Last month an A-list of PGA Tour stars, including four of the world’s top-seven players, was officially confirmed to be part of a Netflix golf series similar to that of Formula 1: Drive to Survive.
On Wednesday, two producers for the new series, Chad Mumm and Paul Martin, joined the No Laying Up podcast to speak with host Chris Solomon about what viewers should expect from the series and how it’s similar (and different) compared to the incredibly popular Drive to Survive.
“We knew we couldn’t make a show about who won every race, because that just becomes a highlight show and everyone knows about it,” said Martin, also an executive producer for Drive to Survive. “So we had to do something different and point the cameras somewhere else. The format of that show really evolved out of being on the ground and being in that world, and I think this show will be the same.”
“The hardcore golf fan is probably going to be pretty cynical about this endeavor, but I think they’ll love it,” added Martin. “We want to create this kind of Marvel superhero universe where they all exist in this ecosystem and over the course of an episode Spiderman will come to the fore, or Iron Man will come to the fore but you still see Hulk in the background. Who wins the tournament is largely irrelevant to our storytelling.”
Martin explained how Formula 1 knew it needed to get to a younger, “sexier audience” with Drive to Survive, and judging by the players named for the series, the PGA Tour realized the same. Confirmed players include (alphabetically): Abraham Ancer, Daniel Berger, Cameron Champ, Joel Dahmen, Tony Finau, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Tommy Fleetwood, Rickie Fowler, Sergio Garcia, Harry Higgs, Max Homa, Viktor Hovland, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Collin Morikawa, Kevin Na, Mito Pereira, Ian Poulter, Xander Schauffele, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, and Bubba Watson.
“Our end goal is to do Drive to Survive for golf, but that doesn’t mean that we’re doing to do everything we do in Formula One and drop it on to a golf course,” said Martin.
The Tour wasn’t involved in getting players signed on for the documentary, they left that to the producers. So in 2019, Mumm went to the Masters at Augusta National and brought a list of player agents and their pictures to help make his introductions a bit easier. Fowler was the first player on board, with Thomas soon to follow. Then it was Champ and Finau.
“We’ve gotten so much already that, just the fan in me is like, ‘Oh my God, this is better than I expected right out of the gate,’” said Mumm, who added he was surprised how ready the players were to start the process.
With the players, tours, and major tournaments – even the Masters – all involved, this docuseries may just be the glimpse into the world of professional golf that fans have been waiting for.