There are a variety of excellent films about golf that have been quoted on teeboxes and greens since they came out: Whether it’s Caddyshack, Tin Cup, Happy Gilmore or several others, golfers are always happy to see their obsession portrayed on the big screen.
It’s amazing that it took until 2026 for a TV series to finally tackle the greatest game ever played. Who better to don the spikes than Saturday Night Live alum Will Ferrell? Ferrell’s new Netflix series The Hawk is destined to become a classic in the genre.
Ferrell stars as Lonnie “The Hawk” Hawkins, a PGA golfer whose better days are in the past. At one point in The Hawk’s career, he was on top of the world. He’d won three major pro tournaments and lost the fourth (which would have given him a coveted career Grand Slam) after choking a short putt and losing to his nemesis Golden Fisk, played by Luke Wilson.
The Hawk is one part John Daly, one part Backstreet Boy and one part Florida Man, with a wild blonde scruff of hair perpetually sprouting out of his white visor. He always has a sunglasses tan on his face and, halfway through the series, he has yet to take off his golf spikes for anything.
Will Ferrell plays The Hawk, alongside his caddy Sam, played by Fortune Feimster. Courtesy photo
He’s loud, crude and doesn’t care for the starched-clean stewards of golf who look down their noses at the likes of him. But he’s also a scratch player — when the timing is right, of course.
The Hawk’s ex-wife Stacy is played by fellow former SNL-er Molly Shannon. She’s a foul-mouthed grifter, perpetually trying to sell her hard ice tea products everywhere from funerals to PGA tour events.
Jimmy Tatro plays Lance, The Hawk’s son, who is an emerging PGA golfer on the tour, while The Hawk now plays on the lower tier Corn Ferry Tour, normally a proving ground for ascending PGA golfers, not a rest home for aging stars. Lance is a workout-obsessed Gen-Z golfer whose health influencer girlfriend Natalie (played by Katelyn Tarver) is an empty vessel filled with inspirational flimflam and soulless quotes meant to improve their looks at all costs.
When The Hawk’s longtime caddy Old Henry (played by Keith David) dies mid-round, it throws the aging golfer into a crisis as he tries to scrape up the remaining magic in his tank to finally win three Corn Ferry tournaments and propel him back to the PGA Tour so he can finally prove to the world — and his perpetually angry son — that he’s still a great golfer.
With Old Henry gone, The Hawk finds his new caddy Sam (Fortune Feimster) rooting around in an abandoned vehicle in a Walmart parking lot. With a Southern drawl and hair that looks hilariously close to The Hawk’s, Sam is a breath of fresh air as a character who doesn’t know anything about golf, but takes the job carrying his bags because, well, she’s broke.
The odd couple sets their sights on winning, and that’s just what The Hawk starts doing. Whether he makes it back to the tour, or flames out is anyone’s guess, but it’s a hilarious ride watching him try.
Ferrell’s character is over-the-top until you dig a bit deeper and realize it’s actually a brilliant portrayal of someone you’d probably despise in real life, but can’t help but love on screen.
Ego-centric and callous to a ridiculous degree, viewers can’t help but root for The Hawk because he’s an underdog and an outsider.
It’s this nuance that really keeps me coming back to the show, along with the fact that the writing is spot-on and the characters are free from obvious stereotypes.
Everyone seems to be having a lot of fun making the show, and each episode adds a new wrinkle to The Hawk’s personality that makes you root for him even more.
Catch The Hawk on Netflix.
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