Golf is a unique sport, to put it mildly. It’s the only sport where players truly control every aspect of their game, and their opponent has no direct effect on their ability to score. It’s a game that’s as much an emotional and psychological test as it is a physical one. It’s also the only game where players are obliged to call penalties on themselves. Another unique aspect of golf is that casual players feel a kindred connection to the very best in the world — from every era. They can play the same holes, use the same equipment and experience the same courses as greats such as Old Tom Morris, Bobby Jones or living legend Tiger Woods. While it was once a game for the elites and aristocrats, in the last few decades golf has increased its reach and popularity to unprecedented levels — and as more and more people catch the bug to play the game, many get hooked.

Golf can expose character, it can build character — and its history is filled with many colorful characters whose stories of victory and defeat have gone on to become folklore for the players of today. Through the years, there have been many great books, shows, and movies with golf as their backdrop or setting, perhaps because the game of golf is itself a kind of story. Every round — every match — has a narrative arc with a beginning middle and end, just like a movie. Throughout a round, players experience ups, downs, hazards, reversals, peaks and valleys — also just like a movie. Golf has been at the heart of many great movies over the years, and the ones that made the cut for this list are the best of the bunch.

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12 Dead Solid Perfect (1988)

     HBO Pictures

Over the course of his long career, writer Dan Jenkins (1928-2019) came to be a kind of poet-laureate for golf in America. As irreverently humorous as he was insightful, Jenkins not only understood the depth and drama that make golf so popular to both play and watch, but he was able to tell stories that got inside the heads and hearts of both weekend amateurs and world-class professionals.

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Based on Jenkins’ 1974 novel, Dead Solid Perfect tells the humorous (and somewhat pathetic) story of Kenny Lee Puckett (played by Randy Quaid) — a professional golfer unable to pull his game or life together, and who lives somewhere between being a has-been and a never-was. A review of the novel in the New York Times lamented that “there are approximately four deep belly laughs and some minor tickles in this book.” And while the humor in both the book and the movie have not aged well and may tend to be crude at best, the oft-told story of an underachiever growing up and making good is a time-honored tradition in American sports movies — and executed quite well in Dead Solid Perfect.

11 Tommy’s Honour (2016)

     Roadside Attractions

The story of the founders of the modern game, Tommy’s Honour is as much about the complicated relationships between fathers and sons — and socioeconomic classes — as it is about golf. In the mid 1800s at St. Andrew’s golf course in Scotland, the most hallowed course in the game, “Old” Tom Morris (played by Peter Mullan) was an innovative and respected caddy, ball and club maker. His son Tommy is played by Jack Lowden (who can also be seen in the Apple TV+ show Slow Horses as well as Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk), and has dreams of improving his station in life while breaking through the well-established class hierarchies of the day.

Both father and son are champion-level golfers, but young Tommy is quickly becoming the equivalent of a celebrity because of his skills. From the scandal of an ill-advised romance to repeated warnings from the reigning aristocrats and Tommy’s father to accept how things are, the movie shows how the concept of a modern “touring” golf professional came to be. Directed by Jason Connery (son of actor Sean Connery), Tommy’s Honour humanizes what could have been a straightforward historical film — and delivers a personal, emotional story of a key era for the game.

10 Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius (2004)

     Film Foundry Releasing

There’s no way to overstate the importance Bobby Jones holds to the game of golf. As the only person to ever win golf’s grand slam in a single season (1930) and as a founder of Augusta National Golf Club and The Masters, he ranks as arguably the most important golfer ever to live. In Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius, Jim Caviezel stars as the iconic Jones in this biopic directed by Rowdy Herrington (who also directed Road House). While a bit maudlin in its storytelling at times, the film evenly portrays Jones’ triumphs and strengths as well as his faults and flaws.

Jones was an athletic champion who truly had to mature into his greatness, learning to replace his raging temper with an ability to keep focus and recover from bad shots to play his best. For golfers who know Jones’ legacy, Stroke Of Genius is a satisfying version of the Jones mythology — and all the relationships, anecdotes, and stories that make up his legend. For curious viewers who are not overly familiar with the athlete’s greatness, it’s an excellent insight to his unbelievable talents and achievements.

9 The Caddy (1953)

     Paramount Pictures

Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis remain among the most famous duos in the history of cinema and pop culture. And their charming song and dance chemistry is on full display throughout The Caddy. Lewis plays Harvey Miller, an excellent golfer afraid to play in front of galleries, so he caddies for Joe Anthony (played by Dean Martin). While there are plenty of laughs typical of any Martin and Lewis comedy, there’s also some great golf played — including a cameo by one of the biggest champions of the era, Ben Hogan (who reluctantly gets short-game advice from Lewis).

Jerry Lewis, it should be noted, was a fine golfer in his own right, and once bested none other than Sam Snead in a nine-hole charity match on the Celebrity Golf TV show in 1960. While Snead did give Lewis six strokes in the match, beating an all-time great like Snead is no small feat for a golfer of any skill level.

8 The Greatest Game Ever Played (2005)

     Walt Disney Pictures

The true story of how Francis Ouimet, a local amateur, beat the mighty Harry Vardon in a dramatic playoff to win the 1913 U.S. Open. Shia LeBeouf stars as Ouimet, and does a great job portraying a young man re-channeling nervous energy and fear into focused athletic performance on the largest stage of sport. The Greatest Game Ever Played tells a few stories throughout: Ouimet’s personal struggle to gain his father’s acceptance, the class struggle of a sport that caters to the wealthy — and how the 1913 U.S. Open tournament captured the attention of the entire nation — and became the moment America began to fall in love with the game of golf.

7 Legend of Bagger Vance (2000)

     Dreamworks Pictures

Apart from the physical complexity involved in mastering all the different aspects of the game of golf, players must also master psychological and emotional balance to improve and play well. Stories of crushing defeats and angry outbursts some players never recover from abound in the game. Starring Will Smith, Matt Damon, and Charlize Theron, The Legend of Bagger Vance tells a story of personal growth, reclamation of one’s person-hood, and the honor one can earn and embody when they act with integrity, even though it costs them victory.

Smith stars as the mystical Zen-master caddy Bagger Vance, helping Rannulph Junuh (played by Damon) come to grips with traumas he has endured — as well his golf swing — over the course of a high-profile exhibition match between himself and golf legends Bobby Jones and Walter Hagen. Directed by Robert Redford and based on an immensely popular 1995 novel by Steven Pressfield, The Legend of Bagger Vance divided audiences and critics, but does an admirable job casting light on some of the steeper psychological hurdles the game of golf can force players to confront — as well as how the game can both expose and build character.

6 Goldfinger (1964)

     United Artists

Yes, it’s true Goldfinger is not a golf movie. But the scene where international super spy James Bond (portrayed here by Sean Connery) plays a match against his nemesis Auric Goldfinger (a role absolutely owned by Gert Fröbe) is one of the most well-known and beloved golf scenes in the history of cinema. Apart from the fact that both Connery and Fröbe have very good golf swings, the sequence features some of the absolute worst golf etiquette ever on screen. Not only do the two men continually talk while the other is attempting to play their shot, but James drops a gold bar at Auric’s feet as he’s lining up a putt — and Goldfinger is caught cheating as the match comes down to the wire.

Apart from the players, the scowling, burly Odd Job (played by Harold Sakata) is perfect as the boldest caddy/henchman in the history of golf. In the end, all of this plus the classic “Slazenger 7” switch James pulls off to catch Goldfinger cheating enable this single scene to earn Goldfinger a place on this list.

5 Follow the Sun (1951)

     20th Century Fox

If Bobby Jones is arguably the most important golfer in the history of the game, Ben Hogan is arguably its greatest — and Follow the Sun is Hollywood’s telling of his story. Generations of golfers still work tirelessly to recreate Hogan’s swing, his instructions books remain classics — and the mythology behind uncovering his “secret” to the game continues to this day. Apart from his world-beating skills, Hogan’s life story is the true stuff of legends as well. In 1949, at the height of his dominance, Hogan and his wife Valerie survived a massive car crash. While the accident nearly killed Hogan, doctors believed he would probably never walk again. But after a painful, lengthy process to regain his mobility, Hogan worked to the bone to reclaim his skills and assert himself as the greatest player of his generation.

And though Hogan played the remainder of his life in extreme pain, his grit, willpower, focus, and work ethic continues to inspire. With Glenn Ford starring as Hogan, Follow uhe Sun is itself a rather typical 1950s melodrama. But the reality of Hogan’s story is almost too unbelievable, even as a Hollywood movie, and that alone makes the movie an interesting watch. In addition, a host of cameos from the great players of the day, including Sam Snead, Jimmy Demaret, and Cary Middlecoff — and Hogan’s involvement as technical advisor with every shot and scene — make for an astounding artifact from a bygone era of the game.

4 Phantom of the Open (2021)

     British Film Institute

Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. And the true story of Maurice Flitcroft is as oddly charming and absurd as the movie of his life. With an 86% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, Phantom of the Open is one of the best-reviewed movies on this list. Mark Rylance stars as Flitcroft, bringing a quirky energy and endearing earnestness to the story of a man who — with zero experience in the game — scammed his way into a qualifying tournament for the British Open, the oldest and most prestigious golf tournament on earth. After playing the worst round in Open qualifying history, he was summarily banned from entering the tournament ever again.

Although Flitcroft’s gutsy, if unskilled, attempt gained him quasi-celebrity status as the worst golfer in the world, he continued to circumvent rules changes and entered tournaments through a series of ridiculous pseudonyms and disguises. And while golf is the vehicle for Flitcroft’s infamy, his story is a universal one — about a person who makes a grand and ill-advised gesture in an attempt to make their mark on this world — when in truth it’s the relationships they share with friends and family that will be their most lasting legacy. Funny, sad, strange, and true, Phantom of the Open is as enjoyable to fans of golf as it to those with no interest in the game.

3 Happy Gilmore (1996)

     Universal

Adam Sandler’s movie about a failed hockey player who gets a chance to earn big money playing professional golf (and save his grandmother’s home) because of his ability to hit the ball freakishly long distances was never designed to contend for an Oscar. With a single-minded focus on compressing as many gags, laughs, and quotable lines as possible into every frame, Happy Gilmore is a screwball golf comedy that became an instant classic. A stroke of luck for the movie may have been its timing. Happy Gilmore was released in 1996, just as Tiger Woods burst on to the tour to revolutionize the game and expand its audience a thousand-fold, exploding golf’s popularity to levels no one ever thought possible.

To this day, the movie is universally loved by golfers, who continue to invoke Happy Gilmore quotes whenever they play the game. With a career-making portrayal of the villainous pro golfer Shooter McGavin by Christopher McDonald, Happy Gilmore also features several hilarious and strange supporting roles and cameos by everyone from comic greats Kevin Nealon, Joe Flaherty, and Ben Stiller to game-show icon Bob Barker, golf legend Lee Trevino, and Richard Kiel (who portrayed henchmen Jaws in the 1979 James Bond film Moonraker).

2 Tin Cup (1996)

     Warner Bros.

Admittedly, the storyline of Tin Cup is a tired one: Charming underachiever working at a dead-end job and losing at life gets inspired to pull it together for pride and love, and earns their way on to the biggest stage while winning the hearts of America in the process. It feels like a cliché because it is one: the story has been done to death in books, TV, and movies. So, why does Tin Cup work so well — and how did it end up this high on the list? The answer may lie in the dream team of star Kevin Costner and director Ron Shelton. Tin Cup was their second film together, as they’d already created movie magic with another sports-romance-comedy classic in 1988: Bull Durham.

And much of what made Bull Durham a classic is certainly on display again in Tin Cup. The strength in these movies lies in their flawless execution. Well-written dialogue with just enough emotion and humor to be endearing, and fantastic casts. In Tin Cup, Costner portrays Roy McAvoy with every ounce the “aw-shucks” charm that made him one of the most successful romantic and heroic leads throughout the 1990s, while Don Johnson is clearly having a blast playing Roy’s arch-rival. Cheech Marin is perfect as Roy’s wise-cracking best friend and caddy, while Rene Russo portrays the sports psychologist who can’t help but fall for Roy’s charm. Everything about Tin Cup is expected and clichéd, but that doesn’t stop the movie from being fun. In the end, this film succeeds because it has no shame in being exactly what it is: A sports-romance-comedy where the good guy overcomes himself and steep odds to pull off the unbelievable — and Tin Cup did it all well enough to earn classic status within the world golf movies.

1 Caddyshack (1980)

With a cast of comedy all-stars as well as one the era’s best comedic directors (Harold Ramis) and gifted comedic writers (Douglas Kenney), Caddyshack contains every ingredient necessary to be a classic. With all-time humor heavyweights Rodney Dangerfield and Ted Knight as well as (then) rising stars Bill Murray and Chevy Chase anchoring the movie, one gets the feeling that Ramis could’ve just left the camera running all day and the movie would’ve still been great.

And at times this is exactly what Ramis was able to do. According to him, “We always trusted improvisation. It never felt like we were ad-libbing and winging it. It’s an actual technique and a method that allows you to create material instantly. It’s not grabbed out of thin air” (via Golf).

To illustrate this point, the “Cinderella Story” scene (one of the most-quoted monologues from the most-quoted comedy in history) was completed improvised. In it, Murray swings a garden scythe like a golf club through a bed of flowers while delivering a sports announcer’s play-by-play of a former caddy about to win the Masters. As Ramis further explains: “Everything we shot with Bill in the movie was just him riffing. We just described the physical action and he made up the lines. He’d done so much improv at the [National] Lampoon, he could just go. He would just turn up and do weird stuff. That’s how he worked.”

From Bill Murray’s bizarro brand of improvised anarchy to the almost Shakespearean gravitas of Ted Knight, Caddyshack delivers timeless comedy in every scene. Considering the quality of the cast, writers and director involved — as well as the freedom they had to make things up on the fly — it’s no wonder the movie ended up a classic. In fact, one of the reasons Caddyshack works so well is precisely because it’s so loosely strung together. Fact is, Caddyshack is really just a series of truly excellent comedy sketches that all occur within a centralized setting. For one the funniest movies ever made, that central setting just happened to be a golf club. And that’s why Caddyshack ended up being the greatest golf movie ever made.