The Player's View — Golf Fiction

The Doonbeg Ghosts

By Ivan Morris. A humourous, otherworldly round of golf through the game's history.

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The Story

A round of golf that crosses over to the other side

When certified golf nut Ivan Morris and his friend James Carew (aka Tail Gunner) were young, they vowed that whichever of them made it to heaven first would somehow find a way to notify the other about the quality of golf in the after-life. Tail Gunner was the first to cross the great divide — and he kept his word, appearing in a dream to reassure his friend that golf in heaven is just as it is on earth: paradoxical, frustrating and endlessly fascinating.

Then one momentous day, during a round of golf on Ireland's Doonbeg course, the ghost of Tail Gunner turns up — not only to play alongside Ivan, but to introduce him to the ghosts of some of golf's most famous and influential characters: incomparable champion Bobby Jones; "founding father" Old Tom Morris; Sir Alex Shaw, pioneer of golf in Ireland; legendary golf course architect Dr Alister MacKenzie; and a host of other players, writers and course builders.

With his other-worldly companions, Ivan travels through time to visit the great courses of Ireland and the world, along the way encountering Greg Norman, Darren Clarke, Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and other leading exponents of the modern game — all the while debating the rich subject of golf: courses and technique, personalities and philosophy.

"Humourous, thought-provoking and highly entertaining — an affectionate tribute to this complex, multi-faceted sport by one of Irish golf's best-known and most enthusiastic addicts."
The Doonbeg Ghosts, by Ivan Morris
In the Author's Words

Ivan Morris, looking back almost two decades on

"If you are an author, your books are like your children and you shouldn't have favourites, but I cannot help myself saying that my third (of eight) offspring, The Doonbeg Ghosts, is 'the special one.' The fact that my favourite golfing partner since our teenage years, Tailgunner James Carew, was the inspiration for this unlikely, otherworldly golf yarn makes it so. That Sidney Matthew, the author of thirteen books on the great American golfer, Bob Jones, told me that I 'got' Jones's personality to a 'tee' is one of the most satisfying compliments I have ever received as a writer." — Ivan Morris
What Readers Say

Reviews

"A well-written romp through time and space." — Bob Spiwak, Cybergolf
"Undeniably fun to read — best enjoyed with a tumbler of Irish whiskey at your disposal." — Golf Course Architecture
About the Author

Ivan Morris

Buy The Doonbeg Ghosts

Ivan Morris

Ivan Morris was a regular and doughty competitor in Irish regional, national and international championships for close to 40 years. When he ceased competing, he became a weekly columnist for the Limerick Leader and several golf magazines at home and abroad.

He is the author of eight books:

  • Only Golf Spoken Here (2001)
  • The Life of O'Reilly (2002)
  • The Doonbeg Ghosts (2006)
  • Life as a Way of Golf (2012)
  • Ireland's Best 9-Hole Golf Courses (2015)
  • 125 Years of Golf at Ballybunion (2018)
  • The History of Women's Golf in Ireland (2018)
  • Miracle in Ballyneety (2026) — a colour-illustrated coffee-table volume marking the Junior Ryder Cup Matches, September 2027
"Ivan Morris gets golf!" — Peter Thomson, five-times Open Champion
"Nobody does golf better than Ivan Morris. Vast knowledge and wonderful entertainment." — Pat Ruddy
"Ivan Morris may be a golf nut (with the trophy to prove it) but he has a unique flair for playing the game and writing about it." — Greg Norman
"Ivan Morris is a sharp observer of the game." — David Ogrin, Texas Open, 1996
"Everything Ivan writes is both wise and witty." — Kurt Hirth, Virginia Beach
"Ivan Morris has the effrontery to produce a book that is the envy of professional golf writers. It is annoying he is so talented." — Dermot Gilleece, Irish Times
"Ivan Morris writes books that give unique insights into golf." — Jimmy Woulfe, Evening Echo

On his first book, Only Golf Spoken Here (2001)

"The first thing that strikes you about Ivan Morris's extraordinary book is the appropriateness of the name. Ivan is a self-confessed golf nut… with a hankering to write and the ability to do so very well." — Charlie Mulqueen, The Examiner
"Subtitled 'colourful memoirs of a passionate Irish golfer,' this book is no glossy guide to the do's and don'ts of golf, but a round of insights, incidents, characters and episodes from a golfer's golfer… the record of a lifetime and loving every minute of it." — Dermot Walsh, Limerick Leader
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