The MacKenzie Walker and 'Golf in the Kingdom'

The MacKenzie Walker golf bag isn't new; the MacKenzie Golf Bag Company has been handcrafting them from leather for 25 years. What is new is that the MacKenzie Walker will appear in the film, "Golf in the Kingdom," that was adapted from Michael Murphy's renowned novel of the same name. The film is scheduled to be released in August.

One day, Todd Rohrer, president of the company, received a call from the movie's producer, Mindy Affrime, who said that she was told that the MacKenzie Walker should be the bag used in the film. So Rohrer traveled to Los Angeles and brought with him an old battered black MacKenzie Walker. "That's the perfect bag," Affrime told him the moment she saw it.

(From the film "Golf in the Kingdom")

The company made six MacKenzie Walkers for the film, all of which will be auctioned once the movie debuts, with the proceeds to go to a variety of children's charities, Rohrer said.

"Michael Murphy [the character in the movie, played by Mason Gamble] carries one, Balie MacIver [Jim Turner] carries one and Shivas Irons [David O'Hara] carries one that looks like he's had it forever," Rohrer said.

(The MacKenzie Walker)

The bags are expensive -- $735 for the MacKenzie Walker and $675 for the Sunday MacKenzie Walker -- yet the company that was founded by Peter Jacobsen continues to receive orders from all over the world, even in a difficult economy.

"It's heartening to know that the soul of the game still exists," Rohrer said. "We're awfully flattered, not only to be a part of the film, but to have a place in golf."

-- John Strege