Get to know Joel Dahmen: Netflix’s ‘Full Swing’ fan favorite from seasons 1 and 2

Netflix’s first ‘Full Swing’ docuseries was a hit. It was so mainly because it allowed people to see another side of golf that many are not privy to. For the second season, which released on March 6, 2024, the Netflix team brought back fan favorite Joel Dahmen.

The giant streaming service shared the limelight with Dahmen, who’s only won one PGA tour event and has been struggling while trying to handle his new found fame and being a dad. His golfing career is less impressive compared to other professional golf players, but Joel is just a very liked guy around the golf scene. Joel is still just your average guy who is really good at golf, but, like the rest of us, he struggles with the game and making a living while competing against players like McIlroy, Scheffler, Morikawa and Homa, just to name a few.

Who is Joel Dahmen? And why did Netflix dedicate one episode to him, again?

Joel, as mentioned by his fellow professional golfers, is the guy that everyone likes; he is not your average golfer. Dahmen grew up in Washington, where he won two state titles and a scholarship to the University of Washington.

Unfortunately, Joel’s mom got struck with cancer, and she lost her life to it, an event that altered his life. He began drinking and lashing out; after one year at WU, the young star flunked out of school after partying too much. He turned his attention to the PGA CANADA tour, where he turned pro. As luck would have it, Joel was diagnosed with testicular cancer when things seemed to be going okay.

“I think myself having cancer probably changed my life for the better. To not take life for granted, try your best, and do everything right. Maybe a blessing in disguise,” Dahmen said after beating the disease.

Perhaps no one believed in Joel more than his childhood buddy Geno, who lived nearby. His caddie is a couple of years older than Joel and the Washington native tells the story of how Geno would come and pick him up to play some golf when they were young. When they both graduated, Dahmen went to WU while Geno became a golf scout.

In Season 1 of ‘Full Swing’ Bonnalie explains how good his friend was, he wrote a letter asking him to let him be his caddie. A letter that Joel reads often and can’t stop from crying. He recounts how he could only pay his buddy $87 bucks in the first two years of pro status. Luck would come, and Joel could get a tour win and $450,000, a lifeline for him and his buddy. Now they joke about how if Joel can get a couple of wins, he can make a million dollars in three days.

For this pro golfer, there is no way he will be in the top 10, a thing that his buddy Geno tells him to stop saying. But for Joel, someone has to be the 70th-ranked player in the world, and it might as well be him. He says this as he opens a beer and takes a swig.