The Best Looking (Nude) Golfer in America

Looking every inch a champion, the great South African golfer Gary Player is in the news, as ESPN The Magazine releases photos from its upcoming "Body Issue." The magazine will have eight different covers on news stands; the 77-year-old Player graces one of them, a pair of golf clubs his lone accessory.

Why is Player posing? "My big dream now is to help people become healthy," he tells ESPN. " Obesity, as far as I'm concerned, is the greatest problem facing the planet at the moment."

There's not an ounce of fat on the guy, as you can see.

What's his exercise routine? "I used to do 1,000 sit-ups a day; now I'm up to 1,200. I do all different kinds of core exercises: lying on the medicine ball; holding a weight and rocking right to left; crunches with a 100-pound weight on my chest, sit-ups with my legs up."

The "core" - your abs, back muscles and the muscles around your pelvis are also key. And it's that "core" strength that has Player defying the odds at nearly 78.

"Eventually," he tells ESPN, "age gets the better of you, but it certainly hasn't gotten me yet. It will start sometime, but you can prolong it for a long time."

Discussion: Have You Ever Been to a Nude Beach?

The full interview (plus videos, pictures and more) will be in ESPN The Magazine, out Friday. In addition to Player, other pictured athletes include Olympic volleyball star Kerri Walsh Jennings, 34, "funny car" racer Courtney Force, 25, basketballer Kenneth Faried, 23 and quarterback Colin Kaepernick, 25. ESPN has so far released preview shots of about 20 naked athletes. Most are only about halfway to eligibility for AARP membership.

Not all of you in the AARP Facebook community were pleased to find Player pictured on our page: "Nasty, nasty - last thing I want to see when I look at my FaceBook page is a OLD MAN NAKED! YUCK."

But the majority seems to hold this view: "Good looking gentleman.... and that's just what he is! A NICE person! Ummmmm, great body, too...."

Out on the wider web, we liked this tweet:

Let us know what you think of Gary Player posing naked at 77 (and our giving you a glimpse of his toned body) in the comments below.

Photo: Peter Hapak for ESPN The Magazine

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Also of Interest

• Fight Osteoporosis With... The Push-Up
• Superfood Kale Fuels Good Health
• Join AARP: Savings, resources and news for your well-being

 

See the  AARP home page for deals, savings tips, trivia and more