Golf is a metaphor for life, the character Ray Wright explains in the movie Why You Suck at Golf.
“It should be easy,” the prickly golf pro explains in the film. “The ball is just sitting there.”
And yet, as anyone who has ever played the game knows, golf can be devilishly hard. So much so, that if you ask a random sampling of the population about the sport, many of them are very quick to reply that they “suck at golf.”
Life is very much the same, the philosophising golf pro says. Fantastic lives are seemingly sitting there for us to take control of, and yet for so many of us, we often feel like we are always finding the bunker in the great game of life. Metaphorically speaking, at least.
The movie itself, filmed entirely in the midst of a global pandemic, is a great example of the challenges and triumphs that we face in life. Why you Suck at Golf is a passion project driven by two West Vancouver friends – neither of whom has extensive experience in movie-making – who turned their shared loves of golf and storytelling into a 70-minute comedy that tells a charming little story while featuring some gorgeous shots of the North Shore and Bowen Island.
Clive Scarff wrote and directed the film and plays the part of Ray, while Jon Borrill produced the film and plays the role of Bogart (long for “Bogey”), an eternally cheerful golf nut whose life is in some turmoil as he goes through a divorce.
The film evolved from a series of golf books and videos created by Scarff, including a successful instructional book that bears the same name as the film. Borrill was enlisted to play the bumbling Bogart in a short video promoting the book, and out of that small performance Scarff got the grand idea of writing a full-length film about the lovable Bogart and his struggles at golf and life.
“This is literally the definition of a passion project,” said Scarff. “Literally no one received a dime making this, and it was why we were able to do it. I mean, if we had to pay people to make this movie, it never would have gotten made.”
Scarff wrote the script and showed it to Borrill, whose day jobs have included accounting and property development but who also has a long history as an MC and in live theatre.
“He wrote this incredible script, and as soon as I saw it, I said, that's great, but who are you going to have as Bogart?” said Borrill with a laugh. Deep down Borrill surely knew what the answer was. “He said, ‘You.’ And that's kind of how the whole thing got started.”
With script in hand the pair started calling friends and family members to see who wanted to volunteer their time to make the film. The response was overwhelmingly positive – asking someone to be in a movie is not the worst thing you can do to a friend, said Scarff.
“I think it’s easier than asking them to help you move,” he said with a laugh. “You mention a movie, and then at the same time mention it's a movie about golf, and you're talking to people who are golf fans? It's like, when do you need me? I'll be there.”
Clive’s 15-year-old son CJ Scarff, who has some acting experience, stands out in a lead role as a young golf shop employee and the film’s narrator. The roles of two young female golfers – one of whom becomes the young lad’s love interest – were cast serendipitously when Borrill spotted a couple of high-level B.C. junior players at a golf show held at Pacific Coliseum. Borrill boldly approached the girls’ parents, and then the girls themselves, to explain the idea, and before long the roles were filled. Annalise Stolzenberg plays Lisa, a lead part, while Ella Scabar features prominently as well as Lisa's friend Sally.
“They just did an amazing job,” said Borrill. “We had no idea really about their acting skills, but when we got them on there and went through the rehearsals, they just became naturals. And then in the golfing scenes where we’re playing a bit of golf, they've got such fantastic swings. I can only envy the way they hit the ball.”
COVID-19 hit just as they were about to start filming, which forced them to delay a big town hall scene, but the pandemic had unexpected benefits as well. Much of the movie was filmed at Bowen Island Golf Club, where Scarff is the head pro, and the course was closed for extra cleaning every Monday and Tuesday morning during the pandemic, providing a perfect window for filming.
In fact, so many parts of the film happened to fall into place – from finding their young actresses to navigating the COVID closures – that the two men in charge must have felt like they were in the middle of a perfect round of golf.
“Part of what's been neat about this venture has been that it's just flowed, right from the very beginning,” said Scarff. “Often we would say to each other like, this is going well. You're used to obstacles, red flags, things coming up telling you that maybe you shouldn't be doing this. And even with COVID, we just found that we were getting green lights all the way.”
The result is a neat little film that features some good laughs, a little bit of drama and social commentary, a few pretty decent golf tips, and some fantastic shots of the North Shore scenery.
North Shore landmarks such as Lions Gate Bridge, Ambleside Park and even former West Vancouver mayor Mark Sager make appearances in the film. Scarff said that making the North Shore look good was an important consideration throughout the project. The end credits roll over some fantastic drone footage looking down the 18th fairway at the Bowen Island course, with West Vancouver shining in the background.
The film is obviously meant to make golf look good too, even for the many people who believe they suck at it. It’s a sport that often gets unfairly maligned, said Scarff.
“I think golf is wrongly associated as being with a small niche group,” he said. “In fact, it's pretty universal. It goes back 500 years, it was first played by shepherds in fields tending their flocks. And it is deceptively difficult too. Even non-golfers can enjoy the movie because they get to laugh at golf, even if they're not laughing with it.”
The film can be rented for $3.99 through Scarff’s One Minute Golf website. It is also available on Amazon Prime in the United States and U.K.
