How I Play Golf, by Bobby Jones No. 10: 'Trouble Shots' (1931) User Reviews

Joe E. Brown Gets Bobby Into Trouble

[boblipton · 6/10 · 28 January 2020]

In this, the tenth short in the series 'How I Play Golf By Bobby Jones', the usual assortment of Warner Brothers stars come across the great player on the links. Joe E. Brown - no mean athlete himself - bets that if he and Bobby change balls after the shots from the tees, he will win. Brown gives Jones a number of tough lies - in sandtraps, in water, in stymies - and then Jones gets out. We then get the shots in slow motion, with Jones commenting in his slow Georgian accent.

Director George Marshall had begun directing in the 1910s, then wound up in charge of Fox's comedy shorts in the 1920s. Between troubles at Fox and the suspicion with which silent film directors were held in the early sound era, Marshall was wandering from company to company, from Roach to Warner's and then elsewhere. DESTRY RIDES AGAIN put him back on the top of the heap, and he directed into the 1970s.

How I Play Golf, by Bobby Jones No. 10: 'Trouble Shots' (George Marshall, 1931) **1/2

[Bunuel1976 · 6/10 · 14 April 2008]

I'm no golf enthusiast myself (also perhaps because so many comedians have lampooned this form of sport) and, at first, I thought this was included on the BULLETS OR BALLOTS (1936) DVD because it was made the same year; actually, it turned out to be an even older program – but the catch is that it featured three Hollywood stars alongside golfer Jones, and one of them is none other than the lead of BULLETS himself: Edward G. Robinson! He and comic Joe E. Brown make a bet that the latter can offer a serious challenge to Jones at the sport: the idea, however, is that Brown is so bad that his ball always falls in perilous territory and that it's Jones who has to pick up the shot. However, the golfer's prowess is so that he always manages to extract himself from the dilemma – with his moves subsequently re-produced in slow-motion and explained for the benefit of the audience! By the way, the other star who turns up at the site of the game is Douglas Fairbanks Jr., who had not long before this co-starred with Robinson in the film that made the latter's name – co-incidentally, another gangster picture, the seminal LITTLE CAESAR (1931).

No women are belittled or man-handled here . . .

[oscaralbert · 8/10 · 28 February 2015]

. . . mostly because (unlike in other segments of the series, when they're holding golf clubs) they only make brief cameo appearances as spectators toward the end of BOBBY'S LESSON NO. 10: TRICK SHOTS. It's said that Tiger Woods (in his prime, of course) could have beaten the average weekend duffer, even if the former had to play with a shovel. Since no one has ever seen this on video, I doubt that that's true. (The duffer actually might have fared better than Phil Mickelsen vs. Tiger in the Masters, by virtue of being less prone to getting "psyched out.") Bobby Jones, on the other hand, almost looks "shovel ready" here. Playing a version of Best Ball\Worst Ball with actor Joe E. Brown, Mr. Jones appears to be totally unflappable. Whether his ball is in the trap, the ditch, the deep rough, or the creek, he always finds the appropriate paddle and never gets the "pitching yips." Even when he seems to be "stymied" on the decisive hole, Tiddly-Winking his ball over Joe's directly into the cup proves to be a piece of cake for him. Joe cannot hit his tee and approach shots badly enough to keep Jones from making the green. (Only TIN CUP's Kevin Costner could have done that!)

A Fun Way To Get Golf Lessons

[ccthemovieman-1 · 9/10 · 12 February 2008]

This tenth Bobby Jones short feature is the first one in this series I've seen and I was pleasantly surprised. It isn't just some dry golf lesson that only golfers could appreciate, but a little humor and story involved in it, with a couple of famous Hollywood personalities. However, more than anything, it shows off the amazing talents of the great golfer Bobby Jones.

The "story" is a side bet that comedian Joe E. Brown (witnessed by actor Edward G. Robinson) makes with Jones on the course one day. He bets he can beat Bobby if the latter is forced to hit the ball from wherever the comedian hits it off the tee, and vice-versa. Of course, Brown hits it in horrible places, behind trees, in ditches, buried in sand traps, etc., but Jones shows how he still manages to get the ball not only on the green but near the hole, out of their almost-impossible conditions.

As a past golfer, I can appreciate some of these shots by Jones. They are amazing. For example: few, if any, golfers today, including Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, could hit a one-iron as Jones does here.

This turned out to be a fun little bonus feature. It was part of the DVD from the feature film, "Bullets Or Ballots."

How to get out of the sand with ease.

[TxMike · 7 February 2005]

In his lesson number 3, the Niblick, the story starts when a wife and the butler are complaining that her husband is 2 hours late for dinner again. When he shows up, complaining about having to work late, his wife lets him in on her little secret -- she knows that he has been getting instruction from Bobby Jones.

The man was having the hardest time hitting the golf ball out of a sand trap. Bobby Jones looked at his form and told him he was doing two things very badly. First, he was playing the ball off his right toe, and second he was closing the club face.

Jones showed him how to play the ball off his left toe, and how to open up the club face of the Niblick (today, a 9 iron. The sand wedge had not yet been invented). Then he proceeded to hit a half dozen sand shots withing about 2 feet of the flag.

Then, in his classic understatement, says "That's about all there is to it!" Sure, we all wish it were that easy!

Thanks, Golf Channel!

[dwacon-2 · 10/10 · 25 December 2006]

I learned about this series of Vitaphone shorts while channel surfing... I tuned into the Golf channel and was wondering why they were showing an old B&W film.

I continued watching until I slowly came to realize who I was watching... the great Bobby Jones.

I had seen the film biography of Jones... and have visited a lot of the Jones memorials in Augusta GA. But this was the first time I saw and heard the great man.

Cool!

I plan on getting the DVD version of this series, given the practical instruction (despite the use of archaic terms like "Mashie Niblick" and "Spoon."

This film... and the others in the series, are very highly recommended for all golfers!

The Best in the Series

[Michael_Elliott · 22 November 2012]

How I Play Golf, by Bobby Jones #10: Trouble Shots (1931)

*** (out of 4)

This here is probably the best film in the series as Bobby Jones gets to hit the course with three legends. Joe E. Brown and Edward G. Robinson are on the course when they make a bet. It seems Brown feels that he can beat Jones in a round of golf. The only catch is that Jones has to use the ball after Brown hits one of his bad shots. This is where the lesson comes into play as Jones teaches viewers out to get out of some trouble shots including the ball in a creek, the ball behind a tree and the ball in tall grass. I've seen all of the Bobby Jones shorts from his two series at Warner and I don't think there's any doubt that this one here is the best. The story here is actually a very good one and I really wished they had made this one a two-reeler because it was that much fun. Brown appears to be having a great time throwing his brand of humor off the more dry Jones but the golf pro manages to have a few good comebacks as well. Robinson and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. pretty much just take a backseat but it's still a blast seeing them here.

A Basic Lesson in a variety of golf shots

[mbaker280 · 3 September 2001]

This short, old film is basically a lesson in how to hit various shots in golf that are from a wide range of common trouble zones. The plot is that someone challenges a famous excellent golfer to a game, with a catch: the pro makes the poor player's tee shots, and vice versa, and then they play from there with the other person's tee shots. This leaves the pro in a large number of poor situations, which he explains how to escape and still do well on the hole. Not for non-golf fans.