When the new season trailer of the Full Swing series debuted, it sent shockwaves throughout the golf community. The preview, promising major events and intimate golfer insights, left fans salivating for more. But for LIV Golf, the excitement was noticeably absent. The reason? A conspicuous lack of participation from high-profile golfers, including LIV’s own Bryson DeChambeau, the YouTube sensation and US Open winner who features in the trailer.
Fans’ excitement was tempered by clarifications from Josh Carpenter, who revealed on an X post that DeChambeau’s team had declined sit-down interviews for the show. However, the golfer’s crucial moments from his 2024 season are set to be featured in the third season of Full Swing.
Yet, the lack of LIV’s involvement in the series extends beyond the absence of DeChambeau. In a revealing conversation on the Course Record Show podcast, Chad Mumm, the Executive Director of Full Swing, unveiled why the series is steering clear of featuring LIV events in its third season.
Reflecting on the show’s previous two successful seasons, Mumm highlighted a significant change in audience sentiment. According to him, by the time the second season aired, golf fans had grown weary of the LIV narrative. This change coincided with the initiation of merger deal talks on June 6th, 2023, between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, and the PIF, which failed to make any significant progress in over a year.
Despite a recent meeting at the White House involving Jay Monahan, Adam Scott, Donald Trump, and Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the golf world remains uncertain about the deal’s finalization. As a result, Mumm emphasized that Full Swing aims to distance itself from the current narrative surrounding professional golfers and focus instead on their lives away from the course.
The shift in focus is largely influenced by audience engagement trends observed during the first two seasons. The series’ first season, which attracted 58.1 million views, demonstrated that viewers were more interested in the golfers’ personal lives and interactions than tournament coverage. As a result, the third season will prioritize coverage of close family members and events, similar to the first season.
However, the absence of high-profile golfers from the series might prove to be a stumbling block in achieving previous levels of success. Notably missing from the series is world number two golfer Xander Schauffele, the winner of the 2024 PGA Championship and the Open Championship. Despite efforts, the Full Swing team was unsuccessful in persuading Schauffele to participate in the season.
The lack of drama from LIV Golf and the limited coverage of significant events like the Ryder Cup could potentially affect the series’ performance. The question remains whether the third season of Full Swing can replicate the magic of the first two seasons. As fans eagerly wait, the answer will soon be revealed.