LaLanne, 96, showed persistence in golf, too

Fitness advocate Jack LaLanne, who died Sunday at age 96, was known for such feats as the time he set a world record by doing 1,033 pushups in 23 minutes on television, or swimming handcuffed from Alcatraz to Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco.

*The above photo was taken for the February 1974 Golf Digest, when a then-59-year-old LaLanne demonstrated some exercises for golfers. In the story, LaLanne described his routine before a 5:30 a.m. tee time. "I got up at 3 a.m. instead of 4, so I could work out and still make it to the course on time." *

But LaLanne, from whom Gary Player learned a lot about staying fit for life, also took to golf in the second half of his life -- and got quite proficient at it.

According to a biography on the website of a speakers' bureau that represented LaLanne, he began playing golf when he was 50 and continued to enjoy the sport even after sustaining a serious injury to his left knee in a car crash. Told he would not play again, LaLanne defied that prediction.

"I started golfing again several years ago and shot my age four times when I was 73 and five times at 74," LaLanne said. "It just shows what the mind will do ... remember, if the mind can conceive, the body can achieve. If you have an injury or a weak spot, you can still work around it, and other parts of the body will adapt."

--* Bill Fields

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