SCOTTSDALE, Arizona — From small-town Clarkson on the Washington-Idaho border, to pro golf stardom, Joel Dahmen and his best friend, Geno Bonnalie, are the most-loved golfer and caddie team on the Netflix docuseries, "Full Swing." In fact, they’ve been described as “one of golf’s most entertaining duos.”
“Well, I think it’s only that way because most golfers are boring,” said Dahmen. “The bar is low on the PGA Tour, for sure, for having fun.”
A self-described ‘middle-of-the-road’ player, the former University of Washington golfer has won just one tournament since joining the PGA in 2016. But he is a fan favorite, and his favorite fan is his caddie, Bonnalie.
“We’ve been close since we were little, and I’ve always had this huge admiration and respect and jealousy toward Joel. And I wanted to be him. Be him and beat him, neither of which, unfortunately, I can do,” Bonnalie said.
“How we view the world is very similar with how we grew up, I would say,” Dahmen said.
“We’ve always just had a great relationship,” Bonnalie said. “And had fun and enjoyed things off of the golf course.”
Season One of "Full Swing" put Dahmen and Bonnalie’s relationship in the spotlight.
“Where we grew up, having this dream of making it anywhere out of the valley was, like, kind of a pipe dream. I mean, some people make it to Spokane, I guess,” Dahmen said.
The distractions of newfound fame are on display in Season Two.
“Being famous is the worst thing in my life,” Dahmen says in one scene of the series.
Joel struggles with his performance on the links. And the golf world itself splinters, as the new LIV Golf tour challenges - or maybe merges with - the PGA, with players caught in the confusion.
“You can’t escape the chat about the LIV or the PIF or whatever it is, and the merger, or it’s not ‘mergering,’” Dahmen said. “Who knows what’s going on these days. In the end, like, we’re just showing up to play golf.”
Just two best friends, sharing their joy for the game they love. And for each other.
Season Two of "Full Swing" is now streaming on Netflix.
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