When he spoke-out on the matter of drugs in golf at this year's British Open he was ridiculed by players and officials. Yet, just over two months later the powers-that-be in professional golf have come out and declared agreement on an in-principle anti-doping policy for professional golf globally. They had slept on the issue, or resisted it in some camps, until now. By their decision to move they have endorsed the view of his friends and admirers, including this writer, who have always held that Player is no dope. Standing at 5' 7", and never reaching eleven stone in weight, Player had to work hard for his success and his exercise regimes are legendary. He was reputed to do 200 press-ups at a session, on his finger-tips to add some interest, and with a suitcase of books and magazines on his shoulders to add some pain! He was small but all muscle and sinew.

Imagine the world he saw, then, as giants emerged from all sides to pound the golf ball vast distances. How could this be? What were they feeding on? Of course, in the absence of rules and laws nobody was doing anything illegal in the context of golf.

But, with the cash rewards spiralling out of control . . . and with them the urge to win at all costs . . . change had to come. Now a list of banned substances has been issued by the world's professional golfing bodies. The substances on the initial list include anabolic agents, hormones, agents with antiestrogenic activity, diuretics and other masking agents, stimulants, narcotics, cannabinoids and beta blockers. Time to sit back and see how this all plays out. Caps off, meanwhile, to the forward-thinker Gary Player.