PGA Tour Sees Big Increase In Viewing Figures Thanks To Full Swing Show

The Netflix docu-series Full Swing has had a direct impact on an increase in viewing figures for PGA Tour events and engagement in golf in general

Screenshots of the new Netflix golf documentary Full Swing
(Image credit: Netflix)
Paul Higham
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The PGA Tour has seen an immediate surge in viewers following the Netflix docu-series Full Swing in February.

According to Nielsen Media Research Analysis released by the PGA Tour, the arrival of Full Swing had a direct impact on viewing figures for their tournaments for the rest of the season.

In terms of both creating regular viewers and bringing new viewers to PGA Tour events on TV, Full Swing seems to have been a huge success in driving numbers for Jay Monahan.

Nielsen research says that in the USA, 63% of viewers of Full Swing then went on to watch live coverage from the PGA Tour in the two months after its release.

Additionally, 11% of Full Swing viewers had not watched the PGA Tour in the six months prior to the Netflix release, but then tuned in to watch the live golf afterwards.

And it gets better reading for the PGA Tour thanks to further research by Xcelerant Omnibus, which showed a big increase in engagement with golf after people watched Full Swing. 

It included 42% of Full Swing viewers watching more golf on TV, 36% spending more time on social media on golf content and 27% spending more time reading pro golf news after seeing the Netflix show.

People did question whether giving golf the Netflix treatment would work as well as it did in other sports - notably with Formula One's Drive To Survive.

But they chose perhaps the most fractious year in golf's history to go behind the scenes as the Saudi billions rolled in to create LIV Golf and splinter the sport in half - with the fallout continuing to this day.

And that means that series two of Full Swing, which Netflix have confirmed is already underway, should also be must-win TV for golf fans and non-fans alike.

Paul Higham
Paul Higham
Contributor

Paul Higham is a sports journalist with over 20 years of experience in covering most major sporting events for both Sky Sports and BBC Sport. He is currently freelance and covers the golf majors on the BBC Sport website.  Highlights over the years include covering that epic Monday finish in the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor and watching Rory McIlroy produce one of the most dominant Major wins at the 2011 US Open at Congressional. He also writes betting previews and still feels strangely proud of backing Danny Willett when he won the Masters in 2016 - Willett also praised his putting stroke during a media event before the Open at Hoylake. Favourite interviews he's conducted have been with McIlroy, Paul McGinley, Thomas Bjorn, Rickie Fowler and the enigma that is Victor Dubuisson. A big fan of watching any golf from any tour, sadly he spends more time writing about golf than playing these days with two young children, and as a big fair weather golfer claims playing in shorts is worth at least five shots. Being from Liverpool he loves the likes of Hoylake, Birkdale and the stretch of tracks along England's Golf Coast, but would say his favourite courses played are Kingsbarns and Portrush. 

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