EDITOR’S LETTER E AT 90, GARY IS STILL AN INFLUENCER
G ary Player is 90 and his life’s greatest achievement has been to remain relevant in global golf long after his playing career ended. He has followed in the broad footsteps of Gene Sarazen and Byron Nelson, two other legends who lived into their 90s. The Ameri- can media still listens to what Gary has to say about the modern game, and he maintains a sizeable influence as tournament host at the Nedbank Golf Challenge, in its 43rd edition this December. It wouldn’t surprise anyone if he is there for the 50th. Having a golf course named after you is unique, even among the game’s legends, and the Gary Player Country Club retains an iconic reverence among golfers in this country for that reason. Gary built and co-designed it, and Sun City developer Sol Kerzner paid tribute to one of our greatest sportsmen by naming the course after him. South Africans see the GPCC as our premier championship layout, and so does Gary. He wants those champion- ship credentials encased in stone for the future, and some of his proposed changes to make that happen are com- ing into play for the NGC from Decem- ber 4-7. New back tees will lengthen two holes, No 7 and 15, the fairway bunker on No 9 has been removed, and there have been aesthetic enhancements. These are only the first of a raft of changes to the course that Gary has proposed to Sun International, who have determinedly and resourcefully
kept the NGC going as one of the lead- ing tournaments outside the majors. I have heard Gary would like an extra 600 metres added to the overall length of the GPCC, thereby stretching it past Blair Atholl, another of his designs, and ultimately close to 8000 metres, making it the longest course on the planet. With so many young recre- ational golfers now hitting the ball out of sight with their drivers, who is to say that these won’t eventually become the club tees in the decades ahead. One of Player’s proposals is a new range left of the first hole, which would be a popular addition with Sun City resort guests. Watching what has been described as the rowdiest Ryder Cup match at Beth- page Black reminded me that American galleries have a history of abusing those they feel are a threat to their favourites. Their vitriol against Rory McIlroy in particular, and other members of the European team, is nothing new. Jack Nicklaus suffered unpleasant- ness from the legion of Arnie’s Army supporters when in the early 1960s he began displacing the much-adored Arnold Palmer as the game’s No 1. He was often booed. An unusually distract- ing Army tactic was total silence when Jack holed a birdie putt or stiffed a shot close. They would cheer if he bogeyed a hole, and fans put signs at bunkers saying Hit it Here, Jack. The strength of Nicklaus was that he was oblivious to all of it. He focused on winning. Gary too came under attack in the
late 1960s at PGA Tour stops. Not just verbal abuse but jostling from the pub- lic and stuff physically thrown at him. Much of it though was due to him be- ing seen as a supporter of apartheid. For a few years he played with a police security detail at events. Rory doesn’t receive that kind of unnerving treat- ment in the majors, where the crowds are today generally far better behaved than they used to be, other than the “shouters.” Finally, LIV Golf is moving to 72-hole tournaments in 2026, so the extra day will mean even more fans attending at Steyn City in March. LIV will hope that discarding the 54-hole format satis- fies the Official World Golf Ranking’s requirements to offer their players WR points. Stuart McLean stuartm@morecorp.co.za Titleist Performance Institute How to Avoid Blow-Ups Behind the Lens: Seve TaylorMade Qi35 3-wood Lower Body Workout America’s Greatest Hole CLICK ON THE LINKS BELOW TO VIEW OUR TOP SIX VIDEOS
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TEACHING PROFESSIONALS: TODD ANDERSON, MARK BLACKBURN, CHUCK COOK, HANK HANEY, BUTCH HARMON, ERIKA LARKIN, DAVID LEADBETTER, CAMERON MCCORMICK, JIM MCLEAN, MICHAEL NEFF, RENEE POWELL, RANDY SMITH, RICK SMITH, DAVE STOCKTON, JOSH ZANDER PROFESSIONAL ADVISORS: AMY ALCOTT, RANDY MYERS, NICK PRICE, JUDY RANKIN, LUCIUS RICCIO, BOB ROTELLA, BEN SHEAR, RALPH SIMPSON, DR ARA SUPPIAH PLAYING EDITORS: COLLIN MORIKAWA, JORDAN SPIETH
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