Obviously, Ooi! Tonbo is more golf-centric this season. A lot. But we’re really getting seriously deep in the weeds here. I’m leisurely working my way through Rising Impact, and these are definitely two ships passing in the night. I like Rising Impact but as Tonbo has gotten increasingly detailed with golf, it’s gotten more and more fantastical. I do enjoy the silliness of it and the characters are a lot of fun (Gawain is an adorable and hilarious little spud). But as a sports anime fan, this series is much more my jam.
Geeking out with this show has become quite a ritual for golf lover me. But you have to be quite a golf geek to have ever heard of Moe Norman – I would guess very few golf fans under 50 have ever heard of the Canadian of whom Ben Hogan once said “he’s the only guy I’d cross the street to watch hit golf balls”. And Hogan himself is considered by many the greatest ball-striker ever (it was his “Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf” that I – and Jack Nicklaus – first learned the game from). Tiger Woods said “the only two players who truly owned their golf swings were Ben Hogan and Moe Norman”.
I bring Norman up because he was easily the most celebrated example of the single-axis (plane) golf swing – which itself you have to be kind of a geek to even know about. He’s an intriguing figure – a sledding accident at age five left him with what some called a “Rain Man” personality, and despite being regarded by pros as the greatest ball-striker ever he never seriously pursued a tour career. I won’t grind on the details of the single-plane swing now (to be honest I don’t fully grasp it myself) but there are tons of videos of Norman out there, and it’s fascinating to watch him hit (he hit it dead straight – just like Gawain).
The context here is the arrival of Kurisu Ema (Inoue Marina). Turns out the reason Tsubura-chan wasn’t on the leaderboard is that she hadn’t finished her round. She comes in at 2-under and second to Tonbo. But not for long, as Ema arrives in the last pairing and posts a 3-under 69 – despite a quadruple-bogey on the first hole. Unfortunately that last pairing boasts two players in the top 100, which means Shima-san misses the cut by one spot (possibly not for the first time). She certainly made an impression on Tonbo, anyway.
Ema is not a mass-produced model. Half-American, she was a top junior who disappeared from the scene for ten years. Turns out the scars she bears are the giveaway – Tonbo mistakenly assumes them to have been from a shark attack, but in fact it was an alligator. And on the course, no less (there are a lot of them on courses in the American southeast). Due to the injuries to her left leg she switched to playing left-handed. And adopted the single-axis swing to ease pressure on that leg (I was hoping we’d get a Moe Norman shoutout). But she hits her lob wedge and putter right-handed – as a sort of tribute to her pre-injury career.
The pairings are determined by score starting with the second round, which means Tonbo is paired with Ema – along with Tsubura and Hitomi. I’m assuming the third day is match play, after the field is winnowed down. Hitomi’s father continues to make a total ass of himself, to the point where I was hoping he’d get tossed off the course. Tonbo tries to copy Ema’s swing, with hilarious results. And Tsubura wrestles with the reality that her old playmate is now a serious threat to her dreams – despite sharing none of her fierce ambition for competitive golf.
This foursome is certainly an interesting clash of styles. Tsubura is ever-cautious with her three-quarter swing and obsession with positioning. Hitomi seems about ready to blow, and channels that anger into a more aggressive approach on the first tee. Ema plays with a swing that’s basically unique in the modern game. And Tonbo is eternally herself – instinctive, imaginative, carefree. She spots a spider (“kabu” in Hinoshima lingo) web and determines there’ll be no wind. Then, realizing how dry the ground is from its resistance to her tee, hits a low screamer off the first tee – aiming for a bright patch in the fairway, indicating where it’d been freshly mowed. If you love the endless variety of styles that golf invites, this stuff is like manna from Heaven.
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