The Golf Game – I Love Lucy originally aired May 17, 1954
In The Golf Game, Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball) quickly regrets giving a set of golf clubs to her husband Ricky (Desi Arnaz), as he and their friend Fred Mertz (William Frawley) quickly spend all of their free time during the day playing golf, and all of their free evening time thinking about how to improve their golf games. Fred’s wife Ethel (Vivian Vance) is as sick of being a golf widow as Lucy is, and they decide to fight fire with fire. They show the boys how it feels to be left out of their spouses lives as they take up a sport – basketball!
Fighting fire with fire … backfires
The next scene has Lucy and Ethel setting up a basketball hoop in Lucy’s living room, and the girls begin playing a game just as the boys come home. But their plan backfires, since the boys tell them that now they’ll understand how they feel about their sport, and leave to practice putting in Fred’s appointment.
If you can’t beat them, join them
Never one to give up, Lucy comes up with the idea that, if you can’t beat them, join them. She and Ethel decide to take up golf instead! This way, they can share the boys’ interests, and spend more time with them. As well as making sure they can always come up with a foursome. Ricky and Fred, however, don’t care for the idea, and come up with the mean-spirited idea to ‘teach’ the girls how to play golf. Making up rules as they go, to make the game so unpleasant that the girls will stop playing, and leave the men to ‘their’ sport.
The various ‘additions’ to the game that Ricky and Fred come up with are quite funny. Such as a ‘mashie’ being having to grind the golf ball into the ground. One of the best jokes comes when Ricky talks about a niblick, which Lucy thinks is made-up. But it’s actually a golf term.
Professional golfer Jimmy Demaret to the rescue
While the boys are away for a moment, golf professional Jimmy Demaret plays through. After a moment’s confusion he makes it clear that the girls are the victims of a trick. With Jimmy’s help, the girls turn the tables on the boys the following day. They play in their first golf tournament with … Jimmy Demaret, who uses some of their own ‘rules’ to teach them a lesson.
The Golf Game is a funny I Love Lucy episode, although not one of my favorites. I rate it 3 clowns out of 5. The Golf Game is available on DVD as part of the I Love Lucy season 3 DVD collection.
Funny quotes from The Golf Game – I Love Lucy
Ethel Mertz (Vivian Vance): It’s been a long time since you put your arm around my waist at the movie theater, Fred.
Fred Mertz (William Frawley): It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to get my arm around your waist.
Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball) : [realizing Ricky and Fred have deliberately taught the girls how to golf incorrectly] There’s a rotten Cuban in Denmark.
Ethel: Mertz (Vivian Vance):Â And he’s got a fat friend.