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 South African Gary Player is focused on helping children around the world. Nine-time major champion Gary Player has long devoted his efforts to charitable giving, and his Invitational series of pro-ams raises funds for his Foundation and local charities. On Sunday, June 13, the American leg of the Invitational will be held at Jamul’s Steele Canyon Golf Club — a course he designed — in eastern San Diego County. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased by calling Steele Canyon at (619) 441-6900 or visiting steelecanyon.com. The 74-year-old South African took time to answer a few questions about the event and his illustrious career. What made you want to bring your charity event to Steele Canyon? The new owners at Steele Canyon were so enthusiastic about helping The Player Foundation raise funds for at-risk children, it was a very easy decision to make to bring the United States leg of the Gary Player Invitational series here. The venue is fantastic and the course sets up well for a pro-am event. I also particularly enjoy visiting San Diego and all of Southern California. What stands out about Steele Canyon among your designs? What I love about Steele Canyon and one of the things that instantly drew me to the site is the natural beauty of the land. The natural contours, the native trees, plants, and flowers, and the mountains in the distance allowed us to create a wonderful course that is playable for most levels of golfers. Do you have a timetable for how much longer you’ll remain a professional golfer? I don’t play in many tournaments these days, but I still enjoy the competition. I’d like to play tournament golf for the rest of my life, but I will stop playing when I can’t compete any more. I am really getting a kick out of breaking my age these days. What are your future goals, especially as they pertain to charitable giving? My passions in life are helping educate 100 million children and their parents about the need to eat a proper diet and exercise regularly. There is an obesity epidemic and it needs to be addressed immediately. I also am spending a lot of time and effort in changing the way we design courses, and trying to bring this philosophy to the design industry as a whole. We need to be more environmentally conscious, take sustainability seriously and greatly reduce the water and harmful chemical usage on golf courses. Golf courses need to be more organic and brown than green, and that is a very hard idea for golfers, designers and developers to accept. My efforts to raise funds for children in need across the world is very important to me and I will continue to do whatever I can to help at-risk kids for the rest of my life. We have raised over $30 million and I would like to reach $100 million before I die.  Your fitness and health routines have been well documented, but is there one secret — a certain food or exercise — that’s enabled you to stay competitive for so long?My diet, health and fitness regimen has been consistent throughout my career and it was a big part of my success. There is not a certain food or exercise that I can point to — it is a combination of a well balanced diet and a regular exercise routine. I eat a lot of vegetables, fruits, whole grains and occasionally some fish, although I am moving towards a vegetarian diet. I especially like salmon, avocados, spinach, wheat grass, brussels sprouts, brown bread and Manuka honey. I avoid high fat and sugary foods. Your experience breeding thoroughbreds is an interesting fact. Is there something else people may not know about you? After my last answer about diet, health and fitness people may be surprised to learn that when no one is paying attention I like to sneak a Coca-Cola and a Snickers bar. What is the most memorable golf shot you’ve ever hit? There have been a number of shots I hit during my career that I could consider my most memorable, but the shot I hit at the 16th hole at the 1972 PGA Championship at Oakland Hills Country Club in Michigan may be my best. My drive went into the rough on the right side of the fairway and I ended up behind a huge willow tree that guarded the green. One of the things I remember clearly about this shot was that in my practice round my drive ended up in a similar spot and hit an eight iron onto the green. That day the grass was wet and I knew that a nine iron was the right club. I hit that nine perfectly and the ball ended up three feet from the cup. I couldn’t see where the ball landed, but when I heard the cheering from the crowd I knew I had hit it close. That shot gave me a putt for birdie that was the putt that won me my second PGA Championship. Outside of your native South Africa, what is your favorite destination in the world? That is a difficult question to answer. I have been fortunate enough to travel to so many wonderful countries throughout my career and find real beauty in every place I visit. I think that India is incredibly interesting and China is a country that seems to change every time I visit. From a business perspective, Abu Dhabi, but my ranch in South Africa is still my favorite place in the world. It is my nirvana. |
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