How to Play Golf (1944) User Reviews

If it's a Goofy How-To film, watch it!

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 5 February 2019]

During the 1940s, Disney Studios did a lot to make their star, Mickey Mouse, a nice guy...which means that these Mickey films of the era were generally a dull lot. In the 1920s and 30s, Mickey could be a bit of a jerk...but no more. At the same time, interestingly, all the aggression and nastiness Mickey used to show was dumped onto Goofy...which explains why I much preferred Goofy cartoons when I was a kid!

Of all the Goofy cartoons, the How-To films were generally the best. With no-stop and frenetic narration and silliness, these films are wonderful. My favorites include the one on playing hockey as well as the football short....but this gold short, "How to Play Golf", is quite enjoyable as well...and for many of the same reasons...violence, silliness and characters misbehaving themselves...and in this one you not only have Goofy but a bull and a stick man...all behaving like jerks! Great fun.

The only difference between HOW TO PLAY GOLF . . .

[pixrox1 · 8/10 · 5 March 2022]

. . . and a contemporary cartoon directed by Texas Avery is GOLF's lack of on-screen signs, inter-titles and other direct comments breaking the eighth wall with the viewers, if any. For instance, when Dizzy's Big Goof is finished scribbling a full page of scientific notes before attempting a short putt, the Dizzy dudes avoid the temptation to add an Avery-style bubble such as "Sure is complicated, isn't it?" When said putt lips out after rolling around inside the top of the cup for endless seconds, these same animators successfully resist any urge to picture a kitchen utensil with the caption "Can-opener, anyone?" Finally, when the charging bull suddenly begins making sheep and cow sounds, we do not see a llama parading by draped with a "Pretty mindless, huh?" blanket.

An Eagle - No Divot

[Ron Oliver · 10/10 · 6 September 2003]

A Walt Disney GOOFY Cartoon.

The Goof demonstrates HOW TO PLAY GOLF very badly.

Here is one of the very earliest of the Goofy Sports Cartoons, and, with its fast action and fine animation, it remains one of the best. Along with other golfing esoterica, the viewer should forever remember the game's Golden Rule: Always play the ball where it lies. The demonstration stick figure makes an interesting & funny character.

Walt Disney (1901-1966) was always intrigued by pictures & drawings. As a lad in Marceline, Missouri, he sketched farm animals on scraps of paper; later, as an ambulance driver in France during the First World War, he drew comic figures on the sides of his vehicle. Back in Kansas City, along with artist Ub Iwerks, Walt developed a primitive animation studio that provided animated commercials and tiny cartoons for the local movie theaters. Always the innovator, his ALICE IN CARTOONLAND series broke ground in placing a live figure in a cartoon universe. Business reversals sent Disney & Iwerks to Hollywood in 1923, where Walt's older brother Roy became his lifelong business manager & counselor. When a mildly successful series with Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was snatched away by the distributor, the character of Mickey Mouse sprung into Walt's imagination, ensuring Disney's immortality. The happy arrival of sound technology made Mickey's screen debut, STEAMBOAT WILLIE (1928), a tremendous audience success with its use of synchronized music. The SILLY SYMPHONIES soon appeared, and Walt's growing crew of marvelously talented animators were quickly conquering new territory with full color, illusions of depth and radical advancements in personality development, an arena in which Walt's genius was unbeatable. Mickey's feisty, naughty behavior had captured millions of fans, but he was soon to be joined by other animated companions: temperamental Donald Duck, intellectually-challenged Goofy and energetic Pluto. All this was in preparation for Walt's grandest dream - feature length animated films. Against a storm of naysayers, Walt persevered and over the next decades delighted children of all ages with the adventures of Snow White, Pinocchio, Dumbo, Bambi & Peter Pan. Walt never forgot that his fortunes were all started by a mouse, or that childlike simplicity of message and lots of hard work always pay off.

"Contrary to popular belief, golf isn't a waste of time"

[TheLittleSongbird · 9/10 · 27 May 2013]

The Goofy-Disney How To...shorts always bring much enjoyment and How to Play Golf does so too. The part where Goofy loses his temper did seem out of character for me both in the short and with his character in general. That said, the animation is great with lots of vibrant colour and smooth drawing, it is not just pleasing to look at but the style has a real charm to it that still holds up today. The music is every bit as good, it matches with every gesture, facial expression, gag and bit of action perfectly and is definitely the sort of music I'd listen again to with no hesitation. The gags manage to be hilarious throughout, the ending especially so as Goofy, the stick and the bull go clubbing singing and drinking, a sight that has to be seen to be really believed. The story makes great use of the interesting idea for Goofy to ignore the narrator while the demonstration stick comes into the "real" world to assist him, and does it with a real sense of fun and light-heartedly, just the right tone for the How to...series and for Goofy. The narration manages to be witty and informative, that's what I love about the How to...series, how it entertains and teaches and does both so well. Goofy is as appealing as he ever is just doing what he does best(an everyman type of character who can break into multiple personalities), while the demonstration stick is a fun supporting character. Fred Sheilds does a very good job narrating, if just lacking the thoughtfulness of John McLeish. Overall, great, like golf it certainly isn't a waste of time. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Golf Goofy style

[Squonk · 9/10 · 25 May 1999]

'How to Play Golf' is wonderful entry in the series of Goofy Sports shorts. The opening line, "Contrary to popular belief, Golf is not a waste of time," is great! Many sequences involve Goofy being instructed on golf by a stick drawing. The idea is a clever one which pays off with some big laughs. Occasionally, though, the idea is over-used. What works about 'How to Play Golf' is that the humor appeals to those who love golf and those who hate it, count me in the latter category.

Four-Iron Goof.

[morrison-dylan-fan · 9/10 · 19 August 2013]

After having found Goofy's 2 WWII based shorts to be lacking the wit and spark, (and also containing some less than PC jokes about The Alieies then enemy:Japan.)of his previous shorts,I started to hope that this film would help Goofy to regain his swing.

The plot:

Dressed up in his very best golfing clothes,Goofy reveals the professional manner that golf should be played in,and also demonstrates his own "Goofy" take on the game.

View on the film:

With having had some personal golfing experiences at an excellent local driving range,I was thrilled to find the sharp punch lines in the screenplay, (sadly not credited to any writers) to actually match some of the original complications that I had with the sport,with one of the best scenes in the movie being Goofy getting his hands tied up,over not knowing how to grip a golf club correctly.

Freed from the patriotic focus of the last 2 shorts,director Jack Kinney brilliantly returns the colour to Goofy's cheeks by smartly making Goofy's "loud" golf costumes be matched by the excellent bright "loud" character animation and background design,as Goofy begins to find out that a hole in one may be tougher than he ever expected.

Works as entertainment and a worthy instructional video

[StevePulaski · 9/10 · 6 February 2014]

Disney's How to Play Golf is unique because it could really only be captured well enough within the boundaries of animation. It concerns Goofy, who has decided he wants to take up golf as a hobby but can't quite seem to get the basic essentials of the game down. Frustrated that his grip on the golf club is flawed and his techniques are flawed, the short's narrator Fred Shields allows Goofy's basic character outline to assist him in the proper way to golf by showing specific ways to position yourself, swing, and learn the fundamental rules of the game. The short is surprisingly hilarious because its humor is derived from the classic Disney silliness many of us grew up with. How to Play Golf works both as a farcical cartoon and an informative instructional video on how to play golf. Throw in terrifically fluent and colorful animation for the time, 1944, and the lead character who never fails to disappoint and you have one of Disney's funniest shorts on record.

Directed by: Jack Kinney.

Play It Where It Lies

[Hitchcoc · 8/10 · 22 January 2019]

Pretty much some tired old stuff relating to the game of golf. Goofy was Disney's sports expert and did several cartoons with him as the main character. He deals with water hazards, sand traps, uncooperative clubs, and a charging bull. All in all, it is colorful and uses rapid motion. Goofy, of course, is the foil here.