Danny Noonan (Michael O’Keefe) works as a caddy at the arrogant Bushwood Country Club and tries to save enough money to go to college over the summer. He usually helps out for wealthy player Ty Webb (Chevy Chase), so laid back that he doesn’t even bother to score, but when he finds out he’s there, he starts doing favors for the club’s evil co-founder, Judge Smails (Ted Knight). an available scholarship. He soon finds it difficult to keep good notebooks of the judge when he is tempted by the old man’s random niece, Lacy Underall (Cindy Morgan).
Meanwhile, Carl Spackler, the club’s dumb green keeper (Bill Murray) are tasked with eliminating an annoying gopher making a home on the field, and rude housing developer Al Czervik (Rodney Dangerfield) ruins the club and angers the old guard, at least Judge Smails, with his noisy outfits and obnoxious behavior.
When a bad feeling between Czervik and Smails results in a scuffle, Al suggests they settle the issues with a high-stakes golf team round. Ty Webb joins Czervik, while Smails joins regular golf partner Dr. He hires Beeper.
On the field, Webb gets a nasty stretch for jeopardizing something, and Czervik plays the scumbag. He pretends to be injured, hoping to end the match in a draw, but the referee decides that he will forfeit if he can’t find a replacement. Step by step, Danny, despite the Judge’s threats to cancel the scholarship. Danny doesn’t care because he’d rather see Smails defeated. Will he be able to hold back his courage despite Czervik’s increasing the stakes over and over? Can Carl finally destroy his enemy Gopher? And how can these two things combine in the final?