"when I’m
not travelIng, I spend
my tIme
raIsIng
thoroughbred race
horses on
my farm In
the great
Karoo In
south
afrIca.
that Is my
nIrvana."
Did you have any other practices consid-
ered radical back then?
Advocating diet, health and fitness during
a time when smoking and drinking was
considered “normal” was pretty radical.
Also, I was, and am, an incredibly positive
person. Some people thought that there
was no way anyone could be so positive
every day. But that’s who I am.
Are you impressed with the fitness habits of
today’s pros?
Overall, I think that pros are in much better shape than they were during my career.
You can clearly see that they are putting
the time in to maintain a high level of
physical fitness.
Any who stand out for you?
Tiger Woods has set the standard for today’s Tour players. I like what I see from
Dustin Johnson, Charl Schwartzel, Camilo Villegas and a number of others.
Can you leave us with a few pointers for
maintaining and improving our health?
Let’s start with strength. Be smart and
don’t strain yourself. In golf, it is more im-
portant to have longer, leaner muscles than
to be big and bulky. Develop a program
that strengthens your entire body. Pay
particular attention to your rotator cuffs,
wrists and knees because that is where
most of the stress from a golf swing occurs.
Flexibility is very important. Stretch every
day and definitely before playing. You can
avoid a lot of injuries by maintaining your
flexibility.
As “the World’s Most Traveled Athlete,”
do you have any special tips about keeping
healthy while traveling?
Stay hydrated during long flights, eat
healthy snacks like fruit and nuts (
almonds and walnuts are my favorite), not
too much alcohol, no fatty foods or processed sugars. Also, traveling takes a lot
out of your body, so getting proper rest is
important. n
