.360 racing fan before in my life, Like, wasn't an indiecar, Gal, 0:06:40.560 --> 0:06:43.480 wasn't into Nascar, So I kind of thought it was pointless. 0:06:43.480 --> 0:06:45.680 And then you know, in the middle of lockdown, we 0:06:45.760 --> 0:06:48.560 all have to find our comfort somewhere, and so I 0:06:48.600 --> 0:06:51.880 turned it on and I got really heavily invested. And 0:06:51.920 --> 0:06:54.640 then yeah, now Box to Box Films, which is the 0:06:54.640 --> 0:06:58.040 company that produces Drive to Survive, is now also producing 0:06:58.160 --> 0:07:00.480 Full Swing, the Golf Show, Point Break the Time a show, 0:07:00.560 --> 0:07:03.200 and is yeah kind of helping Netflix to get into 0:07:03.200 --> 0:07:07.440 this sort of sports docuseries territory. But yes, I'm definitely 0:07:07.480 --> 0:07:08.960 part of I think they just call it the drive 0:07:09.000 --> 0:07:11.800 to Survive generation. At least that's what I call it. 0:07:12.640 --> 0:07:15.440 Nothing more derogatory than that. I have a feeling that, like, 0:07:15.800 --> 0:07:18.320 I don't know this, but I feel like hardcore F 0:07:18.400 --> 0:07:22.040 one fans have to somewhat look down their noses at 0:07:22.120 --> 0:07:24.640 people who got into it through this documentary. 0:07:24.920 --> 0:07:29.400 Yes, absolutely, yes, that is the case. Luckily, I think 0:07:29.440 --> 0:07:32.800 most of our F one audience is well. I actually 0:07:32.840 --> 0:07:34.480 I can't say that. I don't know where they're all from. 0:07:34.480 --> 0:07:36.680 I would imagine a lot of them are Americans who 0:07:36.680 --> 0:07:38.920 probably have gotten into it over the last few years 0:07:38.960 --> 0:07:41.600 along with the rest of us. But yeah, yeah, I'm 0:07:41.600 --> 0:07:45.120 sure there are some looking down of the nose at 0:07:45.240 --> 0:07:46.360 all of us, some. 0:07:46.520 --> 0:07:49.640 F one snobs. So what do you think, I mean, 0:07:49.720 --> 0:07:52.160 just as a way to set up how we're going 0:07:52.160 --> 0:07:55.560 to assess what full Swing is doing. What do you 0:07:55.560 --> 0:07:57.320 think may drive to survive? So good? 0:07:57.640 --> 0:08:00.960 Yeah, I think it's a combination of a few things. 0:08:01.040 --> 0:08:03.400 And I think this will cross over a bit with 0:08:03.440 --> 0:08:06.200 the golf too. I think first and foremost, as far 0:08:06.240 --> 0:08:08.840 as you know, number of people that you need to know, 0:08:08.960 --> 0:08:11.000 big names that you need to know. In formula one, 0:08:11.040 --> 0:08:13.760 I feel like it's fairly accessible in that way. There's 0:08:13.800 --> 0:08:16.520 only twenty drivers on the grid at any point in time, 0:08:16.720 --> 0:08:19.120 ten team principles if you feel like you need to 0:08:19.120 --> 0:08:22.080 know who the team principles are ten teams. You know, 0:08:22.120 --> 0:08:23.680 when I try to get my friends into it, I 0:08:23.760 --> 0:08:27.320 always say that, you know, maximum thirty people, really twenty people, 0:08:27.600 --> 0:08:29.640 really ten if you want to get into, like the 0:08:29.640 --> 0:08:32.959 title race of it. So I feel like that alone 0:08:33.040 --> 0:08:35.400 makes it a pretty effective sport to get into. But 0:08:35.520 --> 0:08:38.360 as far as drive to survive specifically, I think they 0:08:38.400 --> 0:08:40.280 did a really good job, at least of the first 0:08:40.280 --> 0:08:43.400 two seasons of not focusing too heavily on the title race. 0:08:43.480 --> 0:08:45.920 Especially in those seasons it was you know, Mercedes by 0:08:45.920 --> 0:08:48.120 a mile and no one else was really close. So 0:08:48.200 --> 0:08:50.520 instead of focusing on that, they really let you into 0:08:50.520 --> 0:08:53.680 the lives of you know, Daniel Ricardo and some other big, 0:08:54.000 --> 0:08:56.320 big personalities on the grid and made you fall in 0:08:56.320 --> 0:08:59.560 love with the people behind it rather than the sport itself. 0:09:00.080 --> 0:09:02.080 And then as you know, the seasons go along and 0:09:02.120 --> 0:09:03.880 you start to get a little bit more familiar with it, 0:09:03.920 --> 0:09:06.400 then they start really introducing kind of the racing and 0:09:06.440 --> 0:09:09.439 strategy aspect and kind of try to educate you along 0:09:09.480 --> 0:09:12.559 the way, but just to hook people. I think they 0:09:12.600 --> 0:09:15.440 really focused on the people behind Formula One, and I 0:09:15.440 --> 0:09:17.280 think that was ultimately really successful. 0:09:17.720 --> 0:09:20.319 And there was a kind of boldness to that strategy, right, 0:09:20.360 --> 0:09:23.360 because the only Formula One driver that I knew by 0:09:23.520 --> 0:09:27.480 name before watching Drives to Survive was was Lewis Hamilton. Sure, 0:09:27.520 --> 0:09:31.080 and Lewis Hamilton did not participate in the first season 0:09:31.120 --> 0:09:34.440 of Drive to Survive. Mercedes wasn't there. Ferrari wasn't there, right, 0:09:34.559 --> 0:09:37.079 Ferrari was probably the only other team that I could 0:09:37.080 --> 0:09:39.760 have named as a Formula One team. I'm like, oh, yeah, 0:09:39.760 --> 0:09:42.440 for sure, Ferrari has to be one of the teams. 0:09:42.480 --> 0:09:45.400 You know, Michael Schumacher drove for that, right, and so 0:09:46.240 --> 0:09:49.520 you know there's a there's a gutsiness to opening with 0:09:49.640 --> 0:09:52.200 other characters. But it was also by necessity, right, because 0:09:52.240 --> 0:09:55.840 they couldn't They didn't have access to these big star drivers, 0:09:55.880 --> 0:09:59.160 and so they made the most of Daniel Ricardo and 0:09:59.679 --> 0:10:03.240 good Steiner, and they really made a great season or 0:10:03.240 --> 0:10:06.320 two of television out of those characters. And then all 0:10:06.360 --> 0:10:08.440 of a sudden, Lewis Hamilton, I'm sure, was looking at 0:10:08.440 --> 0:10:11.600 the success of it and saying, well, crap, now Ricardo 0:10:11.720 --> 0:10:14.280 is more popular than I am, what's going on here? 0:10:14.320 --> 0:10:18.280 And had to end up participating, and so the gamble 0:10:18.400 --> 0:10:19.600 sort of paid off there. 0:10:19.920 --> 0:10:22.640 Yeah, Season one for them definitely seemed like a bit 0:10:22.640 --> 0:10:26.360 of a prove it season. I remember when I started 0:10:26.360 --> 0:10:28.760 watching Drive to Survive, I actually had messaged the person 0:10:28.800 --> 0:10:30.959 who recommended it to me and was like, wait, if 0:10:31.000 --> 0:10:33.840 Lewis Hamilton won this season, why did I not see 0:10:33.840 --> 0:10:36.360 any of him? Why did he not speak like like, 0:10:36.440 --> 0:10:38.640 what's going on here? And he had to actually inform 0:10:38.640 --> 0:10:41.480 me that, Yeah, like both Mercedes and Ferrari declined to 0:10:41.559 --> 0:10:44.199 participate and wanted to see basically how it went and 0:10:44.559 --> 0:10:46.480 whether it was worth them getting involved at all or 0:10:46.480 --> 0:10:48.280 if it would just kind of be a distraction. And 0:10:48.320 --> 0:10:51.880 now you know, they're stalwarts on the series every year. 0:10:51.960 --> 0:10:55.520 Lewis Hamilton is will be in season five. So yeah, 0:10:55.720 --> 0:10:58.400 I think from that perspective, it was really interesting and 0:10:58.440 --> 0:11:00.160 it was kind of a big bet, I think for 0:11:00.200 --> 0:11:03.560 them to believe that they could cultivate these characters and 0:11:03.600 --> 0:11:06.160 make people care about the drivers who are farther down 0:11:06.240 --> 0:11:09.000 the grid, and ultimately, I think, in that way, make 0:11:09.120 --> 0:11:11.800 f one as a whole more interesting than just caring 0:11:11.840 --> 0:11:15.080 about the top two teams at any given time, right. 0:11:15.200 --> 0:11:17.160 And I think there's a number of other aspects of 0:11:17.320 --> 0:11:20.960 F one that make it lend itself so well to TV. 0:11:21.440 --> 0:11:23.240 You know, some of those you mentioned, like there's a 0:11:23.360 --> 0:11:26.240 limited number of teams and people you have to be 0:11:26.320 --> 0:11:29.920 familiar with in order to really follow F one. You know, 0:11:29.960 --> 0:11:32.719 it's just ten teams on the grid, and you've got 0:11:32.720 --> 0:11:35.720 the two drivers per team, and you've got the team bosses, 0:11:36.120 --> 0:11:38.600 and that's really all you need to be familiar with. 0:11:38.679 --> 0:11:41.600 The races happen, you know, once a week or once 0:11:41.679 --> 0:11:44.400 every couple of weeks during the F one season, and 0:11:44.440 --> 0:11:47.440 you can watch them pretty easily, Like it doesn't take 0:11:47.480 --> 0:11:50.240 that long to follow the races. And so if you're 0:11:50.280 --> 0:11:53.520 trying to distill this down to a season of television, 0:11:53.679 --> 0:11:56.160 it's pretty easy. In a lot of ways. Everybody's going 0:11:56.200 --> 0:11:59.200 for the same goal, which is to win the season 0:11:59.240 --> 0:12:03.280 long championship or to place high in the season long championship. 0:12:03.400 --> 0:12:06.120 And you know, there's a simplicity to the F one 0:12:06.200 --> 0:12:09.720 season that seems. I mean, it's already structured like a 0:12:09.760 --> 0:12:12.959 television season right from the get go, you know, and 0:12:13.320 --> 0:12:16.120 that that had to have made it pretty simple to 0:12:17.000 --> 0:12:19.720 make Drive to Survive in a lot of ways compared 0:12:19.760 --> 0:12:21.680 to other sports, especially tennis and golf. 0:12:21.920 --> 0:12:24.280 Yeah, I mean, like you say, it's it's very easy 0:12:24.320 --> 0:12:28.840 to track one specific driver's progression across a full season. 0:12:28.840 --> 0:12:30.439 They're going to have their highs, They're going to have 0:12:30.559 --> 0:12:32.640 races where they suck. They're going to have races where 0:12:32.640 --> 0:12:35.240 they get on the radio with their race engineer, team 0:12:35.280 --> 0:12:37.800 principle and they're arguing, and you know, you can always 0:12:37.840 --> 0:12:40.080 blow that up into something which you know is something 0:12:40.160 --> 0:12:42.040 Drive to Survive has been accused of a little bit 0:12:42.040 --> 0:12:45.160 as dramatizing Formula One, which I'm sure we can get 0:12:45.160 --> 0:12:47.360 into with golf later on. I'm sure there'll be some 0:12:47.480 --> 0:12:51.160 criticisms there rightly so. And you know, now that I've 0:12:51.160 --> 0:12:54.960 been watching a few actual full F one seasons, having 0:12:55.080 --> 0:12:57.120 you know, started with Drive to Survive and now actually 0:12:57.160 --> 0:13:00.200 watching the races themselves, I feel like I understand and 0:13:00.240 --> 0:13:03.600 those criticisms, But also for me, I feel like the 0:13:03.720 --> 0:13:07.400 show and the actual Formula one season almost exist in 0:13:07.440 --> 0:13:10.640 two separate universes for me, where the show now feels 0:13:11.040 --> 0:13:13.480 like a reality show and I love watching it For 0:13:13.559 --> 0:13:17.200 the drama. I love watching it for the chaos that 0:13:17.280 --> 0:13:19.360 it causes, where you know, if you're watching the full 0:13:19.440 --> 0:13:21.400 f one season, you're not just getting those kind of 0:13:21.440 --> 0:13:24.199 distilled little nuggets, you're getting the week to week picture. 0:13:24.360 --> 0:13:27.880 So in that perspective, I think it's really interesting. But 0:13:28.280 --> 0:13:30.720 I love both for you know, both of the things 0:13:30.760 --> 0:13:31.319 that they offer. 0:13:31.640 --> 0:13:34.240 All Right, So let's get into full swing a little bit. 0:13:34.480 --> 0:13:38.240 It's eight episodes. When we release this podcast, they'll have 0:13:38.400 --> 0:13:42.840 been out for one day, twenty four hours about and so, 0:13:43.240 --> 0:13:46.480 you know, just assessing this season of TV as a whole, 0:13:46.880 --> 0:13:48.920 what do you think were some of the things that 0:13:49.040 --> 0:13:50.199 it did well? 0:13:50.800 --> 0:13:53.560 Yeah, I think it followed the Drive to Survive model 0:13:53.600 --> 0:13:57.200 in the same way that it really rather than focusing 0:13:57.240 --> 0:14:01.160 on results across the whole season, rather than focusing on 0:14:01.160 --> 0:14:04.360 on course performance, it really tried to let you know 0:14:04.440 --> 0:14:06.760 who some of these guys are from, you know, major 0:14:06.840 --> 0:14:09.520 stars that people are probably already familiar with, like Justin 0:14:09.559 --> 0:14:12.520 Thomas down to you know, the rookies, to Joel Damon, 0:14:12.679 --> 0:14:15.280 to some guys that maybe you know, if you hadn't 0:14:15.320 --> 0:14:18.600 watched this full PGA Tour season, you didn't really know about. 0:14:19.000 --> 0:14:22.880 So I think in that way, it succeeded. Yeah, there 0:14:22.880 --> 0:14:25.520 are other struggles, but I think that peer kind of 0:14:25.560 --> 0:14:29.840 distilled character creation, if you want to say it that way, 0:14:30.440 --> 0:14:32.440 was was really successful for me. 0:14:32.960 --> 0:14:36.320 I thought the series did do some good subtle character 0:14:36.400 --> 0:14:38.520 work in a lot of cases, and one thing that 0:14:38.560 --> 0:14:42.120 it was particularly good at was when a player was 0:14:42.280 --> 0:14:45.440 less than likable. The series did a good job of 0:14:45.480 --> 0:14:49.360 sort of conveying that without being obvious about it. And 0:14:49.400 --> 0:14:52.160 so I think the episode that focuses on Ian Poulter, 0:14:52.360 --> 0:14:57.200 for instance, it shows a lot of Ian Poulter's positive characteristics, 0:14:57.240 --> 0:15:01.760 you know, his great gift of guess, his ability to 0:15:01.920 --> 0:15:04.640 describe things and narrate things in a way that not 0:15:04.760 --> 0:15:08.200 many athletes have, his sense of humor, but it also 0:15:08.240 --> 0:15:12.360 portrays some of his brattiness and all that kind of stuff. 0:15:12.360 --> 0:15:15.640 His air of smugness and superiority, like it comes through 0:15:15.720 --> 0:15:19.040 really clearly in that show about him. And maybe that's 0:15:19.040 --> 0:15:22.360 inevitable just because he was being himself more or less, 0:15:22.880 --> 0:15:25.040 but I thought that the show did a pretty good 0:15:25.120 --> 0:15:28.280 job of showing that and in some other cases where 0:15:28.280 --> 0:15:31.520 the characters were like less likable than Tony fenow Right, 0:15:31.560 --> 0:15:34.160 who is who is maybe the nicest and most likable 0:15:34.160 --> 0:15:36.400 person on the PGA tour and comes across that way 0:15:36.440 --> 0:15:40.480 in the show. They're you know, not everybody is coming 0:15:40.520 --> 0:15:43.160 across that way in their episodes, And I thought that 0:15:43.360 --> 0:15:45.640 was good, right, that the show is not trying to 0:15:46.320 --> 0:15:50.280 promote these guys, that it's trying to show something about 0:15:50.320 --> 0:15:52.040 who they actually are. Yeah. 0:15:52.080 --> 0:15:53.960 I mean, if you don't have a little villainy, I 0:15:53.960 --> 0:15:56.480 think it all gets to be portrayed as kind of 0:15:56.520 --> 0:15:59.120 puff pc and like, oh, well, everyone on the PGA 0:15:59.240 --> 0:16:01.240 Tour is such a great guy. Why wouldn't you want 0:16:01.240 --> 0:16:03.280 to root for these people? And it just feels more 0:16:03.320 --> 0:16:05.720 fake if you don't have any of that edge in there. 0:16:06.600 --> 0:16:08.600 I feel like with most of the guys, they tried 0:16:08.640 --> 0:16:11.720 to give you at least a semi three D picture 0:16:11.760 --> 0:16:14.280 of who they are, you know, with how they interact 0:16:14.520 --> 0:16:17.320 with their families, how they interact with other professionals on 0:16:17.360 --> 0:16:20.160 the course, what is going through their minds if they're 0:16:20.200 --> 0:16:21.960 miked up on the course and you know, in the 0:16:21.960 --> 0:16:24.720 middle of their round. So I feel like they tried 0:16:24.760 --> 0:16:27.960 to give you, at least in most cases, a relatively 0:16:28.000 --> 0:16:30.680 holistic view of who these guys are. So yeah, that 0:16:30.960 --> 0:16:31.240 was fun. 0:16:31.280 --> 0:16:33.760 To see who do you think which player do you 0:16:33.800 --> 0:16:38.720 think benefits the most image wise from their appearance in 0:16:38.240 --> 0:16:40.000 this in this docu. 0:16:39.720 --> 0:16:42.480 Series, Oh, for sure, Joel Damon. And I think that's 0:16:42.840 --> 0:16:45.600 for a lot of reasons, Like I feel like, you know, 0:16:45.680 --> 0:16:47.480 I'm and I think a lot of people are just 0:16:47.600 --> 0:16:51.040 drawn to like the average everyday golfer who goes out 0:16:51.080 --> 0:16:53.880 there tries their best. Like it's just very relatable from 0:16:53.960 --> 0:16:56.720 that perspective about his game and the fact that he 0:16:56.960 --> 0:16:58.960 will just openly tell you, no, I don't think I 0:16:58.960 --> 0:17:00.520 have what it takes to be the best in the world. 0:17:00.600 --> 0:17:02.040 I don't think I have what it takes to be 0:17:02.080 --> 0:17:04.679 in a major or win a major, I guess. But 0:17:04.720 --> 0:17:08.680 I also found sort of his kind of mental struggles 0:17:08.800 --> 0:17:12.800 very fascinating and very illuminating and that air of vulnerability 0:17:12.840 --> 0:17:14.640 that I feel like can be really hard to get 0:17:14.640 --> 0:17:18.000 from professional athletes, and he was just so open and 0:17:18.040 --> 0:17:20.960 honest about Yeah, like I this is something that I 0:17:21.000 --> 0:17:22.480 have to work on. This is something that if I 0:17:22.520 --> 0:17:25.880 do ultimately want to win consistently on the PGA Tour 0:17:26.160 --> 0:17:29.720 be one of the top twenty some thirty some golfers, 0:17:29.760 --> 0:17:31.880 that this is something I need to overcome, and even 0:17:31.920 --> 0:17:34.600 his caddy's saying like, I don't know if Joel wants 0:17:34.680 --> 0:17:36.479 to be in the top thirty, Like, I don't think 0:17:36.520 --> 0:17:39.080 he wants that pressure. I just I always feel like 0:17:39.119 --> 0:17:42.320 with golf, something I love the most is getting inside 0:17:42.400 --> 0:17:45.640 golfers heads. And that episode, I felt like, along with 0:17:45.880 --> 0:17:47.560 one or two of the other ones, really let you 0:17:47.640 --> 0:17:51.440 see the inner machinations of how somebody goes out there 0:17:51.560 --> 0:17:53.119 and tries to do this every week. 0:17:53.480 --> 0:17:56.600 I agree Joel's episode was great, and his relationship with 0:17:56.680 --> 0:18:00.760 Gino Bonneley, his caddy, was really endearing, right, And you know, 0:18:00.840 --> 0:18:03.679 those guys are very open with each other. They say, 0:18:03.800 --> 0:18:06.600 I love you a lot, you know, and they you know, 0:18:06.800 --> 0:18:08.960 it is a kind of marriage, and they have a 0:18:09.000 --> 0:18:11.720 particular dynamic that is unique to the two of them. 0:18:12.080 --> 0:18:14.000 I also liked, you know, it's sort of a trope 0:18:14.040 --> 0:18:17.800 in these series to have the the workout scene. Right everybody, 0:18:17.800 --> 0:18:20.680 Oh yeah, everybody gets the personal trainer scene. It's in 0:18:21.080 --> 0:18:23.920 you know, Drive to Survive in full swing. Just about 0:18:23.920 --> 0:18:27.280 every episode we see Rory throwing a big medicine ball 0:18:27.320 --> 0:18:30.040 against a mirror. I don't know exactly how that works, actually, 0:18:30.119 --> 0:18:31.040 if you're supposed to be. 0:18:31.400 --> 0:18:33.600 I was a little concerning. Yeah, it was like, is 0:18:33.640 --> 0:18:36.720 that gonna break? That seems like a hazard. I yeah, 0:18:36.720 --> 0:18:38.080 it was very confused by that. 0:18:38.320 --> 0:18:40.400 It looked really cool, but it just didn't seem all 0:18:40.400 --> 0:18:44.639 that functional. But Joel Damon's personal trainer scene was a 0:18:44.720 --> 0:18:47.359 hilarious It was almost like a parody of one of 0:18:47.400 --> 0:18:50.560 these personal trainer scenes in a sports documentary because he 0:18:50.680 --> 0:18:53.200 was just like, you know, like cause like I don't 0:18:53.240 --> 0:18:55.760 want to do this, can you? Can you please give 0:18:55.760 --> 0:18:57.879 me some things that make me look like I'm not 0:18:57.960 --> 0:19:02.120 a complete goober and just sort of suffering and hating it. 0:19:02.200 --> 0:19:04.520 And I just loved it, like it was it was 0:19:04.560 --> 0:19:05.240 really real. 0:19:05.640 --> 0:19:08.040 Well, and his pregnant wife being in there with him, 0:19:08.080 --> 0:19:11.080 basically talking trash to him and saying that like she 0:19:11.320 --> 0:19:14.000 was doing a better job than he was, and she 0:19:14.200 --> 0:19:17.679 was right, she is, she wasn't lying. It was just 0:19:18.040 --> 0:19:19.600 really incredible television. 0:19:19.920 --> 0:19:22.680 Yeah, that was great. So another player that I think 0:19:22.960 --> 0:19:26.760 oddly will sort of benefit from his appearance in this series, 0:19:27.040 --> 0:19:29.560 you know, and oddly because he is not really the 0:19:29.720 --> 0:19:33.480 subject of one of these episodes, was Joking Neeman, who 0:19:33.600 --> 0:19:37.959 appears most in Meto Perera's episode or Meto Prera's segment 0:19:38.040 --> 0:19:41.080 of his episode, Woking Neeman has gone to live right 0:19:41.200 --> 0:19:45.040 he is now on the live Golf tour. The series 0:19:45.119 --> 0:19:47.560 doesn't really touch on that. It shows him as sort 0:19:47.600 --> 0:19:50.840 of Meto Pereira's friend, and you know, in a weird way, 0:19:50.920 --> 0:19:53.159 like he's not in the series very much. But it 0:19:53.280 --> 0:19:56.440 showed me something different about Woking Neeman, who I've sort 0:19:56.440 --> 0:19:59.320 of regarded as kind of a buttoned up, very organized, 0:20:00.040 --> 0:20:03.800 with drawn for the most part, very talented young golfer. 0:20:04.520 --> 0:20:07.720 But in his appearances in these scenes with Mito Pereira, 0:20:07.800 --> 0:20:09.520 he kind of like had a little bucket hat on 0:20:10.040 --> 0:20:12.000 and he was sort of being the funny guy, like 0:20:12.080 --> 0:20:15.080 the party guy, and he's really skinny and little. I 0:20:15.119 --> 0:20:17.439 got a new perception of him as the guy in 0:20:17.480 --> 0:20:20.240 the friend group who's sort of the jester, and that 0:20:20.359 --> 0:20:24.080 to me made him charming. It's very much a sidebar 0:20:24.160 --> 0:20:26.199