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The Legend of Bagger Vance: A Novel of Golf and the Game of Life
'A marvellous, life-affirming book' Mark McCormack 'Golf and mysticism...a dazzler and a thought-provoker' Los Angeles Times 'Good stuff...a philosophical fantasy imagined on a golf course, heavy with fog, storm, fireworks and the howling winds of supernatural forces' New York Times Book Review
In the Depression year of 1931 , on the golf links at Krewe Island off Savannah's windswept shore, two legends of the game - Bobby Jones and Walter Hagen - meet for a mesmerizing thirty-six hole showdown. They are joined by another player, a troubled war hero called Rannulph Junah . But the key to the outcome lies not with these golfing titans but with Junah's caddie and mentor, the mysterious, sage and charismatic Bagger Vance - for he is the custodian of the secret of the Authentic Swing...
Written in the spirit of Bernard Malamud's The Natural and sharing the magic of the celebrated Kevin Costner film Field of Dreams, Steven Pressfield's first novel reveals the true nature of the game. Page-turning, spellbinding and affecting, it is a novel for golfers and non-golfers alike - a story in which the search for the Authentic Swing becomes a metaphor for the search for the Authentic Self.
In the Depression year of 1931 , on the golf links at Krewe Island off Savannah's windswept shore, two legends of the game - Bobby Jones and Walter Hagen - meet for a mesmerizing thirty-six hole showdown. They are joined by another player, a troubled war hero called Rannulph Junah . But the key to the outcome lies not with these golfing titans but with Junah's caddie and mentor, the mysterious, sage and charismatic Bagger Vance - for he is the custodian of the secret of the Authentic Swing...
Written in the spirit of Bernard Malamud's The Natural and sharing the magic of the celebrated Kevin Costner film Field of Dreams, Steven Pressfield's first novel reveals the true nature of the game. Page-turning, spellbinding and affecting, it is a novel for golfers and non-golfers alike - a story in which the search for the Authentic Swing becomes a metaphor for the search for the Authentic Self.
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
269 people are currently reading
5335 people want to read
About the author
Steven Pressfield
88 books5,772 followersI was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad, in 1943 to a Navy father and mother.
I graduated from Duke University in 1965.
In January of 1966, when I was on the bus leaving Parris Island as a freshly-minted Marine, I looked back and thought there was at least one good thing about this departure. "No matter what happens to me for the rest of my life, no one can ever send me back to this freakin' place again."
Forty years later, to my surprise and gratification, I am far more closely bound to the young men of the Marine Corps and to all other dirt-eating, ground-pounding outfits than I could ever have imagined.
GATES OF FIRE is one reason. Dog-eared paperbacks of this tale of the ancient Spartans have circulated throughout platoons of U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan since the first days of the invasions. E-mails come in by hundreds. GATES OF FIRE is on the Commandant of the Marine Corps' Reading list. It is taught at West Point and Annapolis and at the Marine Corps Basic School at Quantico. TIDES OF WAR is on the curriculum of the Naval War College.
From 2nd Battalion/6th Marines, which calls itself "the Spartans," to ODA 316 of the Special Forces, whose forearms are tattooed with the lambda of Lakedaemon, today's young warriors find a bond to their ancient precursors in the historical narratives of these novels.
My struggles to earn a living as a writer (it took seventeen years to get the first paycheck) are detailed in my 2002 book, THE WAR OF ART.
I have worked as an advertising copywriter, schoolteacher, tractor-trailer driver, bartender, oilfield roustabout and attendant in a mental hospital. I have picked fruit in Washington state and written screenplays in Tinseltown.
With the publication of THE LEGEND OF BAGGER VANCE in 1995, I became a writer of books once and for all.
My writing philosophy is, not surprisingly, a kind of warrior code — internal rather than external — in which the enemy is identified as those forms of self-sabotage that I have labeled "Resistance" with a capital R (in THE WAR OF ART) and the technique for combatting these foes can be described as "turning pro."
I believe in previous lives.
I believe in the Muse.
I believe that books and music exist before they are written and that they are propelled into material being by their own imperative to be born, via the offices of those willing servants of discipline, imagination and inspiration, whom we call artists. My conception of the artist's role is a combination of reverence for the unknowable nature of "where it all comes from" and a no-nonsense, blue-collar demystification of the process by which this mystery is approached. In other words, a paradox.
There's a recurring character in my books named Telamon, a mercenary of ancient days. Telamon doesn't say much. He rarely gets hurt or wounded. And he never seems to age. His view of the profession of arms is a lot like my conception of art and the artist:
"It is one thing to study war, and another to live the warrior's life."
I graduated from Duke University in 1965.
In January of 1966, when I was on the bus leaving Parris Island as a freshly-minted Marine, I looked back and thought there was at least one good thing about this departure. "No matter what happens to me for the rest of my life, no one can ever send me back to this freakin' place again."
Forty years later, to my surprise and gratification, I am far more closely bound to the young men of the Marine Corps and to all other dirt-eating, ground-pounding outfits than I could ever have imagined.
GATES OF FIRE is one reason. Dog-eared paperbacks of this tale of the ancient Spartans have circulated throughout platoons of U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan since the first days of the invasions. E-mails come in by hundreds. GATES OF FIRE is on the Commandant of the Marine Corps' Reading list. It is taught at West Point and Annapolis and at the Marine Corps Basic School at Quantico. TIDES OF WAR is on the curriculum of the Naval War College.
From 2nd Battalion/6th Marines, which calls itself "the Spartans," to ODA 316 of the Special Forces, whose forearms are tattooed with the lambda of Lakedaemon, today's young warriors find a bond to their ancient precursors in the historical narratives of these novels.
My struggles to earn a living as a writer (it took seventeen years to get the first paycheck) are detailed in my 2002 book, THE WAR OF ART.
I have worked as an advertising copywriter, schoolteacher, tractor-trailer driver, bartender, oilfield roustabout and attendant in a mental hospital. I have picked fruit in Washington state and written screenplays in Tinseltown.
With the publication of THE LEGEND OF BAGGER VANCE in 1995, I became a writer of books once and for all.
My writing philosophy is, not surprisingly, a kind of warrior code — internal rather than external — in which the enemy is identified as those forms of self-sabotage that I have labeled "Resistance" with a capital R (in THE WAR OF ART) and the technique for combatting these foes can be described as "turning pro."
I believe in previous lives.
I believe in the Muse.
I believe that books and music exist before they are written and that they are propelled into material being by their own imperative to be born, via the offices of those willing servants of discipline, imagination and inspiration, whom we call artists. My conception of the artist's role is a combination of reverence for the unknowable nature of "where it all comes from" and a no-nonsense, blue-collar demystification of the process by which this mystery is approached. In other words, a paradox.
There's a recurring character in my books named Telamon, a mercenary of ancient days. Telamon doesn't say much. He rarely gets hurt or wounded. And he never seems to age. His view of the profession of arms is a lot like my conception of art and the artist:
"It is one thing to study war, and another to live the warrior's life."
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April 23, 2014DID YOU KNOW?
The 2000 film The Legend of Bagger Vance, was loosely based on the Gita, with golf taking the place of war (though the hero has been traumatized by World War I).
In the film, the Krishna figure (played by Will Smith) describes to [Ar]Junuh (Matt Damon), for whom he is the caddie (charioteer), the feeling of karma without kama (pure-action, without thought for results) as playing in the zone, a great analogy.
July 12, 2012
For any golfer, there are certain irrefutable truths. Integrity is a truth. Respect, competitiveness, focus, peace, and countless others are all integral pieces to golf's puzzle. I have had the very real privilege of knowing the game of golf- not how to play it, or the rules, but to KNOW it. I have seen what it does to me. When I am on the secluded fairway with a club in hand, the green grass speaks to me, sharing life's lessons. This is when I pray. This is when I see the world as it should be- in complete harmony, purity, honesty. My faith in mankind is restored, because all I can see around me is the most perfect game on earth.
For any golfer, there are certain movies that you will have seen. At the forefront of those is The Legend of Bagger Vance. Being one of my favorite movies of all time, it surprised me that I hadn't read the book on which it was based. Pulling out my trusty Nook, I pressed the "shop" button, and entered those amazing combination of words into the search bar. Success! The Legend of Bagger Vance, by Steven Pressfield. Excited as I was to dive into it, I thought back and remembered that the best time to watch the film is at night. Golf becomes somewhat angelic at night. There is a peace knowing that the courses come alive when nobody is there, so, I immerse myself in the movie when there is no possibility of driving out and diluting that hallowed ground. I decided to practice that same discipline when it came to reading the novel. So, several impatient hours later, I clicked on the first page. I was hooked. The words jumped out at me, fading every aspect of life around me into sheer blankness. I was at a golf course. I could see it, I could feel it. The Nook in my hand was not an ereader, it was a golf club. More specifically, my Titleist putter that served me for many years, that I aptly named Discipline. It has recently been retired, and in trying to learn my new putters existence, I have named it after one of the course holes listed in the book. A little off topic, I know, but as you read this book, golf transcends a game, a sport, an activity. It is living, breathing, and utterly you. It changes itself to understand you, to bring out the absolute best and absolute worst. This book explains those truths in almost panoramic detail. Narrated from the aging lips of a man who was there in 1931, there to witness a one day event, a golf match, between the two heroes of the day, Walter Hagen and Bobby Jones, and a local hero, tormented by his past and after a several year sabbatical from the game, agrees to test his talents against those gods of golf in order to help revive a dying post-Depression Savannah, Georgia. The moral of the story isn't the match itself, which was brilliant, not even of Bagger Vance, the local hero's caddie, the namesake of the book. Rather it is the self discovery of generations of people, of battles past and future, literally retold through the divine lips of a mysterious mentor, Vance, and the absolute truths that can only be reached through a club in the hand, a ball on the grass, and a pin in the distance.
One does not have to be a golf aficionado to enjoy this novel, and although I cannot guarantee that you will immediately fall in love with the game after reading it, I will promise you that you will appreciate the life lessons that is has to offer. Read it, visualize it, and golf will no longer be just a game. The Legend of Bagger Vance: Golf and the Game of Life.
For any golfer, there are certain movies that you will have seen. At the forefront of those is The Legend of Bagger Vance. Being one of my favorite movies of all time, it surprised me that I hadn't read the book on which it was based. Pulling out my trusty Nook, I pressed the "shop" button, and entered those amazing combination of words into the search bar. Success! The Legend of Bagger Vance, by Steven Pressfield. Excited as I was to dive into it, I thought back and remembered that the best time to watch the film is at night. Golf becomes somewhat angelic at night. There is a peace knowing that the courses come alive when nobody is there, so, I immerse myself in the movie when there is no possibility of driving out and diluting that hallowed ground. I decided to practice that same discipline when it came to reading the novel. So, several impatient hours later, I clicked on the first page. I was hooked. The words jumped out at me, fading every aspect of life around me into sheer blankness. I was at a golf course. I could see it, I could feel it. The Nook in my hand was not an ereader, it was a golf club. More specifically, my Titleist putter that served me for many years, that I aptly named Discipline. It has recently been retired, and in trying to learn my new putters existence, I have named it after one of the course holes listed in the book. A little off topic, I know, but as you read this book, golf transcends a game, a sport, an activity. It is living, breathing, and utterly you. It changes itself to understand you, to bring out the absolute best and absolute worst. This book explains those truths in almost panoramic detail. Narrated from the aging lips of a man who was there in 1931, there to witness a one day event, a golf match, between the two heroes of the day, Walter Hagen and Bobby Jones, and a local hero, tormented by his past and after a several year sabbatical from the game, agrees to test his talents against those gods of golf in order to help revive a dying post-Depression Savannah, Georgia. The moral of the story isn't the match itself, which was brilliant, not even of Bagger Vance, the local hero's caddie, the namesake of the book. Rather it is the self discovery of generations of people, of battles past and future, literally retold through the divine lips of a mysterious mentor, Vance, and the absolute truths that can only be reached through a club in the hand, a ball on the grass, and a pin in the distance.
One does not have to be a golf aficionado to enjoy this novel, and although I cannot guarantee that you will immediately fall in love with the game after reading it, I will promise you that you will appreciate the life lessons that is has to offer. Read it, visualize it, and golf will no longer be just a game. The Legend of Bagger Vance: Golf and the Game of Life.
May 4, 2009
I'm not a golfing fanatic, I don't watch it on tv, but I was on the edge of my seat reading about the golf match that is played in the book.
The book is not at all like the film starring Matt Damon and Will Smith as Junah and Baggar Vance respectively. The book highlights the main themes treated in the film, but it goes a lot further.
Golf is a game where you play against yourself, against your mind. Golf represents the war that rages inside each one of us. Each golfer is a warrior, fighting the voice and the false beliefs in him that make him doubt himself, doubt his worth, doubt his reason for being there.
The book also contains the message that all warriors know that war proves our race's failure. If we can fight one another, and justify it because we see ourselves as separate from one another, then we have failed. The most honourable thing a warrior can do is move forward and be true to who he is, despite others wanting him to be someone and something else. The warrior who chooses to heal, to make whole, to put back together, is the most noble of all.
Despite the serious subject and theme, there are some very funny passages throughout that will have you chuckling.
A very moving book and well worth reading.
The book is not at all like the film starring Matt Damon and Will Smith as Junah and Baggar Vance respectively. The book highlights the main themes treated in the film, but it goes a lot further.
Golf is a game where you play against yourself, against your mind. Golf represents the war that rages inside each one of us. Each golfer is a warrior, fighting the voice and the false beliefs in him that make him doubt himself, doubt his worth, doubt his reason for being there.
The book also contains the message that all warriors know that war proves our race's failure. If we can fight one another, and justify it because we see ourselves as separate from one another, then we have failed. The most honourable thing a warrior can do is move forward and be true to who he is, despite others wanting him to be someone and something else. The warrior who chooses to heal, to make whole, to put back together, is the most noble of all.
Despite the serious subject and theme, there are some very funny passages throughout that will have you chuckling.
A very moving book and well worth reading.
February 23, 2014
Golf is war. War is hell. Golf is hell? Would that the point of this novel was as simple as that transitive property! Sadly, it's not, and I was frustrated in my search for the author's elusive meaning.
The novel recounts a 36-hole golf match between Bobby Jones and Walter Hagen, devised to elevate Savannah out of it's 1931 Depression-era slump. The competition takes place on Krewe Island, a stone's throw from Skidaway, a piece of land demolished in a storm during 1938 - save for the 18th hole, aptly named "Valor", which survived the floods.
In additional to the two known champions, a third competitor is found in a local man, Junah, a decorated war hero who routinely seeks solace at the bottom of a bottle. Savannah born and bred, he will represent a city still smarting from the Confederacy's defeat in the Civil War. Accompanying him is his caddie, Bagger Vance, a black man who commands respect and stands equal in an era that would not likely allow it. He has mystical powers and control over Junah, which include getting his golfer out on the links absent a drying-out period. Who is this guy?
No spoilers here - I won't say how the match goes, but I'm sure most readers will not be surprised. The author has taken on the ambitious task of weaving philosophy into the game of golf, and, mysticism aside, there are some gems to be found. Most of the novel contains long and detailed passages about doglegs, bunkers, and scoops - if you play, you will likely understand and absorb those sections, with a clear image in your mind of how each of the holes, and the action, is laid, and played, out. If you don't play, you won't learn much here, and you may be frustrated having to search through the jargon for the kernels of wisdom Bagger bestows upon Junah and 10-year-old tag-along, Hardy.
This was saved from 1 star by the fact that, occasionally, glimpses of some deeper meaning could be seen through the Savannah storm clouds. Persevering, and locating them, could be as daunting a task as playing 36 holes in 100% humidity. If you love golf, go for it. If not, pick up a copy of The Iliad, where war is just war.
The novel recounts a 36-hole golf match between Bobby Jones and Walter Hagen, devised to elevate Savannah out of it's 1931 Depression-era slump. The competition takes place on Krewe Island, a stone's throw from Skidaway, a piece of land demolished in a storm during 1938 - save for the 18th hole, aptly named "Valor", which survived the floods.
In additional to the two known champions, a third competitor is found in a local man, Junah, a decorated war hero who routinely seeks solace at the bottom of a bottle. Savannah born and bred, he will represent a city still smarting from the Confederacy's defeat in the Civil War. Accompanying him is his caddie, Bagger Vance, a black man who commands respect and stands equal in an era that would not likely allow it. He has mystical powers and control over Junah, which include getting his golfer out on the links absent a drying-out period. Who is this guy?
No spoilers here - I won't say how the match goes, but I'm sure most readers will not be surprised. The author has taken on the ambitious task of weaving philosophy into the game of golf, and, mysticism aside, there are some gems to be found. Most of the novel contains long and detailed passages about doglegs, bunkers, and scoops - if you play, you will likely understand and absorb those sections, with a clear image in your mind of how each of the holes, and the action, is laid, and played, out. If you don't play, you won't learn much here, and you may be frustrated having to search through the jargon for the kernels of wisdom Bagger bestows upon Junah and 10-year-old tag-along, Hardy.
This was saved from 1 star by the fact that, occasionally, glimpses of some deeper meaning could be seen through the Savannah storm clouds. Persevering, and locating them, could be as daunting a task as playing 36 holes in 100% humidity. If you love golf, go for it. If not, pick up a copy of The Iliad, where war is just war.
November 14, 2007
First off, I like to golf. It's fun: get some sunshine, hit a few balls, make a few good shots, make a lot of bad shots, buy drinks from the golf cart girl, and grab a sandwich at the turn. Drive, curse, rough, curse, sand, curse, putt, curse, tap in. There's nothing overly complicated about it, in my opinion.
What I don't like about golf is the cult around it, of which this book is trying to be an epistle. I understand that some people go all out: 90 hole weekend, trips to St. Andrew's, etc. That's ok, though, because there's nothing wrong with having a hobby (as long as said hobby doesn't include injuring others or animals needlessly). What's not ok, is this idea that golf is some sort of "higher plane" activity; that it's a metaphor for life or finding the Field or the Authentic Swing or any other such nonsense.
It's a game. Sometimes even a sport. That's it.
What the whole cult smacks of is a giant rationalization: in order to justify to ourselves and our spouses and our children why we spend hundreds -- sometimes thousands -- on equipment to spend hours away from home walking across acres and acres of land that deep down inside we realize could probably be put to better use, we need to give golf a *higher meaning*.
Frankly, I don't buy it. I play golf to have a good time, and everyone else should to ... why else play it?
Anyway, the book: it's not a bad read (Pressfield is a good writer, as I've read his Gates of Fire as well). It's just full of self-serving nonsense. Can someone find deeper meaning through golf? Of course. But a book like this won't help you find it, it'll just give you an excuse not to feel bad that you're missing your son's second birthday party because you have a 3pm tee time.
What I don't like about golf is the cult around it, of which this book is trying to be an epistle. I understand that some people go all out: 90 hole weekend, trips to St. Andrew's, etc. That's ok, though, because there's nothing wrong with having a hobby (as long as said hobby doesn't include injuring others or animals needlessly). What's not ok, is this idea that golf is some sort of "higher plane" activity; that it's a metaphor for life or finding the Field or the Authentic Swing or any other such nonsense.
It's a game. Sometimes even a sport. That's it.
What the whole cult smacks of is a giant rationalization: in order to justify to ourselves and our spouses and our children why we spend hundreds -- sometimes thousands -- on equipment to spend hours away from home walking across acres and acres of land that deep down inside we realize could probably be put to better use, we need to give golf a *higher meaning*.
Frankly, I don't buy it. I play golf to have a good time, and everyone else should to ... why else play it?
Anyway, the book: it's not a bad read (Pressfield is a good writer, as I've read his Gates of Fire as well). It's just full of self-serving nonsense. Can someone find deeper meaning through golf? Of course. But a book like this won't help you find it, it'll just give you an excuse not to feel bad that you're missing your son's second birthday party because you have a 3pm tee time.
August 19, 2017
Inside each and every one of us is one true authentic swing...
Somethin' we was born with...
Somethin' that's ours and ours alone...
Somethin' that can't be taught to ya or learned...
Somethin' that got to be remembered...
Over time the world can, rob us of that swing...
It get buried inside us under all our wouldas and couldas and shouldas...
Some folk even forget what their swing was like...
Somethin' we was born with...
Somethin' that's ours and ours alone...
Somethin' that can't be taught to ya or learned...
Somethin' that got to be remembered...
Over time the world can, rob us of that swing...
It get buried inside us under all our wouldas and couldas and shouldas...
Some folk even forget what their swing was like...
December 25, 2015
"The Legend of Bagger Vance" by Steven Pressfield tees up a message of greater meaning and knocks a long drive down the fairway straight to the pin. The book, which is exquisitely written, discusses the fact that golf is a "higher plane" activity. It makes the point golf is a sport of the gods. It brings you closer to the divine. It is the only sport where the golfer has to judge himself. If he makes an error, the onus is on him to call the penalty. It is a sport where you become one with nature on courses carved out of the land. Pressfield writes of finding the "authentic swing," which is the representation of your true self. In it he says all the knowledge a person needs can be found in the hands as they grip the club. He wrote that one must play golf, as one must play the game of life, with abandon. Hold nothing back and give it your all. This spoke to me. He makes the claim that there are multiple existences occurring simultaneously, and our true self, guiding by our hands and grip on our world, finds the existence we are meant to live and drives us forward, both literally and figuratively.
Essentially, Pressfield writes "Bagger Vance" to describe golf as a metaphor for life. In life, as in golf, integrity, respect, competitiveness, focus, and peace are key components. The story centers on a golfer who is struggling to find meaning in his life by the narrator telling the story of another golfer who was struggling to find meaning in his life. All three of the primary characters — the narrator, the current golfer and the past golfer — are all influenced by the mysterious caddie, Bagger Vance. Vance shows all the players "the field," which is the dimension of the world where all the possible existences live. He shows them how to give themselves to the game, which is to give themselves to life.
In the story, Vance is described to be a god, or God Himself. He tells all the players that he will always be with them. When they are in their darkest hour of need, he will be by their side. He lives in all times. He has experienced everything. He is experience everything. The allusions to God are strong, and the message is clear — trust in God and everything will be OK.
As I've said before, I am a big fan of Pressfield, in so much as I've read him. He inspires me, and "The Legend of Bagger Vance" didn't fail to sink the inspirational putt. It showed me to stop over thinking things. I need to live, not worry. I need to trust in God that everything will be OK, and I need to give everything to all that I do. I shouldn't hold back.
I give this book 5 out of 5 Stars. Anyone who is interested in golf will be enthralled. The suspense is intense. Pressfield masterfully paints a picture of the 36 holes of golf that are played. He gives the right amount of detail without bogging down the story. The question of who Bagger Vance is, as well as how the golf match turns out, kept me turning page after page. (I aspire to write as well.) Likewise, even if you aren't a golf fan, the message of the book will strike a nerve.
I recommend this book to everyone. You will be pleased you read it.
Essentially, Pressfield writes "Bagger Vance" to describe golf as a metaphor for life. In life, as in golf, integrity, respect, competitiveness, focus, and peace are key components. The story centers on a golfer who is struggling to find meaning in his life by the narrator telling the story of another golfer who was struggling to find meaning in his life. All three of the primary characters — the narrator, the current golfer and the past golfer — are all influenced by the mysterious caddie, Bagger Vance. Vance shows all the players "the field," which is the dimension of the world where all the possible existences live. He shows them how to give themselves to the game, which is to give themselves to life.
In the story, Vance is described to be a god, or God Himself. He tells all the players that he will always be with them. When they are in their darkest hour of need, he will be by their side. He lives in all times. He has experienced everything. He is experience everything. The allusions to God are strong, and the message is clear — trust in God and everything will be OK.
As I've said before, I am a big fan of Pressfield, in so much as I've read him. He inspires me, and "The Legend of Bagger Vance" didn't fail to sink the inspirational putt. It showed me to stop over thinking things. I need to live, not worry. I need to trust in God that everything will be OK, and I need to give everything to all that I do. I shouldn't hold back.
I give this book 5 out of 5 Stars. Anyone who is interested in golf will be enthralled. The suspense is intense. Pressfield masterfully paints a picture of the 36 holes of golf that are played. He gives the right amount of detail without bogging down the story. The question of who Bagger Vance is, as well as how the golf match turns out, kept me turning page after page. (I aspire to write as well.) Likewise, even if you aren't a golf fan, the message of the book will strike a nerve.
I recommend this book to everyone. You will be pleased you read it.
July 2, 2012
'It's not about golf,' said the student to this teacher.
The Legend of Bagger Vance: A Novel of Golf and the Game of Life was on the shelf in my classroom. I hadn't read it yet and was discussing it with one of my students who was looking for something to read. I had suggested it to him since he is a fan of many sports. He said he'd already read it. I told him I had not, since I am not a fan of golf. He looked at me like I was a small, silly child and said, 'It's not about golf.'
At that moment, I determined to read this book. So, this was my first free choice of a book this summer and I enjoyed it.
First things first. You do not have to understand golf to understand the book. The golf match is merely the vehicle to move the story forward. When Bagger Vance encourages his pupil to find his 'authentic swing' I simply inserted my own experiences with baseball to understand the feeling.
Secondly, the book is full of eastern philosophy. It's an interesting dichotomy - the American South during the Great Depression and Hinduism. Search 'Bhagavid-Gita, Bagger Vance' on the search engine of your choice and you'll find it laid out quite nicely on many, many sites.
So, my final grade: 4 stars. Not Pressfield's best work but still quite interesting and well done.
http://dwdsreviews.blogspot.com/
The Legend of Bagger Vance: A Novel of Golf and the Game of Life was on the shelf in my classroom. I hadn't read it yet and was discussing it with one of my students who was looking for something to read. I had suggested it to him since he is a fan of many sports. He said he'd already read it. I told him I had not, since I am not a fan of golf. He looked at me like I was a small, silly child and said, 'It's not about golf.'
At that moment, I determined to read this book. So, this was my first free choice of a book this summer and I enjoyed it.
First things first. You do not have to understand golf to understand the book. The golf match is merely the vehicle to move the story forward. When Bagger Vance encourages his pupil to find his 'authentic swing' I simply inserted my own experiences with baseball to understand the feeling.
Secondly, the book is full of eastern philosophy. It's an interesting dichotomy - the American South during the Great Depression and Hinduism. Search 'Bhagavid-Gita, Bagger Vance' on the search engine of your choice and you'll find it laid out quite nicely on many, many sites.
So, my final grade: 4 stars. Not Pressfield's best work but still quite interesting and well done.
http://dwdsreviews.blogspot.com/
October 25, 2024
I saw the movie when it first came out and I enjoyed it. I didn't know the movie was based on a book. Now, a lot of the scenes in the movie make sense, a wonderful book by a great author. The descriptions put you on the course, following the players.
June 26, 2019
خیلی قشنگ بود. درست مثله فیلمش.
January 30, 2025
DNF.
just couldn’t get into it at all, was super bored the entire time. im sure its great for its target audience but it just wasn’t for me
just couldn’t get into it at all, was super bored the entire time. im sure its great for its target audience but it just wasn’t for me
September 17, 2023
This book was certainly an allegory for your journey in finding God which I found hard to relate to but it overall had some really good lessons and reminders
August 22, 2022
Good book, you can enjoy it and not be a golfer.
August 4, 2012
I've loved the movie and recently found a copy of the book so I was looking forward to reading this. The book, as always, tells of details that would never make it in a movie and those details add a certain level of enjoyment but the book is much more of a magical realism/spiritual quest story than the movie.
The movie was lovingly adapted from the book and that attention shows in a first rate film. This is one of those rare cases where I can't decide if I like the movie or the book version better.
The basic storyline of a WWI veteran/hero who'd been a local "golden boy" scion of the southern gentry who damaged by his experiences in the war who finds himself representing local honor in a golf match against Walter Hagan and Bobby Jones is all there but the "third generation" character of young black man who's hearing the story for the first time is missing from the movie. This character, the addition of the changing role of race in the south, and the jarring attitude of a modern day young man when contrasyted to the genteel 1930's of the match all add something to the in-depth story but would have made the film version too muddled.
One interesting note about my experience reading this book... I read part of it while having lunch at the Coney Island restaurant in St. Petersburg. It's been there since 1926 and has the perfect atmosphere for complementing a story about the 1930's. One of the countermen, happened to see what I was reading and made a point of telling me that he'd read the book as well, and thought that it was the best thing he'd ever read. Given his disheveled appearance and the worn Harley Davidson T-shirt I saw under his counter apron I'd not have guessed that he was an avid reader and certainly not a golf fan.
This is NOT the best golf legend story I've ever read. (Check out Billy Boy by Bud Shrake for that) But it IS well worth your time and attention.
The movie was lovingly adapted from the book and that attention shows in a first rate film. This is one of those rare cases where I can't decide if I like the movie or the book version better.
The basic storyline of a WWI veteran/hero who'd been a local "golden boy" scion of the southern gentry who damaged by his experiences in the war who finds himself representing local honor in a golf match against Walter Hagan and Bobby Jones is all there but the "third generation" character of young black man who's hearing the story for the first time is missing from the movie. This character, the addition of the changing role of race in the south, and the jarring attitude of a modern day young man when contrasyted to the genteel 1930's of the match all add something to the in-depth story but would have made the film version too muddled.
One interesting note about my experience reading this book... I read part of it while having lunch at the Coney Island restaurant in St. Petersburg. It's been there since 1926 and has the perfect atmosphere for complementing a story about the 1930's. One of the countermen, happened to see what I was reading and made a point of telling me that he'd read the book as well, and thought that it was the best thing he'd ever read. Given his disheveled appearance and the worn Harley Davidson T-shirt I saw under his counter apron I'd not have guessed that he was an avid reader and certainly not a golf fan.
This is NOT the best golf legend story I've ever read. (Check out Billy Boy by Bud Shrake for that) But it IS well worth your time and attention.
January 19, 2017
Like most I learned about this story after having watched the Robert Redford directed film which to be frank, left me underwhelmed. However when I recently added it back into my Netflix list and watched again, something told me to read the book.
To say I was blown away would be a vast understatement nor did I expect something like this from Pressfield. Finding our "Authentic Swing" can be the most fulfilling journey we take; you do not need to be a golfer to embrace the message shared either. Dr. Wayne Dyer used elements of the book in one of his CD courses and for good reason. He draws a comparison between finding our authentic self by virtue the 'battle' story told in the Bhagavad Gita. Those that understand the role Resistance plays in our lives as well as its counterpart, Allowing can benefit. It's a shame the film doesn't follow the story, twist ending or even how and to whom the story is being told. Bravo Steve... a great story that can and likely has changed people's lives!
To say I was blown away would be a vast understatement nor did I expect something like this from Pressfield. Finding our "Authentic Swing" can be the most fulfilling journey we take; you do not need to be a golfer to embrace the message shared either. Dr. Wayne Dyer used elements of the book in one of his CD courses and for good reason. He draws a comparison between finding our authentic self by virtue the 'battle' story told in the Bhagavad Gita. Those that understand the role Resistance plays in our lives as well as its counterpart, Allowing can benefit. It's a shame the film doesn't follow the story, twist ending or even how and to whom the story is being told. Bravo Steve... a great story that can and likely has changed people's lives!
January 6, 2015
This text either awakened or reawakened something in me; I am not sure which. It reminded me - made me remember. Read it.
September 12, 2021
I haven’t seen the movie bc I’m not that interested in golf. I have a basic understanding of the game, the discipline, the integrity, the physicality, the dedication that each player has, to be a great golfer. I respect that. But I’m not a fan.
So now, why did I read this book? A priest suggested the movie during a homily on writing the gospel of our own lives. I opted for the book.
Based on a true story plus presenting Bagger Vance as the personification of a Hindu god, the story runs on. Lots & lots & lots of godly advise & mystical experiences. Did I mention there’s lots of godly talking? The truth tho is that the game here was pretty exciting. I ended up learning
more than I cared to about golf, not complaining,.
However, I’d hate to have Bagger Vance as my caddy. He never seems to give a direct answer, and is always preaching. This would drive me nuts. This could be similar to the presence of the Holy Spirit Spirit in Christianity but I’m possibly out on a limb with that.
Now, using Will Smith as the personified god, reminds me somewhat of “The Shack” by William P. Young when God was seen as a woman, & not just a woman, but a Black woman. I know a few people, good Christian people, who lost their breakfast over that.
I wonder what was thought about our talented Will Smith playing a god like character?
An exit poll would have been great.
So now, why did I read this book? A priest suggested the movie during a homily on writing the gospel of our own lives. I opted for the book.
Based on a true story plus presenting Bagger Vance as the personification of a Hindu god, the story runs on. Lots & lots & lots of godly advise & mystical experiences. Did I mention there’s lots of godly talking? The truth tho is that the game here was pretty exciting. I ended up learning
more than I cared to about golf, not complaining,.
However, I’d hate to have Bagger Vance as my caddy. He never seems to give a direct answer, and is always preaching. This would drive me nuts. This could be similar to the presence of the Holy Spirit Spirit in Christianity but I’m possibly out on a limb with that.
Now, using Will Smith as the personified god, reminds me somewhat of “The Shack” by William P. Young when God was seen as a woman, & not just a woman, but a Black woman. I know a few people, good Christian people, who lost their breakfast over that.
I wonder what was thought about our talented Will Smith playing a god like character?
An exit poll would have been great.
September 4, 2018
Steven Pressfield is a master at his craft. The Legend of Bagger Vance is easily in my top 10 favorite novels of all time. My question is how could a book this good, be made into such a mediocre movie? Especially when it's starring Will Smith, Matt Damon, and Charlize Theron. I think it was the difference in tone. The book was much deeper and asked tough questions like what can we do in order to uncover and discover our true and authentic self. The movie was lighter in tone and didn't spend enough time exploring Bagger Vance's philosophy on the game of golf and life. Well worth reading.
January 31, 2019
Excellent work by Steven Pressfield. Not what you'd expect from a sports book—Pressfield puts a lot of supernatural content, some with Greek influence and other from the Bible, that makes for a mystical, intriguing journey. One of the key concepts is that each person has their one true, authentic swing, which is a metaphor for created purpose, design. There's a discussion about how one finds that swing—discipline, forgetfulness, practice, etc. Much of the same concepts and thoughts as Pressfield's other work, "The War of Art."
May 4, 2021
Good story and good writing. I liked the movie. This book was worth reading because there is a ton of content involving the magical part of the story when Bagger shows Junah "the field." There was good imagery there from the author, but it was a bit too much. The last few chapters that covered the golf match was very detailed, almost too much again. The back story happening in the present time with Hardy and Michael was not really needed in my opinion either. Still these are little picky things. Overall, a good book, not bad, not great. 3 out of 5.
December 9, 2017
This just didn't work for me. Pressfield is a talented wordsmith, but if I had never seen the film, I would have been thoroughly lost and confused.
Most of the book is the replay of a fictional golf match, so anyone who loves the game and understands all the mechanics of the sport will be hugely entertained. This is quite cerebral and there is much to ponder here about discovering our true authentic self. There are references to the holiness of sport and some fascinating dialogue about the "mysterious current of consciousness" as well. There are some very inspired, and may I say heartwarming, moments that spoke to me. That said, for me this is simply a story that came to life on film rather than in print.
Most of the book is the replay of a fictional golf match, so anyone who loves the game and understands all the mechanics of the sport will be hugely entertained. This is quite cerebral and there is much to ponder here about discovering our true authentic self. There are references to the holiness of sport and some fascinating dialogue about the "mysterious current of consciousness" as well. There are some very inspired, and may I say heartwarming, moments that spoke to me. That said, for me this is simply a story that came to life on film rather than in print.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 15, 2017
I first saw The Legend of Bagger Vance movie when I was a young boy. Every subsequent viewing has moved me just as much as the first time, if not more. The movie has many notable differences, though it isn't better or worse than the book. Just different. What makes Pressfield's story so great is that Bagger's wisdom can be applied to any profession or vocation. Absolutely anything at all. For me, every word Bagger speaks (allowing for changes in terminology, of course) fits with how I perceive writing. To see it laid before me on paper, in ways better than I could ever hope to articulate, sent goosebumps over my entire body. Not only a wonderful story that even non-golfers (such as myself) can enjoy, but a veritable guidebook for life.
May 16, 2022
Deep thinking for a sports related book. Amazed the entirety occurred at the golf course, traveling to it or talking about it. Supernatural or divine, Bagger Vance is beyond this world. As commonly occurs, more detail and reflecting moments than are in the movie but both movie and novel are worth experiencing over and over.
February 4, 2024
This book is the best I’ve ever read. Hands down. Not everyone that picks the book up will agree with that statement, but that’s OK. It has a great message and I hope more people read it.
December 11, 2023
Book and movie are very different - but both are excellent.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 21, 2025
Incredible!
April 22, 2021
“Life is action. Even choosing not to act, we act. We cannot do otherwise. Therefore act with vigor.”
Though better remembered for the movie starring Will Smith and Matt Damon, The Legend of Bagger Vance was first a novel—and not a very well-known one at that. Pressfield took the basic outline of the Bhagavad Gita and applied it to a golf story. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that there are plenty of supernatural elements.
The year is 1931. Rannulph Junah (or R. Junah; Arjuna is the protagonist of the Bhagavad Gita) is many things, but for our purposes, he’s a golfer. On Krewe Island, off the coast of Savannah, is one of the world’s (fictional) premier golf courses. Junah, aging local champ, is put in a 36-hole exhibition match at this course with two of the game’s all-time greats: Bobby Jones and Walter Hagen.
Problem is, Junah has lost his swing. He needs some help from the mysterious Bagger Vance—a god-like figure who guides Junah into getting that swing back. Can he compete against the heroes? Or will he make a fool of himself?
Though the advice doled out from Vance to Junah feels a little too directed to the reader, the story is great and the lessons found within certain do apply outside the pages of the book.
Ultimately, Junah has to find his authentic swing: “Hagen and Jones do not will the swing into being, they use their will to find the swing that is already there.”
The writing brings you right back to 1930s Georgia—Pressfield does a great job putting the reader in that era. I didn’t always love the narrative structure, and some bits haven’t aged well, but those are pretty minor complaints in the grand scheme of it.
The Legend of Bagger Vance isn’t for everyone, but for folks interested in sports and competition and inner battles, it’s well worth reading.
I'd give it a shade under 4 stars, rounded up here.
Though better remembered for the movie starring Will Smith and Matt Damon, The Legend of Bagger Vance was first a novel—and not a very well-known one at that. Pressfield took the basic outline of the Bhagavad Gita and applied it to a golf story. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that there are plenty of supernatural elements.
The year is 1931. Rannulph Junah (or R. Junah; Arjuna is the protagonist of the Bhagavad Gita) is many things, but for our purposes, he’s a golfer. On Krewe Island, off the coast of Savannah, is one of the world’s (fictional) premier golf courses. Junah, aging local champ, is put in a 36-hole exhibition match at this course with two of the game’s all-time greats: Bobby Jones and Walter Hagen.
Problem is, Junah has lost his swing. He needs some help from the mysterious Bagger Vance—a god-like figure who guides Junah into getting that swing back. Can he compete against the heroes? Or will he make a fool of himself?
Though the advice doled out from Vance to Junah feels a little too directed to the reader, the story is great and the lessons found within certain do apply outside the pages of the book.
Ultimately, Junah has to find his authentic swing: “Hagen and Jones do not will the swing into being, they use their will to find the swing that is already there.”
The writing brings you right back to 1930s Georgia—Pressfield does a great job putting the reader in that era. I didn’t always love the narrative structure, and some bits haven’t aged well, but those are pretty minor complaints in the grand scheme of it.
The Legend of Bagger Vance isn’t for everyone, but for folks interested in sports and competition and inner battles, it’s well worth reading.
I'd give it a shade under 4 stars, rounded up here.
February 18, 2015
Not just a "game". This journey is much more serious than that...
I kind of backed into reading The Legend of Bagger Vance. I was familiar with the adaptation of the story from watching the movie (which I liked), but I started reading Steven Pressfield’s books because I was trying to improve myself as an author – and I was very interested in how he has been so successful – so I started with The Authentic Swing: Notes from the Writing of a First Novel…which, by the way, knocked my socks off (see my review). Of course, after reading the notes and backstory of how he wrote The Legend of Bagger Vance, I had no choice but to read it. That was a great decision.
I’m a golf duffer, but was raised around the game, my father having won a Bob Hope Pro-Am, and my mother having won a Regional while we were stationed in Turkey. I always liked it, but never really took it up until I was stationed in Hawaii – and I only took it up to pass the time. I really fell in love with the game, but as all golfers know, I never really understood the almost mystical fascination of the game. I don’t think I ever will.
The Legend of Bagger Vance takes a hard run at revealing some of the underlying forces. The book equates “The Authentic Swing” with a person’s own True Self, which oftentimes gets lost in the press of life. When someone loses or walks away from themselves, they often lose sight of their own purpose, who they actually are. This is book is ostensibly about golf, but moreover, I saw it as a book about being true to yourself, to your life, and the people in it.
This is a very good book. It makes me at once want to read the classics (Wordsworth – “trailing clouds of glory” – pg. 70), and go out on the course (evolution of the swing, the Self – pgs. 71, 72). The feeling of being out in the open air, in nature, striving hard to relax into yourself is almost addictive.
The character development, narrative device, plot, and just good storytelling brought me deep into the world of Rannulf Junah, Bagger Vance, and the world of Golf and Self, as seen through the eyes of the young Hardison Greaves.
For most of the book (first and last parts), it is an enthralling book that completely drew me in. I was on the links with them, watching the external, and more interestingly, the internal struggles. I could see them, feel them, I was one of them. As a combat vet myself, I completely empathized with Junna’s struggle to get past all the horror of war and try to come to grips with himself in the rest of the book, but the center part of the book goes too far down the metaphysical rabbit hole for me. It distracted me from what I saw as the main theme, and pushed me back out of the pages into just reading a book. The departure into a realm wherein the characters were not just in a mystical, internal place during their struggles, but actually regressed through time, space and reality into the distant past and other spiritual or cosmic planes completely threw me off the story, and reminded me of some ‘60’s trip in the middle of a ‘20’s struggle for self.
Despite what appeared to be a distracting departure, this book is well worth the read. Thoroughly enjoyable, deeply introspective, and a strong reminder of the constant struggle with the adversity of life and trauma to retain – or find – your one, true Self.
I kind of backed into reading The Legend of Bagger Vance. I was familiar with the adaptation of the story from watching the movie (which I liked), but I started reading Steven Pressfield’s books because I was trying to improve myself as an author – and I was very interested in how he has been so successful – so I started with The Authentic Swing: Notes from the Writing of a First Novel…which, by the way, knocked my socks off (see my review). Of course, after reading the notes and backstory of how he wrote The Legend of Bagger Vance, I had no choice but to read it. That was a great decision.
I’m a golf duffer, but was raised around the game, my father having won a Bob Hope Pro-Am, and my mother having won a Regional while we were stationed in Turkey. I always liked it, but never really took it up until I was stationed in Hawaii – and I only took it up to pass the time. I really fell in love with the game, but as all golfers know, I never really understood the almost mystical fascination of the game. I don’t think I ever will.
The Legend of Bagger Vance takes a hard run at revealing some of the underlying forces. The book equates “The Authentic Swing” with a person’s own True Self, which oftentimes gets lost in the press of life. When someone loses or walks away from themselves, they often lose sight of their own purpose, who they actually are. This is book is ostensibly about golf, but moreover, I saw it as a book about being true to yourself, to your life, and the people in it.
This is a very good book. It makes me at once want to read the classics (Wordsworth – “trailing clouds of glory” – pg. 70), and go out on the course (evolution of the swing, the Self – pgs. 71, 72). The feeling of being out in the open air, in nature, striving hard to relax into yourself is almost addictive.
The character development, narrative device, plot, and just good storytelling brought me deep into the world of Rannulf Junah, Bagger Vance, and the world of Golf and Self, as seen through the eyes of the young Hardison Greaves.
For most of the book (first and last parts), it is an enthralling book that completely drew me in. I was on the links with them, watching the external, and more interestingly, the internal struggles. I could see them, feel them, I was one of them. As a combat vet myself, I completely empathized with Junna’s struggle to get past all the horror of war and try to come to grips with himself in the rest of the book, but the center part of the book goes too far down the metaphysical rabbit hole for me. It distracted me from what I saw as the main theme, and pushed me back out of the pages into just reading a book. The departure into a realm wherein the characters were not just in a mystical, internal place during their struggles, but actually regressed through time, space and reality into the distant past and other spiritual or cosmic planes completely threw me off the story, and reminded me of some ‘60’s trip in the middle of a ‘20’s struggle for self.
Despite what appeared to be a distracting departure, this book is well worth the read. Thoroughly enjoyable, deeply introspective, and a strong reminder of the constant struggle with the adversity of life and trauma to retain – or find – your one, true Self.
April 14, 2016
I hate seeing the movie before reading the book, but I saw this movie years ago-- so long ago that I'd forgotten the plot, or lack thereof.
I really enjoy Steven Pressfield's writing-- it glides smoothly down the page without drawing attention to itself or stalling. I would have enjoyed it more if the book contained less technical information about the game of golf. I know that's stupid, because it's a golf book, but I did get a little bogged down and found my attention wandering when one of the characters described a particular hole in depth.
On the other side of the coin, the character of Bagger Vance has to be one of the most unique and fascinating in all of modern literature. Is he God? Or is he the god of Golf? Or just a guardian angel? Or just a crazy old man? I love the way he is written and left unfinished, as though the reader must struggle to the truth by him/herself.
I found the premise for the story-- the mentor trying to convince the young talent not to quit golf-- a bit thin, but I do like the way it was told as a memory so that the edges are fuzzy. It made the whole thing much more relatable. The ending was strange, and I wish it had stopped at the end of the golf tournament, which was the best part of the entire book. Overall, it's a solid three for me; if I knew anything about golf, it would have been a four.
I really enjoy Steven Pressfield's writing-- it glides smoothly down the page without drawing attention to itself or stalling. I would have enjoyed it more if the book contained less technical information about the game of golf. I know that's stupid, because it's a golf book, but I did get a little bogged down and found my attention wandering when one of the characters described a particular hole in depth.
On the other side of the coin, the character of Bagger Vance has to be one of the most unique and fascinating in all of modern literature. Is he God? Or is he the god of Golf? Or just a guardian angel? Or just a crazy old man? I love the way he is written and left unfinished, as though the reader must struggle to the truth by him/herself.
I found the premise for the story-- the mentor trying to convince the young talent not to quit golf-- a bit thin, but I do like the way it was told as a memory so that the edges are fuzzy. It made the whole thing much more relatable. The ending was strange, and I wish it had stopped at the end of the golf tournament, which was the best part of the entire book. Overall, it's a solid three for me; if I knew anything about golf, it would have been a four.
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