Our series of ranking the greatest sports movies ever has already seen us cover the 10 best gridiron movies, the 10 best basketball movies, the 10 best baseball movies ever and the best soccer movies ever. Today, we’re looking at the best golf movies ever.
Here at Only Sports, we’re on a mission to discover the greatest sporting movies of all time. Today, we’re entering the golfing world. It’s one which, despite massive popularity, isn’t considered one of the biggest sports in the world.
Let’s be real though, if there is one thing golf is good for, it’s drama. Whether it be dramatic final day collapses at major tournaments, final putts to win it all, or redemption stories akin to those formulated in Hollywood writers’s rooms, there’s plenty of drama in the golfing world.
And it seems Hollywood has capitalised on this with several comedic and biographic golf films. Here, we’ve compiled our definitive list of the best golf movies ever.
Best golf movies ever, ranked 10-1
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Honourable mentions:
Follow the Sun, Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius, From the Rough and the Gentlemen’s Game fell just short of our top 10 best soccer movies ever.
10. From the Rough, 2013
Inspired by the true story of Catana Starks, a former swim coach who becomes the first woman to coach a US college men’s golf team, From the Rough follows Starks as she tries to build her Tenessesee State team into something great.
9. The Caddy, 1953
The Caddy isn’t just a golf movie. According to Google, it’s a semi-musical-comedy-sports film. Jeez, big day. Anyway, it follows the son of a famous golf pro whose father wants him to emulate him but who’s afraid of crowds and competition. What’s he do instead? The title says it all.
8. The Legend of Bagger Vance, 2000
Will Smith and Matt Damon in The Legend of Bagger Vance, a golf film that’s both dramatic and inspirational.
7. Tommy’s Honour, 2016
Tommy’s Honour follows the complex relationship between pioneering golfing champions, Old Tom Morris, and his son Yong Tom Morris in the late 19th century. The two Scots are some of golf’s pivotal formation figures.
6. The Phantom of the Open, 2021
A contemporary entrant on the list. The Phantom of the Opera is based on the simply ludicrous story of Maurice Flitcroft, who entered the 1976 Open Championship without ever swinging a golf club.
5. Pat and Mike, 1952
Pat is a talented golfer, but her fiance, Collier, wants her to give it up and marry him. She insists she won’t and enlists the help of Mike, a sports promoted. Together, the pair face off against, amongst others, mobsters. Pat and Mike tells their story.
4. The Greatest Game Ever Played, 2005
In The Greatest Game Ever Played, Shia LaBeouf portrays Francis Oumet, the first amateur to win the US Open. In a sport that, at the time (1913), was only for the wealthy. Oumet, from a working-class background, battles with the sport’s existing class boundaries, as well as his opponents.
3. Happy Gilmore, 1996
Let’s be honest. If you don’t know Happy Gilmore, what are you even doing here? It may just be Adam Sandler’s greatest film. If you don’t know what it’s about, you’re living under a rock. I’m not even going to waste words explaining it. Watch it!
2. Tin Cup, 1996
Kevin Costner’s performance in any sports film is like Michael Jordan in an NBA Finals: immaculate. Tin Cup has it all; Redemption, romance, rivalry. What more could you ask for? It sits near the top of our list for a reason.
1. Caddyshack, 1980
In 1980, Bill Murray was at the beginning of his cinematic prime. Chevy Chase was in the midst of his. Together, they combine for the greatest golf movie of all time: Caddyshack. You just know the comedic vibe the film has.
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