Review of The Short Game (2013) by Horacio R — 19 Sep 2014

A part of the recent influx of Netflix backed features - which most notably includes Oscar-nominated The Square (2014) - The Short Game is exactly the sort of frothy, populist documentary you'd expect to stumble across while scrolling through pages of streaming recommendations. Following a host of the world's most spoilt brats as they compete at the World Championships of Junior Golf in North Carolina, the documentary is able to attain a certain cutesy appeal, but never much more than that, as it skims over the surface of the weird world of mini golf pros.

For starters, the 7-year-olds are drawn with a dismissive reductiveness. Young French golfer, Augustin, is introduced in a crested blazer in front of the Eiffel Tower declaring his love for art. Zamokhule from South Africa enters dancing around in front of some giraffes. Allan Kournikova (brother of Anna) is presented as hideously pampered cash-, fame- and success-hungry brat. And this is about the extent of director Josh Greenbaum's ambition, introducing some stereotyped entrants and then covering their progress in the championship for half the running time.

The real meat of the story would be in their relationships with their parents, which The Short Game does touch on, but with nothing like the depth or enthusiasm it should. There are a few touching moments of tears, missed shots and angry words - but on the whole the overbearing parents are given a very easy ride. "I don't feel like I'm giving up my childhood, I feel like golf is my childhood," says Allan when questioned about the sport. Surely the saddest statement ever heard from a 7-year-old, and one that should be interrogated more deeply.

Part of the problem is that all the kids have been brainwashed into the generic language of sport and reinforced pep talks, so for the most part the fact they are so young is just a novelty - the same words could be coming out of the mouths of any pro. When this glassy eyed mask does occasionally slip and they play and babble like real children, The Short Game is able to find its highlight - the adorable kids, who may inhabit this dry, adult world of putting greens and branded caps, but underneath it all just want to have fun.

For a good third of the film we are basically watching a golf tournament play out, with the chopping and changing leaderboard, ESPN commentary and overly engineered drama. How you take to this depends entirely on your love of the sport, but after the initial novelty of seeing pocket-size Tiger Woods ripping drives and sinking putts I became weary of it. The Short Game is a honkingly simplistic film that never finds anything worth saying, but as a diverting, entertaining glance at the micro-sport it provides some good-natured fun.