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Full Swing season 3 details: Executive producer Chad Mumm discusses

Published

1 year ago

Feb 22, 2025

In the latest episode of Not Another Golf Show, Ben sat down with Chad Mumm, executive producer of Full Swing, to discuss what’s ahead in season three, which debuts February 25 Netflix. While you can listen to the full episode here, we wanted to consider the more textually inclined as well.

Check out a portion of their conversation below, lightly edited for clarity.

Ben: So you mentioned the personalities, the sort of characters. Who are we gonna see here this year?

Chad: I think the big breakout stars…Neal Shipley in episode one is going to really stand out to people. We sort of internally thought of Neal as the closest to like season one Joel Dahmen as a character and in some ways…even more relatable because he’s just like a college kid. Right? And you know, who among us like wouldn’t fantasize about being a college kid who ends up paired with Tiger on Sunday at the Masters? And Neal is just a very honest and funny person in general. And he’s just an interesting character. You go from his college dorm with his five roommates, basically to, you know, Butler Cabin, in like a couple of weeks. Pretty cool. I really think Neal going to be a breakout star.

Obviously Ludvig…and Scottie are sort of the other two big characters in season, in episode one of season three. Ludvig makes us look really smart because, obviously, just winning at the Genesis…sort of like the culmination of the storyline that we really start in that episode…this kid is for real. He’s also easy to look at. So hopefully our fans of easy-to-look-at people will find…

Ben: Yeah, if you don’t mind handsome Europeans…

Chad: …yeah, exactly. You’ll find something to like there. Then the other ones that stand out to me, we finally got to really do a caddie episode that we’ve been sort of talking about for a couple of years and really focused on Carl Smith and Ted Scott. Carl, Sahith Theegala’s caddie, and Ted was Bubba’s caddie and now Scottie’s and, you know, just a different look at pro golf at a different side of it that has like just as real stakes for everybody involved. I’m really proud of that episode. That’s episode four.

I think the Gary Woodland story is one that I’m very proud of. Obviously, we had amazing access to Gary. He was very open to kind of let us film with him throughout his treatment for his brain tumor. That’s just so much bigger than golf. It’s health and fatherhood, and where you sit, and looking at the meaning of life. I think when our show does stuff like that, it’s so compelling.

And then, kind of culminating with the Presidents Cup really being built around actually the assistant captain, Camilo Villegas and his personal tragedy and his wife’s personal tragedy and how the sort of international golf community rallied around them in their darkest moment…It’s just, if you’re a parent it will make you cry, but also it’s pretty inspirational. So, you know, I think that we really kind of nailed that mix. There’s stuff in there that you’ve never seen before. We had sort of unprecedented access to the Masters this year. We’ve always had good access at the Masters, but this year, they really opened the doors and gave us real access in a way that we even didn’t have before. So I think, for hardcore fans, seeing the Masters from the inside, like you see in this season, I think is really exciting.

We get a point of view on the Scottie arrest that no one’s really had before. There’s a lot of footage in there that people haven’t seen, and I think that will be exciting and kind of, if anything, make you appreciate that round that Scottie shot on that day even more because you could just hear how scared he was in the moment and how uncomfortable it all was and how out of control it felt. And then obviously, Rory continues to be a great interview as always…and to have like the Bryson storyline and them sort of coming to blows at Pinehurst…and just his, his emotional reaction to that kind of heartbreak in a way that only Rory can, you know, he just does such a great job of like baring his soul every, every season. It blows me away just how good of an interview Rory is…

Then we got our first LPGA player in the show with Minjee Lee and her and her brother trying to make the Australian Olympic team together. So, there’s really something for everybody this season. And I think it’s sort of a culmination of having done it twice before…really knowing where to pick our spots and which things work and which don’t. We’re still throwing out, you know, hundreds of hours, by the way, but I’m super proud of this season. I think it really does get back to the tone of season one, which had such a broad appeal. And I think that’s what our hope is kind of to nail this season and hopefully audiences agree.

Ben: What the heck is the process like? You’re sending cameras, multiple camera crews to multiple locations. And again, you’re planning for some things and then some things are reactionary. Like, how do you manage this? Then if you want to tie it into season three, were there any times where you really thought you would get something somewhere and didn’t, versus having to scramble to get resources somewhere for something else that turned out to be incredible? I mean, just, it seems like such a unique process…

Chad: The way we staff the show, it’s actually a lot smaller team than I think people will realize. We have these sort of four field teams that are typically made up of like a shooter, director, an audio person, an associate producer, and then basically a producer. And these are the four that are kind of like our SWAT teams. And they’ll bounce around, but for the most part, they kind of own a group of characters.

So, one group will have Neil, and the other group will have the other amateurs that we were following that didn’t make it in the show. And someone’s got Scottie…and the benefit of golf for the most part for our show is the times where we’re getting access is kind of the in-between moments. Like, in the locker room before or after a round or, you know, riding into the golf course or riding home or a home visit. But when they go out and play, obviously we can move on because we have access to all that broadcast footage. So…we don’t really shoot a lot of golf. If we are on the golf course, it’s typically like an off day or a practice round or something, or we’re following a family member who’s miked up. And so we’re not even really watching the golf. We’re watching them watch the golf…but that actually enables us cover a lot of ground because of the staggered nature of the way that tee times work. It’s like, you shoot Scottie in the locker room, and then you go and you leave and then you come back 10 minutes later to get Neil, and then you leave and then, oh, Ludvig’s coming in from his round…

So you can’t actually cover a lot of ground. I think the best break we had this year was we had a crew at Valhalla on Friday morning, like at 5 a.m. because some of our cast had early tee times. And so we were there before dawn in the locker room, kind of waiting for, I think, for Rory to show up. And so we got like a kind of front-row seat to the Scottie news as it broke with players, which was really interesting. They were all just as shocked as we all were that it was of anybody, Scottie, and people were trying to figure out what was going on. So that was just another one of those moments where we just were lucky that we had cameras there that day. I mean, we could have, the day before we didn’t have cameras there that early. So we got lucky, you know, and I think some of it’s good planning. Some of it’s now kind of knowing, you know, what’s usable. I mean, season one, we shot a ton of golf shots that we never used because you could go follow a player for five hours during their round and like none of that stuff makes it in. So really we’re focusing on the moments where there’s like drama or tension and the sort of, or the family reacting to stuff. And so we’ve just gotten tighter about it.

The one thing I did want to mention, I think the other really fun part about season three is it’s a real behind-the-scenes look at Happy Gilmore 2, which we had cameras rolling throughout the filming of Happy Gilmore. I was a co-producer on that movie. I helped them bring a bunch of pro golfers to make cameos in the film. We had almost 30 current players and past players kind of make appearances in the movie — and not just like cameos. I mean…a bunch of lines and, you know, in wardrobe and doing stunts. I mean, it’s ridiculous. We had the Full Swing cameras rolling the whole time. And so the first kind of five minutes of the show or 10 minutes of the show is really behind the scenes of Happy Gilmore 2…I know the guys had a blast doing and it’s fun to be able to kind of tie those two things together.

Listen to the full interview below, beginning around the 30-minute mark.

GolfWRX · Not Another Golf Show: TGL, Rory, and Full Swing Season 3 (Chad Mumm interview)

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5 Things we Learned: Friday at the U.S. Women’s Open

Published

23 hours ago

Jun 6, 2026

Ronald Montesano

Dumbo flies again! There is certainly a half-generation of golf fans without the slightest idea of how well In-gee Chun, aka Dumbo, can golf her ball. The Korean was the It Girl from 2015 to 2018. She won three LPGA events, with two being major championships. She returned to Korea to cure her homesickness, but made the occasional foray back to the Americas. In 2022, she captured a fourth LPGA title and, guess what? It was a third, unique major title.

The halfway cut line was set at four over par. Those at plus-five and beyond had their stay in Tinseltown cut short, at least when it comes to working rounds of golf. Among the 87 who fell on the high side of the cut line, Lydia Ko stood out as the biggest name. Others given a two-day furlough were Lilia Vu, Megha Ganne, Chizzy Iwai, and Leona Maguire. Making the cut on the number are Lottie Woad, Celine Boutier, Mao Saigo, and amateur Asterisk Talley. If you follow world football, imagine the feeling of relegation on a weekly basis. That’s the 36-hole cut in professional golf.

We learned five things on Friday at Riviera Country Club, and we’d love to share them with you. Find a comfy place and brighten the screen on your device. It’s time for Five Things We Learned on day two at the US Women’s Open.

Part One: the biggest movers

A golfer’s feel appears or slips away overnight. Although Saturday is known collectively as Moving Day, it doesn’t come with as sudden and final a feeling as Friday. Move the wrong way on Friday and you’re down the road. Improve in the proper direction and you save your week. Both Mao Saigo and Rio Takeda opened with plus-five rounds of 76, then signed for 70 on day two, and made the cut on the number.

Moving the other way were Stephanie Kyriacou (70-78) and Ina Yoon (68-79). Their respective eight- and eleven-shot declines propelled them from title contention to tournament departure. Minjee Lee and Minji Kang (seven shots higher) along with Rose Zhang (five shots) made the cut, but saw their opportunity for victory take a serious body shot.

Part Two: the leaders

Allison Lee and Ruoning Yin took the conservative path to the 36-hole medal. Lee posted four birdies and a bogey for a total of 68 on day two. Yin had two birdies and sixteen pars for her second consecutive card of 69. Their 138 places them one shot clear of the aforementioned Dumbo Chun, who followed an opening 71 with 68. First-round leader Jennifer Kupcho added seven shots to her total, from an opening-day 66 to a follow-up 73, yet remained within the inner circle of leaders at -3, tied with Chun and four others. Four more golfers sit at minus-two, two shots behind the top duo. An even dozen of golfers sits within two shots of the lead.

The day’s biggest move of gravitas came from Nelly Korda. After a disappointing 73 on Thursday, the world number one improved six shots, thanks to a five-birdie round of 67. Korda slid inside the top ten with her recovery, and certainly reclaimed her place as most frightening chaser at Riviera. No one is likely to shoot in the low 60s at Riviera, but Korda just might post a mid-sixties score on Saturday, to seize the lead on Sunday morning.

Part Three: Ams verse Champs

Five current amateur golfers were among the 68 golfers to reach the weekend. Kiara Romero posted the best non-pro score on Friday, a one-under 70, to move from plus-two to plus-one figures. She is joined there by Aphrodite Deng, who reversed those numbers for her two rounds. Maria Jose Marin (143), Farah O’Keefe (145), and Asteriks Talley (146) joined the #WeDidIt brigade to earn a spot for the final two rounds.

Six former US Open champions, led by In-gee Chun(2015), also punched a ticket for round three. Allison Corpuz (2023), Maja Stark (2025), Ariya Jutanugarn (2018), A Lim Kim (2020), and Minjee Lee (2022) preserved their dream of a second US Open trophy for the mantle. Nineteen amateurs failed to earn a post for the final 36-holes, while five former champions joined them on the sidelines. Yuka Saso, twice a winner in this event in the past half-decade, missed the cut by five shots. 24 amateurs against eleven former titleists suggests that it is easier for the young to qualify, but harder for them to find success.

Part Four: the golf course

Scoring went up by .6 shots per player, from round one to round two. Statistically speaking, it became harder to make the cut as the day wore on. Birdies dropped by 50, while pars remained constant. Both bogeys and doubles increased markedly. The first and the sixth holes played under par on the front nine, while the second and ninth were nearly tied for most difficult traces on the road to the turn.

Coming home, holes ten, twelve, fifteen, and eighteen played as an impregnable quadrilateral. Odds are, you gave a shot back on each of them. Despite number seventeen’s accessibility for birdie, no one got out of the back nine alive. If conditions continue toward the extreme, Riviera will extract a pound of flesh from the contenders over the weekend.

Part Five: what to expect

From my vantage point, the tee times to watch are the 4:55 EST and the 5:05 slots. Nelly Korda pegs her ball in the sixth-last pairing with Sora Kamiya. The little-known Kamiya will get an up close and personal look at the crowds that follow the best in the world. Korda will need to ignore Kamiya’s expected struggles and golf her own ball. Ten minutes later, Lauren Coughlin begins play with Casandra Alexander at her side. It’s a similar situation, with the experienced Coughlin alongside an unseasoned partner.

Both Sei Yong Kim and Gaby Lopez have turned in strong performances, and their 5:15 pairing might produce some explosive numbers. From back in the pack, the tasty duo of Brooke Henderson and Jeeno Thitikul at 4:20, might see double digits in birdies. The unexpected at unknown Riviera is likely, so your guess is as good as mine.

News

5 Things we Learned: Thursday at the U.S.. Women’s Open

Published

2 days ago

Jun 5, 2026

Ronald Montesano

Gone are the days when the U.S. Women’s Open was held at Scenic Hills or Churchill Valley. Fine courses that they are (or were, as Churchill Valley went bankrupt a decade ago) there is something to be said for the venue. Not all Women’s Open playings need to take place on Men’s Open venues, but some should. This week in Los Angeles, the Women’s Open visits Riviera Country Club for the first time. Down the road, we will visit Inverness, Oakmont, Interlachen, Oak Hill, Chicago Golf, and Merion. That is quite the murderer’s row (1927 Yankees reference) of golf clubs.

What can we expect from the 2026 tournament? Greatness and uncertainty. Unlike the PGA Tour, which visits Riviera each February, the LPGA does not, so the women will not have nearly the body of work over the George C. Thomas layout. Maybe that’s a good thing. Maybe they’ll play #10 smarter than the men do. Maybe they’ll figure some things out that their male counterparts can not. For today, we’ll try to find five things to learn, and share them with you.

First, this ain’t your momma’s U.S. Open course

How do we know? Well, so far, only one previous champion currently sits inside the top thirty. That would be Minjee Lee, the 2022 winner at Southern (NC) Pines. Lee made par on her first nine holes, the inward side at Riviera. She dropped birdie putts on the first and ninth holes (ten and eighteen for her day) and tallied another seven pars, for 69. She sits three shots off Jennifer Kupcho’s opening 66. Don’t worry about Kupcho; we’ll get to her. After Lee, defending champion Maja Stark ranks T30 at even par, joined by three other, former winners.

What Minjee did, is the sort of thing that wins U.S. Open titles. She guided her ship safely past swells, and made a move when the waters calmed. The fewer the bogeys, the more likely Minjee figures in the outcome on Sunday evening in Pacific Palisades. Off the tee, Lee was unmatched. She hit 14 of 14 fairways. Her iron play was a bit loose in comparison. She putted for birdie on 12 of 18 holes, which meant that her recovery short game was on point. Lee was ten yards longer on measured driving holes than the field average, and was below the field average (a good thing) in putting.

Second, the amateurs beat a loud drum

Three of the world’s top amateur golfer posted 70, placing them four off the lead, in a tie for 14th place. Canada’s Aphrodite Deng, Spain’s Paula Francisco Llaño, and Colombia’s Maria José Marin, showed the professional world that their game is strong. Both Deng and Francisco Llaño collected five birdies on the day. Should they match that output on day two, and minimize the foozles, they’ll be the topic of conversation on Saturday morning. Marin, the 2026 Augusta National Women’s Amateur champion and an NCAA team semifinalist last week, played a game similar to Minjee Lee: few mistakes and few taken risks.

The last amateur to post the low medal score for 72 holes was Jenny Chuasiriporn in 1998. She lost a playoff to Se Ri Pak, who matched her plus-six effort at Blackwolf Run. The last amateur to win the U.S. Women’s Open was Catherine Lacoste in 1967. The amateurs are stronger than they’ve ever been, but the professionals have not allowed them to close the gap. A victory by one of the college set would be a cannon shot heard round the world. Could it happen? Absolutely. Is it likely? Not at all.

Third, let’s talk Kupcho

Jennifer Kupcho won the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur. She won three times on tour in 2022, including the Chevron, a major title. She won a fourth event in 2025, but has not established the winning credentials projected on her after 2022’s marvelous coming-out.

Kupcho hails from Colorado, and spent four years in the Carolina Piedmont, at Wake Forest Universtiy. Neither of those locales cries out I’ll be at home at Riviera, but here we are, after a seven-birdie performance. Kupcho posted birdie on each of her first three holes, and added four more (against two bogeys) to assume a one-shot advantage over Korea’s Sei Young Kim.

Kupcho drove the ball decently, approached moderately well, but putted lights out on Thursday. Her 26 putts were tied for best in show on day one. There might just be something about the putting surfaces at Riviera that aligns with Kupcho’s vibe. If that is the case, just get the ball on the green, anywhere, and let the flatstick do the lifting.

Fourth, how young is Sei Young?

Sei (pronounced “So”) Young Kim won a dozen times from 2015 to 2020. She took time off from winning until 2025, shen she captured a thirteenth LPGA title. Like Kupcho, Kim has hardware from one major event, the 2020 Women’s PGA Championship. How to explain the five years away from victory? No idea. When Sei Young was in contention during the prime of her career, the outcome was a foregone conclusion.

What to expect over the next three days at Riviera? Anyone’s guess. It might be the 2015-2020 Sei Young, or it could be the 2021-2025 version. Kim began her day with birdies at 10 and 11, then settled into a stretch of pars before her solitary bogey at the 4th (her 13th) hole. Kim regained her composure and reeled in three birdies to close the front nine. Her four-under performance trails Kupcho alone, and there is a real chance that Sei Young will produce a second score in the 60s and take a bit of control of the tournament.

Fifth, we’re giddy for Gaby

Although I cannot place my finger on why, it seems that each year, Gaby Lopez pops up on the U.S. Open leaderboard. She hasn’t figure out how to remain in contention, but here we are, in 2026, and Lopez is once again in the mix. The three-time champion on the LPGA circuit had a stunning first nine holes, turning in minus-five. She reached six deep at her tenth hole, but then gave three shots back coming home. Which Gaby will show up on Friday, and for how long? If back-nine Gaby can somehow channel front-nine Gaby, all outcomes are within reach. If the loose play continues, Lopez’ wiki page will add one more T41 to her majors column.

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Photos from the 2026 U.S. Women’s Open

Published

4 days ago

Jun 3, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

GolfWRX Tour Photographer made the trip from the Memorial Tournament across the country to the U.S. Women’s Open at Riviera. Check out links to all the photos below!

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