Gary Player Swinging Hard On Life's Course

Interviews award-winning golfer Gary Player. Fascination with golf; Goals; Mental exercises; Remarks on being heckled on golf courses; Faith in God; Family background.

By PT Staff, published on March 01, 1999

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?