Tommy’s Honour

I’ ve always subscribed to Robin Williams’ take on the invention of golf, most of which is unprintable in this paper. ( If you Google it, you’ve been warned.) “I’ll put the hole hundreds of yards away,” he says at one curse-free moment, in a thick Scottish brogue. “And each time you miss you’ll feel like you’re going to have a stroke. Wait! That’s what we’ll call it; a stroke!”

There aren’t many laughs to be had in this earnest telling of the father- and- son team that helped set the standards for the modern game back in the mid 19th century. Sure, it’s amusing to watch Young Tom Morris ( Jack Lowden) discovering backspin, or see him invent the “golf quiver” after playing a demonstration game against an archer.

But for the most part, Tommy’s Honour is the story of a young golfer coming into his own in spite of a class system designed to keep him down. His father, Old Tom Morris ( Peter Mullan), feels that his place in the world is to caddy and kowtow to his betters, particularly Alexander Boothby, played by Sam Neill. Boothby runs the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews.

Caddyship was little better than the life of a prized racehorse, and Young Tom is champing at the bit for more.

The film is based on the 2007 book by Kevin Cook, who adapted it with Pamela Marin for director Jason Connery. The film feels rushed in the telling, dealing as it does not only with Young Tom’s love of the game, but his love of Meg Drinnen ( Ophelia Lovibond), an older woman with a checkered past.

Add to these distractions various allegiances and rivalries on and off the greens and the occasional fisticuffs among the spectators. The result is a golfing story handicapped by its own ambitions.

It wants to soar like an eagle, but winds up not quite making par. ΩΩ

Tommy’s Honour opens May 12 in Toronto and Waterloo, and May 26 in Ottawa and Calgary, with other cities to follow.