Gary Player – “The Harder You Work, The Luckier you Get”

Jul 11

Gary Player – “The Harder You Work, The Luckier you Get”

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I have been fortunate enough throughout my writing career to have the honor of interviewing and meeting with some very astonishing people. Better yet, I have had the opportunity to play golf with some very interesting people as well. One great opportunity was playing with Mr. Gary Player’s son, Mr. Wayne Player, several years ago in a charity tournament in Florida.

You learn a lot about someone over 18 holes and as I walked away that day, I remember reflecting back on how very neat it was that Mr. Wayne Player spoke throughout the day with such respect and adoration for his father, throughout our round.

With that said, one of the truly great perks of being a journalist, is the opportunity to meet with, and learn about your subjects on a more personal level. As a writer, editor and golf hobbyist, I was every bit prepared to interview Mr. Gary Player. I had even had some first hand fun family stories from Wayne. However there was no way I could have truly prepared myself completely for one of the most enlightening 50 minutes of my life.

MR. GARY PLAYER was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 1935. At the very young age of 8, Mr. Player lost his mother. With the passing of his mother and his father working a very labor intensive job in the gold mines of South Africa, young Player was watched after by an African American man that would encourage play and exercise outside after school. A rather small child growing up, Mr. Player recalls the day when his older brother left for WWII to fight along side US forces. He told his younger brother Gary that he “must exercise to get bigger.” Of course, a little brotherly rivalry never hurts either, so with the loss of his mother, his father working in the gold mines to make ends meet, his sister in boarding school and his brother off helping America in the war, young Gary Player, worked hard at school, played outside and truly began exercising at the young age of 9.

SIXTY THREE years later, we sit down with World Golf Hall of fame legend Gary Player to discuss the long-term benefits that fitness has given to him in all aspects of his life; his golf career, his mental outlook on life and his overall health. I would have to agree with Mr. Player, when he jokingly remarks, “that at 72 years of age, he could possibly “beat” over 85% of 40 year olds in a fitness contest, hands down.”
Of course, Mr. Player goes on to say “he truly thinks he could actually beat 85% of 30 year olds in a fitness contest but he doesn’t want to sound too boastful.” As he genuinely chuckles, to me, it is truly apparent from just looking at him and listening to his daily activities and travel schedule that he probably could make all of us 40 something’s look bad.

Gary Player’s famous one-armed pushup
being demonstrated to a crowd in the 70’s

HIKING a small mountain behind his home in South Africa before the crack of dawn, working out for an hour and a half in his home gym, swimming and ranching until dusk, are typical of a day in the life of Mr. Player— when he is at home that is. Having traveled more than 14 million miles, Mr. Player, has probably traveled more miles than anyone in the world.
The week prior to our interview, he had been in China, India, Singapore, to name of few. Exhaustion however is not an option for this spry 72 year old, “being fit, and exercising has enabled me to be productive,” remarks Mr. Player.

Long before the benefits of golf fitness were thought to be necessary or even appropriate, Gary Player devoted himself to strength, conditioning and proper nutrition to stay competitive. Today Gary Player is living proof that the positive effects of golf-specific fitness have enhanced the longevity of his game and prevented injuries that have enabled him to continue an extraordinary career.

GOLF FITNESS SPECIFIC QUESTIONS FOR MR. PLAYER:

GFM: Describe in one word what GOLF SPECIFIC FITNESS has done for your career.
GP: LONGEVITY.
GFM: Can you expand on this?
GP: Yes, at 72 years of age, I am still able to play and be as active as I was 20, 30 years ago, with little or no injury.

GFM: Did you find it hard to incorporate fitness into your golf routine during the height of your career?
GP: Absolutely, we did not have sophisticated gyms in the hotels we stayed at or in our homes—if you wanted to stay fit you had to work hard at it—you had to go to the YMCA and wait your turn to work with weights. It was not the popular thing to do. I can remember being told by many during my early days that I would not be able to play past age 35 or so because of my weight training and workouts, obviously that was and is not the case.

GFM: How did you and your wife incorporate fitness into your family as your six children were growing up?
GP: “LEAD BY EXAMPLE”

GFM: What are your thoughts about Tiger Woods and his dedication to golf fitness.
GP: Tiger is an exceptional role model to our youth and golfers all over the world. Tiger is a very smart young man—I am a big Tiger fan-he is a fitness fanatic in an extremely positive way, which enables him to win.

GFM: Do you see Tiger’s passion for fitness one of the reasons that more and more golfers are getting into golf fitness?

GP: Yes, the fitter you are, the better your chance for reducing injury and increasing your career longevity. Longevity, I think is the true benefit of golf fitness-just look at me.

GFM: In addition to fitness, what else has attributed to your mental and physical successes on and off the course?
GP: Nutrition—this in my opinion is more important than exercise. We are killing ourselves with the things that we eat and obesity is at an all time high-over 20% of the world is obese and in the book I am slowly working on and developing.I want to go into this in depth and show parents how we are teaching our youth all wrong on what to eat.
GFM: Tell me a little bit about your golf academies and the three dimensional holistic approach that these incorporate.
GP: Well, that would be a hole other article In itself, it’s such a hard subject to talk about all of the elements involved, however I can tell you that my guys are doing an outstanding job of teaching, in a way, how I feel when I play, the whole theory of the mental and physical approach to golf in addition to playing skills.

GFM: If you could have Americans read one book, what would it be?
GP: The China Study —it will change the way you eat and think about food forever—it will truly blow your mind.

GFM: What one word would you use to describe yourself?
GP: LOVE

GFM: Can you explain that.
GP: I love people, I love my work, my family and God is love.

GFM: What has truly been your greatest achievement in life?
GP: Winning the SENIOR Grand Slam, not the Grand Slam, but the SENIOR Grand Slam- With the Grand Slam, I had 35 years to practice and prepare, however, with the SENIOR Grand Slam, I only had 8 years and because of fitness and exercise, I was able to accomplish something that no one else has every done.

Finger Strength: Strength & stretching are an intergal parts of Gary Player’s entertaining golf clinics. In this image he is holding two clubs between his index & middle fingers without involving his thumb.Try it..Bet you can’t do it with one club!
Career Resume

Worldwide Career Earnings: Over $14 million
Major Championships: (TOTAL: 9)
Three Masters (1961, 1974, 1978), three British Opens (1959, 1968, 1974), two PGA Championships (1962, 1972) and the US Open (1965).
Senior Major Championships: (TOTAL: 9)
Three Senior PGA Championships (1986, 1988, 1990), two Senior US Opens (1987, 1988), three Senior British Opens (1988, 1990, 1997) and the Senior Players Championship (1987).