February 15, 1999

Well I finally got around to seeing the movie Tin Cup on video today. I know, I'm a bit of a laggard on the movies. All in all a good flick. Rene Russo's performance stood out for me. What a stunning screen presence she has!

I must admit though, I'm still waiting for a film version of Golf in the Kingdom.

Roy the driving range pro, played by Kevin Costner, says something during his poetic oratory on the golf swing that caught my instant attention. It has direct relevance to the aphorism known as "The Allure," which was written in 1996 and posted to the web in 1998. (It also made me realize there was a typo in "Golf's allure" which has been lingering there for months now ;~/) I have highlighted in red the parts that stood out for me.

It's Molly's (Rene Russo) first lesson:

Roy: " 'Lowly and slowly the clubhead is led back, pulled into position not by the hands but by the body ... which turns away from the target, shifting weight to the right side without shifting balance ... tempo is everything, perfection unattainable. As the body coils now to the top of the swing, there's a slight hesitation ... a little nod to the gods ...'

Molly: 'a ... nod to the gods?'

Roy: 'yeah ...to the gods ... that he is fallible and perfection unattainable. And now the weight begins shifting back to the left, pulled by the powers inside the earth ... it's alive this swing, a living sculpture ... and down through contact, always down ... striking the ball crisply and with character. A tuning fork goes off in your heart,  and your balls. Such a pure feeling is the well struck golf shot.' "