Golf Books #52 (Golf in the Kingdom)

Michael Murphy was on his way from California to India when he met Shivas Irons on a golfing link in Scotland. They played 18 holes together and had a second go at the devilish 13th hole in the middle of a wild whiskey night – a round that profoundly altered Murphy’s games and his vision.

Esalen Institute founder Michael Murphy’s divine meditation on the royal and ancient game defied categorization when it was first published in 1972, and it still does. Instantly hailed as a classic, it is part novel, part philosophy, part myth, part mysticism, part enchantment, part golf instructional, and is altogether unique. This confluence of sports and the supernatural looks at both life and golf from the inside out. The book’s central character is a wily Scotsman named Shivas Irons, a golf professional by vocation, and a shaman by design, who Murphy, as participant in his own novel, meets on the links of Burningbush, in 1956 Fife. The story of their round of golf together culminates in a wild night of whiskey and wisdom where their golf quite literally takes on a metaphysical glow as Shivas explains how the swing reflects the soul. It alters not only Murphy’s game, it also radically alters his mind and inner vision–and it’s truly unforgettable. For a golfer, Golf in the Kingdom is as essential as a set of clubs. (source)