Gary Player's passion still burning bright
South African great may be almost 80, but his outspoken opinions about the game he loves have certainly not mellowed with age
The sight of one of the world’s most recognised and accomplished athletes climbing out of a Toyota Corolla was truly bizarre.
Surely this multimillionaire and winner of 165 tournaments would be driven by limousine. The year was 1994 and the location a dusty construction site on the edge of Sai Kung peninsula.
Gary Player, dressed in his trademark head-to-toe black outfit, emerged from the car with a beaming smile and said: “Let’s go.”
If you win the Masters this week, but you’ve committed to play another tournament next week then you’ve got to be there
He climbed on to a dirty construction barge taking plastic water pipes, sprinkler heads and other related equipment to Kau Sai Chau, where Hong Kong’s first public golf courses were being built to a design by Player’s company.
Turf from the racetrack at Happy Valley had been removed the previous week and transported to the island and was now covering two of the otherwise grassless fairways. Player hit shots into the greens to test his creation and declared it fit for the purpose.
For four or five hours the then 60-year-old related tales about his worldwide travels – he is widely considered to be the world’s most travelled athlete having clocked up an estimated 25 million kilometres in air travel alone – and imparted wisdom to his clients and fellow golfers.
Fast forward 20 years and on Wednesday of last week, Player visited Hong Kong again as the guest of honour of the Little Sai Wan Golfing Society, this year celebrating its 50th anniversary.
