''The Legend of Bagger Vance: A Novel of Golf and the Game of Life'' is a 1995 American novel by
Steven Pressfield
Steven Pressfield (born September 1, 1943) is an American author of historical fiction, non-fiction, and screenplays, including his 1995 novel '' The Legend of Bagger Vance'' and 2002 non-fiction book '' The War of Art''.
Early life
Pressfi ...
that was adapted into the 2000 film ''
The Legend of Bagger Vance
''The Legend of Bagger Vance'' is a 2000 American sports film directed by Robert Redford, and starring Will Smith, Matt Damon and Charlize Theron. The screenplay by Jeremy Leven is based on Steven Pressfield's 1995 book '' The Legend of Bagger V ...
''.
Plot
During the
Great Depression of 1931, two legends of golf,
Bobby Jones and
Walter Hagen
Walter Charles Hagen (December 21, 1892 – October 6, 1969) was an American professional golfer and a major figure in golf in the first half of the 20th century. His tally of 11 professional majors is third behind Jack Nicklaus (18) and Tig ...
, compete in a 36-hole showdown. Another golfer also competes, a troubled local war hero named R. Junuh with a mentor and
caddie, the mysterious Bagger Vance.
Similarities to the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''
The plot is loosely based on the
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
sacred text the ''
Bhagavad Gita'', part of the ''
Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the s ...
'', where the Warrior/Hero
Arjuna (R. Junuh) refuses to fight. The god
Krishna
Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...
appears as
Bhagavan
Bhagavan ( sa, भगवान्, Bhagavān; pi, Bhagavā, italics=yes), also spelt Bhagwan (sometimes translated in English as "Lord"), is an epithet within Indian religions used to denote figures of religious worship. In Hinduism it is us ...
(Bagger Vance) to help Arjuna follow the path of the warrior and hero that he was meant to take. This relationship was fully explained by
Steven J. Rosen in his 2000 book ''Gita on the Green: The Mystical Tradition Behind Bagger Vance'', for which Pressfield wrote the foreword.
References
1995 American novels
American novels adapted into films
Bhagavad Gita
Great Depression novels
Novels about golf
Novels by Steven Pressfield
Novels based on the Mahabharata
William Morrow and Company books
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