Gary Player remains an avid golfer and fan of the sport, to which he has dedicated his entire life.
And his hard work has definitely paid off, with the South African legend having claimed nine major wins throughout his glittering career.
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Golf has changed massively since his time on the course, with the 90-year-old expecting another change in the very near future.
Gary Player predicts golf change as he singles out Scottie Scheffler
Speaking on The High Performance Podcast, Player said: “I started weight training in 1953. If I tell you how I was ridiculed!
“Even today there are people on the Golf Channel, there is one particular guy, he still believes today. He sees everybody doing weight training, or almost everybody, and he still thinks it’s bad for people.
“I pushed 300lbs with my legs today. I ran on the treadmill, in fact I went on it so fast that I fell off! But that is part of the deal. Pain is good for you.
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“But weight training everybody said you can’t do weights. Thank God Tiger Woods came along and I admired it so much. He was lifting heavy weights and he was so phenomenal.
“Then I saw Rory [McIlroy] at The Masters and I admired his two wins so much. He has the best swing in the world.
“Scottie Scheffler is the best golfer, Rory is the second best. But Rory has the best swing in the world by a mile.
“I said to Rory when I was on the practice tee early in the morning as we open up the golf course. And I asked Rory what are you doing now exercise wise?
“He took out his phone and he shows me. He was doing a dead lift for the lower back and the core. He was lifting 400lbs.
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“If you do that with 100lbs and you see how strong he is. You see the prodigious distances he gets. He works at it.
“What are we going to see in the future? I told the golfing world that a man of 50 would win a major. ‘You’re talking rubbish’ they said. I told Peter Alliss on BBC, that we are going to have golf players hit the ball 400 yards. ‘Rubbish!’
“Now I am going to say the way this ball is going, the distances that it is going, we have never had a big man play golf yet. They are going to hit it 500 yards!
“There is one man in America right now who has driven a par five. When we played the third hole at Augusta, [Jack] Nicklaus was as long as anybody today except [Bryson] DeChambeau.
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“The big men are coming, because you don’t have to play the NFL, which is a marvellous sport. But if you play for three years your knees are gone, your shoulders are gone, you have concussion. You ruin your health. But golf you can carry on forever!”
Photo by Richard Heathcote/R&A/R&A via Getty Images
Rory McIlroy demonstrates his huge power at The Open Championship
It remains to be seen if Player will be proven right, but it’s fair to say that many players are indeed huge hitters.
That includes McIlroy, along with LIV Golf superstar DeChambeau, with that duo showcasing their power at The Open Championship this week.
But the Northern Irishman has been particularly long off the tee, ranking first for driving distance (348.7 yards), and third for longest drive (389.2 yards) so far.
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Fans particularly enjoyed his drive on the par-4 ninth on day two, with his effort from 377 yards finishing just 11 feet away from the pin.
Read more: Gary Player reveals how he really feels about how Bryson DeChambeau behaves with golf fans
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