Love on the Right Course (2024 TV Movie) User Reviews

A Medium Magyar Movie

[atlasmb · 6/10 · 7 January 2024]

I would not call this a comedy as much as a light-hearted drama. As for the romance, this is one of those films where the romance feels tacked onto the ending.

That said, this Hallmark film has a cast that is likable. And some beautiful scenes from Hungary, which are a plus.

Trying to make this film about golf technically accurate was a challenge, but the scenes are convincing enough.

Ashley Newbrough plays the part of Whitney, the young golfer who has lost the spark in her game since her mother's death. When she visits her father, she finds that he has become reclusive and is thinking about selling their golf club. She is also getting negativity from her caddy.

Marcus Rosner plays Daniel, the club pro who offers to help her with her game. He finds himself becoming involved emotionally in Whitney's well-being.

Fair start for the New Year

[Jackbv123 · 7/10 · 7 January 2024]

The story is fairly common. A sports star is burnt out and goes home to re-energize. Part of her burn out is she is still grieving the loss of her mother who was also her coach. She meets a golf pro working at her dad's club who brings back fun for the game. To add to that simple story, dad is considering selling his home and the club. There is a subplot around that. Another subplot is the appearance of the professional caddy she recently fired. Despite Andrew's good looks, supposedly the two never had any romantic involvement and there is no hint of any sexual orientation either way. Nevertheless, his arrival does make things more complicated.

The chemistry between Ashley Newbrough and Marcus Rosner is good but not sparkling. There are enough things going on in the story that Rosner and Newbrough are not together as much as they could have been. Overall the acting is good and dialogue is decent. We see some Hungarian scenery.

Hallmark lately seems to like mixing there regulars around, sometimes for cameos, sometimes for more. In this case Brittany Bristow appears as a rival competitor in the two golf tournaments shown. She gets a few lines at the end. Maybe because she wrote the story, this her first fictional movie on the small screen. Not bad, but no great highs or lows or surprises.

I enjoyed it, but my current rating may be over-generous. I like both Newbrough and Bristow and the story flows well. And it is the first non-Christmas movie I've seen in weeks.

Hallmark on the links

[allmoviesfan · 6/10 · 10 January 2024]

Spectacular scenery in Hungary - is this the first time that a Hallmark movie has been filmed there?

Anyway, 'Love on the Right Course' has a plot that has been used often by Hallmark, this time it's about a struggling pro golfer Whitney (played by Ashley Newbrough) returning home to Hungary to get a reprieve from the competitive tour. Surprise, surprise, Whitney runs into Daniel (Hallmark regular, Marcus Rosner) who runs the course her father owns. And, naturally - this being Hallmark after all - sparks begin to fly.

Written by Brittany Bristow, who also plays a role in the movie. As does TSN Canada anchor Kara Wagland. If you like golf and Hallmark movies, this one will be right up your alley. Or down your fairway, if you will.

Odd decisions making this movie.

[gmead-933-493078 · 6/10 · 12 January 2024]

Unlike many of the reviewers here, I liked the chemistry between the two leads - it felt natural to me. I liked the slow building of a (predictable) friendship between the father and "Maria", both grieving the loss of their spouses. I also liked the fact that the inevitable misunderstandings come fairly early in the movie, and with one by each of the leads - and that they apologized for the misunderstanding. For a couple getting to know each other, though, I would have expected heartfelt promises not to jump to conclusions again. (Seriously, it seems that a continuing characteristic of nearly all Hallmark leads is that they don't trust their partner and instantly jump to the worst conclusions)

There were some real questions I had, though. First, why shoot this in Hungary? I don't think any of these scenes HAD to be shot in Hungary, as opposed, say, to anywhere else in Europe or North America. There was one scene where the two leads were walking up some stairs past marble sculptures which I assume were classically Hungarian, but other than that, it had me wondering if Hungary is offering big financial incentives to film there.

Second, the 8 million Euro offer for the golf course (a pro course is usually over 100 acres, according to Google) and the massive building seems laughably low. I would have expected something on the order of at least a hundred million Euros.

Not being a ball golfer (disc golf, yeah!) I had no idea whether the golfing scenes were any good, but other reviewers here have said that they were awful. Why can't Hallmark find actors even among their usual stable of beautiful people who are competent? Hallmark has been able to find competent skiers, skaters, musicians, etc., so why not golf, which is a very commonly played game. I did find that their pairing of left-handed (Rosner) and right-handed (Newbrough) players allowed them to face one another when practicing rather than both awkwardly face in the same direction.

Continuity: During the tournament, when Whitney hits the ball into a sand trap, the sand is clearly untouched. When she arrives at the trap, the sand around the ball has all been raked. It's jarring.

Fraud by the real estate agent? Pretty hard to believe of a reputable agent (which she'd have to be for a property like this). She must have been pretty desperate or dishonest. I imagine that if this was real, and we saw a 6-month follow-up, we'd hear that she'd lost her real estate license and was being prosecuted. It felt like this was thrown into the movie just to generate a bit more controversy, and didn't really add anything to the relationships between any of the characters (other than Rosner's character doing a favor for Dad).

Since Hallmark movies are generally pretty formulaic, I'd think that they could focus on some of these issues to make it at least a bit more realistic.

That said, I'll finish up by saying that Ashley in that green dress is stunning!

It's not a bad movie but definitely not a favorite.

[MIssM19 · 6/10 · 29 March 2024]

Whitney is a professional golfer who has been having a bad streak since her mom passed away two years prior, so after a tournament she goes home to Hungary, to spend time with family and train for the next competition. There she meets Daniel, the pro golfer on the grounds. So, they bond after their love for the sport and he helps her find her groove again.

I think the movie had a different pace than a lot of Hallmark films. I didn't know where it would go. Which is good, different. Marcus and Ashley worked together before and I do think they have chemistry, just not the romantic one. I feel they are good friends in real life.

So while I didn't hate the movie and enjoyed some aspects of it, there are few things that were difficult to get into: the fact that they were all Hungarian (minus Whitney) and some didn't even have an accent. Or the fact that EVERYONE speaks impeccable English. And this may be funny but I just don't care about golf. I knew it was about golf going in, but I didn't care about it. And let's not even mention the miscommunication or the fact that the lead doesn't even try to speak up when necessary!

I do love when another Hallmark star appears in a movie in which they are not the lead, even if it's just a second. In here we see Brittany Bristow who in fact co-wrote this.

Hungary For More Believable Athletes and Better Casting

[domer-88239 · 2/10 · 7 January 2024]

Once again, Hallmark cast a lead "current or former pro athlete" with an actor who seemingly started learning the sport and its mechanics a week after the script arrived. Previous movies about baseball and hockey and football players, ice skaters, etc have been painful to watch ... and "Love On the Right Course" adds 'pro golfer' to the list. Enough!!

A simple and obvious casting tweak would have at least tripled my IMDB stars for this movie. Ashley Newbrough is lovely, but her golf swing wouldn't make a junior varsity team. Her scoopy pitch shots were cringe-worthy for a "pro". Marcus Rosner (a golf instructor here) had a passable full swing. Cameo cast member, co-writer, co-producer Brittany Bristow should have been the lead actress based on her golf swing alone, and her acting style and charm would have brought more sizzle to the script's inevitable lead romance.

Team Bristow (dad, mom and daughter) continued its string of overseas shooting locations, this time in Hungary. Many roles were filled with eastern European actors. It helped toggling on Closed Captions. Enough said about that.

Golfers will see that TaylorMade was an exclusive brand logo for clubs and bags. But the golfers' and gallery wore strikingly plain, logo-less clothing and headwear ... and the last time I saw that was in "Caddyshack".

We've Hit a Winner With This One!

[sonicgeekette · 9/10 · 7 January 2024]

I've just watched Ashley Newbrough and Marcus Rosner in Flipping for Christmas and was greatly disappointed. So, I was hesitant to watch this movie, but decided to give them another chance, especially when I saw this one was set in Budapest. I have to say this one did not disappoint. I loved the scenery and found the acting and chemistry to be genuine. Ashley and Marcus are great together in this movie, their characters are fun and caring. I loved the dynamic between Whitney (Newbrough) and her father as they remember her mother who has passed. I loved all the supporting cast of family and friends, they helped make this movie enjoyable, even the dog. I really enjoyed seeing Brittany Bristow playing a competitor pro golfer. I rated this down by one star as Steve Byer who plays Whitney's caddy plays his usual character that is only looking out for himself. But I suppose there had to be some drama in the movie. All in all this was quite an enjoyable movie to watch.

Couldn't get through the whole thing, save yourself. Shame i couldn't give it a negative rating

[gbvpzzq · 1/10 · 8 January 2024]

No way either of the leads play golf, omg, unbelievable. Horrible....they should have picked pickleball as the sport. Whitney would have been more believable if she was the beverage cart girl. I howled at the eight over practice round line, there is no way, it might be eight over par on just one hole. Hallmark needs to do better with their plots. Yes, Hallmark movies are a formula, but please try harder. The short game practice scene was laughable. With them hitting balls into the baskets, seriously the swing never matched the ball. Hungarian born Daniel says he sounds American because his parents sent him to an American school in Hungary, yet he sounds midwestern, is just ridiculous. Save your time and skip this, implausible poorly thought out concept.

Best movie for the New Year!!

[husna_athan · 10/10 · 12 January 2024]

I absolutely 💯 loved this movie!

Everything was perfect, the leads, the scenery, the story was so natural.

It wasn't rushed and the other characters in the movie were so original. The dad was natural with his grieving . The male leads parents who were Hungarian were down to earth.

It was nicely paced. Very believable story line.

I love how the Hallmark movies are now in different countries with added language n culture makes it so interesting.

I enjoyed watching the golf game.

The food n the clothing added extra fun.

The scenery is so beautiful you actually want to visit.

Watching these types of location movies takes you away for a bit.

I don't understand the nit picking of some negative reviews. It's just a movie.

It's meant to enjoy not to show us how actual golf is played.

Someone mentioned the real estate pricing, I was just enjoying the movie n didn't care that some small stuff was not perfect.

Both the leads were extremely natural in their roles n both very good looking .

I loved all of Whitney's dresses n her warm reaction n her facial expressions.

Please make more movies overseas.

Pls add more culture, more languages, food, clothing in future Hallmark movies.

Budapest is beautiful n very colorful 😍

Truly enjoyed this entire movie n whole cast was amazing!

Bokeh run rampant

[aheard-804-207002 · 4/10 · 20 January 2024]

While the story was okay and the lead actors delivered their usual respectable performances, I found the narrow depth of focus chosen for much of the movie to be simply too hard on my eyes to keep watching. We do not see the world with such short depth of focus, so prolonged exposure to that effect neither feels natural nor is easy to process. So many scenes were shot with only the actors in focus, that the audience is deinied extended views of lovely waterfront scenes, quaint village alleyways, and interesting interiors. One knows these appealing scenes are there, but they're repeatedly obscured by somebody's idea of what makes cinematic "art." Rather than focusing my attention on the characters & story, I found this video technique was such a distraction that it killed my interest in the movie.

Pet Peeve

[wvawoman · 4/10 · 7 January 2024]

I found this movie to be quite boring.

To be fair, though, part of that could be because I'm not a golf enthusiast. To be honest, I only watched it to the end because I have grown to love the actor, Marcus Rosner, & I enjoy taking in the scenery when the movies are made on location in Europe. But, my biggest pet peeve is when the background music doesn't go along with the movie. When they don't meld together, it's distracting to me & takes away from my enjoyment of the story. I hope Hallmark doesn't continue to take on a trait I have found in Great American Family movies. Hallmark can do much better than this.

Hallmark with golf

[MickyG333 · 8/10 · 31 January 2024]

7.8 stars.

Hallmark and golf, what could go wrong? I figured, if they do the golf scenes any justice, make them inspirational, exciting, and fun, then the romance can sit on the back burner. They did just that. The golf aspects were decent. The form of the lead actress was not bad, she is convincingly okay at the sport. The lead male also seemed comfortable in the game. The romance was indeed an afterthought at best. There is almost zero love in this. We can see there's a spark between the leads, but this is a very laid back relationship in which neither of them initiates for a protracted period of time. Eventually, he gets deflated, because she is wavering on who she will have as her caddy and it's simply a misunderstanding, which is very familiar to us when it comes to these romance films. There is always an assumption, or miscommunication which creates a half hour of unnecessary drama just to fill the open spaces in the two hour time slot. The side stories about disagreements with her caddy, or her father's real estate hassles, or the lead male's family could have been a bit more interesting. Otherwise, I really enjoyed 'Love on the Right Course', because it's golf and Hallmark and it's presented with flying colors.

So many penalties

[bradley-g-lang · 3/10 · 13 March 2024]

When I'm rating a movie, I start with five stars, and then add points when the movie exceeds expectations, or penalise it when it causes me to roll my eyes.

There was a lot of eye rolling here....

Now I know how casting works - you don't hire a golfer and teach them how to act, but they could've at least spent five minutes showing Ashley how to swing a club. It looks like she doesn't know one end of a golf club from the other. Brittany Bristow on the other hand is a professional. If she didn't already know how to play, she sure taught herself.

The usual "20 minutes to go misunderstanding" was so stupid it could've been cleared up in five seconds by Whitney saying no I actually want you to caddy me, instead of standing there with her mouth open.

The end of the tournament when Whitney "won" was a little premature: according to the golf world's dodgiest leaderboard, there were still people on the course who could win the match!

As for the penalties, I can't believe the golf nerds haven't been all over this. In literally the first scene, in a tournament no less, Whitney accidentally tapped her ball when she addressed it. That's a stroke and would certainly have been pointed out by the commentators. Later, when Brooke is addressing her ball in a bunker, she grounds the club. That's clearly a penalty, and I'm not even a huge golf fan!

Veering off course

[mhohio303 · 2/10 · 22 February 2024]

Story and chemistry was lacking from what I remember.

Lead female was too polished and perky in regards to wardrobe (why shame natural small chested figures by insisting on padded, push up bras?). She often stood as if modeling so it seemed pretty unnatural, which was another distraction.

Another reviewer mentioned the cinematography having too much blurring of the background in many scenes. I agree with that. It's a waste of being on location if you're going to blur it.

Agree with another reviewer who mentioned the music being out of place. Too much music rather than getting to enjoy the natural setting that a golf course offers.

The part about the obnoxious caddy was not believable. She wouldn't have had him on the job in the first place.