No human being despoils the picture-postcard shots of golf's holiest shrine, the Old Course at St. Andrews, Scotland, that accompany the opening credits of "Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius." We might be excused for thinking God had just finished creating these ancient links. On the seventh day He tried to get in a quick 18, but St. Andrews is closed on Sundays.

		'Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius' Rating: PG for language. Starring: Jim Caviezel, Claire Forlani, Jeremy Northam, Malcolm McDowell. Director: Rowdy Herrington.

Once we have absorbed the majesty of these hallowed grounds, the movie introduces its title character, the closest thing to a deity in the world of golf. Bobby Jones remains the only man to win golf's four major tournaments in the same year. In 1930, he prevailed at the U.S. and British Opens and the amateur championships of both countries. After winning the Grand Slam, he retired from competitive golf at the ripe old age of 28.

A cynic might say Jim Caviezel was typecast as Jones. The actor also plays the title role in Mel Gibson's "Passion of the Christ." I suspect it's no accident that the tagline to the Jones movie declares, "His passion made him a legend." But Caviezel was originally slated for the role of Jones' very worldly friend and links rival, Walter Hagen (portrayed instead by Jeremy Northam).

I don't know how much interest the movie will have for those who don't play or follow the game. It begins with Jones returning to St. Andrews a few years after the Slam and receiving the adulation of the masses. It then flashes back to his sickly childhood in Atlanta, where his father (Brett Rice) played golf with the boy in tow because walking was good for Bobby's health.

Tow-headed Devon Gearhart plays young Jones, growing up in such a sunny environment that it could have been painted by Norman Rockwell. Writer-director Rowdy Herrington (a Pittsburgh native), aided and abetted by James Horner's soaring score, doesn't spare the syrup.

By age 14, Jones won Georgia's amateur championship. At this point, the audience may wonder when the movie, made with the approval of the Jones family, will get around to canonizing him. Herrington acknowledges that Jones was "a very good man" who didn't generate much controversy.

But the movie finally does locate his demons. He was a hothead who drove himself with such passion (there's that word again) that he could literally make himself sick. When he hit a bad shot, he would swear and sometimes even throw his club in frustration. But so does every other golfer in the movie who shanks or slices one, which begins to look silly after a while.

As his friend and chronicler O.B. Keeler (Malcolm McDowell) points out, the only person who can defeat Jones is himself. He has to overcome his own temper, the enormous pressure he puts on himself (the movie depicts him having a breakdown at one point) and his sense of obligation to his fans, his parents and his hometown supporters in order to become a champion. Caviezel doesn't need Roman soldiers to whip him in this movie --- he does a convincing job of it himself.

The movie feels repetitive in spots -- the golf tournaments tend to blur together, Jones keeps making improbably long putts with sharp breaks, at least one of Hagen's quips is used twice. There is no attempt to place Jones in the context of his times, no comparison of other sports icons such as Babe Ruth or Red Grange. The onset of Prohibition merits a scene, but only as backdrop to Jones declaring his love for his future wife, Mary (Claire Forlani).

We do see a radio tower with the bright red letters KDKA, a hometown tribute from director Herrington. Mostly, though, "Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius" exists in its own bubble, which will be fine for those who understand the joke about pointing a 1-iron into the sky during a thunderstorm. Even God, they say, can't hit a 1-iron. But I'll bet Jones could.