Putter's Progress

A golfer's spiritual journey is par for the course

Golfer Luke Chisolm (Lucas Black, who has a good swing), pushed to excel since childhood by his ambitious dad (shades of Tiger Woods), has a humiliating meltdown during his tournament debut. He hits the road and crashes into a fence in golden-hued Utopia, Texas, where he's rescued by Robert Duvall on horseback.

Rancher Johnny Crawford, an ex-pro who lost his career to the bottle, offers to help Luke find his game in seven days, teaching him the Zen of golf via fly-fishing, washer tossing, and painting.

Disturbingly, Seven Days in Utopia doubles as an infomercial for Christian golf retreats led by the guy who wrote the book the movie is based on. Nonetheless, there are some things to like about this old-fashioned movie, which offers some interesting ideas about spirituality and the mental game of golf. --Pamela Zoslov

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