Q+A Michael MurphyThe celebrated author of Golf in the Kingdom waxes philosophic on the 30th anniversary of his mystical--and occasionally mystifying--novel about the game
SI: Did you know that last year Sports Illustrated named Golf in
the Kingdom the most overrated golf book of all time?
MM: Yes. To paraphrase George Bernard Shaw, I could agree with
the author, but we would be in the minority. Most people love the
book. It has sold about a million copies.
SI: You're used to the abuse?
MM: Oh, God, yes. For 30 years the book has sailed through strong
headwinds of criticism, but it sails on.
SI: Why the negative reaction?
MM: A lot of people have not had the mystical experiences
[described in the book], so it's strange, unfamiliar territory.
They feel these experiences I write about do not happen. But
they're simply wrong. I've been hearing about them for 30 years.
SI: Were you on some kind of mind-altering substance when you
wrote the second half of the book?
MM: No. Tommy Smothers once said he had read that part straight,
drunk and stoned, and it didn't make sense any of the three
times.
SI: Do enough golfers cultivate the mind?
MM: If more did, they'd have more enjoyment and they'd play
better. There is a resistance in human nature to change.
SI: How's your game these days?
MM: I gave it up for a while, but I played last Friday for the
first time in a couple of years. I didn't play very well.
SI: Does shooting a good score matter to such an enlightened
golfer?
MM: [At 72] I'm grateful I can finish nine holes without breaking
a leg.
SI: Clint Eastwood owned the film rights for years. Will we ever
see a movie version?
MM: I have the rights back. I'm working on a screenplay. We want
to cast it with unknown actors in Scotland, Ireland and England.
But who knows? It's an elusive project.
SI: You published a sequel, The Kingdom of Shivas Irons, in 1997.
Is that it?
MM: I'm writing a prequel. I don't know if I'll ever publish it.
I'm describing what was going on with Shivas before Murphy
appeared on the scene.
COLOR PHOTO: JOHN BURGESS (MURPHY) HEAD GAME Murphy and his main character, Shivas Irons, share an intellectual curiosity.
COLOR PHOTO: COURTESY OF PENGUIN BOOKS