Caddyshack (1980)
12-month trend
12-month trend
Monthly article views
2025-09 to 2026-08
A caddie's quest for a scholarship becomes entangled in a high-stakes feud between a wealthy club founder and a boisterous newcomer.
The story
Teenager Danny Noonan, an uncertain young man seeking a future beyond menial labor, works as a caddie at the exclusive Bushwood Country Club. While he typically caddies for the easygoing Ty Webb, he takes a job for the stern Judge Elihu Smails to secure a coveted scholarship. The situation becomes complicated when a boisterous, nouveau riche guest named Al Czervik arrives, sparking a heated rivalry with Smails. Simultaneously, a mentally unstable greenskeeper, Carl Spackler, is tasked with eliminating a destructive gopher on the course. As the tension between the two men escalates, Danny finds himself caught in the middle of their escalating conflict.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Danny Noonan, a caddie at Bushwood Country Club, seeks a scholarship and begins caddling for the stern Judge Elihu Smails. A rivalry ignites between Smails and the boisterous newcomer Al Czervik. Amidst this, greenskeeper Carl Spackler uses explosives to hunt a gopher. After a series of escalating incidents, including a secret tryst between Danny and Smails' niece, the tension peaks during a high-stakes golf match. Smails and Czervik enter a wager that grows to $80,000. During the match, Danny is forced to sub for Czervik. At the final hole, a tie is broken when a blast from Spackler's explosives causes the ball to fall into the hole, awarding victory to the challengers. The film ends with Czervik's men chasing Smails for the winnings while the gopher remains unharmed.
- First release year
- 1980
- Runtime (minutes)
- 98
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Harold Ramis
- Writers
- Brian Doyle-Murray · writer; Harold Ramis · writer; Douglas Kenney · writer
- Cast and characters
- Chevy Chase · Danny Noonan; Rodney Dangerfield · Judge Elihu Smails; Ted Knight · Ty Webb; Michael O'Keefe · Carl Spackler; Bill Murray · Dr Beeper
- Genres
- sports comedy; satirical
- Themes
- social class; ambition
- Tone and mood
- comedy; slapstick
- Premise and plot tags
- sports; comedy; satire
- Source material / true-story basis
- Inspired by the personal experiences of writer and co-star Brian Doyle-Murray.
- Franchise connections
- Caddyshack
- Content notes
- crude
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews initially but has since gained a cult following and is praised for its comedy and characters.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 6.60 · scale: 10 · review count: 62; Metacritic · score: 48 · scale: 100 · review count: 12
- Production trivia
- The production was noted for significant drug usage on set.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
Your lists
Loading your lists…