Full Swing Thoughts Episode 2: Basketcase Brooks and Soaring Scottie

The Fried Egg has launched a separate podcast feed to cover the debut season of the Netflix golf show. Andy Johnson, Joseph LaMagna, and Brendan Porath will recap and review each episode, sharing insights on what they learned about the tours and their stars, what they found amusing, what worked, and what flopped. They will attempt to bring their usual enthusiasm, skepticism, and humor as they discuss the unveiling of this highly anticipated new show.

You can subscribe to the Full Swing Thoughts podcast on iTunes, Spotify, and all other major podcast platforms. Here, we’ll try to give you a quick overview of each episode before you jump into the larger discussion and critique on the podcast.

Episode 1 Review

Episode 2 Synopsis:

Continuing the device from the debut episode, the second episode tackles two primary characters in the pro game. But unlike the first one focusing on two close friends, episode two is an expertly told portrayal of two players at dramatically different moments in their career.

Brooks Koepka and Scottie Scheffler are the two characters of episode two, with the primary scenes at the 2022 Phoenix Open, site of a late Koepka falter and Scheffler’s first Tour win, Koepka’s MC and Scheffler’s win at the Masters, and their two hometowns in Jupiter and Dallas.

This is a rare view into the Koepka psyche, who, between some hackneyed cliches about macho-competitiveness, makes himself quite vulnerable. He’s honest about his struggles to keep up with the younger guys, the mental anguish clouding his mind, and the fears that he could be on the wrong side of a career downturn. His then-fiancee now-wife Jena plays a significant part in the episode, commenting about the uncertain future and chattering away as Brooks zones out consumed with his swing issues.

There is a pitch-perfect transition from the Koepka home, with both poolside in an opulent scene but narrated by dejected quotes, to the Schefflers getting coffee, care-free and grinning throughout the simple errand. At one point, Koepka directly cites Scheffler, who is in the middle of his ascent, as having a free and clear mind, one that he aspires to return to but seems somewhat lost on how or where to start. Scheffler says he’s never really been an “expectations guy,” while Koepka talks about the “life-and-death” “addiction” of winning and trying to snap out of it before it’s too late.

It’s a powerful episode and arguably the best one of the season. There could have been more on Koepka’s decision to bolt to LIV, and his process to get there. It was reportedly slated to be the season premiere but Netflix executives were concerned that the Koepka profile was too much of a bummer to lead the show in a debut. For the golf fan though, it would have been a stronger opener and more chronologically sensible.

Favorite Quote(s):

“This fucking thing can consume you. I can’t turn it off.” There are many quotes to choose from in this episode. This is one of a full album of similar quotes on the mental anguish of Koepka, who appears to care wayyyy more about his golf and results than he’s put on in the past, when he’s suggested that non-major events were simply warm-ups or closer to practice. He even calls the Phoenix Open “almost a real sport” at one point, which Joseph analyzes more in-depth in the podcast.

Favorite Moment:

Again, hard to isolate just one from this episode but that transition of Jena and Brooks in their swimsuits during a bunch of bummer quotes to the giggly Schefflers just getting coffee sums up the entire 50 minutes.
For a full account and critique, listen to Full Swing Thoughts on…

YouTube

iTunes

Spotify