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Gary Player

Celebrity •
Sports Personality

Legendary Professional Golfer; "The Black Knight"

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About

Gender: Male

Nationality: United States

Languages: English

Travels from: United States

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Themes

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Biography Highlights

Grand Slam golf icon Gary Player teaches unexpected lessons on translating mastery in sport into mastery of life.

Biography

Gary Player is in his 80s, but he doesn’t like the word “old.” With a workout regimen that includes doing 1,000 crunches several times a week, often with a 100-pound weight on his chest, his logic is hard to dispute.

Considered one of the greatest professional golfers of all time – one of “The Big Three,” along with Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus – Player first became an icon of fitness during his professional golf career. Today, he inspires audiences with energetic talks about his career and the philosophy that has kept him in prime condition: fitness and a proper diet are vital to success in all endeavors.

“I can beat most youngsters in the gym,” he told Golf Digest. “I look at myself as young. I eliminate the word ‘old.’”

Nicknamed the Black Knight, Player booked 168 wins in a career that spanned six decades. He is one of only five players ever to complete the career Grand Slam, winning all four of golf’s major championships. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974. Later, Player became the only professional golfer to win the career Grand Slam on both the Regular Tour and the Senior Tour.

A native of South Africa, Player has penned or co-authored three dozen books on golf, including Gary Player’s Black Book: 60 Tips on Golf, Business, and Life from the Black Knight, which was published in 2017.

Exemplifying one of his core beliefs, that marrying personal passions with business results in a winning outcome, he has also launched several extremely successful firms. Player’s golf course design company – Gary Player Design – has designed more than 400 golf courses on six continents, and has consulted on luxury real estate projects worldwide. Player has seen similar success as a philanthropist, raising more than $64 million for children and impoverished communities through The Player Foundation.

Player no longer competes professionally – he has his hands full with 22 grandchildren – but he continues to play and teach. He has often said that “golf is a puzzle without an answer.” But perhaps Player’s most famous quote is, “The harder you work, the luckier you get.”

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Translating Mastery in Sport into Mastery of Life

It’s how you respond to life that determines your successes, says Gary Player. Your attitude, being positive, and setting goals are all critical.

The rise to the top can be a lonely game – both in sport and in business. So, he argues, it’s up to the individual to rise above and overcome any adversity that stands between them and their success.

Player, who spent much of his professional career working alongside sport’s many legends, knows firsthand how preparedness, mental fortitude, and personal development can impact your trajectory.

With audiences of all kinds, Player is uniquely qualified to discuss and dissect the game, and the tenacity, determination, and grit it takes to win – both in sport and in life.

Available: In person, Virtually

Secrets to Fitness and Aging Well

Player is a strong believer that physical fitness is a precursor to success in all of life’s endeavors – and he leads by example.

Long before such terms as high intensity training and core body strength were common in locker rooms and gyms around the world, Player was working out. And he attributes much of his success, both in sport and in business, to his thoughtful fitness, health, and diet regimen.

On stage, Player discusses fitness as a strategy to counteract the impact of aging, and is living proof that we can remain fit – of mind and body – at any age.

Available: In person, Virtually

Committing to Quality in Business

One of the 10 commandments Gary Player lives by: Everything in business is negotiable, except quality.

This mantra is one he’s applied as a golfer during his more than 60-year career. It’s also how he conducts himself as a successful leader in golf course design, real estate services, and representing companies such as ROLEX for over 50 years.

With experience on more than 400 projects in 38 countries, Player offers deep experience and a unique voice to international consulting, cooperation across borders, and a commitment to excellence.

Player shares with audiences how he married his passion for golf with his business life, and the steps he takes to build long-term mutually rewarding relationships by displaying consistent integrity and credibility.

Available: In person, Virtually

Books

Golf's Majors: From Hagen and Hogan to a Bear and a Tiger, Inside the Game's Most Unforgettable Performances

From golf legend and nine-time major champion Gary Player, a riveting history of golf’s pinnacle events, packed with dramatic moments and insider stories In the game of golf, four tournaments stand alone: The Masters. The U.S. Open. The British Open. The PGA Championship. They boast histories that stretch back a century or more. Winning a major is the capstone of a golfer’s career, a guarantee that they will be remembered by history. Gary Player has won nine, a figure that ranks him fourth all time. Player has been at the heart of the golf world for more than six decades–his first major victory was in 1959–and is uniquely positioned to write the definitive history of golf’s greatest tournaments. Over the course of four thrilling sections, one for each of the majors, Player takes readers inside the minds of the game’s greatest competitors at the most dramatic moments. There are pulse-pounding finishes: Phil Mickelson roaring back from five shots down to win the 2013 British Open; Jack Nicklaus’s stunning comeback to take the 1986 Masters at age 46; Player’s own thrilling victory in a playoff at the 1965 U.S. Open to complete the Career Grand Slam. There is great glory: Johnny Miller dropping a Sunday 63 to win the 1973 U.S. Open; Tiger Woods’s thunderous coronation at the 1997 Masters. And there is heartbreak, as well: Roberto De Vincenzo signing the wrong scorecard in 1968; Jean van de Velde’s meltdown in 1999 at Carnoustie. Throughout, Player shares his insider wisdom on what makes each tournament unique. While the Masters returns to Augusta National each spring, the other three majors cycle between a variety of courses that reward different styles of play. He reveals his personal opinions on the craziest finishes, the toughest courses, the most challenging holes to play, and whom he believes to be the greatest golfer of them all.

The Golfer's Guide to the Meaning of Life: Lessons I've Learned from My Life on the Links (Guides to the Meaning of Life)

Advice on golf and life from one of the great golfers of the modern age. If there were a Mount Rushmore of golf, Gary Player’s face would be on it. Winner of more than 160 professional tournaments, Playeralong with Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmeris one of “The Big Three” who dominated professional golf in the 1960s and 1970s. But Player’s influence goes far beyond the golf course. A businessman, a philanthropist, a family man, and an international ambassador of sport, he is respected around the world. In The Golfer’s Guide to the Meaning of Life, Player reflects on the most important life lessons golf has taught him. Written for non-golfers, new golfers, and experienced golfers alike, this is not a book about hitting a ball into a cup, but about what a funny old game can teach you about living life with strength, purpose, and joy. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Sports Publishing imprint, is proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in sportsbooks about baseball, pro football, college football, pro and college basketball, hockey, or soccer, we have a book about your sport or your team. In addition to books on popular team sports, we also publish books for a wide variety of athletes and sports enthusiasts, including books on running, cycling, horseback riding, swimming, tennis, martial arts, golf, camping, hiking, aviation, boating, and so much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to publishing books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked by other publishers and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Gary Player's Black Book: 60 Tips on Golf, Business, and Life from the Black Knight

Gary Player’s Black Book contains fifty questions and detailed responses from eighteen-time major winner Gary Player. The book, divided into three parts, focuses on specific scenarios and problems that arise in golf, life, and business. In the first section on golf, topics include putting, scoring, etiquette, the mental side of the game, and fitness and nutrition. In the section on life, Player, the father of six and grandfather to twenty-two, addresses issues such as parenting, who to turn to when in need of advice, and more. Finally, in the section on business, he details how to deal with competition, among other topics. Player responds to questions such as: Golf: How do I play a bunker shot from a plugged lie? Life: I feel like I’ve lost the passion for what I do. How do I get that back? Business: When people criticize my work I take it very personally. How do you handle criticism? The 2012 recipient of the PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award, Player draws from both on and off the course experiences dealing with competitors, businesspeople, and family. In doing so, he offers a unique glimpse into handling adversity with regard to these relationships. The advice that he offers is invaluable to fans of all ages.

Don't Choke: A Champion's Guide to Winning Under Pressure

“Gary, as much as anyone I ever saw, has that thing inside him that champions have.”—Jack Nicklaus Gary Player is one of golf’s greatest champions. As one of the “Big Three” of golf’s golden era (with Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer), he helped launch golf as a major international sport. He sits fourth on the list of most major victories on the PGA Tour and built a reputation of being fearless on the course and steely on the greens. Don’t Choke is his look at what it takes to achieve success when the pressure is on. Player explains how and why he became a champion and what it takes to win in big-time golf, but he also explains how learning to cope in pressure situations can help anyone. He will review the most pressure-packed situations in his eighteen major victories and how he managed to succeed when things were most tense. But this book is not all about golf. Player has had a long successful career in business since his playing days—designing golf courses, marketing golf equipment and sportswear, and more. If you want to do better in a boardroom or in your next job interview, Player’s advice will help. This personal glimpse into the mind of a champion offers lessons to everyone who has to face pressure—and today that is all of us. “Gary is one the greatest competitors who ever played the game.” —Arnold Palmer 75 color illustrations

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