Fun facts about the golf movie ‘The Legend of Bagger Vance’
It’s the fourth highest grossing golf movie of all-time. It’s ranks seventh on IMDB among the best golf movies. It features three huge Hollywood actors – Matt Damon, Charlize Theron and Will Smith – and a big-time director, Robert Redford.
And on Nov. 3, 2024, “The Legend of Bagger Vance” turns 24.
Released in theaters just after Halloween in 2000, the movie got 3 ½ stars from movie critic Roger Ebert, who wrote:
Robert Redford’s “The Legend of Bagger Vance” could be a movie about prayer, music or mathematics because it is really about finding yourself at peace with the thing you do best. Most of the movie is about an epic golf tournament, but it is not a sports movie in any conventional sense. It is the first zen movie about golf.
When and where does the movie take place?
The movie is set in Savannah, Georgia, in 1931, two years into the Depression that was gripping the country. Theron plays Adele, the daughter of a man who built a golf course but then goes broke and commits suicide. Facing financial hardship herself, Adele stages a $10,000 golf tournament and invites Bobby Jones (played by Joel Gretsch) and Walter Hagen (portrayed by Bruce McGill). She also talks local golf legend Rannulph Junuh (Matt Damon’s character) into competing. He was the best golfer in the Savannah area before going off to World War I and coming back a broken man.
Where was the movie filmed?
The Legend of Bagger Vance was shot at Colleton River Club in South Carolina. The golf course’s website notes that “Colleton River was scouted for its classic and iconic courses and Lowcountry scenery.” The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island was also used in the movie.
Legend of Bagger Vance trivia
Matt Damon did not have any previous experience playing golf; he spent a month with golf pro Tim Moss in Hilton Head, South Carolina, to prepare for the role.
The film cast includes four Oscar winners: Will Smith, Matt Damon, Charlize Theron and Jack Lemmon. It was also the last film Lemmon appeared in. He died June 27, 2001, about eight months after the movie’s release.
The last hole is actually not real. At the cost of $200,000, it was temporary, as filmmakers were trying not to disturb club activities.
How much money did The Legend of Bagger Vance make?
The highest-grossing golf movies according to box office earnings:
- Tin Cup (1996) – $54 million
- Happy Gilmore (1996) – $41 million
- Caddyshack (1980) – $39 million
- The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000) – $30 million
- The Greatest Game Ever Played (2005) – $15 million
