On a recent Saturday evening, Birnam Wood Golf Club in Montecito held a members-only screening of the classic 1996 golf movie, Tin Cup, starring Kevin Costner and Rene Russo.
Movie nights, which are held regularly, are mostly a sold-out affair at the country club and this one was no exception.
“The movie was sold out in the first half-hour it was announced,” organizer Ilene Nagel told Noozhawk.
The romcom seemed a perfect choice of film, considering the private residential community built around an 18-hole golf course at 1941 East Valley Road. Opened in 1968, the golf course was designed by Robert Trent Jones and his son, Robert Trent Jones Jr.
Of course, the star of the evening, as well as the movie, was Costner himself, a local resident and club member who introduced the film and talked about his career.
Costner is currently starring in the hit Paramount Network television series, Yellowstone, a modern-day Western following the trials and travails of a Montana ranching family facing constant encroachment on its land.
Prior to the showing, Costner and fellow members enjoyed a Mexican-themed buffet on the spacious patio overlooking the expansive 18th fairway, with a spectacular winter sunset building in the distance. Afterward, the group adjourned to a screening area set up in one of the club’s dining rooms.
Costner talked candidly talk about his cinema career, sharing with the audience of how all his experiences on and off the screen have influenced his life.
His accolades include two Academy Awards, two Golden Globes, one Primetime Emmy Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. The actor, director, producer, musician — and father of seven — has been entertaining audiences since his debut in 1981 and followed up with decades of movies, including some of my favorites: Dances With Wolves, Bull Durham, No Way Out, Hidden Figures, McFarland USA, Draft Day, Field of Dreams and now Yellowstone.
Costner has been a political activist on both sides of the aisle during his life, and even played golf with President Ronald Reagan, but the evening was refreshingly void of any politics. Instead, it was a very heartfelt and generous personal discussion about making connections with his audience through his movies, his family and his appreciation of Birnam Wood Golf Club and the Santa Barbara community.
— Judy Foreman is a Noozhawk columnist and longtime local writer and lifestyles observer. She can be contacted at news@noozhawk.com. Click here for previous columns. The opinions expressed are her own.