More readers weigh in on the sorry state of golf cinema.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Golf World's recent Arts Issue covered the generally lame state of golf movie-making, pointing out that most of the successful and palatable movies were comedies ("Happy Gilmore," "Tin Cup," "Caddyshack").
Our reader mail made a couple of points. First, we missed one comedy: "Dead Solid Perfect" by our own Dan Jenkins. Second, we missed a decent drama....
"Showtime" by Mike Cullity described the movie industry's lack of enthusiasm for golf movies. He is correct in that some were good, some were fair and most were lousy. However, he did fail to include the one golf movie that deserves mention. "A Gentleman's Game," starring Gary Sinese as an ex pro and how he found his way back to the game by helping a young man appreciate not only the game but the difference between right and wrong, and most importantly the integrity of the game. It also shows us that you do not have to join the elite and upscale country clubs to derive the satisfaction and challenge of golf.
Daniel Greene, Springfield, MA
....and, third, that we overestimated the worth of the whole bunch of them:
Hollywood has never made a great golf movie -- sorry "Caddyshack" fans. In an elusive and solitary game, the best movie will always be the one inside a golfer's head, recalling an improbable shot from the last round that keeps one coming back for more.
Jeff Vittal, Highlands Ranch, CO<
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Very poetic, Jeff. But that's no excuse for screenwriters and directors not being able to translate that "mental game" to the big screen. Personally, I liked "The Greatest Game Ever Played," historically accurate or not. And so did my then 12-year-old son, whose golf-movie preferences were, up till then, limited to Happy Gilmore.
Bob Carney
