Callaway Presents: Gary Player
What does Gary eat? For the record, Gary describes himself as “90% vegetarian” and says that since reading The China Study, he now plans to remove animal products from his diet completely. In addition to his superior diet, Mr. Player is also a fitness enthusiast and has a great deal of mental motivation as well.
Jack (72), Arnie (82) and Gary (76)—taken Wednesday, April 4, at Augusta National
As for his diet of mostly plants, I have no doubt that he would tell you that it has been a major factor in his success as a professional golfer. Just this week, I heard him say in an interview that strength conditioning among golfers has become much more popular in the last 15 years. “The next big thing will be improving what we eat,” he says.
On his website, he lists The China Study as being one of his favorite books and he has become a great spokesman for the move toward a whole foods, plant-based diet. Not too hard to tell which one of the threesome is eating 4Leaf.
As for poor Jack and Arnie—they are not looking so good. I wonder what they all had to eat at Tuesday night’s “Past Champions Dinner” hosted this year by a South African countryman of Mr. Player. My guess is that Gary may have had a small bite of the main “meat” course out of courtesy for the host but that he probably got most of his calories from the sides of vegetables. And, for making those healthy choices, he probably got a bit of ribbing from his aging, unhealthy, and overweight golf buddies.
Gary praises The China Study in 2011 interview:
“Dr. Colin Campbell’s book is fantastic and yes it has played a part in my dietary intake. He really opened my eyes about the dangers of eating too many animal proteins and how the body benefits more from plant based foods. I think that everyone should read his book; it will change how people eat and structure their diet. Imagine if we could get parents and children to read this book together! It could make a significant impact on childhood obesity and educate parents about how to properly feed their children.
There are 2 quotes that really resonate with me and have helped drive my commitment to fighting childhood obesity; “More people die today from too much food than from too little” and “The human race has never been more unhealthy as it is today”. This says something to me!”