Gary Player leaned on his golf bag and kicked backward with his right leg, then his left. He stood up and kicked forward. He was on the range at The Woodlands, ahead of a Greats of Golf event, and this was part of his warm-up.
“Gary, I think about you when I’m working out,” a man said in the background.
“Good for you,” Player said, “You know, you kept nice and thin.”
Talk to Player about fitness, and he’ll give your ear a workout. Talk to him about diet, and he’ll give you a mouthful. Google “Gary Player” and “fitness,” and you should pack a snack; it’ll be a while. The 86-year-old nine-time major champion has taken pride in being in good condition, and he is happy to share.
“If you look at what’s happening with the coronavirus, which is a terrible, terrible thing, it’s more important than ever that we take care of our health,” Player told GOLF’s Luke Kerr-Dineen in September of 2020. “I still push 350 pounds with my legs, I do hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of sit-ups, I run on the treadmill at 85 (years old) at ‘max’, so my body is really 50 years of age.”
Later in 2020, at the November Masters, Player also told Kerr-Dineen about his 60/40 rule: Healthy living is 60 percent what you eat, and 40 percent how you exercise.
“I now put eating at 60 percent because as you get older, you put on weight, and weight stops a train,” Player said. “When you get heavier and try to swing with the same force you did as a young person, which you can’t do but you’re trying to do it, that’s a quick way to get an injury.”
With all that in mind, Player dished on another tip, as he talked to the bystander at the Greats of Golf event. The exchange was captured by the PGA Tour Champions and shared on their social media accounts.
“Well, if you want to live a long time, you got to stay thin,” Player said. “You won’t live a long time if you get fat, I’ll tell you.”
The man made a comment, and Player responded.
“Good for you. Good for you,” he said. “Two meals a day, that’s all you need. You don’t need three meals a day. No, no, no, no. Breakfast and lunch. Lay off the dinner.
“You don’t put gas in your car when you park it in the garage at night.”
Of course, like the golf swing, what works for one person, may not work for another.
