Bill Murray makes candid admission about struggle to make real friends

Hollywood actor Bill Murray swaps the glare of Tinseltown for the fairways of Ireland in A Course Called Ireland, an upcoming travel documentary featuring golf, stout and unscripted road-trip moments.

Best known for starring roles in Ghostbusters, Groundhog Day and Lost in Translation, the 76-year-old actor is also a dedicated golfer with family ties to the region. Murray’s ancestral heritage provides a personal connection as he travels across Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland alongside his long-time friend, author and fellow golf enthusiast Tom Coyne, whose bestselling book of the same name inspired the series.

Across six episodes, Murray visits destinations ranging from County Cork and County Clare to Donegal and the Giant’s Causeway, playing rounds at some of the country’s most remarkable golf courses. While golf provides the starting point, the documentary also explores life beyond the greens, as Murray reflects on his career, his friendships and his Irish roots.

Joining the journey are his brothers, Joel and John, alongside celebrity guests including actor Chris O’Dowd, comedian Joanne McNally and NFL star Jason Kelce. The group meets local communities, shares conversations over drinks and takes in the culture, history and landscapes of Ireland.

The series blends humour, friendship and scenic exploration, with the Irish countryside providing the backdrop for an unhurried road trip. For Murray, the appeal was immediate, largely because of the opportunity to immerse himself in the country’s beauty.

“I’m a sucker for beauty. That’s all,” he told the Press Association.

The project began after Murray read Coyne’s book and offered a glowing endorsement, having discovered that they shared similar opinions on Ireland’s best golf courses.

“I really thought it was a wonderful book, pretty much because the author and myself agreed on what the best places to play in Ireland were,” he says. “We agreed on the courses. And I thought, wow, this guy’s really smart, really brilliant. He’s almost as smart as I am.”

“To me, that means you get paid, you do nothing. That sounded easy. Didn’t quite work out that way,” he says.

Beyond the golf, the journey offered Murray an opportunity to strengthen his friendship with Coyne, something he says can be difficult given the circumstances of his life and career.

“I don’t think it’s easy to make real friends,” he says. “I meet a lot of people and I bring a lot of baggage. It is hard for other people to forget the baggage I’m bringing. It’s like, ‘God, do you remember that movie?’”

His career has also kept him constantly on the move, leaving little time to build the close relationships that develop through shared experiences. Spending so much time together on the Irish roads, however, helped bring the two men closer.

“My life’s always in motion, so I don’t get to spend a lot of time in the crucible with people,” he says. “We actually became better friends driving in Ireland because driving in Ireland requires a certain amount of attention.”

The trip also deepened Murray’s connection to Ireland, taking him to places he had never visited before and reinforcing the sense of belonging he feels there.

“It only got richer for me because I went to more places than I’d ever been,” he says. “And it’s just the richest, most beautiful place. I mean, my ancestors are there, my DNA is from there so when I get there, I feel really grounded.”

That connection was apparent from his first visit, when the familiarity of the people and their mannerisms made him feel unexpectedly at home.

“First time I went, I said, ‘My God, this is like I’m at a wake. I know everybody.’ Everybody sort of looks like me or looks like a cousin or something like that,” he says.

For Murray, it is a combination of appearance, character and attitude that makes the connection so distinctive, particularly the Irish tendency towards self-deprecation.

“There’s a sort of a self-deprecating attitude to it,” he says.