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Sure, it's no 'Caddyshack', but 'Tin Cup' still ranks among with the funniest sports movies.
Sure, it's no 'Caddyshack', but 'Tin Cup' still ranks among with the funniest sports movies. (.)

Tin Cup quotes: Lessons on golf and life from a washed-up driving-range pro

By Cheap Bastard

Ask any devoted Tin Cup fan about his first impression of the golf movie and the response is almost always the same: "I hated it."

But first impressions are usually short-lived when it comes to Tin Cup. The romantic comedy about driving-range pro Roy "Tin Cup" McAvoy's quest to win the heart of the woman he loves by winning the U.S. Open has become something of a cult classic since its release in 1996.

Directed and co-written by Ron Shelton, the man behind Bull Durham and White Men Can't Jump, Tin Cup grows on you. McAvoy's blind commitment to "going for it" on and off the course, his philosophical equations between greatness in golf and greatness and life, become less absurd and more likely to prompt you to put your own values under the microscope.

We can all learn a lot from Roy McAvoy and his 13-year journey from Texas college-golf icon to driving-range washout. "I was playing to win," McAvoy says in explaining his many failures. Here's some more of the best quotes from Tin Cup, some wise, some just funny.

The Cast

Roy "Tin Cup" McAvoy: Kevin Costner
Dr. Molly Griswold: Rene Russo
David Simms: Don Johnson
Romeo Posar: Cheech Marin

Roy "Tin Cup" McAvoy

"Greatness courts failure."

"Sex and golf are the two things you can enjoy even if you're not good at them."

"Does my inner child need a spanking?"

"I assume I have the confidentiality of the doctor-client privilege in regards to this outfit?"

[Roy wants to bet his car, but his companion isn't interested]
"That's because you think of it as transportation, Boone. Think of it as bragging rights. Think of yourself sitting around the bar, crowing to your cronies about the Cadillac you won from me. They'll forget all about the Winnebago you lost to me."

Dr. Molly Griswold

"Why do men always insist on measuring their dicks?"

Romeo Posar

"Look, boss, I only got one rule. And that's never bet money that you don't have on a dog race with an ex-girlfriend who happens to be a stripper."

"Now that was a defining moment. And the definition was 's**t.'"

Conversations

Roy McAvoy [preparing to shoot over a water hazard on the final hole of the U.S. Open]: This is for Venturi who thinks I should lay up.
Romeo Posar: What does he know? He only won this tournament before you were born.

Roy McAvoy: Well, I tend to think of the golf swing as a poem.
Romeo Posar: Ooh, he's doing that poetry thing again.
Roy McAvoy: The critical opening phrase of this poem will always be the grip, which the hands unite to form a single unit by the simple overlap of the little finger. Lowly and slowly the club head 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 unobtainable, as the body coils down at the top of the swing. There's a slight hesitation. A little nod to the gods.

Dr. Molly Griswold: A, a nod to the gods?
Roy McAvoy: Yeah, to the gods. That he is fallible. That perfection is unobtainable. 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, with character. A tuning fork goes off in your heart and your balls. Such a pure feeling is the well-struck golf shot. Now the follow through to finish. Always on line. The reverse C of the Golden Bear! The steelworkers' power and brawn of Carl Sandburg's Arnold Palmer!
Clint: Uh, he's doing the Arnold Palmer thing.
Roy McAvoy: End the unfinished symphony of Roy McAvoy.

Roy McAvoy: You know why I still hit that shot?
Romeo Posar: Yeah, because it's the only way you could beat Dave Simms.
Roy McAvoy: No.
Romeo Posar: 'Cause it was that look in your face...
Roy McAvoy: I hit it again because that shot was a defining moment, and when a defining moment comes along, you define the moment ... or the moment defines you.

Roy McAvoy: Tell me you don't at least find me a little bit attractive.
Dr. Molly Griswold: You have your moments.
Roy McAvoy: Well, you tell me which moments are my moments and I'll try to duplicate them.

Dr. Molly Griswold: I find him ... mildly attractive when he's obnoxious and arrogant like this.
Romeo Posar: Oh, good. That's his best side.

Roy McAvoy: When was the last time you took a risk?
Dr. Molly Griswold: Well, I'm with you, Roy. I'm with you.

[After Dave Simms refuses to try a 250-yard shot over a water hazard]
Roy McAvoy: Fifteen years on the tour an' you're still a f****n' p***y.
Dave Simms: Thirteen years on the driving range and you still think this game is about your testosterone count.

Roy McAvoy: This is everything, ain't it? This is the choice it comes down to - this is our immortality.
Romeo Posar: You don't need to be thinking immortality - you need to be thinking hit the 7-iron!

 
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