
DAVIE, Fla. - If you've ever played a round of golf, it's almost inevitable that someone in your foursome will quote a line from the movie "Caddyshack."
And if you've played a lot of golf, those quotes can get old. Unless you are playing at Grande Oaks Golf Club, where "Caddyshack" was filmed.
Then it's OK. Then it's a Cinderella Story.
On the advice of columnist Dave Boling, who played the course in 1996, I called the golf pro at Grande Oaks, Dave Buono, and explained that I was in town to cover a Seahawks game against the Dolphins and would love to play what is better known as Bushwood, the venerable locale of the 1980 film starring Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, Rodney Dangerfield and Ted Knight.
Even though the course is now private, Bouno allowed me on the course. When Boling played it, it was called Rolling Hills and was open to the public for $26.
Nine years ago, the peasants were kicked out and the privileged were brought in, much like the movie. It now has a gate, a refurbished clubhouse and proximity to the Miami Dolphins' practice facility, which means that more than a few members of the team belong. While I was checking in for my tee time, Dolphins club president Bill Parcells wandered into the golf shop.
Seahawks kicker Olindo Mare, who played for the Dolphins from 1997 to 2006, belonged to the club and loved it.
"Oh man, we used to have about 10 guys from the team who belonged to the club, and we'd show up all the time and have tournaments," said Mare, who plays to a single-digit handicap.
It's difficult, as you look around the grounds, to not imagine scenes from the movie - from the Smails kid getting sick into the car under the portico to Mrs. Havercamp sending her ball unwittingly into a lake with the unfettered joy that accompanies senility.
If you believe - as I do - that it is the best sports movie of all time, it seems like only yesterday when Danny Noonan was a caddie with a good golf game.
But a stunning lack of paraphernalia in the golf shop attests to the time that has lapsed since the movie came out.
"It's been 28 years," said Mike Carper, working the front desk.
Dangerfield and Knight both have died, as has Chase's acting career. The only thing in the golf shop to remind a visitor that the classic was filmed there is a movie poster, a few stuffed gophers that Carl Spackler didn't kill and a replica of Al Czervik's ridiculously oversized golf bag, on top of which is a duplicate of Spackler's camouflage hat.
The club once a year holds a day to commemorate the movie, something that is fun for the members. A few years ago, Cindy Morgan, who played the lusty Lacy Underall, was in town two days before the event and visited the club to relive some memories.
"She still looked pretty good for somebody going on 50," Carper said.
The course itself looks nothing like a typical Florida course, other than the three-foot long iguanas that sunbathe on the banks of the lakes. There are no palm trees. Very little cypress. Even the grass is not the typical Bermuda found in so many tropical climates.
Of course, Bushwood is supposed to have been located in Nebraska, so a distinctly Florida flavor would not have been ideal. As the current name suggests, oak trees dominate, giving the course an altogether Texas feel.
But though the course seems misplaced, the scenes of the movie are unmistakable, particularly for a devotee who has watched it countless times.
The condominiums prized by Dangerfield's character, behind the seventh green, are now obscured by taller trees and a manicured hedgerow. Most of the other scenes were shot on the back nine - which only serves to delay the gratification of first-time visitors.
The par-3 11th is where Ty Webb puts on his amazing putting display while giving Noonan lessons in life.
"A flute without holes, is not a flute. A donut without a hole, is a Danish," Webb says.
The par-4 12th is where Czervik cranks up the stereo on his golf bag and leads his large retinue in dance, much to the chagrin of Judge Smails.
"That man is a menace to society."
And off to the right of the par-3 17th is the grove of trees where Mr. and Mrs. Havercamp put on display their hopelessly awful swings, a priceless moment frozen in time.
"That's a peach, hon."
As dusk settles over the course, a bride and groom emerge from the clubhouse to have their wedding photos taken before the celebration begins inside. She is dressed in white, radiant - and befuddled.
"I can't believe I'm having my wedding reception where they filmed the movie "Caddyshack," she tells the photographer.
We all should be so lucky.
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