Great Golf--Great Game--good movie

I saw "The Greatest Game Ever Played" today. It was a birthday present I gave myself and I'm glad I went. Despite the tepid reviews the movie turned out to be better than I expected. The critics were right about the Disney bent for sentiment and the blunt references to classism, but the attention to detail--particularly the golf of that time,--was superb. If you're a golfer you'll like this movie.

At the shop we have a copy of the famous photo of Francis Ouimet and Eddie Lowry trudging up the course during the U.S. Open. I remember asking Charlie about that photo a long time ago and he told me the story of Ouimet's win and how extraordinary it was.

When I first started working at the shop I pretty much thought that golf was a game for white, wealthy men or men who did not have to support families. Boy, was I wrong. I had no idea how universal golf is in its appeal to blacks, Asians, Latinos, Europeans, young, old, rich or poor. The one generalization I can still make is that it's mostly males who play.

Only Ben Hogan's miraculous recovery and seris of wins in 1953 seem as remarkable to me as Francis Ouimet's win of the U.S. Open in 1913. Ouimet's participation really did break a class barrier for golf. He was the first player to make golf look accessible to anyone who wanted to play and that anyone with guts and skill could win the U.S. Open. His story makes a good movie even with a few excesses.