Home away from home

Deepa Bharath

The Toshiba Senior Classic is truly an international golf tournament,

featuring 23 players from eight different countries.

Most of these golfers travel year-round from one country to

another constantly jumping wavelengths and getting in tune with a

different culture, language and cuisine. At this year’s tournament,

players come from Argentina, Japan, New Zealand, Spain, Canada,

Ireland, Australia and South Africa.

For the most part, these players enjoy the diversity travel offers

and often learn from it. At least for Gary Player of South Africa and

Vicente Fernandez of Argentina -- both regulars at Toshiba -- the

world is their classroom.

Fernandez has traveled all over the world for the last 27 years,

while Player says he has traveled about 14 million miles over a

50-year career.

Both have had their share of challenges. For Fernandez, who speaks

Spanish, the trouble has been the language barrier.

“In the beginning, all I could do was order meals and get around,”

he said. “Communication was really tough. But I took classes, and the

more I traveled, the more I learned the language.”

Fernandez not only learned English. He also picked up Portuguese

and Italian. He can even understand French.

Food has sometimes been an issue for Fernandez.

“When I came [to the United States], I used to find it difficult

to eat healthy,” he said. “I gained weight and was feeling

uncomfortable. But then, after a few times, I learned to include

foods like fish and pasta and cut out the high cholesterol foods.”

For Player, language has never been a problem. He speaks English,

Japanese, Zulu and fluent Dutch. Player also designs golf courses

worldwide.

“Even otherwise, I have never had a problem communicating,” Player

said. “You make yourself understood.”

The biggest pleasure and challenge for him has always been

traveling with his family. When he started in the early 1950s, a

flight from South Africa to the United States was 40 hours long with

six stops. He and his wife traveled with their six children and about

30 pieces of baggage.

“Those are things that I look back and wonder, ‘How did we do

it?’” he said with a laugh.

But now travel has become way easier, Player added. The journey is

now a convenient 16-hour nonstop flight, he said.

“Also, those days, we had to catch a cab from the airport or get a

ride from another player,” he said. “These days, they have courtesy

cars, wonderful food, phones -- it’s all very well organized.”

Food has not been an issue for him.

“I’m fortunate,” Player said. “I can eat spicy Indian food one day

and American food the next day and be OK with it.”

Both players agreed that coming to Newport Beach has been a

pleasure.

“I love any place close to the beach, the mountains or the lakes,”

Fernandez said. “Any place with natural beauty.”

Player said California reminds him of South Africa.

“Both have beaches, wildlife sanctuaries and, best of all, perfect

weather,” he said.