Golf scenes in movies are great, even for non-golfers. Some are funny, some are poignant, and with so much material to draw from, it's easy to see why Hollywood loves them. Like these, some of the best golf scenes in Hollywood history.
Caddyshack Flowers
It's the story of a young greenskeeper, with tears in his, I guess, about to become Masters Champion. Though, it's not exactly that, it's Bill Murray in one of his most iconic scenes taking out flowers near the clubhouse in Caddyshack and he tells the imaginary story of himself winning the most prestigious tournament in golf. It's in the hole!
Goldfinger Gold Bar
James Bond doesn't actually play much golf in the series, but, in the movie that is one of the best of the Bond franchise, Goldfinger, he does play around against the titular villain, betting gold bars and countering Goldfinger's cheating with a few tricks of his own.
Tin Cup 7 Iron
Tin Cup is one of the best golf movies for guys that are just working-class duffers. One of the best scenes in the movie has to be when Kevin Costner's character, a washed up old pro bets Don Johnson's character that Johnson can't hit a 7 iron as far as Costner can. Johnson wins the bet when he turns and hits the ball down a paved road, bouncing forever.
Bagger Vance's Advice
The Legend Of Bagger Vance isn't a perfect movie, but it still has some amazing moments for golfers. The best has to be when the caddy Bagger (Will Smith) is trying to calm his golfer (Matt Damon) down while explaining why the great Bobby Jones is so good.
Happy Gilmore Wants The Ball In Its Home
When Happy Gilmore was released in 1996 it became an instant golf classic. There is no question one of the most repeated quotes from a movie on any golf course is from the scene where Happy (Adam Sadler) gets angrier and angrier about the ball not going in "its home."
Space Jam Golf Scene
Imagine playing a round with Bill Murray, Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, and Seinfeld star Wayne Knight. It would be amazing and funny. That's exactly what happens in Space Jam and frankly, it's Bill Murray's umbrella hat that steals the show.
I Love You, Man Disaster
The golfing scene in I Love You, Man is one of the funniest scenes in the movie. It's a total disaster for Sydney (Jason Segel), who, let's be honest, goes through a lot of disasters in the movie. Meanwhile, for Peter (Paul Rudd) and Zooey (Rashida Jones), it's almost a perfect afternoon.
Borat Learning To Play
In Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, Sacha Baron Cohen's legendary character makes an attempt to learn how to play golf. Even if you haven't seen the movie, you probably know how that's going to work out. It's awkward for everyone except Borat. The poor golf pro had no idea what to do when Borat couldn't even figure out how to hold the club. Not to mention running onto the driving range to retrieve his ball.
The Huge Bet In The Thomas Crown Affair
Everything Thomas Crown (Pierce Brosnan) does in The Thomas Crown Affair is intense. His golf game is no different when he bets $100,000 on one shot from a sand trap. Of course, he looks as cool as ever in his all-black golfing attire, a far cry from plaid pants and ugly hats.
Smails Slices One Off In Caddyshack
Easily the most quoted movie on the golf course has to be Caddyshack and betting someone on whether they slice the ball on a drive is a popular bet because of the movie. Just as Smails (Ted Knight) is teeing off, Al (Rodney Dangerfield) bets him he's going to slice into the woods. Smails doesn't take the bet, but he does slice it. Dangerfield is always good for a great quote and "you can owe me!" is a classic.
Lining Up The Drive In Lost In Translation
It's well known that Bill Murray is a golf nut. In Lost In Translation he appears in one of the most serine golf scenes in movie history. There is no dialog, just Murray's character mostly in silhouette walking up to a tea and going through his shot routine, and driving the ball off into the distance, all with Mount Fuji in the background. It's proof you don't need a great Bill Murray quote to have a great golf scene.
Nicky Playing Golf In Casino
Golf is popular with every demographic including gangsters. In Casino, there is a great scene with Nicky (Joe Pesci) playing with his pals just to annoy the feds that are following him around. It ends when the surveillance plane runs out of fuel and lands right on the course.
Sideways
Golf is a sport that can bring out a lot of emotion. In Sideways that emotion turns into rage for Paul Giamatti's character when he gets so angry with the group playing in front of him, he starts trying to hit them with his ball. Don't golf angry, though we can all relate.
The Guys In Swingers Aren't Very Good
In one of the most relatable golf scenes in any movie, Ron Livingston and Jon Favreau's character duff around a muni course making really high scores. They aren't dressed like preppy jerks either. Just a couple of unemployed actors killing time with a cheap round of bad golf. Who among us hasn't been there?
Tin Cup Going In The Drink
If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. And again. And again. And again. The scene Tin Cup that sees the titular player (Kevin Costner) repeatedly trying to hit the ball over the water and repeatedly failing is something every golfer can relate to. Sometimes our emotions get the best of us, and it's usually ugly when they do on the course.
Caddyshack II Crazy Obstacles
Many years ago ESPN ran a commercial asking PGA tour caddies what the best movie about caddies is. All of them naturally said Caddyshack. When asked about the worst? Caddyshack 2. The sequel to the classic is a bad movie, but still, you have to chuckle a little when the course is turned upside down and into basically a mini-golf-type course, but in full size, complete with obstacles and everything. Yeah, it's stupid, fair enough.
Katharine Hepburn & Howard Hughes Play Golf In The Aviator
There isn't much actual golf in the golf scene in The Aviator, it's really more about showing Katharine Hepburn (Cate Blanchett) and her zest for life as contrasting Howard Hughes (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his lack of it, outwardly, anyway. Maybe it's a good metaphor for golf as life, but really, it's just a great moment in the movie.
Navy SEALs Blow Off Some Steam
1990's Navy SEALs is one of the most over-the-top action movies of it's day. Without the (at the time) all-star cast that included Charlie Sheen and Michael Biehn it would have been relegated to the B-Movie bin a long time ago. There is a wild golf scene in the movie that is a ton of fun to watch as the SEAL team pretty much acts like ferrel children on the course.
Be The Ball
It's important to be the ball in golf, at least according to the trust fund kid Ty Webb, played by Chevy Chase in Caddyshack. Webb can "be the ball" even with a blindfold on, but when Danny, his caddie, tries to be the same, he ends up putting it in the water. Or the lumberyard, of which Webb owns three.
Breaking Windows In The Addams Family
You wouldn't expect Gomez Addams to be a big golfer in The Addams Family, but there is that great scene where Addams (Raul Julia) is on the roof of his house treating his whole neighborhood like it's his own personal driving range. He even crushes one ball through his neighbor's window. It's psychotic behavior, sure, but would you expect anything less?
The Greatest Game Of The Bishop's Life
When you're a man of the clothe, you trust in the lord to deliver what you need. In Caddyshack, apparently the bishop thought the lord was going to give him the best game of his life and the course record. Instead, he misses his last putt and is struck down by lightening. Time to repent.
The Price Is Wrong
Celebrity Pro/Ams are a popular format in golf. Take a big name celebrity who loves golf, partner them up with a pro golfer and let the magic happen. It's always good for a few laughs and some sketchy golf. In Happy Gilmore it all goes very wrong when the Bob Barker of Price is Right fame is teamed with Happy. The fistfight they get into is cinema history.
Tin Cup Billiards Putting
Admit it, you've tried it every once in a while, the old pool shot instead of the putt. Like so much of Tin Cup, it is another scene representing the "everyman golfer," and like the others, it is something all golfers try at least once if not once a round. It doesn't count for official scoring purposes, though.
Thugs On The Course In Enter the Dragon
While the golf in Enter the Dragon isn't all that much to write home about, we just had to include it because a Hong Kong Kung Fu movie is about the last place you'd expect to see a golf scene. It ends when Han's thugs track Roper down and end the game.
Starsky & Hutch & Snoop Caddy
Another scene that is less about the golf and more about the company is the golf scene in Starsky & Hutch. Reese Feldman (Vince Vaughn) finds himself a caddy, in the form of Snoop Dogg. That's the kind of caddy we all want.
The Old Billy Baroo
Ted Knight has some of the best lines in Caddyshack and among this is his weirdly passionate plea with his putter to help him win. If it wasn't so funny when he pulls out what he called the "old Billy Baroo" it would just be creepy. Luckily for him, the plea works and he sinks the putt, though it's not enough to win the match.
Everything In Tommy’s Honour
Tommy’s Honour isn't really about one scene in particular, it's about the romantic notion of golf in Scotland, the origins of the modern game, and two of its original stars, "Old" Tom Morris and "Young" Tom Morris. They were a father and son who had a complicated relationship but were the best golfers of their era in the late 19th Century in Scotland. It's a must-watch for anyone who loves the history of the game.
There's Something About Mary's Range
Matt Dillon plays a bumbling detective in There's Something About Mary, but to be fair, everyone in that movie bubbles around Mary (Cameron Diaz). Dillon's character first experiences it when he stands next to her on a driving range, watching her crush balls out onto the range. To be fair, Diaz doesn't have the worst swing we've ever seen an actor have in a movie, but it doesn't look like she'd be as good as she appears to be.
The Pros From Dover
The "golf scene" in MASH is a classic, but not because there is any golf. When Hawkeye (Donald Sutherland) and Trapper John (Elliott Gould) cook up a plan to get to Tokyo to play some golf by agreeing to do a surgery there, they barge into the hospital, clubs in hand and start making ridiculous demands. They are, you see, the "pros from Dover" and they need the surgery to get down quickly so they can hit the links.
The Short Game
We had to include The Short Game, even though it's a documentary. Golf documentaries are often efforts in boredom, even for huge fans of the game. The Short Game is not, it's a very fascinating, and sometimes upsetting, look into the world of competitive youth golf. It's an examination of youth sports in general and will leave you wondering if people are really doing the right thing by their kids.
Go Back To Your Shanties
When Happy joins the tour in Happy Gilmore he brings a whole new fanbase to the game. They are, let's just say, not your typical golf fans. No one is more upset than Shoot McGavin (Christopher McDonald) who tells them all where he wants them to go, "back to their shanties." Ouch. They don't like him either.
Smails' Winter Rules
Something every golfer has done and is probably not proud of it, is kick the ball a little into a better lie. Judge Smails in Caddyshack isn't ashamed of it, he just calls them his "winter rules," in the dead of summer. We know how he feels, but that doesn't make him right.
