Gary Player remains upset. He wants to take his grandkids to play Augusta National Golf Club, but he says the club won’t let him. This is nothing new.
“I have been an ambassador for Augusta for all these years, yet they won’t let me have one round of golf in my life with my three grandsons,” Player, a three-time Masters champion, told Golf Monthly. “My grandsons are dying to know about their grandfather’s episodes on that golf course. All the golf courses that have hosted the Open, the U.S. Open and the PGA would oblige, but they won’t do it at Augusta.
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“It is just this current management there, but these are the times we live in and I accept it, but I accept it with sadness.”
Player has been an honorary starter at the Masters since 2012, but his tenure hasn’t come with some controversy. His son, Wayne, is banned from Augusta National after a 2021 incident during the Honorary Starter ceremony where Wayne held up golf balls in an attempt at guerrilla marketing, and it was especially stark because Lee Elder, who broke the tournament’s color barrier in 1975, was recognized as a trail blazer at the Masters and joined Jack Nicklaus and Player for the ceremony.
Then three years ago, Player ranked the Masters fourth among the majors, saying it was behind the Open Championship, U.S. Open and PGA Championship.
His recent quotes almost mirror what he said before the 2023 Masters. “After all I’ve contributed to the tournament and been an ambassador for them, I can’t go and have a practice round there with my three grandchildren without having to beg a member to play with us, and there’s always some excuse. It’s terribly, terribly sad,” Player said, adding he helped make the Masters what it is.
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Player has made 52 starts at Augusta National Golf Club in the Masters, the most all-time, but he is not a member. Golfers, even professionals, must be with a member to play the course. He has long argued he should’ve been a member like Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, considered a part of the Big Three with Player.
“There are a lot of things that have made Augusta what it is, but the part (the Big Three) played was a prevalent part of my career,” Player continued. “When I go there I feel I am walking onto a golf course in Heaven. I tread very carefully and I love Augusta so much but I don’t like all the rules.
“Bobby Jones was a wonderful man and a wonderful asset to a wonderful tournament, as was President (Dwight) Eisenhower, as was Clifford Roberts. Those three people, they basically made Augusta. Then Arnold, Jack and I came along and we fought it out every year, and then we made Augusta thanks to the coverage and publicity we generated around the Masters, whether the club likes to admit it or not. They won’t admit it, but we made Augusta.”
Player’s relationship with Augusta National is a curious one, as the 90-year-old still beats the drum he is being treated unfairly by the club. Yet when it’s time to begin the Masters every year, Player still shows up and strikes an opening tee shot and plays to the crowd in a way only he can.
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However, that doesn’t change Player’s thoughts on wanting a chance to play with his grandchildren, which he has 22 of.
“In conclusion, this is just my opinion,” Player said. “One of the things I have learned, at the age of 90, is that just as I hope people can have respect for my opinions, I also respect the opinions of others.
“We have got to have respect for other people’s opinions.”
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Gary Player says Augusta National won’t let him play with grandkids
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