Title: The Kings of Swing
Subtitle: Behind the scenes with South Africa's golfing greats
Author: Craig Urquhart
Publisher: Randomhouse Struik
Imprint: Zebra Press
Cape Town, South Africa 2013
ISBN 9781770226326 / ISBN 978-1-77022-632-6
Softcover, 15 x 23 cm, 296 pages, several colour and b/w photographs
There are many wonderful golfing stories from these shores that have never seen the light of day until now. After all, South Africa's chequered history and this sport are intertwined, and Craig Urquhart has succeeded in reflecting this in The Kings of Swing, an intimate and extraordinary story of those South Africans who have won numerous major championships, more than any other nation's golfers outside of the United States. Their victories were achieved despite decades of sporting isolation and, during the post-apartheid era, in the shadow of possibly the greatest athlete of all time. This is a story of plane, train and car crashes, psychosurgery, a lightning strike, a broken beer bottle, a misplaced marker, a beautiful autistic boy and a scandal that ensnared the country's most famous sportsman and led to the resignation of a prime minister. It is a story of the power of the mind and the power of the body in this, the most fickle of all sports. It is a story of dramatic highs and lows, of desperate poverty and fabulous wealth. It is a rare glimpse into the extraordinary lives of South Africa's top golfers.