"Scotland was a wonderful shoot," adds Herrington. "It started when Kim and I, along with Tom Stern, our cinematographer, and his camera crew, got up about four in the morning and went out onto the St. Andrews Old Course where we shot the opening titles just as the sun was coming up. It was magic."
The course at St. Andrews is closed to play on Sundays and is open as a park for pedestrian visits. Dawson and his crew were given access to the course by The St. Andrews Links Trust run by Allen McGregor. "He was kind enough to let us shoot there," says Dawson, "and he gave us access to the course along with the Royal and Ancient Golf Club which sits on the grounds."
Capturing the images in Scotland and Atlanta on film was assigned to Tom Stern, who had just come off a stint as director of photography for Clint Eastwood's Mystic River. Tim Moore, a producer on Bobby Jones - Stroke of Genius, had also worked with Eastwood and insisted that Herrington meet Stern. "He works with Clint, and Clint works like you do," was the word from Tim.
"When Tom came in," says Herrington, "he'd not only read the script but had some wonderful ideas. He's a very bright guy, as smart a person as I've met in the film business, and he's delightful. It was one of our best decisions to hire Tom. He's not only fast, he's great. The film is beautiful and that's Tom Stern, coming and going."
Stern and Herrington quickly developed a shorthand that took them rapidly through the day. "Like a lot of independent films, this one has a certain amount of budget constraints," explains Stern. "We were faced with the challenge of making an historic epic on a shoestring - or maybe it was just one boot - and filming a high volume of shots every day. Rowdy and I immediately developed a kind of shorthand where I could understand what he was thinking and because of this, we never got very far off course. We basically ripped on this film and accomplished a lot. We used a steadicam which allowed us to move very fast and take advantage of the crowds. We had to go like hell but at the same time create an island of tranquility and peace so that the actors didn*t feel rushed. There were a whole lot of wheels turning in the background so that we could make our schedule. I*m quite proud because I think we were able to give Rowdy the maximum amount of time with his actors.
"We were fortunate to have Bruce Miller as the production designer," continues Stern, "because he could probably build the pyramids with a $3 budget. He's incredibly resourceful, on top of having great taste. He's really able to leverage his resources to create the scope that we needed and because of his efforts, and those of Beverly Safier, our costume designer, we could create the period without using filtration or orange filters. I wanted a film that would take the audience from 2004 and have them actually empathize with the people who were living their lives in 1920."
Production designer Bruce Allen Miller was brought on board by Herrington to design both Scotland and Atlanta. The two had worked together previously and been friends for 25 years. "It's like working with family," says Herrington. "Bruce is phenomenally talented and what he was able to accomplish with a very small budget was spectacular."
In the opening scene of Bobby Jones - Stroke of Genius, Jones returns to St. Andrews to play a round of golf. It's 1936 and he has retired from the game. Since the town of St. Andrews has changed little over the years, it didn't take much for the filmmakers to recreate the scene.
"The city of St. Andrews and all the buildings around it are exactly as they were when Jones returned," explains Dawson. "The Royal and Ancient Golf Club hasn't changed either. Maybe a bit on the golf course where they've added irrigation, but audiences will believe that it's period."
Miller agrees with Dawson. "St. Andrews," he says, "is like a little museum once you remove a few signs. And because it's an historical town, when you cover up the modern windows, it's still an old town. The walls have been there for hundreds of years."
