There was Kevin Costner, just last week, rustling through an Iowa cornfield and on to a ballpark that symbolized Field of Dreams, arguably the greatest sports movie ever made.
Whether or not you agree with that assessment of it being the GOAT among sports flicks, there’s no denying the impact of Field of Dreams on the psyches of sports fans more than 30 years after its release in 1989.
Just a few days after the Field of Dreams game between the White Sox and the Yankees, another role played by Costner, that of longshot driving range pro Roy “Tin Cup” McAvoy was being celebrated.
The 25th anniversary of Tin Cup on Monday may not have received as much coverage as the Field of Dreams game, may not be the GOAT among sports movies, or even be the best golf movie ever made, but as Dr. Molly Griswold, the character played by Rene Russo, exclaimed after Tin Cup blew up with his go for broke style on the 72nd hole of the U.S. Open while in contention.
“Five years from now nobody will remember who won or lost, but they’re going to remember your 12!”
It’s now a quarter of a century later and anybody who has watched Tin Cup still remembers that scene, not to mention the plots and characters played by Costner, Russo, Cheech Marin, Don Johnson, among others including golf celebrities and players, a young Phil Mickelson among them.
As memorable as Tin Cup was, there have been some who, at times, would rather forget it.
“Tin Cup ruined my life,” said Costner to a media scrum at Glen Abbey.
Costner was at the Abbey to play in the Mike Weir Charity Classic prior to the 2009 RBC Canadian Open. He pointed out that Gary McCord and Peter Kostis helped prepare his game for the movie, but he was hardly capable of playing in the U.S. Open.
That was reality, but expectations of him were based on the movie.
“The few times that I actually do play golf, it feels like it’s in front of like a billion people. I don’t really practice. I don’t play unless a friend asks me,” he said.
“I can hear them whisper, going `He’s not very good.’ I can hear that. Even though there’s a rope, it doesn’t block the sound,” he said.
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Released exactly six months after Happy Gilmore, those two movies were part of a golden era in the game with the Golf Channel still in its infancy and Tiger Woods about to turn pro.
Arguments about the GOAT in anything, be it athletes or movies, never get resolved and are based on personal opinions. As far as golf movies go, Caddyshack would have to be thrown into the mix.
However, Tin Cup is memorable 25 years later. The Cup will continue to runneth over for years to come.
Is Everybody Happy?
Speaking of Happy Gilmore, TaylorMade had Woods, Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa, Matthew Wolff and Tommy Fleetwood try their hand at the Happy’s swing and it caught the attention of Happy himself.
I see a bunch of green jackets but no gold ones. Cant thank u enough fellas! Love, Happy https://t.co/TrGXqrNx7I
— Adam Sandler (@AdamSandler) August 17, 2021
