Gary Player Quotations

We create success or failure on the course primarily by our thoughts.

You must work very hard to become a natural golfer.

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.

If there's a golf course in heaven, I hope it's like Augusta National. I just don't want an early tee time.

As we all know... golf is a puzzle without an answer.

The harder you work, the luckier you get.

I've traveled more than any human being who's ever lived.

When you've got two guys 1-up with two to play, you automatically think, 'we've got it', especially after they'd battled their hearts out to get back in those matches.

My goal was to break 80. When you get to 70, if I can break 80, I consider that a victory.

I was grinding like I was winning the tournament.

I was so brainwashed about how abnormal this was going to be with all the changes. It's not that abnormal. Even if the course is unbelievably tough, look at the beautiful trees and the flowers. It's a paradise.

If anybody in the world can play two guys, it's Tiger.

If it did end up in a tie, it has been phenomenal golf. It could happen. If it did, so be it.

Golf benefited from today. Congratulations to the U.S.A. That putt that Chris holed on the last, I really take my hat off to him. They played better.

Golf benefited from today, ... Congratulations to the U.S.A. That putt that Chris holed on the last, I really take my hat off to him. They played better.

I thought when I get to 70, I would be sitting on the ranch and doing less, and I'm doing more. I would say, with all things equal, five more years.

I see it going right down the line again.

Our guys played well, they just played better.

it doesn't matter what happened in the past or what happens in the present, when we tee up tomorrow, it's a new day. It's a brand new game.

You have to be there and say, well, how is this possible.

We've obviously got to forget about that and now go on to the best of our ability.

There is so much about him to admire. At 30, Tiger is unquestionably golf's best athlete. Nobody is as mentally tough. He dresses beautifully. What a smile. Incredible all-around talent. Abundant with class. Superb role model.

You guys played hard, ... and it came right down to the last hole, just the way we wanted it to, and your guys did just what you're supposed to do: Three guys birdies the 18th hole to win it.

Everything just sort of jived, as they say, into place.

Being up one point is irrelevant. It's like a mile race and you're 50 yards ahead. There's such a long way to go.

Arnie played 50 years and quit, so maybe I'll play 51 and hang it up.

Ernie is as tough as can be, and I think his performance in the last two majors left him highly motivated. I wouldn't be surprised if he won at St. Andrews.

I understand. He has got to do it for his knee. He has to get it right. He said he has never been so bored. Having to sit in one place when he has been so active is driving him nuts.

It's exactly the same. You wait until the tournament starts. You'll hear the cheers. It will be great.

It's a strange game, ... Today you shoot 66. Tomorrow you shoot 73. It changes within hours.

It's a strange game, ... as the Scottish people say.

It was calling for a real good match.

It's a good idea for future Presidents Cups to have a reserve ready to play. The people want to see the match played as scheduled.

It's like a mile race and you're 50 yards ahead. This is as close as it can be without being a tie.

That putt Chris made, I take my hat off to him, ... What a day's golf.

I've got too much I want to do in life.

It's very long for me. I'm driving it into the face of every hill out there (and) had to hit a wood into every (par-4) hole.

I want to play one more than Arnie. I want to get to 51.

They've got to do it -- there's not even a debate, ... There must be a premium on driving.

Any time you have two Presidents Cups in a row and you go to the 18th green, I mean, golf is the winner,

Arnold (Palmer) played 50 times. I'd like to play 51 times and then hang it up.

I'm 70, I hit a drive 280 yards the other day. I never hit a ball 280 in my life. I don't know where we're going. They're going to hit balls over 400 yards. We are only 20 or 30 years out.

I'm using exactly the same clubs, other than No. 4. I was brainwashed into believing it would be abnormal with all the changes. But we're hitting the same club Jack Nicklaus did. I remember Jack hitting 5-iron on No. 11. The greens weren't as fast, but the fairways were lousy.

If there's one man in the world who could play two men, it would be Tiger. In my mind, Furyk is going to play.

If there's a golf course in heaven, it's like this. I'm in no hurry to tee off but I hope I'm the head pro some day.

If you don't hit it far enough, go pump some iron.

If you can get ahead, it's definitely a psychological advantage.

I just hate to see what's happening today with golf clubs that I consider to be illegal, ... I'd stop the grooves being so deep (on the ball), and I'd stop the trampoline effect in the wood.

But golf being an international game and everybody loving the game the way they do, if you want to spread the game of golf, it's good that you have great competition.

I try to work with God as a partner.

Perhaps the most important thing I can tell you about equipment is to experiment and keep an open mind.

There are many people who enjoy animal based foods and who have no interest in changing the way they eat. And as you correctly pointed out, animal products are an integral part of some ethnic groups and societies and it would be nearly impossible for them to change thousands of years of traditional eating habits.

I always said that if they have a golf course like this in heaven, I want to be the head pro.

Golf is a puzzle without an answer.

When a rules man gives you a ruling, that’s it. Amen.

There is absolutely nothing humorous at the Masters. Here, small dogs do not bark and babies do not cry.

Everyone wants to be known as a great striker of the ball for some reason. Nobody wants to be called a lucky, one-putting s.o.b.

The pressure gets worse the older you get. The hole starts to look the size of a Bayer aspirin.

Each shot is important.

If you are going to keep company with me, don't embarrass me.

You can always speak with great authority on how well you played today, but never on how you'll play tomorrow.

The harder I practiced, the luckier I got.

I don't have any hesitation saying I've traveled more miles than any human being who ever lived. I've been doing it for 60 years.

I think that if people would be willing to grow some of their own food or eat locally grown organic foods on a regular basis we could significantly decrease the amount of harmful chemicals we pump into our soil every day.

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.

The closer you can live to being a vegetarian the better.

When you play the game for fun, it's fun. When you play it for a living, it's a game of sorrows.

I've studied golf for almost 50 years now and know a hell of a lot about nothing.

The more I practise, the luckier I become

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.

I wish I could put a patent on that thing. That was so straight I had to lean over sideways to see the flag!

The player who expects a lesson to 'take' without subsequent practice just isn't being honest with himself or fair to his professional.

When travelling, I make a point of eating a proper diet no matter where I am in the world. It is getting much easier to eat a vegetarian or vegan based diet.

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.

That loss was to breed an independence, a toughness of spirit, and an awareness of adversity and discipline that have never left me,.

If you think your hands are more important in your golf swing than your legs, try walking a hole on your hands.

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.

The ideal build for a golfer would be strong hands, big forearms, thin neck, big thighs and a flat chest. He'd look like Popeye.

Enjoy the game. Happy golf is good golf.

First, educate yourself about what a vegan diet entails and why it is beneficial to your health. You need to understand and embrace the philosophy or you will not be able to make such a drastic dietary change. Secondly, make the change over time. Don't try and "go cold turkey"; you will shock your system and you will develop cravings that you may not be able to fight off. If you take your time and let your body adjust you will be eating a completely different diet before you realize it.

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.

Golf asks something of a man. It makes one loathe mediocrity. It seems to say, "If you are going to keep company with me, don't embarrass me.

The more I work and practice, the luckier I seem to get.

Simply by making the effort to start something, you will be miles ahead of almost everyone else.

A strong mind is one of the key components that separates the great from the good.

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.

It's a marriage. If I had to choose between my wife and my putter, well, I'd miss her.

If Ernie Els were on our team, I think we'd have a better team than the European Ryder Cup team, ... Not to say if we played them we would beat them ? I think we would. But it's a stronger team.

I'd never seen rain like that, ... It was just pouring. I'll never forget it: As they would squeegee the green, you would put your ball down and putt it.

All they have to do is spend a little bit of money and change the mold (of the ball) and let the ball go back 30 yards. There are no such things as par-5s now really in professional golf, unless they move the tees back.

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.