M
MIND / RAP REPORT
Golf Is Finally Ready for its Close-up
Behind the scenes of the PGA Tour’s new Netflix docuseries
By Dan Rapaport
T
HE IDEA CAME TOGETHER on the golf course, naturally. Chad Mumm, head of entertainment at Vox Media Studios and a self-described golf sicko, pitched his vision to Chris Wandell during a round at Shadow Creek in Las Vegas: a behind-the-scenes documentary following golfers throughout a season. This had been Mumm’s dream project for a half-decade, confined to the “one day” category until a confluence of fac14
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tors turned Wandell, the PGA Tour’s vice president for media business development, into an intrigued listener. Deep-pocketed streaming platforms had shown a willingness to invest in premium sports documentaries. A generation of 20-something stars had shown an eagerness to share their lives with fans on social media. Crucially, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan was intrigued by the benefits of presenting golf less filtered. Wandell knew
they needed a third party to do that, and through years of friendship he had grown to trust Mumm and Vox, so they presented the idea to Monahan. Monahan was in if the players were. That job fell to Mumm, who spent the next two years pitching guys on the idea of letting cameras follow them inside and outside the ropes for free. Rickie Fowler came aboard first, shrewdly sensing an opportunity to reach a new demographic and form deeper bonds with fans. Tony Finau and Cameron Champ signed on shortly after. So did Justin Thomas, a massive fan of HBO’s NFL docuseries “Hard Knocks.” “[Fans] might see a picture or video on Instagram of me hitting balls or me working out but maybe not through an entire clubfitting or a session with my
