“The Golf Game”

(S3;E30 ~ May 17, 1954) Directed by William Asher. Written by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh, and Bob Carroll, Jr.  Filmed April 15, 1954 at Ren-Mar Studio. Rating: 54.2/81

Synopsis ~ Frustrated that their husbands seem to prefer golf to them, Lucy and Ethel insist that Ricky and Fred teach them the fundamentals of the game. The boys end up teaching the girls a lesson by making up a lot of ridiculous rules. When the girls meet professional golfer Jimmy Demaret and correct his play, they realize what their husbands have been up to. 

On May 17, 1954, the same date this episode was aired for the first time, the United States Supreme Court decided a case that changed the course of American history. In the case of Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation of schools was unconstitutional. 

The day this episode was filmed was the last time that April 15th was NOT tax day in the United States.* In 1954 there were extensive revisions to the tax codes, and the date was moved from March 15 to April 15. In “Lucy Gets Ricky on the Radio” (S1;E32), the first of the original questions Ricky was to answer on Freddie Filmore’s “Mr. and Mrs. Quiz” is:

“To whom do you make your federal tax check out on March 15?”

The correct answer, is The Collector of Internal Revenue. Unfortunately for Lucy (who is cheating), Filmore changes the question at the last minute to:

“What is the name of the animal that fastens itself to you and drains you of your blood?”

Lucy, of course, still answers The Collector of Internal Revenue!

* Note: Due to the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic, Tax Day in the US was altered in 2020 and 2021. In 2021, it coincidentally was moved to May 17, the 67th anniversary of this episode’s first airing!  

A week after this episode first aired, Lucy was still perfecting her game of golf!  Lucy Van Pelt, that is!  It was one of the rare instances where actual adults were drawn by Charles Schultz – although only their lower bodies, not their faces. 

Pettebone & Percy: A Pip-Pip / Pioneer Pince-Nez Party!

The date this episode was filmed would have been the 66th birthday of Florence Bates, who played the snooty and imperious Mrs. Pettebone in “Pioneer Women” (S1;E25).  Sadly, Bates died six weeks before this episode aired. Also celebrating a birthday the day the cameras rolled on “The Golf Game” is Hans Conried, who was 37.  He first worked with Lucille Ball in the 1942 film The Big Street and on her radio show “My Favorite Husband.” On “I Love Lucy” he played Percy Livermore when “Lucy Hires an English Tutor” (S2;E13). He also  played Mr. Jenkins, used furniture salesman in “Redecorating” (S2;E8). 

On “The Lucy Show” he made two appearances as Dr. Gitterman, a drama / music coach. The first was in “Lucy’s Barbershop Quartet” (TLS S1;E19) in 1963 and in “Lucy Plays Cleopatra” (TLS S2;E1) in 1963. In 1973 he appeared on an episode of “Here’s Lucy” starring Danny Thomas, who he was then intractably associated with because of “Make Room for Daddy.” Conried died in 1982 at the age of 64.

Some elements of this script were first used in “Hobbies”, an episode of Lucille Ball’s radio series “My Favorite Husband” aired on April 9, 1950. In it, Liz and Iris decide that rather than fight their husbands’ golf obsession, they will join them instead – even though they know nothing about the game. 

This episode is set up in “Sentimental Anniversary” (S3;E16, above) when Lucy gives Ricky brand new MacGregor golf clubs for an anniversary present. Early in this episode, Ethel mentions it and blames Lucy for their golf obsession. A golf devotee himself, Desi Arnaz really enjoyed this episode. 

Desi was such a golf nut that he built a second home on the 17th fairway of the Thunderbird Golf Club in Rancho Mirage, California. In 1957, he opened a hotel in Palm Springs at the Indian Wells Country Club called the Desi Arnaz-Western Hills Hotel. 

In the show Ricky and Fred are playing in a tournament to benefit the USO and the National Golf Fund during the 3rd Annual National Golf Day, which was held on June 5, 1954, just three weeks after the episode was first broadcast. During World War II, Desi Arnaz was classified for limited service in the Army due to a knee injury so he was assigned to direct USO (United Service Organization) programs at a military hospital in the San Fernando Valley. In 1954, National Golf Day raised $68,000 for the Fund. 

Despite the episode being about golf, in the first scenes, Lucy turns the apartment into a basketball court!  This is the only mention of basketball on the series. As the boys go downstairs to practice their stroke, Fred says “So long, bloomer girls.” 

Amelia Bloomer designed and wore the loose-fitting, Turkish-style trousers that carried her name, and made sports more practical for women athletes. In the 1890s, scores of “Bloomer Girls” baseball teams were formed all over the country.  The Bloomer Girls era lasted from the 1890s until 1934.

Louis Nicoletti (above), a veteran extra on the show, plays the Tournament Chairman, one of his 15 appearances on the series.  

Spectators at the golf tournament include Desi’s stand-in Bennett Green (knee up on bench) and Vivian’s stand-in Renita Reachi. 

As Ricky and Fred look up a rule in their golfing book, Lucy and Ethel drop the bombshell that they are going to learn the game, too. Ricky slams the book closed on Fred’s finger. The book cover, seen on screen, identifies it as Jimmy Demaret’s book, My Partner, Ben Hogan (McGraw Hill, 1954).

Jimmy Demaret (1910-83) was the Tiger Woods of his day. He won the Masters Tournament in 1940, 1947 and 1950. Although mostly only remembered today by golf aficionados, his appearance on the show was a big deal at the time since he was still playing professionally. In fact, the year this episode was first aired, he came in 3 under par at the 1954 Open Championship. 

Oops!  Desi Arnaz wears a hat with the insignia of The Thunderbird Ranch & Gold Club, Rancho Mirage, California. It is unlikely that New Yorker Ricky Ricardo would have played there. Desi ad-libs a verbal mention of the club at the start of “The Charm School” (S3;E15) earlier in 1954. 

RICKY: “You know, the whole membership of the Thunderbird Club was around the 18th hole. All I had to do was make this measly two-foot putt to win, and I missed it!  

When Ricky wants to dissuade the girls from taking up golf, he says “Mamie doesn’t play,” referring to First Lady Mamie Eisenhower. Her husband, however, did – a lot! During his eight years in office, Ike played more than 800 rounds, a quarter of them at Augusta National Golf Club, where he was a member. 

LUCY: “There’s a rotten Cuban in Denmark.” 
ETHEL: “And he’s got a fat friend.”

Lucy is paraphrasing Shakespeare’s play HAMLET:  

“Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.” An officer of the palace guard says this after the ghost of the dead King appears on the castle ramparts. The line has become synonymous with suspecting wrong-doing. 

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FAST FORWARD!

Jimmy Demaret would go on to play himself again in a 1964 episode of “The Lucy Show” titled “Lucy Takes Up Golf” (TLS S2;E17).  

Ironically, in that show Lucy Carmichael fakes knowledge of the game to impress her new boyfriend, Gary Stewart, played by her second husband Gary Morton. Lucille Ball divorced one golf nut to marry another. Both Desi and Gary were both obsessed with the sport.  

In addition to Lucille Ball and Jimmy Demaret, this episode includes several actors from the “I Love Lucy” golf episode: Vivian Vance as Viv Bagley, Louis Nicoletti as a spectator, and George Pierrone as a caddy in both shows.

In a 1971 episode of “Here’s Lucy,” Harry Carter (Gale Gordon) played a round of golf with his psychiatrist (Parley Baer). Instead of the links, the scene is set in the country club restaurant. 

A little more than a year later, “The Honeymooners” also did a golf-themed episode (October 15, 1955). Ralph (Jackie Gleason) must learn how to play golf in less than a week to impress a links-loving bus company executive who could give him a promotion. Both episodes were released on VHS. Like Desi Arnaz, Gleason was a big golf fan in real-life. Like Lucy, Gleason also did a second golf-themed episode with his side-kick (Art Carney) in color during the 1960s.  

In 1973 Lucille Ball endorsed a Milton Bradley game called Pivot Golf with her name and photo on the box. The year before, she had done the same with their game Pivot Pool. While Lucy played golf, she preferred board games like backgammon and scrabble.  

LEFT: In 2008, Cleo Smith (Lucy’s cousin) offered the golf bag and clubs used in this episode for auction. The final bid was $3,125. 

RIGHT: In 2010, Gary Morton’s widow offered Lucille Ball’s personalized golf clubs, bag and shoes for auction.  The final bid was undisclosed. 

Golf Gifts!