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Reflections |
Bruce McGill
Actor
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Rewrite the conclusion of “National Lampoon’s Animal House”: D-Day went on from college to become a celebrity golfer.
Bruce McGill is best known for his role as Daniel Simpson “D-Day” Day in “Animal House” — he’s the mustachioed monkey wrench with no GPA but the ability to play the William Tell Overture using his throat as an instrument. But McGill also cleans up well — for example, his role as the sharp-dressed Walter Hagen in “The Legend of Bagger Vance” (pictured).
McGill’s list of credits are numerous, including movies “Cinderella Man,” “Ali,” and “My Cousin Vinny,” and TV shows such as “MacGyver” and “Quantum Leap.”
An avid golfer and golf history buff, McGill took his role as the early American golfer and 11-time major winner Walter Hagen seriously. As well as learning Hagen’s unique swing, McGill also occasionally carries a set of Hagen irons from 1933 in his bag. “They have an amazingly sharp leading edge because you had to cut down through the turf. The greens were about like the fairways are now,” the actor says.
In his next role, McGill switches sports to boxing, playing a trainer in “From Mexico with Love,” due out in theaters this year.
— Seth Jones,
senior associate editor
For the complete Bruce McGill interview, including more on his role as Walter Hagen, visit GCM’s blog at www.GCM.typepad.com
"There’s no comparison between what we used to play on (and courses today). I didn’t start playing until 1980 or so. But what they used to play on in terms of rough and in terms of conditioning — it was like hardpan. If it was hot and dry, you didn’t have grass. You played anyway. Everything in the game is elevated because it became a game that could make you money… people were willing to pay to play. It’s like anything: If you can add funds to it, you can improve the conditions, and I think that’s absolutely true in greenskeeping or superintending. Superintendents, thank you; keep it up. I’m sorry you have to get up so damn early, and I’m sorry everybody bitches about pin placements." |
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