To say that Ernie Els is a golf icon is to state the obvious. From the moment he burst onto the international scene by winning the 1994 U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club to the present day, the charismatic South African player has remained ever-present at the top of tournament rankings around the world.
Not only has he built a reputation for having one of the smoothest swings, winning four majors, a record seven World Matchplay titles and 70 international victories, Els has also created his own empire, becoming a major player in both wine and golf course design ventures.
We had the opportunity to speak with The Big Easy (known by this nickname because of his corpulence -he is 1.91 meters tall- and the smoothness of his swing) during the presentation of his first golf creation in Southeast Asia: The Els Club Teluk Datai, located in the paradisiacal island of Langkawi, in Malaysia. Relaxed as usual, Ernie was in high spirits as he hosted more than 200 dignitaries and media from around the world, who played nine holes in the company of the Queen of Malaysia, Raja Permaisuri Agong Tuanku Hajjah Haminah.
-Sitting here in what can only be described as a paradise, you should feel immensely proud of the magnificent design you have created at The Els Club Teluk Datai….
-This is undoubtedly the most spectacular golf course landscape I have ever had the pleasure of working on, and I am very excited at the prospect of inviting early visitors to come and enjoy what has already been voted the ‘Best Golf Course’ in the region at the 2014 Asia Pacific Property Awards.
The course is stunning and I am very happy with what we have achieved. I tried to make the most of this unique location, situated between the ancient rainforest and the Andaman Sea, and I think we succeeded.
It was an honor to hit the opening shot alongside the Queen and I would like to personally thank all the attendees for their support in what we are sure will become one of the most cherished golf designs in the world.
-You have been a big favorite with the public in Asia for many years. Can you tell us why you chose Malaysia for your third Els Club project?
-Malaysia is truly a hotbed for golf and tourism. When I think of the world’s most exotic destinations, it’s hard to pass up this country that is blessed with breathtaking island paradises like Langkawi. Look around: we have the jungle, we have the ocean, mind-blowing beaches and of course fantastic hotels like the Datai Langkawi, where we are lucky enough to be staying this week. It’s just a wonderful place. I talk to the tourists who come here – some of them for over twenty years – and they love what we’ve done with the golf course, which really is now world-class, and I think The Els Club Teluk Datai will serve to attract a lot of enthusiastic golf tourists to Malaysia. They are growing the sport of golf in Malaysia. Our design company is currently working in the south of the country, in Costa Desaru, with a much larger project opening in 2016.
-The field is quite unique in that it has no bunker. Can you tell us why this is so and what challenges did this location next to a million-year-old forest present to you?
-We’ve worked on lava rock in Mauritius, on coral reefs in the Bahamas, in the hills in South Africa, but never in a rainforest, so this was a first for the whole team. Obviously, the first thing we had to take into account was the amount of rain we have here in Langkawi. Looking at the course that was here beforehand and just walking around during the first visit we made to this place with the guys from Troon Golf, we saw a lot of standing water everywhere. So the first thing we had to do was to find some sort of drainage system. To do that, we literally opened up the creek to the river almost off the mountain, where the water comes through the golf course. It also occurred to us that first afternoon, when a storm hit and flooded the existing course, that it wasn’t practical to have to drain bunkers every time it rained. It is the first course we have built without a single bunker. It’s a comfortable course and I don’t think you’ll miss going out of bunkers.
-We wanted to ask you a few questions about your career, starting from your beginnings. You played rugby, cricket and a bit of tennis before focusing entirely on golf. What ultimately made you choose clubs?
-For some reason, I just loved golf more than all the other sports. In rugby you get injured, and I don’t like getting hurt. I played cricket at school. I stopped playing rugby at 16 because my father told me not to play anymore. I still play tennis, my daughter plays and I’ve started again. I’m a shadow of my former self, but I still like to play. In South Africa we have a great climate, so you could play any sport at any time of the year, so I was very lucky.
-You struggled for a while before entering the PGA Tour. What were the challenges for young Ernie at that time?
-I see the young guys who are now trying to stay on the PGA Tour: the competition is getting stronger and stronger from all over the world, and there are some great players. I was lucky enough to succeed on the South African Tour and I tried a little bit on the European Tour in its early days, but for some reason I stayed in America. Then I got a card to play in Europe and started making some appearances there. Then I had some very good performances in South Africa. I won the South African Open and because of that I was invited to play some tournaments in the U.S., and then I won the U.S. Open in 1994. So a lot of good things happened to me at a young age and I was very lucky.
-You once described 1992 as the year that changed your life, and indeed it did change things for you. What were your accomplishments that year?
-That year I won the South African Open, and even today that tournament is still useful to play in events around the world, such as the Open Championship. I also won the South African PGA and the Masters, and I was the second South African to do so after Gary Player. So it was a very good year for me in South Africa, which gave me a European Tour card and then I stayed on the European Tour by finishing fifth in the British Open the following year, so it all happened very quickly, in about a two-year period starting with my win in the South African Open.
-He has four majors and 70 wins worldwide to his credit. A favorite?
-Every time you lift a trophy, it is a wonderful and memorable moment. The joy is indescribable, but it’s very difficult to choose one of the big ones. When I was young I was very conceited and thought I was going to win them all. I thought the Masters was going to be the first and then the British Open, and then the US Open and the PGA Championship. Well, I haven’t won the Masters so far and I haven’t won the PGA either, so I’m going to try to win the Masters before I retire. To do that would be my greatest professional achievement.
-You have played all over the world, do you have a favorite course or perhaps a course where you are a crowd favorite?
-It was definitely Wentworth, especially when we played the World Match Play Championship there. I won a record seven times, and my kids were born there. We still have the house, but we live in Florida more now. Wentworth is one of my favorite places and I really like the course. However, the course I like the most at the moment is in Langkawi, although you knew I was going to say that!
-Who would you say is your toughest competitor?
-The game itself. Over the years I’ve had my ups and downs. In the good times, it was definitely Tiger Woods; he was by far the best. It was tough for me because I thought I could be the best player in the world and I was for a short period number one in the world, but Tiger was really the man to beat. He was a very tough opponent. Today it’s the game and the young guys, you know Rickie [Fowler], Adam Scott, Jordan Speith, and there’s a lot of other really good players, and I really enjoy their company. But I’m at a different stage in my career. I notice the wins aren’t coming as often as they used to, but I enjoy playing.
-You just mentioned Tiger. What can you tell us about the Big Five era. Did you have a game plan in tournaments knowing that Tiger, Retief Goosen, Vijay Singh and Phil Mickelson were also going with their best weapons?
-That was a great time; we were in the prime of our careers. We still play sporadically like we used to back in the day but, you know, I’m 45, Tiger’s almost 40 and Retief is the same age as me, but that was a golden era for us. We won a lot of tournaments around the world; I won, just in that five-year period, over 27 around the world. But Tiger was the dominant figure. He won most of the majors and that’s how you become the best player. I’ve won only four, Phil five, Retief two and Vijay three, and then there’s Tiger with fourteen, which shows his superiority. He was a force to be reckoned with.
You once said you had a three-year plan to try to dethrone Tiger and that you would be the one to carry it out. What happened?
-I felt really good after a win at the South African Open, I think in 2006. I had a really bad knee injury in 2005 and that took me off my path and I really wanted to commit to the sport. I don’t normally speak in such a grandiose way or make bold statements like that, but in South Africa I felt I really needed a goal and a plan, so I did that I made that plan public. It was maybe something I might have regretted, but I wanted to have a goal.
-What still motivates you, the competition?
-Yes, I love to compete, I love to do something if it’s a competition, whether it’s ping pong or tennis against my daughter or anybody, even pool, anything. It’s all about competing. I’ve been competing since I was ten years old in a lot of sports – it’s in my blood. But nowadays I compete for myself, I still want to try to win one or two more majors before I give up, so that still motivates me and means I’m capable of playing at a high level.
-You’ve had many great moments in your career, but what would you say has been the highlight of your three decades in the sport?
-A lot has happened in golf. Obviously the wins have been great. The majors are definitely the highlights of my career. I’ve won five South African Opens, which is really great, the Matchplays….. I can’t really pick one tournament, but in all that time the best thing is really the friends I’ve made, and now course design is a real passion for me and I want it to go further. Here in Langkawi we are completing another phase in building the Els Club brand around the world, and it’s great fun to be a part of it. This week I met the Queen of Malaysia and played golf with her, which is amazing for a guy from South Africa.
-You’ve mentioned a couple of times that you’d like to own a bar or restaurant in the Caribbean when you retire. Do you still have that plan?
-That again? You are revealing good statements. I said that in the early 1990s, just before the U.S. Open. Reporters asked me what I would do if I won that tournament, and I said, “I’d take the money, go to the Caribbean and open a bar.” That was twenty-one years ago, and I’m still trying to win more tournaments and I’m also building golf courses all over the world, so I guess the bar is going to have to wait.
Leave a Reply