I was wondering when we were going to get another history lesson, thanks.

November 1, 2009

Gary Player (born November 1, 1935) is a South African professional golfer generally regarded as one of the greatest players in the game's history renowned as much for his dedication to the principles of excellence as he is for his golfing accomplishments. He is recognized worldwide as an uncompromising perfectionist who settles for nothing but the best. His values, stringent regimen of health and fitness, and insistence on quality, have earned him admiration the world over.

Player was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. He has logged more than 14 million miles in travel, probably more than any other athlete. Dubbed the Black Knight, Mr. Fitness, and the International Ambassador of Golf, Player is a renowned golf course architect with more than 300 design projects throughout the world.

His business interests are represented by Black Knight International, which includes Gary Player Design, Player Real Estate, and Gary Player Enterprises, aspects of which include licensing, events, publishing, videos, apparel and memorabilia.

The Gary Player Stud Farm has received worldwide acclaim for breeding top thoroughbred race horses, including 1994 English Derby entry Broadway Flyer. He operates The Player Foundation with its primary objective to promote education around the world.

In 1983, The Player Foundation established the Blair Atholl Schools in Johannesburg, South Africa, which has educational facilities for more than 500 students from kindergarten through 8th grade. In 2008 it celebrated its 25th Anniversary with charity golf events in London, Miami, Shanghai and Cape Town, bringing its total of funds raised to over US $30 million.

Gary Player was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, the youngest of Harry and Muriel Player's three children. When he was eight years old his mother died from cancer. Although his father was often away from home working in the gold mines, he did manage to take a loan in order to buy a set of clubs for his son Gary to begin playing golf. The Virginia Park golf course in Johannesburg is where Player first began his love affair with golf. At the age of 14 Player played his first round of golf and parred the first three holes. At age 16 he announced that he would become number one in the world. At age 17 he became a professional golfer.

Player married wife Vivienne on January 19, 1957, four years after turning professional. Together they have six children: Jennifer, Marc, Wayne, Michele, Theresa and Amanda. He is also a grandfather to 20 grandchildren. During the early days of his career Player would travel from tournament to tournament with wife, 6 children, nanny and a tutor in tow.

Eldest son Marc, owns and operates Black Knight International, which represents Player in all his commercial activities, including golf course design and real estate development.

He is also the brother of world renowned wildlife conservationist Dr. Ian Player who saved the white rhino from extinction

Player is one of the most successful golfers in the history of the sport, ranking third (behind Roberto de Vicenzo and Sam Snead) in total professional wins, with at least a hundred and sixty-six, and tied for fourth in major championship victories with nine. Along with Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus he is sometimes referred to as one of "The Big Three" golfers of his era — from the late 1950s through the early 1970s — when golf boomed in the United States and around the world, greatly encouraged by expanded television coverage. Along with Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods, he is one of only five players to win golf’s "career Grand Slam". He completed the Grand Slam in 1965 at the age of twenty-nine. Player was the second multi-time majors winner from South Africa, following from Bobby Locke, and succeeded by Ernie Els and Retief Goosen.

Player played regularly on the U.S. based PGA Tour from the late 1950s. He led the money list in 1961, and went on to accumulate twenty four career titles. He also played an exceptionally busy schedule all over the world, and he has been called the world's most traveled athlete, clocking up more than 14 million miles. He has more victories than anyone else in the South African Open (thirteen) and the Australian Open (seven). He held the record for most victories in the World Match Play Championship, with five wins, from 1973 until 1991 when this feat was equaled by Seve Ballesteros, finally losing his share of the record in 2004, when Ernie Els won the event for a sixth time. Player was ever-present in the top ten of Mark McCormack's world golf rankings from their inception in 1968 until 1981; he was ranked second on those rankings in 1969, 1970 and 1972, each time behind Jack Nicklaus, and had those rankings been based on just the most recent two seasons (like their modern counterpart) Player would have been number one in 1969.

He was the only player in the 20th century to win the (British) Open in three different decades. His first win, as a 23-year-old in 1959 at Muirfield, came after he double-bogeyed the last hole, and broke down in tears thinking he had lost his chance, but none of the remaining players on the course could match the clubhouse lead he had set. In 1974, he became one of the few golfers in history to win two major championships in the same season. Player last won the U.S. Masters in 1978, when he started seven strokes behind the leaders entering the final round and won by one shot with birdies at seven of the last 10 holes for a back nine 30 and a final round 64. One week later, Player came from seven strokes back in the final round to win the Tournament of Champions. In 1984, at the age of 48, Player nearly became the oldest ever major champion, finishing just behind Lee Trevino at the PGA Championship. And in gusty winds at the 1998 Masters, he became the oldest golfer ever to make to the cut, breaking the 25-year-old record set by Sam Snead. Player credited this win to his dedication to the concept of golf fitness.

Being South African, Player never played in the Ryder Cup in which American and European golfers compete against each other. Regarding the event, Player remarked, "The things I have seen in the Ryder Cup have disappointed me. You are hearing about hatred and war." He was no longer an eligible player when the Presidents Cup was established to give international players the opportunity to compete in a similar event, but he was non-playing captain of the International Team for the Presidents Cup in 2003, which was held on a course he designed, The Links at Fancourt in George, South Africa. After 2003 ended in a tie, he was reappointed as captain for the 2005 Presidents Cup, and his team lost to the Americans 15.5 to 18.5. Both Player and Jack Nicklaus were appointed to captain their respective teams again in 2007 in Canada; the United States won.

In 1966, Gary Player was awarded the Bob Jones Award, the highest honor given by the United States Golf Association in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974 and "Gary Player — A Global Journey" exhibition launched by the Hall of Fame as of March, 2006.

In 2000, Player was ranked as the eighth greatest golfer of all time by Golf Digest magazine.

Interesting to see the following he still gets on the Champs tour...from the players and caddies You often will see him on the practice tee after a round with 10-20 people around him as he tells stories. He is actually paid by the pga to participate now.

Nice info FG,,,, Thanks,

December 18, 2009

In 1948, Bobby Jones was diagnosed with syringomyelia, a fluid-filled cavity in his spinal cord which caused first pain, then paralysis. He was eventually restricted to a wheelchair. He died in Atlanta, Georgia, at the age of 69, on December 18, 1971, about a week after becoming a Catholic, and was buried in Atlanta's historic Oakland Cemetery. Fans who still visit his grave will leave golf balls.

He got a good start here:

As a youngster in Seattle in the golden age of flight, Karsten Solheim marveled at Charles Lindbergh’s courage and Amelia Earhart’s audaciousness. It was a captivating time for America’s youth, and Solheim — son of an immigrant family from Bergen, Norway — was romanced by it. One day, he told everyone, he would be an aeronautical engineer.

He was part right. Despite becoming intricately involved in jet propulsion and flight telemetry, Karsten Solheim would make his name not as the designer of the next generation of flying machines, but rather as the developer of a much simpler, yet no less ingeniously designed piece of equipment … a putter.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Karsten Manufacturing Corp. — a company better known by the sound made by its most famous product … PING. The original PING putter, designed and developed in Solheim’s backyard workshop in the late 1950s, became the gold standard for golf-club design and has been replicated in part by nearly every putter made since.

That’s the part most golfers do know — what many do not know is that Solheim’s career, his company and his legacy all had their roots in a tiny little fishing community just north of downtown Seattle. That’s right — the PING story all started in Ballard.

Both were great reads,,,, Thanks !!!!!

Ballard High School, where I often sub has a picture of him in their hall of fame. He is also in the UW's engineering hall of fame.

Amazing how small the world is. We went to dinner last night with our neighbors, he grew up here in Ballard. It turns out that his parents rented a house from Karsten's dad often played around the shoe shop he ran and played with a granddaughter when he was young.

Amazing how small the world is. We went to dinner last night with our neighbors, he grew up here in Ballard. It turns out that his parents rented a house from Karsten's dad often played around the shoe shop he ran and played with a granddaughter when he was young.