Gary Player: Professional coaching will help

Abu Dhabi: Gary Player will host another all-star line-up for the Saadiyat Beach Classic next Monday at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club. Here he talks about his return to the emirates.

Welcome back to the UAE. What do you most enjoy about visiting the emirates?

GARY PLAYER: With its growth and development, it is simply one of the most exciting places in the world. Also, I believe that Saadiyat Island is the most exciting project on the planet. I also enjoy the culture, the desert, the falconry, Arabian horses and the food.

Golf in the UAE is certainly growing, but the UAE is yet to have a regular professional on the European or US tours. What advice do you have for the local golfing bodies to help promote excellence within the game and local competition?

With the UAE's great weather and new golf courses, all you need now is professional coaching, some really good golf academies, and to encourage young people to take up the game at school.

You are known as one of the greatest players in the history of golf, winning 165 tournaments on six continents over six decades. How does it feel to have achieved so much?

My greatest achievement in golf was winning the Grand Slam by the age of 29 but I have been blessed and never forget to be grateful for what I have achieved and hence my work now to give something back through our philanthropy and development of the game around the world.

Golf has just made it into the Olympics, do you think this will help grow the game internationally? Do you regret you never had such an opportunity?

Yes I do. Perhaps not in places like the US, Great Britain or other well established golfing nations, but most certainly in developing golfing nations like China, India, parts of Europe and Latin America. I am extremely excited about Brazil hosting the Olympic Games and hope to be selected the designer of the golf course on which the tournament is played.

So many classically designed golf courses are becoming less of a challenge for the leading professionals who hit the ball further each year. As a golf-course designer is this good news for you with more work or do you think technology is playing too big a part in the game?

I believe all the new technology for the amateur golfer is fantastic and they need all the help they can get. However, I do not believe the professional game should continue unrestricted and the biggest single factor is the golf ball which for tournament play should be scaled back by some 25 per cent.

The US tour, traditionally the stronger of the tours has failed to interest some of the up and coming players such as Abu Dhabi champion Martin Kaymer, who now prefer to play internationally on the European Circuit. If you were still playing what playing schedule would you have?

I have always believed that to be considered a world champion you need to play around the globe on all tours and it would be no different for me today. The Asian and European professionals tend to play a more international schedule whilst the Americans tend to be more insular and stay at home. I believe all tours should get together and create a truly international schedule (similar to the ATP Tennis Tour) and enforce professionals to play a minimum number of these events in order to qualify for world rankings, entry into the major championships and to give sponsors more value.

This year's Ryder Cup was sporting drama at its best. Do you think the President's Cup which includes South Africa and could potentially include the UAE can ever create such interest?

The President's Cup has already created great drama and intrigue. It has come a long way in a very short space of time when compared to the Ryder Cup. Personally, I think staging the President's Cup in the UAE would be fantastic.