04/23/24
July 11, 2005
Gary Player interviewed in the Guardian: As the Open Championship enters its practice days ahead of Thursday's start, golf's answer to Johnny Cash once again blows his own trumpet like only he can. Fair enough, he won the Open in the 50's, 60's and 70's (sometimes, he didn't even have to cheat!) and he still looks in pretty good shape for someone pushing 70, but am I the only one who finds him exceptionally irritating?
I just hope I can hit a golf ball when I get to 70 years old.
posted by dbt302 at 03:14 PM on July 11, 2005
I agree that Player blows his horn a little too much but if the press gave him the credit he deserves perhaps he would stop. If you have never been around him you have missed out. The guy is full of energy, friendly and entertaining and gets alot out of a golf swing that is not the best.
posted by rperrypar at 06:00 PM on July 11, 2005
JJ I don't know how old you are,but.....Trust me,if your lucky enough to live that old your vocal cords still function quite nicely...Although the brain may quit at any age.
posted by maclmn at 09:44 PM on July 11, 2005
I met him once, very briefly, and then spent a few hours in his company (along with a few others) - I think he's just one of those people that I want to shake and see if anything real falls out - he's not human enough for me, so I get the feeling that everything with him is front. I'd like to know what chronic insecurity is behind that, driving it. And he's a cheat. Which may stem from the same insecurity I suppose. As for talking - sadly, I fear I already talk at least as much crap as Gary Player and I'm not even half his age.
posted by JJ at 03:40 AM on July 12, 2005
Said it before, I'll say it again: Every time you hear serious speculation from golf columnists about 15-year-old girls and 70-year-old men winning PGA titles, it's simply more proof that golf is not an athletic sport.
posted by the red terror at 11:33 AM on July 12, 2005
Did it ever claim to be an athletic sport? I will offer an observation though - I'm training for the Olympic triathlon part of my Olympic thing at the moment. I'm probably fitter than I've ever been before in my life. Last night I played golf for the first time in months and found it so much easier than I have done for years - in terms of concentration more than anything I think. I'd never claim that you have to be fit to play golf, that would be silly, but I do think it's a big advantage if you are. That said, after this Olympic challenge is over, I'm lookin forward to reverting to being a beer-swilling, chain-smoking golfer.
posted by JJ at 04:58 AM on July 13, 2005
'When I started using weights, 60 years ago,' he says, 'they all said I was a nut. Now people who don't use weights will be left behind in the lurch. The next big change will be food, diet. Exercise, here's a good slogan: Exercise is the King, Nutrition is the Queen, and together they formulate a great kingdom and its universe is productivity.' When I reach 60 years of age, I'm just going to stop talking.