King of Swings is about an extraordinary group of golfers in a troubled country. The idea to write the book came to him the morning after golfer Louis Oosthuizen carded a very rare albatross at the 2012 Masters.
According to Urquhart, there are hundreds of golf books out there but “nobody has ever written a book on all of South Africa’s Major winners”. The book begins with the tale of golfer Bobby Locke, a World War 2 pilot who went on to win four British Open championships. It talks of how Gary Player became a worldwide symbol of apartheid South Africa and about Durban-born golfer, Papwa Sewgolum who made global headlines when he was forced to receive a trophy outside a white’s only clubhouse in Durban.
Urquhart also writes about the generation of post-apartheid golfers headed by Ernie Els.
It took Urquhart one year to finish the book. “I was fortunate that most of the golfers, their family members, caddies and mind coaches were willing to talk to me,” he said. “As a result, I was able to compile a very comprehensive study of what makes each of them tick,” he said.
He is currently working on a coffee table book for the Southern African Golf Hall of Fame.
