''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 {{1990s-hist-novel-stub