As Gary Player turns 90 on Saturday, it gives us a great opportunity to look back at one of his most poignant quotes regarding Scottie Scheffler.
Player has always admired Scheffler for his dogged competitiveness, but is he a fan of how the world number one actually swings the golf club?
Just last month, Player tipped Scheffler to complete the Grand Slam sooner rather than later.
Player also said Scheffler was the only US player to show any class at the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black in September.
So it’s quite clear to see that the South African holds the current world number one in very high esteem.
Player spoke about Scheffler’s swing back in 2024 and delivered his verdict on the Dallas native’s motion.
Gary Player revealed what he thinks of Scottie Scheffler’s golf swing
Player is renowned for giving no-nonsense answers when asked questions about the current crop of PGA Tour stars.
The South African is one of only six golfers in the history of the game to have won all four major championships, alongside Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy.
Speaking ahead of the PGA Tour Champions Insperity Invitational last year, Player responded when asked what makes certain sportsmen so special.
He said: “It’s a little thing called ‘it’, and it’s loaned to you by the almighty.
“I often have discussions every week with scientists and athletes, what made Michael Jordan so good? Others were almost as good but not quite as good.
“Muhammad Ali, they all said they were going to knock him out, they didn’t he knocked them out.
“There’s something about superstars that have that gift loaned to them and nobody knows what that is.“
Player then explained why he thinks Scheffler has ‘it’.
The South African said:“I think Scottie Scheffler has got ‘it’, he has ‘it’.
“This guy, he is phenomenal. Everybody talks about his swing, I think he’s got a great swing. His backswing is perfect and his downswing he gets all his weight to the left side, he slides a bit, but so what? It’s no beauty contest.“
Jack Nicklaus explained what he finds unusual about Scottie Scheffler’s golf swing
Jack Nicklaus is another huge admirer of Scheffler. However, he has admitted that the 29-year-old possesses an ‘unusual’ kink in his swing.
Back in June, Nicklaus was asked if Scheffler’s swing reminds him of his own.
He said: “Well, I don’t think there’s a whole lot of resemblance. Well, the swing path is — Scottie’s is very good, and I felt like my swing path was pretty good. Johnny’s (Miller) swing path was very good. But most good players’ swing path is good. Scottie has an unusual way of coming into the ball and having his right foot slide behind him. But that evidently allows him to get his right hip, not into the shot but out of the way, and allows his hands to stay close to his body and swing down a plane.
“That was one of my keys was always to get my hands as close to my body as I could. I remember Byron Nelson when I went to see him years ago, Jack Grout sent me down to see him, and Byron made one statement, he says, I don’t believe you can ever have your hands too close to your body when you swing, and I feel that’s getting your arms and hands underneath you when you swing. Johnny was very much the same way, you were well under the ball and hands were way close to your body. When your hands get away from your body then you make bad swings, and Scottie doesn’t do that.“
Nicklaus is explaining how the key to Scheffler’s success is his extraordinary control of the clubface.
While Scheffler’s swing plane and movement as a whole may have been different to Nicklaus’ in his prime, the two players’ clubfaces were very similar on the backswing and on the downswing.
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