In the eyes of most observers, French golfer Jean Van de Velde had really blown it. The press dubbed it a spectacular blunder. According to Sports Illustrated senior writer Gary Van Sickle, it was "the worst final-hole collapse in modern golf history." Going into the 18th hole in the final round of the ’99 British Open in Carnoustie, Scotland, with a three-stroke lead, Van de Velde shot a triple-bogey seven, forfeiting what moments before had seemed a sure victory.
All was not lost, but it would be. The tournament finished in a shoot-out among Van de Velde, Paul Lawrie and Justin Leonard. Lawrie went home with the prize money, while Van de Velde would be remembered for virtually handing him the Old Claret Jug trophy.
But as the saying goes, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. On that fateful July day, a sports announcer unwittingly made the suggestion that Van de Velde, who had the lowest putting average in the tournament, would have scored better on the 18th-and thus, won the tournament-if he’d relied solely on his putter. The challenge was not lost on Never Compromise, the Vista, Calif.-based manufacturer of golf putters. In fact, Van de Velde’s misfortune signaled a unique opportunity.
Never Compromise approached Mark Fenske, a freelance creative/filmmaker based in Malibu, Calif. Fenske is well known in ad circles, having first gained recognition as a writer at Wieden+Kennedy, Portland, Ore. He later opened his own hybrid creative boutique/production house, The Bomb Factory (now defunct), through which he directed such spots as: Coca-Cola’s "Timeline," part of the original package of ads from Creative Artists Agency, Beverly Hills, in ’93; and the ’94 Coors Light Channel campaign out of FCB, Chicago. Then Fenske served briefly as creative director/managing partner of N.W. Ayer & Partners, New York, before assuming an independent, freelance professional lifestyle.
Of his recent No Compromise endeavor, Fenske said he was drawn to the project in that it was proposed as a different sort of infomercial-"a documercial." The idea was simply to take two days, a putter and a camera, and give Van de Velde the chance to beat his British Open score.
Fenske was intrigued by the "chance to do something new." The extended format, he said, allowed one to "tell the truth. Commercials rarely give you the chance to show a person or an action in real time in the real world."
It also didn’t hurt that Fenske likes golf. He then took the project to fellow golfer, director Dan Levinson, a principal in bicoastal Moxie Pictures, who signed on as well. Fenske served as creative on the assignment, collaborating closely with Levinson, with the two serving as co-directors."The biggest opportunity in doing this," Levinson said, "was not knowing what was going to happen." In December ’99, the Frenchman, the client and a small production crew-including DP Ed Stephenson; assistant DP Jason Harvey; and producer Rich Zeifman-went to Carnoustie to find out.
Before the big question could be answered, however, something had to be done about the ice that blanketed the green. "[It] was thick," Fenske recalled. The greenskeepers agreed to pump hot water on the green to thaw it out. "They’d never done it before," Fenske added. "It worked."
The delay meant that Van de Velde was able to play the hole only once the first day. "He wanted to get a six," Levinson said. He shot a nine.
On the second day, it was agreed that Van de Velde should shoot at his own pace. "Jean was freezing, and it was really hard for him to have to wait half-an-hour between shots while we got set up," Fenske said. Van de Velde played the hole a second and third time, narrowly beating his British Open score on the final try with a six. "We shot exactly and only what’s in the film," said Fenske. "I was glad he beat his score, but it didn’t matter to me what he shot. What mattered was getting it down truthfully."
In many ways, the film was brought to life in the post process. Much humor is derived from the light, sing-songy score and original lyrics that refer to specific moments in the film, even going so far as to poke fun at Van de Velde’s shortcomings. Editor Charlie Johnson of Lost Planet, Santa Monica, and freelance musician/actor/comedian John Kapelos-who served as composer and a vocalist on the project-"hit all the timings right," Fenske said.
The finished product, a half-hour documercial titled Scotland in December, consists of the documentary footage, a few obligatory product shots touting the putter’s design, and at the start of the film, stock footage of the ’99 British Open. Scotland has been airing on the Golf Channel, CNBC and other cable networks.
In the end, Levinson said, "It gives you a little insight into a golfer’s perspective," without being a puff piece about the product or the sport. "Anything you see produced about golf is this lyrical, cinematic, pretty thing, and it’s all bullshit," he added. "Golf is a mind game, and you either overcome or you don’t. This [film shows] the real thing."
As for Fenske’s final thoughts on the project, he said two observations come to mind: "The infomercial format can be used honorably. Golf in December in Scotland can be great fun."
