Summary

• Cheech Marin starred in The Long Game and Tin Cup, both golf movies set in Texas with themes of discrimination and underdog stories.
• Marin's performances in both films as ing characters bring comic relief and depth, highlighting his love for golf on and off the screen.
• After starring in Tin Cup, Marin became an avid golfer and scored his first ever hole-in-one in Canada using a rescue club.

Known for a number of comedy movies made with Tommy Chong, Cheech Marin had a memorable part to play in The Long Game. Receiving significant praise from critics, plot featured in The Long Game is based on a true story.

Interestingly, The Long Game is not Marin's first golf movie. 28 years earlier, he appeared alongside Kevin Coster in Tin Cup. The 1996 film has a star-studded cast with Kevin Costner playing the leading role of a former professional golfer who qualifies for the US Open and attempts to try and win over his rival's girlfriend, Dr. Molly Griswold (Rene Russo). As a golf film with some key similarities to it, The Long Game comes across as a worthwhile follow-up to Marin's appearance in Tin Cup.

2024's The Long Game & 1996's Tin Cup Are Both Cheech Marin-Starring Texas Golf Movies

Cheech Marin Plays Important ing Roles In Both Movies

In Tin Cup, Marin's character, Romeo Posar, is best friends with Costner's character Roy 'Tin Cup' McAvoy and acts as his mentor and caddie. Like The Long Game, Tin Cup performed incredibly well with critics, who praised various aspects of the film. Tin Cup has an approval rating of 72 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, and The Long Game has a similar rating of 81 percent.

Some of Tin Cup was shot in Kingswood, Texas at the Deerwood Clubhouse, and part of The Long Game was also shot in Texas, in the towns of Smithville and Bastrop.

At the time of the film's release, critics touted Cheech Martin's role in Tin Cup and the energy he brought to the film; Janet Malsin of The New York Times described Cheech Marin in Tin Cup as "gruffly funny," which echoes sentiments about the comedian's efforts to bring comic relief to The Long Game. Both films also focus on the stories of underdogs: a comeback for a former pro in Tin Cup and a golf team of Mexican players overcoming racism in The Long Game. Marin's performances in these films highlight the importance of ing characters in sports dramas and his fondness for golf.

Cheech Marin Became An Avid Golfer In Real Life After Starring In Tin Cup

He Has An Affinity For Golf Outside The Movies.

Cheech Marin didn't initially like golf, but after starring in Tin Cup, he became an avid player. His golf movie roles must've inspired his game because, in July 2013, he visited the Predator Ridge Resort in Canada, where he scored his first ever hole-in-one on the golf course. The hole-in-one was scored on hole eight of the course, and he used a Cobra 3 rescue club to do it, according to a video posted by the resort.

While in both movies Cheech Marin's characters do not play golf, seeing his enthusiasm for the sport makes his characters feel more believable. In The Long Game, Pollo is a club groundskeeper who knows a lot about golf from observing the players on the green, and in Tin Cup, Romeo has similar knowledge through working for his best friend, an ex-professional golf player, and watching him play. Cheech Marin's insightful portrayal of these characters brings depth to these roles and celebrates the integration of golf as a sport onto the big screen.

Source: The New York Times, Variety, Predator Ridge Resort​​​​​​.