About The Short Game

The Short Game follows the lives of eight of the best 7-year old golfers in the world as they train for and compete in the World Championships of Junior Golf. The annual tournament held at golfing mecca Pinehurst, North Carolina, brings in 1500 young golfers from 54 different countries and determines who will be crowned golf’s next phenom. In its course, the eight stories entwine to form a fascinating and often funny portrait of a group of very young athletes and their families, in which the narrow-focused, peculiar and highly competitive junior golf subculture becomes both a window into contemporary global society and an inspiring reflection of the human condition.

The only sport my boys excelled at was bowling, they are much better at the performing arts than athletics, I honestly have paid little attention to the junior sports world other than a few seasons of t-ball and indoor soccer. I am also not a golf fan so I am totally clueless about the world of Junior Golf where kids start playing the sport at age 2 or 3 and are competing at the international level by age 6! The Short Game follows eight golfers from 5 counties on their quest to become the world champion golfer in their age group.

The Mom Maven’s Thoughts

This movie is insightful, funny and educational as it shows us the stress, fun, focus and family dynamics that are involved in the life of a junior golf champion. One thing that really interested me was the concept of the “Daddy Caddy”. Most of the kids competing at this level of golf have their dads as their caddies. This adds the dynamic of dad being the on course coach, motivator and when needed…shoulder to cry on. As you would imagine this works better for some families than others. Since this is a documentary a lot of the comic relief comes from kids being kids and just saying what is on their minds. I hope you will add this movie to your must see list or pin this post to a “Movies I want to See” board on Pinterest so that you don’t forget about this gem of a documentary.

Disclosure: I received a screened copy of this movie for the purpose of this review. No other compensation was received. All opiions are 100% mine.

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In case you don’t know about Winter-Summerland, here is the story from the Disney website:

Disney’s Winter Summerland Miniature Golf Course is a miniature, elf–sized golf course consisting of 2 Santa Claus–themed courses: the Snow Course and the Sand Course. Although subject to change, prices are $12.00 USD per 18–hole round for adults, and $10.00 USD for children 3 to 9 years of age.

Late one moonlit Christmas Eve, as Santa was flying over Florida on his way back to the North Pole, he glanced down and discovered snow in a place that is usually hot. After surveying the strange location, he decided to build a vacation destination for his off-duty elves—a Winter Summerland.

Seeing that the only thing Winter Summerland lacked was a golf course, the Santa Claus and his elves divided into two camps, one that enjoyed the warm Florida sun and another that preferred the snow and cold of the North Pole. The elves then built two distinctly different 18–hole golf experiences — a sand course and a snow course.

• Disney’s Winter Summerland Miniature Golf Course—Winter Course: The Snow Course invites you to participate in 18–holes of challenging fun — which, in addition to Santa and his elves, includes some of your favorite Disney Characters — as you putt your way to the North Hole. Additionally, watch out for Squirty the Snowman: he sprays water when golf balls pass beneath him.
• Disney’s Winter Summerland Miniature Golf Course—Summer Course: The Sand Course promises fun in the sun for everyone, compliments of a delightful beach theme with sandcastles, surfboards and ornaments hanging from palm trees. Delightfully themed holes include a sleepy Santa buried beneath a large sand mound and a giant sand castle.

After sinking the last putt on Hole 18, receive a special greeting from Santa Claus, thanks to the WinterNet and a computer.

Disney’s Winter Summerland Miniature Gold Course also features Santa’s “Winterbago,” a converted trailer home to the starter booth, gift shop and snack stand.

We had a great time mini-golfing and getting to know Jess & Chris in real life. After obtaining our private country club membership, we chose to play the winter course because we hoped the fake snow drifts would help us feel cooler…it was 96 degrees with a heat index of 106! We were dripping with sweat the entire game, it was crazy! Chris and Jordan will tell you that the Toboggan hole is evil! (I think they both scored 6 on that hole). You never know what…or who is going to pop up on each hole. The course was challenging enough for the 5 of us to play. I have misplaced the score card but I do know that Ron, my husband, won, Chris came in second, I was third, Jess was fourth and Jordan was last.

If you have some free time while you are visiting Walt Disney World, try a round of golf a Winter-Summerland. I’m sure you’ll have a s much fun as we did.
Myself, Jordan, Jess and Chris…Ron was the photographer. To see the rest of my pictures from our golf adventure click here.

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