Gary Player Discusses Course Design
05/11/08 - 01/15/10These questions and answers come from the fall issue of Callaway Golf Magazine.
CGM: As you wind down your playing career, you seem to have stepped up your off-course activities. What does a business week look like for Gary Player these days.
Player: I dedicate most of my time to my golf course design projects. I have recently visited Poland, Italy, Switzerland and Morocco, so we are very busy in that field. I also represent several multinational corporations and I'm also heavily involved in farming. I raise thoroughbred racehorses and I'm also building my own golf course on my farm back home in South Africa.
CGM: How did you get involved in golf course design and what attracted you to that side of the golf business?
Player: As I said, I'm a farmer as well as a professional golfer, so I have a great respect for water, fertilizer, soil, landscaping, beauty, animals and nature. It was a natural thing for me to get involved in. In a year's time we will have completed at least 300 golf courses around the world. I am delighted that my work will give people pleasure for thousands of years to come.
CGM: In one sentence, describe your golf course design philosophy?
Player: I build playable golf courses for the average amateur - the man who is the heart of the game. You could never accuse me of designing courses for myself. I also build courses with good drainage and that are indigenous to the particular country or geographical region.
CGM: Who do you think builds better golf courses - amateur golfers or professionals?
Player: I'm obviously biased, but I think that if you're smart, you should hire someone that has played professional golf. As a professional golfer, I've been a beginner, I've been a hacker, I've been an average player, I've been a good player and a champion golfer. I can look at a project from every single angle. An amateur golfer cannot do that.
CGM: What is your favorite golf course in the world that you didn't design?
Player: Cypress Point in California. It's just a paradise.
CGM: Yourself, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer have been intense competitors. Does that competitive edge extend into business?
Player: All three of us are very competitive in everything that we do - including course design. But we are respectful of each other and that's what makes a great friendship.
CGM: Which golf course design project are you most proud of?
Player: We built a golf course in South Africa on an old airport strip. Not only that, we built a links golf course. If you didn't know otherwise you would think you were in the middle of Scotland. We called it The Links at Fancourt. It has hosted the Presidents Cup, the South African Open and the Ladies' World Cup of Golf.