Friday, September 30, 2016

A Nod to One of the Great Ones: Arnold Palmer R.I.P.

"Golf is deceptively simple and endlessly complicated." ~Arnold Palmer  


This past weekend we lost one of the great ones. Arnold Palmer was a gentleman and a golfer. I spent the week trying to determine how to acknowledge his passing in a blog post, and decided to simply share a few Arnold Palmer quotes.

When Palmer was in his prime (1958-1964) he won seven major titles including four Masters, one U.S. Open and two British Opens. For the duration of his career he had a following known as "Arnie's Army" and with 62 PGA Tour victories was one of the winningest pro golfers of all time. (He actually won 93 tournaments worldwide.) But it was his probably his modesty and charisma that made him so beloved.

My dad was a big Arnold Palmer fan, following him up close at a few tournaments as part of his "Army." Anecdotally, it's interesting to note that before Palmer turned pro in 1954 he was selling paint in Cleveland, Ohio. My dad at that time was a chemist for a paint company in Cleveland.

My brother Ron and his wife joined Dad to see Palmer play on the Senior Tour once when they were near Allentown, a memorable occasion. It's probably comparable to saying you saw Mickey Mantle in baseball, or Jimmy Brown in football.

Here's a handful of Arnold Palmer quotes to mark the occasion. Palmer was 87 when he left us last Sunday evening.

"What other people may find in poetry, I find in the flight of a good drive.”

“Concentration comes out of a combination of confidence and hunger."

"Success in this game depends less on strength of body than strength of mind and character."

"The more I practice, the luckier I get."

"You must play boldly to win."

“Putting is a fascinating, aggravating, wonderful, terrible and almost incomprehensible part of the game of golf.”

“When I was in college, I thought about becoming an attorney. But I wasn't smart enough; I hate being cooped up indoors; and I'm too nice a guy.”

About Palmer another of the great ones who was his peer and arch-rival Jack Nicklaus once said, "Arnold transcended the game of golf. He was more than a golfer or even great golfer. He was an icon. He was a legend. Arnold was someone who was a pioneer in his sport. He took the game from one level to a higher level, virtually by himself."


Check out this New York Times slide show to learn more about this inspiring golfer.

Shortly after Palmer's ashes were spread at his Latrobe, PA country club, a beautiful rainbow appeared.

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