Golf is not an easy sport to make into an exciting film.

Rating: 8/10 (30 July 2015)

My father was a life member of the PGA. He joined in 1931, so he was in the group of golfers that followed Francis Ouimet & Harry Vardon. I grew up with golf & found the film to be quite good, but I suspect it takes a golfer or one who knows the game to not be bored. It's not an easy sport to make exciting. However, if one has ever been present at a tournament which is match play, you know that the suspense & tension is such that you can cut it with a knife.
My main issue with the film is that, while it spent quite a lot of time dealing with Francis Ouimet's social inferiority in 1913 society, it didn't fully tell the story. Today top professional sportsmen & athletes are superstar celebrities, wealthy, & the elite of society. Back then it was far different. Francis Ouimet was poor & had caddied as a child. He competed as an amateur, but an amateur was supposed to be a gentleman & a person of wealth & position.... elite. Ouimet had to step into this elite society.... but at least he could... as an amateur. Professional sportsmen were considered & treated as mere "tradesmen," because they played for cash prizes. We get a couple of scenes that show the social tension, but unless a viewer is already aware of the situation, it's not fully explained. We see Harry Vardon idolized by the galleries & theatre goers, but viewers who are unaware of the situation are left to wonder at the snide, rude remarks made towards & about Vardon by the so-called "gentlemen." Professional golfers, like Harry Vardon, were not allowed in the club houses nor the use of any of the club facilities. They had to change clothes in the caddy shack or in their cars & if they ate, it was in the caddy shack with the caddies. These class striations persisted until after WW2 when Ben Hogan refused to play in tournaments unless the pros had equal access to club houses... the dining rooms, locker rooms, showers, etc... as the amateur players. It would not have taken much to clarify this situation, but as it was, I suspect that the film left many viewers confused.