SCOTTSDALE (Ariz.) — Its still strange for Joel DahmenHe said that he is currently watching a Netflix series.
He likes to believe hes a normal man and that he and Lona are just a normal couple with normal children. They may be, at least in part. They do have Riggs, a 3-week old son, and Joel is tired just like most new fathers.
But there are certain parts of their lives that make them very different. Dahmen is in his seventh PGA Tour year, has more than $10 million in career earnings, and will share his pre-baby lifestyle on Full Swing for Netflixs 231,000,000 subscribers.
The 35-year old told ESPN that it didnt make sense.
Dahmen, with all the bravado and sleep-deprived dad bravado, is going to try to make the most of his 15 minutes (or 44, if your watch Episode 4), of fame.
I wonder if Netflix will offer me a free subscription instead of me paying $6 per month for it. He replied. Im going for that one and Ill see if theyll give it to me a free month at least.
Thats Dahmen.
He has always tried to be a good sport, sometimes to his fault, sometimes uncontrollably.
Part of the reason is his personality. Max Homa and he have had some Twitter wars while sitting next to each other at a table at a restaurant. Part of it is because he was diagnosed in 2011 with testicular tumors. This is six years after his mom died of pancreatic cancer. His brother was also diagnosed in 2011.
His experience with the disease didnt change how he saw life. It refocused it.
Dahmen stated, I think that I was quite fun-loving, but this was more like a wake up call. Like, Hey! Dont waste this chance you have. You have the opportunity to play on PGA Tour golf and you can be a great player. So why not put your best foot forward, and try to win it all?
He embraced that mindset and has never looked back.
Dahmens Netflix debut was almost canceled. Lona and Dahmen were initially skeptical of his acceptance to the shows invitation. He wondered what was different about them. They live a everyday life. His job is to be a professional golfer. Joel and Lona had a long conversation with Chad Mumm, the shows producer. They decided to let cameras into their lives, knowing that they could always pull the plug.
He said, We just kinda dove in and went for the it. And all of sudden were watching a Netflix series.
Joel and Lona discovered that they were expecting a baby in the middle of their shoot. He stated that cameras followed him while he was shopping for a stroller.
Dahmen feels that the person on the screen matches up fairly closely, if not exactly with the person he is. He said it would have been too difficult to be himself and his wife.
He said, We are just who we were and if they like us, great. If not, um, sorry. But we didn’t feel that we had to do anything else.
Dahmen was pleased by the episodes outcome. Dahmen was happy with how his episode turned out.
It can be hard to find the right balance between being a fun-loving, jovial and funny guy and being serious about his game. Dahmen isnt afraid to admit that sometimes its hard to find the right balance.
He said, Its easy have too much fun but its also easy go the other direction and focus so much on golf that your mind starts to burn out. Practice hard but dont see results for quite a while. Thats when you start to get frustrated. I know what I have to do to improve my golf game.
I have a great group of people around me: my spouse, my caddie and my coach, as well as managers. We sort of just navigate it and figure out what it takes. We dont have a set plan like many people. [probably] do. Although I am not an expert in the work-life balance aspect, I do think I have a pretty good idea of what makes me tick. I try to follow that plan as much possible.
Then, something like the WM Phoenix Open last year happens.
When Dahmen is playing partner Harry HiggsHe missed a putt of 10 feet at the 16th hole, which is the most famous hole in the game. He then took off his shirt.
Then Dahmen followed.
Dahmen can be laser-focused, frustrated by his round, or impatient with the results of his range work. The next moment, hes naked in front of 22,000 viewers live on TV.
Talk about balance.
Dahmen stated, At the end of the day, you take a step back, and you try to recognize that, like youre playing for a living golf, youre fine. And golf can be very difficult, so you might not be as good at it as youd like.
Its going be frustrating you, but I try just to stay balanced and patient and kinda stick to my course because over time, Im trying a lot more often to come out on top.
