Player in the Carolinas to Raise Money for BI-LO Charities: Gary Player

Player in the Carolinas to Raise Money for BI-LO Charities

Jun 10, 2008 | Filed Under: General News | Comments: 1

And he had a thing or two to say on some other matters...

A VIP foursome, who made generous donations to BI-LO Charities for the opportunity to play a round with Gary Player, got more than just a few golf tips from the man in black. Player spoke passionately about the epidemic of childhood obesity, rampant drugs in sport and his passion for the environment before teeing it up with four donors at Bright’s Creek Country Club for the 25th annual BI-LO Charity Classic.

The weekend’s festivities included a visit to Verdae Greens Golf Club where Player surprised about 100 First Tee golfers with a short clinic; the President’s Party on Saturday evening for major sponsors of the event, and of course the main event – golf!

Nearly 1,400 golfers participated in the BI-LO Charity Classic, which is played over 14 prestigious golf courses in North and South Carolina. The goal for this year’s event was to exceed the $5 million mark, which was successfully achieved when a record $5,659,000 was raised. This brings BI-LO’s charitable contribution to children-related causes to nearly $50 million over the past 25 years.

The media caught up with the Black Knight at Bright’s Creek Country Club on Sunday to discuss an array of topics including charity, his involvement with The Cliffs and a topic that has caused much media controversy, drugs in sport.

Player, who blames money for the tragedy behind athletes abusing steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs, said “It will take monumental efforts to stop this [behavior] in sport, and I have my doubts whether we can do it.”

While golf was always seen as the “cleanest” of sports, Player is credited with bringing awareness of potential dangers and substance abuse among the game’s professionals, which ultimately lead to the PGA Tour instating a drug policy late last year.

The environmental concerns regarding The Cliffs at Mountain Park, a signature course designed by Gary Player Design, also surfaced during his visit to the Upstate. As a farmer and conservationist himself, Player spoke with authority on the subject and maintained that Cliffs developer Jim Anthony has been treated unfairly.

Environmental groups have criticized Anthony for building a golf course along the North Saluda River, when in fact a plan has been put in place to clean up the river that has previously been spoiled by over 50 years of agricultural usage.

“I’ll tell you this,” said Player. “The first day we looked at the site, I said to Jim, ‘Look at the poor shape of this river… Look what they’ve done to it,’ and we set out to clean it up. I believe everything will get worked out, but I think the criticism has been unfair for all we’re trying to do out there,” he concluded.

While there may have been some sidetracking by the media, at the end of the day, charity was the name of the game. In celebration of the 25th anniversary of The Player Foundation and the BI-LO Charity Classic, Gary Player committed to helping BI-LO break fundraising records by participating in this year’s event.

For 25 years The Player Foundation has worked to raise funds for impoverished children around the world – particularly in the area of education. It was announced last weekend that the US leg of the Gary Player Invitational will be coming to The Cliffs this Fall. This is one of four Gary Player Invitational charity events this year (Europe, China, USA and South Africa) and a first for The Cliffs. The GPI, as it is informally known, will benefit The Player Foundation and Zest Quest, whose primary objective is to teach and encourage children to lead healthy lives.

Player says his goal is to influence five million children in his time by promoting the importance of diet, health and fitness. As passionate as he is about rampant diabetes in Western society and the epidemic of childhood obesity, no doubt we’ll hear a lot more from “Mr Fitness” on this subject.

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Comments

Peter Sletten says:

June 17, 2008

Mr. Player and Friends:

My first honor in golf was to be taught by my Grandmother who was a multiple club champion in her home town, the town of our family’s heritage. My daughters are “Daughters of the American Revolution and will share their talents one day with their lineage. Where does this place you and me, Mr. Player? It was my honor to play in a Pro-Am with you and three other amateurs in Sacramento in 1993. One was John Madden’s son, Tony. Although, my golf grew up on the Monterey Peninsula, it was not the expectant golfing wiz. My play with you was fouled with nerves unlike any sports experience ever encountered.

More prestigious was my Conservation Engineering growth from Monterey throughout the State to Lake Tahoe from 1978 to 1995. It was this application of my career talents at Lake Tahoe from 1985-95 that earned me the opportunity to play golf with you. Did you know you were playing with a fellow conservationist? You were teamed to Keep Tahoe Blue! Now you do. It was this honor playing that nervous round with you that favored my Grandmother’s pride before her passing. She acknowledged my commitments to life after the births of my two daughters at Lake Tahoe. Although we did not share this ethic during our round of golf for charity, it is important now to read that you can take great pride in recognizing the need to restore a severely damaged river while designing a golf development. You may want to spread the word following the change this fall in nearby Washington D. C.

I will continue to account for every dollar spent to assure the true benefit is the restoration of nature’s qualities with the aid of proper river geomorphologic practices applied with proper design and maintenance policies. Golf course policy must also account for nutrient loading on a stream corridors and wetland regimes. When this is properly done, developments can share more quality space with nature for generations to come. My work at Lake Tahoe grew to be applied throughout the West from 1995 to the present from my new home here in Colorado. Now Nature tells this Administration it is not done venting her fury. Unfortunately the People must suffer as do those men in combat for other’s wealth.

My wish was to also see you again at this year’s Senior Open. Now my time is better applied to conservation for the ranchers throughout the Rocky Mountains. My recreational time is devoted to teaching golf, tennis, fly fishing, and skiing to others. My comment regarding your care of deprived children throughout the Third World is “We also have a growing problem in this country following the past eight years of political division and economic loss.” My time is best applied serving the Earth without need for greed. Some of our wealthy athletes are lost but our World’s children are thoroughly lost only to be found. Thank you for your aid and concern but Sir, they need to learn self-pride. They have no contact with their self worth and do not have identities. How can they develop the strength to receive a helping hand and free themselves from fear? It is taken away by police states created and applied by this present politic. It is a reversal of our Constitutional rights. We live in fear and your fellow South Africans may know well what this means to freedoms and prosperities. How can we teach our children to be proud of this land and of their bodies when they live in fear and ignorance? We have one choice this November. The Man who stands on the podium on January 20, 2009 can make the change heard by telling the World these basic truths. “Now that I am President and as long as I serve and protect the People’s Constitution Rights, this Nation will no longer falsely imprison another human being, it will no longer invade another country, it will no longer use greed to exploit the welling being of the many for the wealth of the few.” All of us can help make changes with sacrifice.

We can also do much more to conserve energy by preserving nature and her resources. We can use technology to develop new energy alternatives. I work every day and sponsor a young engineer at our local Colorado School of Mines. He will soon do a work-study year in Europe and the Middle East. All of this was stifled by this past administration.

Our children will continue to suffer more. They are taught by liberal school teachers who refuse to raise the American Flag at their schools in some kind of sick protest. They refuse to confront the police state when their students’ safety is threatened. All of this is a symptom of a police state that must be overturned by the People. Do you agree? How can the People of South Africa teach us a lesson? How can you, your prestige, and World voice help this Country achieve an economic balance now lost to greed? Is the World in similar hands? Please know I continue to try by placing my career in harms way.

Thank you, Peter B. Sletten, PE

Posted on Tue, Jun 2008

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