Costner asks for applause

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) – Kevin Costner joked with fans and offered his club to a young spectator so the boy could take a swing as he and Jack Nicklaus played an 18-hole exhibition for about 700 to show off a new Nicklaus-designed course.

Costner took up golf during the filming of “Tin Cup” in 1996. Nicklaus praised the actor’s swing as the two played The Cliffs at Walnut Cove on Wednesday.

“I’m going to make some really crummy shots, but I’ll consider those for the gallery, because that’s who I’m representing,” the 50-year-old actor-director said before the round.

“Jack’s representing a whole other kind of golf, but I’m representing you. So, when it (the ball) slides to the right or left, I expect just a little bit more than a tennis clap.”

The Oscar-winning director of “Dances With Wolves” has also starred in films including “Field of Dreams,” “The Untouchables” and “The Upside of Anger,” now in theaters.

– Knight Ridder Newspapers