At 63, the South African--born golfer is still carrying off
trophies. Hisgoal: to extend his winning streak into the new millennium
and become the first athlete to win championships in six straight
decades. How does he stay mentally and physically fit for the
challenge?
It's often been said that golf is more of a mental game than a
physical one, and no one proves it better than Gary Player. His legendary
mental discipline has propelled him to the top ranks of the professional
golf world for the last five decades. He was only 29 when, in 1965, he
won golf's Grand Slam--the Masters, the U.S. Open, the British Open and
the PGA--the youngest competitor ever to reach that pinnacle. Now in his
sixth decade, he's set his sights on an even loftier goal. Few would be
willing to bet against his success.
At 5 feet 7 inches and 150 pounds, Player has always been small for
a pro golfer, but he's thought big from an early age. As a teenager, he
read Norman Vincent Peale's The Power of Positive Thinking, and the book
transformed his approach to sports. Player was among the first to grasp
and apply psychological principles to golf. His mental resolve as well as
his dedication to fitness (he was a pioneer here, too) has set a standard
for both peers and junior players. And his powers show little sign of
diminishment. Since joining the Senior Tour in 1985, he's scored nine
major championships.
At the recent PGA Seniors tournament near Winston-Salem, North
Carolina, writer Mirinda J. Kossoff had a chance to talk with the
famously courteous Player about why, as he puts it, "The answer is not in
the swing; the mind's the thing," as well as his philosophy of life off
the links.
PT: You've been playing golf since you were 14, and you're still
going strong. Do you still love the game? And as much as when you were
29?
GP: When I was young, I was going to win every week, and I was so
determined and concentrated so hard and played so hard, that I don't know
if I enjoyed it as much as I enjoy it now. I don't think so. I did enjoy
it. I loved it, but I don't think I loved it as much as I love it
now.
PT: Why is golf so fascinating to you?
GP: I love it so much because it's always challenging my
mind.
It's such a demanding game. It requires so much time and effort.
You travel continuously which means being away from your family, and
living in three motels a week. It's very tiring. You've got to have the
mind to be able to adapt or adjust to this very very demanding life.
You've got to work on the mind to be able to do the things you
want.
PI: Do you have a specific goal in mind right now?
GP: I've won professional golf tournaments in five decades, and I
think that Sam Snead is the only other one who's done it. But I would
love to win a professional golf tournament in the year 2000, because
that'll mean I'll be the only athlete to ever do that in six
decades.
Now, that is a record that will never be broken, because first of
all you have to live that long. Secondly, you have to be healthy.
Thirdly, you have to have a talent, and fourthly, you have to have the
nerves. And fifthly, you have to have the mind, which controls all of it.
The only way I'm going to obtain that is by working on my mind.
PT: What does that involve for you?
GP: Mainly, I mean patience. We all know that patience is a virtue,
but it's a thing that I've found lacking in so many human beings. I meet
hundreds of people, and I seldom meet anyone who's patient.
PT: How do you build up patience? What kind of mental exercises do
you do to keep yourself mentally fit?
GP: Well, suppose I've been a little irritable on the golf course.
If afterwards I do 800 sit-ups, I say, `OK, now you're going to really
hurt. You're going to do another 200, really go through a pain barrier,
to make you realize that you mustn't be irritable.' Do you follow? You
associate that pain barrier with being irritable. I say to myself,
`That's your reminder that you mustn't be irritable.'
PT: So in a way you're punishing yourself for being
irritable?
GP: I'm a great believer that we all need some kind of punishment
to keep us level-headed and humble.
PT: That's a stern lesson.
GP: Meek, humble, wisdom. All words from the Bible.
PT: What other things do you do? Do you meditate daily?
GP: Well, I try. I do quite a lot of meditating. I associate the
meditating with visualization to a great degree. And another good
exercise, if you're very jumpy and irritable, is to get in your car and
just drive on the highway and find the slowest old truck or a car driven
by a little old lady and just stay behind it.
PT: There's a patience exercise.
GP: Yes, it's a great patience exercise. We need to have these
associations, because we're an impatient world.
PT: Have you ever used a sports psychologist?
GP: No. I've done most of it myself.
PT: Because a game stretches over such a span of time, is there
ever a point when you lose focus because you're standing around waiting
to play?
GP: Yes, you can lose focus and you can sort of be lethargic, or
you can be overenergetic. You've got to try and keep a good
balance.
PT: What do you do to achieve that?
Tags:
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philosophy of life,
playing golf,
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