COTSWOLD DOWNS GOLF CLUB HOSTS GARY PLAYER

The management and members of Cotswold Downs Golf Club were thrilled to host South African golf legend Gary Player on 22 January 2020.

"I always enjoy coming to Durban - I won the South African Open at Durban Country Club a couple of times. Nicklaus and I played there in 1965 and I beat Bobby Locke in a 36-hole playoff there as a young man. So it's got special memories for me," said Player.

This was Player's first visit to Cotswold Downs, 30 minutes inland from Durban, and he delighted club members and their families by taking the time to meet with them and share stories from his past. As would be expected of a pro of his stature, he couldn't wait to play the course, taking to it extremely quickly, shooting 1-over par on the front nine, and 76 for the 18 holes overall.

"I enjoyed the Cotswold Downs course immensely. It's an ideal members' golf course with outstanding facilities, a great ambience in the club house and such friendly members and staff - all these things go to making a good golf course great. The greens were the right speed and you really couldn't putt better greens. They're absolutely magnificent," said Player.

"The 17th and 18th are two amazing finishing holes. I loved the layout of the course; playing from high up, it had great elevation changes which I like as that's a nice challenge. I think my friend Peter Matkovich did a magnificent job here, it was most enjoyable to play."

The Cotswold Downs 18-hole championship parklands type course, designed by Peter Matkovich to USGA specifications, blends seamlessly with its surrounds, including indigenous forests, grasslands and wetlands, and features bent grass greens, undulating fairways and outstanding natural water features. A mixture of cool season and summer grasses allow the course to be lush all year round.

At 84 years of age, one might expect Player would be slowing down, but he is as busy as ever, still travelling the world designing golf courses, representing companies, doing work with his racehorses and playing in tournaments - his next is in Houston, Texas in April, where he'll team up with Jack Nicklaus.

"I'm still averaging 72 - I beat my age an average of 12 shots a round. I've beaten my age more than 2500 times in a row now and my great dream is to beat my age by 18 shots, which nobody's ever done before," said Player. His round of 76 at Cotswold Downs, a challenging course he was unfamiliar with, and which includes some cleverly placed bunkers and water hazards, shows that his nickname 'Mr Fitness' wasn't bestowed lightly, and that golf is a game for life.

"In just about every other sport you're finished by the time you turn 32, and in some you're so crocked you can't walk. But golf - I won a tournament in America when I was 63, and at 84 I'm still playing well," said Player.

It's for this reason that he thinks golf presents such a great opportunity for young South Africans to make something of themselves and inspire the nation.

"I always say that golf is the passport to the world. It's played everywhere and is growing at such a rapid rate. We have programmes in place in this country to develop young golfers, and I'd love to see South Africa produce a Tiger Woods to inspire us - that would be a fantastic thing. It's also wonderful to see the young lady pros coming through, though I would like to see women's golf have more sponsors," said Player.

Player was joined by his friends Gavin van Zyl, who manages a racehorse of his, and Tony Rivalland, who races a horse Player bred, but Player was kind enough to play the back nine with local members Lee Brown and Alan Tennant, and Acting General Manager of Cotswold Downs Golf Club, Bryan Coleman.

"To play nine holes with one of the legends of the game was a massive honour for me," said Coleman. "To listen to Mr Player talk about the game we all love was truly inspirational and a day that I will never forget."

"It was a very special day for us to have hosted such a giant, not only of South African golf, but of world golf at Cotswold Downs. He was strolling (and even jogging!) our beautiful fairways like one of our regular members. I hope my body is half as fit, and my swing half as smooth, as his when I get to 84!" said Ross Dewes, PGA Professional and Golf Director at Cotswold Downs.

"He was incredibly forthcoming and gracious in giving out autographs and didn't hesitate to get a photo with anyone who asked. He was hugely complimentary about our wonderful golf course, even going as far as to say that our greens were some of the best he had putted on! We are incredibly grateful to have had this amazing man at our course and I'm sure our members and residents are just as delighted. You are welcome back anytime Mr Player!"