Full Swing Review: Chef Woozy & Body by Waffle House
Plus, a simple solution to make TGL way better
The Cognizant Classic was a bit of a snoozefest, even if Jake Knapp’s slow-motion collapse from 59 on Thursday to out of the picture by the Bear Trap on Sunday was hard to look away from.
Joe Highsmith, bucket hat and all, stepped in and stole the victory in Florida with a pair of weekend 64s, which deserves definite kudos.
But we start this week back on Netflix…
The leading edge
By Nate
Remember when all of North America was frothing over Drive to Survive, the Formula 1 Netflix series?
Well, I wouldn’t say that golf’s version, Full Swing, has produced even close to the same fanatic energy. By no fault of the documentary, golf probably has less fans and definitely less interested fans.
Nonetheless, I tuned into Season 3 longing for unseen footage and hidden storylines brought to the forefront. While what I received was more like an auxiliary marketing product for the PGA Tour, it’s still worth watching over the new season of White Lotus.
If you want to hear people bitch and moan about the series, I’ll divert you to the sub-reddit I got lost in. And if you wan’t to hear about the storylines I think will pay the highest dividends, keep reading away. Oh, and also, hit the sub if you haven’t already.
The new season kicks off with some family-friendly Happy Gilmore 2 BTS, but the real star of the show was Neal Shipley, self-described as “Body by Waffle House” or “first team all-fridge.” Shipley was the low amateur at The Masters and shot an 80 on Saturday to get paired with Tiger Woods on Sunday at Augusta.
If Joel Dahmen, Max Homa and Harry Higgs converged into one person, it would be Shipley. And if I could string together a casual weekend foursome, he’d easily be one of them. While Shipley will be duking it out on the Korn Ferry Tour for a spot with the big boys, his personality is already marketable and ripe for stardom. Kudos to Full Swing for enabling his truest self.
Episodes 2 and 3 cover some of the biggest moments of the season in Rory’s heartbreak at Pinehurst and Scottie’s arrest.
If you don’t want to be reminded of how badly Rory collapsed at the US Open, I recommend skipping right through this one. Unfortunately for me, it was the first time I truly watched just how brutal it was. Scottie’s arrest, on the other hand, has become one of those horror stories that we can now laugh about. Hearing all the confessionals about players’ reactions was good TV.
Now, once you’ve stuck through the season to this point, you’re in too deep and have ended up at one of my favourite episodes featuring Min Woo Lee, a.k.a Chef Woozy. This one follows Woozy’s push to qualify for the Australian team at the Olympics. The most intriguing part of Min Woo is that he encapsulates Gen Z to a T, openly admitting his struggle to balance hard work and having fun.
Sitting in the shadow of his LPGA superstar sister, Minjee Lee, Woozy’s fame is viewed predominantly through the lens of social media. The coolest part of this episode is that we got to see Min Woo figure out his life as a sous chef, and now we get to follow his journey to becoming an established talent and, possibly one day, chef de cuisine.
A lot of Season 3 felt like a well-produced recap of the year, rather than an in-depth documentation of the biggest storylines. But where it lacked in showcasing Xander Schauffele and Bryson DeChambeau, it effectively brought two young guns to the forefront.
I’m excited to watch Shipley and Min Woo continue to share their personalities while becoming studs on tour and potentially new faces of the league.
The false front
By Myles
As we barrel through the final week of the TGL regular season and toward the playoffs, I feel OK saying this strange simulator golf league has been a success. The product is solid, some players have been entertaining, and the new hammer rules worked.
There is just one thing: the entire TGL broadcast needs an overhaul. Every time I hear the word hammer now, whether as related to housework or curling, all that comes to mind is ESPN play-by-play announcer Matt Barrie yelling “Hammer. THROWN.” It’s awful.
Barrie seems like a nice enough guy, and sideline reporter Marty Smith might appeal to certain people who aren’t me, but the whole thing is giving ESPN 8: The Ocho. And that’s a bold strategy, Cotton.
I certainly don’t think the league should overcorrect and get super serious. That would be a disaster. But also, let’s get some people in who actually know golf. Smylie Kaufman as a replacement for Smith seems like a natural fit as someone who knows the players and can bring out their personalities without sounding like a doofus. SVP would be a dream replacement for Barrie. And let’s get in-stadium host Roger Steele more involved on the TV side while we’re at it.
TGL is a made-for-TV product, after all. And right now, the biggest roadblack to its watchability is the broadcast itself.
Links roundup
From biker gang to prison to The Open — what a journey for New Zealand’s Ryan Peake
Two holes-in-one in the same round? That’s what Dale Whitnell pulled off at the South African Open
Here’s Billy Horschel fighting a gator with his 60 degree … in the middle of a tournament
Swing thoughts
By Nate
Don’t be a hero. Take a drop.
On the 11th hole of the Cognizant Classic, leader Jake Knapp’s approach shot got submerged in gator-filled water green-side. His two options were to hack it out onto the green or take a drop about 100 yards back in the fairway.
His ego got the best of him, he tried the hacking method and after three wild chops, Knapp made a triple-bogey and effectively threw the tournament away.
In real time, I was screaming at the TV to just take your medicine and get out of there with a bogey, or double at worst — stay within striking distance to make a move on the remaining seven holes. But time moves fast when you’re in that situation, and Knapp thought his best chance at winning was to make a heroic up-and-down.
So here’s the reasonable takeaway → if the pro who shot a 59 three days earlier can’t muscle his way out of a mess, we can’t either. Next time you’re in deep shit, take a favourable drop and get out of there unscathed.
Or just say fuck it and have some fun.