My favorite golfer of all time turns 80! A Talk with Gary Player.

Not many people have gotten more out of their lives than Gary Player, regardless of his nine major championship victories. A few days before turning 80 (which, if you’re Player, is closer to half-time than it is the end of the third quarter) the Black Knight spoke from his West Palm Beach home, reflecting on his life’s work and opining on anything from retirement (he doesn’t know what that’s like) to America (he talks like he’s running for office, which wouldn’t be a bad thing).

You’re a few days away from your 80th birthday. There must be a big party planned…

There is, but not until the 11th of November. I’m going to be on a flight to China on my birthday for a sight visit at a course we’re building. But on the 11th we’re throwing a party at Sun City Resort in South Africa. My friends are coming from all over the world and we’re playing golf the day before the party and the day after.

 

What’s so exciting about turning 80 is that I have so much energy. I work as hard at 80 as I did at 25, and I keep telling people that retiring is a death warrant. People that retire, they sit around, they do nothing and they die within three years. You have to keep moving, you have to keep working.

Your intense workout regimen is no secret. But what’s your diet like?

I had nothing for breakfast this morning except a glass of pomegranate juice and some green juice—just a bunch of vegetables put in a blender. I’m not a big meat eater. I’m 70 percent vegetarian. I try to have a good breakfast in the morning and a good lunch. I try some nights to have no dinner. When I do, it’s a very tiny dinner. I don’t eat a lot of bread, alcohol, or things like that at night. They say that you don’t put gas in your car when you park it in the garage. You gas it up during the day. The same applies to your body.

[Former Prime Minister of Singapore] Lee Kuan Yew is probably the greatest leader I can remember in my lifetime. He passed away recently, but to take a country of such a small size that had virtually nothing and turn it into No. 1 in the world in education is impressive. Singapore has no killings of people, no graffiti, no garbage in the street. And he did it by enforcing the principles that are necessary for everyday living.

I’ve been reading one of Lou Dobbs’ books, and I learned that in math and science America is ranked 51st in the world. We’re rated 28th in overall education! We’ve got to get the young people to realize that they live in the greatest country in the world. America used to have a monopoly, but now you’ve got China, India, Africa and Europe as competitors. The young people have got to work harder to keep America as No. 1.

I’ll never forget having dinner with President Eisenhower. He told me that you need to have the strongest army in the world because you get peace through strength. He said, ‘It’s my job to make America safe. When you’re safe others around the world invest in you.’ He said, ‘We’ve got to have discipline. We have to get people to honor this great country.’

To read the rest of this interesting article with Gary Player, go here!

Source: GOLF.com   Brendan Mohler

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