Before there was Tiger. Before there was Bryson. Before fitness trailers followed PGA Tour events across the country. There was Gary Player — squatting 325 pounds the night before a U.S. Open while everyone else was at the bar, working on their “12-ounce curls.”
Let’s rewind the clock. The year is 1953. Most golfers were more concerned with post-round scotch than squats. But not Gary. At just 5’6”, the man nicknamed the Black Knight was already chasing something bigger — longevity, performance, and a way to outlast and outwork everyone else on the leaderboard. Spoiler alert: it worked.
The Lone Gym Rat in a World of Beer Bellies
Imagine showing up to a tournament and having a golf course architect tell you you’ll never make it in the game because you lifted weights the night before. That actually happened to Gary Player.
Back then, working out wasn’t just rare in golf — it was frowned upon. Gym time was viewed as a distraction. Strength was considered unnecessary. Golfers trained their elbows at the bar, not their bodies on a treadmill.
Gary? He was squatting hundreds of pounds, doing one-legged squats, and ripping off thousands of crunches before most players had even stretched a hamstring.
And get this — he started young. His older brother, leaving for war, gave nine-year-old Gary a set of weights and told him to treat his body “like a holy temple.” That moment stuck. Decades later, he’s still living by that mantra — and thriving.
The Four Secrets (That Aren’t Really Secrets)
Gary Player has a simple formula for living well and playing well into your 80s — and no, it doesn’t involve protein shakes or creatine cycles. It’s this:
- Eat half as much – Seriously. Gary says most people eat too much and treat sugar like it’s a food group. He calls bacon and white bread “poison.” No, really.
- Exercise twice as much – He doesn’t mean you need to become a CrossFit warrior overnight. Just move more. A lot more.
- Laugh three times as much – He swears by this. Endorphins, joy, all that good stuff. It’s his version of mental cardio.
- Have faith – For Gary, faith isn’t just spiritual — it’s a mindset. A belief in something bigger, including the belief that your health is in your hands.
And if you’re thinking, “Yeah, but he’s probably scaled back now that he’s pushing 90…” Think again.
The 88-Year-Old Who Still Outworks You
At 88, Gary Player is doing more in the gym than most people did in their prime.
His current routine?
- 90 minutes a day — every day.
- 200 to 1,300 sit-ups. Yes, you read that right.
- 300-pound leg presses.
- Running on the treadmill at full tilt.
- Ice baths and hot baths. Daily.
- Finger exercises to fight arthritis.
And he’s not just doing this to say he does it. He still plays golf five times a week and regularly shoots his age — or better. He’s done it over 3,000 times. That’s not just impressive — that’s almost supernatural.
He even hit the ceremonial tee shot at the 2024 Masters. At 88. With a 240-yard drive.
Why It Actually Worked
The benefits of Gary’s fitness obsession weren’t just cosmetic or impressive anecdotes for podcasts. His training gave him:
- A longer career with fewer injuries
- The core strength to compete with taller, stronger players
- An edge in stamina and mental focus
- A blueprint for younger golfers to follow
Oh, and let’s not forget: 24 PGA Tour wins, nine major championships, six senior majors, and a career Grand Slam.
For a guy who was once laughed at for lifting weights, that’s not bad.
The Visionary Before the Revolution
These days, fitness is a given in pro golf. Tour vans come with mobile gyms. Players travel with personal trainers. Guys like Rory and DJ treat their bodies like Formula 1 cars.
But it all traces back to one guy: Gary Player.
He didn’t just adopt fitness — he preached it. He annoyed people with it. He pushed against the grain until the grain finally moved. He turned a “strange obsession” into common sense.
And as he says now with a smirk, “We’ve come a long way from when I had to go to the local YMCA.”
His Legacy Is Still Lifting
Gary Player changed the perception of what a golfer could be. He helped transform golf from a leisurely pastime into a sport where athleticism matters — and age doesn’t have to be a barrier.
His life is proof that taking care of your body is the best investment you can make in your game (and your future). He still laughs, still learns, still hits the ball 240 yards, and still wakes up ready to sweat.
Luck? Not quite. As he puts it: “Luck is the residue of design.”
Gary Player didn’t just live longer. He lived better. And he made sure the rest of golf would never see fitness the same way again.