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Gary Player    

Retired Professional Golfer, Golf’s International Ambassador & Most Decorated World-Wide Winner

Having turned professional at the age of 17 in 1953, Gary Player has won 165 professional tournaments on six continents over seven decades. Player is a Golf Ambassador, Philanthropist and Golf Course Designer with a passion for fitness and thoroughbred horses. Known for his positive mindset, he has lived by the mantra of “the harder I practice, the luckier I get.”

The World Golf Hall of Fame Member is one of only five golfers to achieve a Career Grand Slam by winning all four majors, and is the only golfer on that list to have won a Grand Slam on the Senior Tour too. His achievements in golf resulted in the PGA Tour bestowing a Lifetime Achievement Award for Outstanding Services to Golf on him in 2012.

A member of the Laureus World Sports Academy, which celebrates sport’s ability to create positive change in the world, Player’s outstanding career was acknowledged with a Laureus Lifetime Achievement Award. He also captained the Rest of the World Presidents Cup Team in three consecutive tournaments against the USA between 2003 and 2007.

Having designed more than 135 golf courses on five continents, Player recently announced that he would be working collaboratively with the Nicklaus Design team on future projects. Following a dedicated fitness regime all his life, including weightlifting, Player earned himself the nickname of Mr. Fitness and has always been loyal to, and passionate about, the rewards of a regular workout. From a youthful age, he loved horses and his stud farm in South Africa is famed for breeding top-performing thoroughbred racehorses and producing many winners.

Player has continuously used his position of influence in a positive way to improve the lives of others as a humanitarian and has focused strongly on education for the underprivileged. Through the Player and Vivienne Player Foundation, millions of dollars have been raised to aid vulnerable children. The Foundation established the Blair Atholl School with facilities for providing education to over 500 underprivileged students.

Speech Topics

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.

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.

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.

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