Golf movie 'The Squeeze' set to open April 17

Most golf movies fail because the on-course action isn’t realistic.

Either the actors can’t play, or the movie tries to get too cute with golf shots that aren’t believable.

That isn’t the case for The Squeeze, a golf movie that will be released April 17.

Written and directed by veteran TV producer and director Terry Jas­trow, the film is based on the exploits of a real golfer and his entanglement with professional gamblers.

Jastrow helped ABC Sports cover 68 major golf championships, not to mention several Olympic Games and numerous other big-time events.

He knew that the key to making the movie was finding an actor who could really play the game.

“We love movies that have golf in them,” Jastrow said during a conference call last month. “The first golf movie I ever saw was Follow the Sun, and I had seen (Ben) Hogan play. Then you see an actor pick up a golf club
and it takes you right out of the story.”
Jeremy Sumpter, who plays main character Augie in The Squeeze, has a plus-1 handicap. When Jastrow narrowed down pot­ential actors for the role, he invited them to play his home course in Los Angeles.

“Jeremy hit it about 300 (yards) off the first tee, then he birdied the second,” Jastrow said. “I said, ‘We’ve found our Augie.’ I wouldn’t have made it unless I could find real players.”

The story is based on Keith Flatt, an aspiring professional golfer from Texas who winds up play­ing big-money matches in small towns throughout the South and Southwest before he winds up in Las Vegas.

The cast includes veteran actors Chris­topher McDonald (“Shooter McGavin” in Happy Gilmore) and Mi­chael Nouri (Flashdance) as professional gamblers who square off against each other. McDonald’s character, Riverboat, is a mix of real-life hustlers Titanic Thompson and Ama­rillo Slim, while Nouri plays fictional Vegas gambler Jimmy Diamonds.

Augie’s dream is to play in the U.S. Open, but before long he is on the road with Riverboat and helping him win thousands of dollars.

The conflict for Augie is a bad home life and his girlfriend Natalie, played by Jillian Murray, who doesn’t believe that gambling is the right path for him to achieve his dreams.

Once in Las Vegas, Augie feels the “squeeze” when he is forced to choose between Riverboat and Jimmy Diamonds.

“I was very intrigued by playing the gambler, not the golfer, this time out,” McDonald said. “I haven’t played a part like that in a long time, if ever.”

The movie had a budget of $6 million and is rated PG-13, and it will be released next week in selected markets and on video on demand.

Six-time Masters winner Jack Nick­­laus is among those who screened the movie early.

“I watched The Squeeze with Bar­ba­ra and really enjoyed it,” he said. “It’s a fun movie that tells an interesting story, and the golf elements are so real you actually believe it could happen.”