Golf in the Kingdom

Rating:
Summary: waste of time
Review: I had heard about this near-mythical book on the philosophy of golf and had high expectations. The book started out well enough, as the author recounted his one and only round with Shivas Irons. From there it digressed into philosophical fiddle-faddle with very little golf attached to it. The last few sections are disconnected meanderings that may or may not mention golf at all. This is an abstruse philosophy book with a golf veneer. Read a friend's copy, but do not buy this book. Go play a round instead.

Rating:
Summary: Not a Golf Book!
Review: I had heard about this near-mythical book on the philosophy of golf and had high expectations. The book started out well enough, as the author recounted his one and only round with Shivas Irons. From there it digressed into philosophical fiddle-faddle with very little golf attached to it. The last few sections are disconnected meanderings that may or may not mention golf at all. This is an abstruse philosophy book with a golf veneer. Read a friend's copy, but do not buy this book. Go play a round instead.

Rating:
Summary: This is the definitive book on the enjoyment of golf.
Review: I have just finished reading this classic for the fourth time, and I never fail to learn something new. My copy is dog-eared, underlined, annotated, and highlighted, and I'm already looking forward to my next read. It is not a book about technique, but it has done more for my game than any book on technique ever has, and I've been playing golf for over fifty years. You can hear the Scottish burr, you can smell the heather, you can almost taste the whiskey. Thank you, Michael Murphy, for showing us the way.

Rating:
Summary: Too Deep For Me
Review: I may not be very bright, but this book was way over my head. I listened to it on audio cassette and had to force myself to finish it. I would recommend Miracle on the 17th Green and Missing Links before this book.

Rating:
Summary: May the Spirit of Golf Be With You!
Review: I read this book when it first came out and found it to be awe-inspiring. I've actually never read a book that has captivated me in the way in which this one has -- while reading it and the after-effect it has had on my life. Michael Murphy's writing abilities to captivate you on a mystical journey about golf of all things -- is just amazing! And the sequel "The Kingdom of Shivas Irons" is just as incredible. I love many things about golfing and these books have opened my interest to the world of golf even further. I was surprised by a few of the reviews which had a different experience reading this book. I think you either understand the essence of these stories or you don't, but if you do they leave you with an overwhelmingly profound feeling and deeper interest in golf.

Rating:
Summary: Horrible simple-minded stereotyping
Review: I wonder how a book that exploits age-old simple-minded stereotypes of men and women fails to draw criticism. This simplistic offering deserves zero stars in that it ties in to nothing of the game of golf, nothing of the nature of humanity, and nothing of interest. Zero stars and the JACKASS award for a total and complete lack of sensitivity. Ann

Rating:
Summary: Golfers Beware
Review: If you are a golfer, ignore this. It's probably a good read for ageing hippies into 60s/70s mysticism. Golf provides a backdrop but is not the main thesis. If you are looking for any insight into golf psychology look elsewhere 'cos it aint here.

Rating:
Summary: Inner view of the feeling for Golf
Review: Many people ask why we play golf. This book helps explain it. It shows that golf is not only a game, but a science, love and religon. Reading about that 1 night that Shivas played golf, will forever last in my mind. This is a must read for people that enjoy playing golf for the inner love and complexities.

Rating:
Summary: Golf in the kingdom
Review: Michael Murphy "Golf in the kingdom"

Rating:
Summary: Transcends the golf-book genre
Review: Michael Murphy is not simply a golfer, or golf writer, but a philosopher, co-founder of Esalen Institute and a thinker who has boldly gone where no other has before him -- or certainly not with such dash and wit. Shivas Irons is one of the great creations of golf literature or any other. I've read this book six or seven times, always captivated by the prose and the tale-spinning. I believe it every time! And the gems tucked in here: the dinner in which Shivas speaks in praise of golf is lifted from Plato's "Symposium," complete with the drunken intervention of Evan Tyrhee (Alcibiades to Shivas' Socrates) to make his speech in praise of his mentor. Excellent on every count, worth a read and a re-read every year.