April 06, 2016

Gary Player

Golf great Gary Player from South Africa won 165 professional tournaments worldwide over 6 decades including 9 Majors. His mother died of cancer when he was 8 and his father worked in the mines.

I remember the moment vividly as a boy of about 10 years old.  It was a Saturday morning breakfast and I asked my dad who his favorite golfer was and his reply was: Gene Littler who was a logical choice for a serious golfer due to "Gene the Machine's" perfect swing, then he asked me who mine was and my reply was Lee Trevino because while also a great golfer, Trevino was known as the Tour's wit and then I asked my mother who really wasn't a sports fan and expected, if anything, an obvious choice like Arnold Palmer or Jack Nicklaus but she immediately replied: "Gary Player" which somewhat surprised me as I wouldn't have even guessed she knew who Gary Player was so asked her why and she said: "because he's a gentleman".


The Masters with the Big 3: Jack Arnie, & Gary


We lived on a golf course that hosted a PGA Tournament and every year Gary Player was there and he was always a perfect gentlemen. He would demonstrate his astonishing fitness level for us boys in the pro shop doing all kinds of one-armed push-ups and one-legged squats while holding his other leg straight out during practice days and was always upbeat, approachable, and engaging . The biggest moment of tournament week was during the Pro-Am when Gary Player was introduced and there would be an old blind lady, whose name I forget, seated next to the 1st tee who adored Gary Player with his South African accent and perfect manners and their unforgettable annual reunion was witnessed by the many hundreds that enveloped the tee who were as silent as if Gary were trying to sink a side hill six footer for the win.

This is from 1978 with Gary winning his 3rd Green Jacket.

Flash forward a couple decades to 1996 and my father, who was a nationally ranked amateur golfer, had qualified for the U.S.  Senior Open at Canterbury Country Club in Cleveland. I was caddying for him and we were surprised on the practice green by Gary Player asking if he could join us for the Tuesday practice round. Of course we graciously accepted and my dad was a little nervous to be playing with one of his idols and in front of at least 500 people that followed us all day and the thousands that would surround the 9th & 18th green and a couple others but on we went. Over the next 4 1/2 hours, Gary Player, already a Hall of Famer and wealthy, was a perfect gentleman, approachable and generous with his time for autograph hounds, and nearly every hole would jog over to the gallery ropes along the fairway to greet well wishers that he could see were elderly or wheelchair bound which several were. His demeanor during that 4 1/2 hours never dipped below cheerful and he genuinely pulled for the other 'no-names' in his group and offered helpful pointers knowing he'd never see us again nor had any corporate angle to benefit from. He chatted me up quite a bit and as we walked up the 18th fairway, you could see the crowds start to swell with murmurs of "there's Gary Player", I asked him how he did it all day every day for 40 years and he said he'd been poor growing up and had: "been blessed" so it was the least he could do.

Mothers really do know best.

Hey, did you see an 80 year old "perfect gentleman" make a hole-in-one in the Masters Par 3 Tourney today?


10 comments:

  1. Great post GSL. Our local NYC news DID cover that shot! Everybody on the news desk was impressed. I just saw a piece on '60 Minutes' about Bubba Watson, which I thought was very interesting. I didn't realize he was so polarizing. I bet you have a big opinion on him! Maybe your mom does too. Anyway, it reminded me that I took golf lessons as a kid and I'm thinking I should start doing that again. I think this would be a great game for me to take up. Are you going to Augusta this year? Mr. Player (is that his real name?) sounds like a wonderful person. I do like my sports heroes to have a bit of humility to them. x

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  2. Hi Jill,
    I barely watch golf anymore and with no TV likely will miss the Masters this year unless I happen to be somewhere where it's on but will watch highlights online. I know little of Bubba Watson other than he bought that Dukes of Hazzard 'General Lee' car with the Confederate flag which caused a fuss.
    I always advise against novice adults taking up golf. The return on investment of time would be better spent elsewhere. Even good athletes struggle as it's a unique skill. Michael Jordan thought he could become a great pro golfer and played with my dad a couple of times and Michael didn't much like having old guys with pot bellies beat him like a rented mule.
    Gary Player is his real name although as kids we used to say he had a brother named 'No' and was just astonished how he could stay 'on' for hours on end with people practically accosting him yet he never gave off a negative vibe but made every interaction uplifting for those he personally engaged and those of us who witnessed. I've been around a number of famous people and Gary Player is in a category by himself.

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  3. What a nice tribute---bravo to writer, with a gentle Golf Clap.

    I've always thought him to be one of the most aptly named sports figures, along with Usain Bolt and the three Crumplers.

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    1. Thank you Dear Rachel. I searched high and low on google hoping I could find a vintage pic of that elderly blind woman who used to have her Pro-Am summit with GP on the 1st tee every year. She'd usually have a nice little homemade gift for him: a knitted scarf, baked goodies, that sort of thing and Gary would bring her something from his travels. I used to always be caddying that week for one of the pros so often couldn't get up close enough to see what actually was said and exchanged as the crowd upon reflection was likely well over a thousand with everyone crowding in quietly to have a look and listen. I've got an email into an old friend to see if he remembers her name. It was quite a sight and a scene you could really appreciate.

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  4. What a lovely, lovely man (that I have never heard of here downunder). I find it so sad that many of the badly behaved sports stars become famous and are paid to tout everything under the sun while gentlemen, true sportsmen, are far less well known.

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    1. Welcome HSC.Gary Player was quite well known back in the '60s and '70s in North America & and Great Britain/Ireland. His fine example does stand in stark contrast to today's coddled athletes as you say. I am surprised you've never heard of him as golf is big in OZ.

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  5. I grew up in Augusta, first attending the Master’s tournament as a spectator, and then, when I got older, working the scoreboards. The big three, big five (including Watson and Trevino), big six (Floyd), were the source of endless schoolboy back and forth as to who was better, who was going to win. For me, I never bet against Big Jack. One of my best memories comes from senior year in high school. Back then, if I remember right, the Greater Greensboro Open was the week before the Master’s. Well, our whole class took a bus up to Greensboro; where each of us got to drive a nice new Cadillac for the players, officials, guests, all the way back to Augusta. I think we received a little bit of money and a box lunch, but really, it was one of those who cares about all that, I’m driving me a Caddy...

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    1. The Greater Greensboro Open did precede the Masters back then as that's the course I grew up on...right next to the 11th green. Nicklaus always skipped the GGO to prep for Masters so Gary Player was the biggest name we had. I caddied in the GGO thru high school and college (Scott Simpson when he was a rookie and predicted he would win a US Open)including a practice round for Raymond Floyd. We had a party one year and my grandfather 'Pete' befriended and then drank a tour rookie under the table and we got a kick out of his unusual name...Fuzzy Zoeller.

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    2. Another tidbit for you GF, the man who owned the Caddy dealership whose cars you came and got was married to Bobby Jones daughter and was a member of Augusta...then his roving eye got him in trouble with Jone's daughter and she showed him the door...then Bobby showed him the door at Augusta National.

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    3. Good Lord, GSL! Those are some of the best anecdotes I have heard in a long, long time, great stuff...

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