Top 47 Quotes & Sayings by Gary Player

Explore popular quotes and sayings by a South African golfer Gary Player.

Last updated on December 24, 2024.

Gary James Player DMS, OIG is a South African retired professional golfer who is widely considered to be one of the greatest golfers of all time. During his career, Player won nine major championships on the regular tour and nine major championships on the Champions Tour. At the age of 29, Player won the 1965 U.S. Open and became the only non-American to win all four majors in a career, known as the career Grand Slam. At the time, he was the youngest player to do this, though Jack Nicklaus (26) and Tiger Woods (24) subsequently broke this record. Player became only the third golfer in history to win the Career Grand Slam, following Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen, and only Nicklaus and Woods have performed the feat since. He won over 150 professional tournaments on six continents over seven decades and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974.

South African - Golfer | Born: November 1, 1935

Source: Wikipedia

You must work very hard to become a natural golfer.

Gary Player

As we all know... golf is a puzzle without an answer.

Gary Player

Golf is a puzzle without an answer. I've played the game for 40 years and I still haven't the slightest idea how to play.

Gary Player

The harder you work, the luckier you get.

Gary Player

I've traveled more than any human being who's ever lived.

Gary Player

The more I practice the luckier I get.

Gary Player

If there's a golf course in heaven, I hope it's like Augusta National. I just don't want an early tee time.

Gary Player

We create success or failure on the course primarily by our thoughts.

Gary Player

Wind is part of the British Open. It is an examination and it took me a long time to pass the examination. Eighty per cent of the fellows out there have not passed the test.

Gary Player

I got so strong I felt like a giant.....When I stood on the tee with Arnold and Jack, I was tiny compared to them. But I never believed they were bigger than me. So the mind is so fascinating.

Gary Player

I always said that if they have a golf course like this in heaven, I want to be the head pro.

Gary Player

The ideal build for a golfer would be strong hands, big forearms, thin neck, big thighs and a flat chest. He'd look like Popeye.

Gary Player

If you are going to keep company with me, don't embarrass me.

Gary Player

Perhaps the most important thing I can tell you about equipment is to experiment and keep an open mind.

Gary Player

When a rules man gives you a ruling, that’s it. Amen.

Gary Player

If you think your hands are more important in your golf swing than your legs, try walking a hole on your hands.

Gary Player

You can always speak with great authority on how well you played today, but never on how you'll play tomorrow.

Gary Player

I don't have any hesitation saying I've traveled more miles than any human being who ever lived. I've been doing it for 60 years.

Gary Player

There is absolutely nothing humorous at the Masters. Here, small dogs do not bark and babies do not cry.

Gary Player

I think that if people would be willing to grow some of their own food or eat locally grown organic foods on a regular basis we could significantly decrease the amount of harmful chemicals we pump into our soil every day.

Gary Player

The player who expects a lesson to 'take' without subsequent practice just isn't being honest with himself or fair to his professional.

Gary Player

Simply by making the effort to start something, you will be miles ahead of almost everyone else.

Gary Player

That loss was to breed an independence, a toughness of spirit, and an awareness of adversity and discipline that have never left me,.

Gary Player

I try to work with God as a partner.

Gary Player

The harder I practiced, the luckier I got.

Gary Player

Golf is a puzzle without an answer.

Gary Player

To succeed in life one must have determination and must be prepared to suffer during the process. If one isn't prepared to suffer during adversities, I don't really see how he can be successful.

Gary Player

It's a marriage. If I had to choose between my wife and my putter, well, I'd miss her.

Gary Player

I wish I could put a patent on that thing. That was so straight I had to lean over sideways to see the flag!

Gary Player

I am tired of all these golfers who are happy with second place. The only one who will like you if you come in second place is your wife and your dog. And that is only if you have a good wife and a good dog.

Gary Player

When you play the game for fun, it's fun. When you play it for a living, it's a game of sorrows.

Gary Player

Golf asks something of a man. It makes one loathe mediocrity. It seems to say, "If you are going to keep company with me, don't embarrass me.

Gary Player

First, educate yourself about what a vegan diet entails and why it is beneficial to your health. You need to understand and embrace the philosophy or you will not be able to make such a drastic dietary change. Secondly, make the change over time. Don't try and "go cold turkey"; you will shock your system and you will develop cravings that you may not be able to fight off. If you take your time and let your body adjust you will be eating a completely different diet before you realize it.

Gary Player

Enjoy the game. Happy golf is good golf.

Gary Player

There are many people who enjoy animal based foods and who have no interest in changing the way they eat. And as you correctly pointed out, animal products are an integral part of some ethnic groups and societies and it would be nearly impossible for them to change thousands of years of traditional eating habits.

Gary Player

The first time I ever saw Arnold Palmer, I said, There's a star. The first time I saw Jack Nicklaus, I said, Superstar. I feel the same way about Tiger Woods.

Gary Player

When travelling, I make a point of eating a proper diet no matter where I am in the world. It is getting much easier to eat a vegetarian or vegan based diet.

Gary Player

I rarely eat red meat and only occasionally eat fish. Plant based foods are my main source of nutrition along with nuts, fruits, brown breads and grains.

Gary Player

But golf being an international game and everybody loving the game the way they do, if you want to spread the game of golf, it's good that you have great competition.

Gary Player

The pressure gets worse the older you get. The hole starts to look the size of a Bayer aspirin.

Gary Player

The more I practise, the luckier I become

Gary Player