I’ve compiled some of the most inspirational Gary Player quotes in this post.
Gary Player was born on November 1st, 1935. He is a retired South African professional golfer, widely regarded as one of the best golfers of all time. Player won nine major championships on the regular tour and nine major championships on the Champions Tour during his career. At the age of 29, he won the 1965 U.S. Open.
Over the course of seven decades, he won over 160 professional tournaments on six continents and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974.
Player received the Bob Jones Award, the United States Golf Association’s highest honor for outstanding sportsmanship in golf, in 1966.
In 2000, Player was named “Sportsman of the Century” in South Africa.
Player was named the eighth best golfer of all time by Golf Digest magazine in 2000.
Player was named the second best global golfer of all time by a panel of international media, golf magazines, and fellow pros in a poll conducted by the renowned Golf Asia Magazine in 2002.
President Donald Trump awarded Player with the Presidential Medal of Freedom on January 7, 2021, which he accepted.
29 Gary Player Quotes
- “It’s a marriage. If I had to choose between my wife and my putter, well, I’d miss her.”
2. “You must work very hard to become a natural golfer.”
3. “Simply by making the effort to start something, you will be miles ahead of almost everyone else.”
4. “When you play the game for fun, it’s fun. When you play it for a living, it’s a game of sorrows.”
5. “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.”
6. “A strong mind is one of the key components that separates the great from the good.”
7. “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.”
8. “The more I work and practice, the luckier I seem to get.”
9. “We create success or failure on the course primarily by our thoughts.”
10. “If you are going to keep company with me, don’t embarrass me.”
11. “I try to work with God as a partner.”
12. “The harder you work, the luckier you get.”
13. “You can always speak with great authority on how well you played today, but never on how you’ll play tomorrow.”
14. “The closer you can live to being a vegetarian the better.”
15. “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.”
16. “The player who expects a lesson to ‘take’ without subsequent practice just isn’t being honest with himself or fair to his professional.”
17. “Perhaps the most important thing I can tell you about equipment is to experiment and keep an open mind.”
18. “Enjoy the game. Happy golf is good golf.”
19. “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.”
20. “The pressure gets worse the older you get. The hole starts to look the size of a Bayer aspirin.”
21. “I’ve studied golf for almost 50 years now and know a hell of a lot about nothing.”
22. “Enjoy the game. Happy golf is good golf.”
23. “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.”
24. “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.”
25. “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.”
26. “If there’s a golf course in heaven, I hope it’s like Augusta National. I just don’t want an early tee time.”
27. “If you think your hands are more important in your golf swing than your legs, try walking a hole on your hands.”
28. “I’ve traveled more than any human being who’s ever lived.”
29. “I am a South African, a nation which is the result of an African graft on European stock and which is the product of its instinct and ability to maintain civilized values and standards amongst the aliens.”
My favorite Gary Player’s quotes are, “The more I work and practice, the luckier I seem to get.” and “The more I work and practice, the luckier I seem to get.”