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The Publisher's Page
An interview with Arnold Palmer, the world's most esteemed golfer
By Mark Pazdur, Publisher
Appreciating Life, Love and Golf
At age 77, Arnold Palmer's marriage, as well as his new Palmer Premier course-design program, are bringing a special glow to a one-of-a-kind American golfer.
Arnold Palmer |
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La Quinta, California: Not every American athlete can slip as gracefully into senior status as Arnold Palmer has managed. You think of ex-NFL football players whose aching knees and expanded waistlines have diminished their aura, and in some cases quickly, following their careers. And yet here is Palmer on a winter morning in the California desert, sitting down with me in his patio for a conversation, looking-and sounding-as magnetic as ever.
Is it our imagination at work here? Is Palmer's glow resistant to the twilight that creeps into all of our lives? Or is it simply that America refuses to let go of a man and personality who helped define golf and its importance to the modern era?
You can make too much of one person, or one sport. But then I thought of former President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who also happened to be architect of the D-Day invasion when he was supreme allied commander during World War II.
Eisenhower had been taken by Palmer and struck up a friendship. He even dropped by Latrobe to surprise Palmer on his 37th birthday in 1966 when he and his wife, Mamie, were on their way home to Gettysburg. Palmer was humbled by the relationship with a man who significantly affected life in this society and in the world, at large, something Palmer proved the weekend Eisenhower told Arnie to call him "Ike."
"Oh, Mr. President," Palmer said with an embarrassed laugh, much as any of us would have responded 41 years ago. "I can't do that."
The history of Arnold Palmer-the way in which it has spanned so many decades-was on my mind ahead of last winter's interview with Arnold and his wife, Kit.
It did not hurt perceptions that a newly married couple (two years) was, as anticipated, so hospitable. Kit offered to make coffee as we sat down for some conversation about Arnie's life in 2007.
The interview request was self-explanatory. It was slightly more than 50 years ago that America began to sense there was something remarkable-and remarkably down-to-earth-about a handsome man and a superb golfer whom television was bringing to life. The golfing world was feeling a connection.
Everyone liked his style, his looks, even his voice. They were drawn by the way he carried himself on a golf course and handled himself during post-round interviews. Particularly, they liked his fearlessness. They liked the gallantry evident in the way Palmer would go on a birdie binge to win a major championship, as he did so often at the Masters, and as he did so famously to win the 1960 U.S. Open at Cherry Hills.
He was a sports star made for America in the post-war 1950s and during the John F. Kennedy-led early '60s when adventure and romance and charisma defined so much of our culture.
He was a man's man, as well, which Eisenhower seemed to validate as he came to appreciate the young star from Latrobe, Pennsylvania, who was turning Eisenhower's favorite game-golf-into an illustrious sport for the masses. Palmer and television had converged to make golf's appeal soar.
America has never quite been able to shake its bond with Arnold Palmer. Even though his seven major championships-four Masters, two British Opens, and one U.S. Open-came during a relatively brief six-year span from 1958-64, Palmer's run was brilliant and compelling. He was golf's unquestioned king. "The King" remains his unofficial title even if Palmer dislikes it-at a time when golf and America were uniting in a romance that would later lead to similar embraces for Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods.
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Former President Dwight D.
Eisenhower and Arnold Palmer |
Growing Up In Latrobe
The way it all began probably endeared Palmer to America's golf fans. He, after all, was not some rich kid born to money and privilege, which was a common pre-Palmer perception of golf and golfers. Arnold Palmer was a Pennsylvania lad who worked his tail off at Latrobe Country Club, where his dad, Milfred-known as "Deacon"-was golf professional as well as course superintendent.
He mowed greens and fairways. He shoveled topsoil. He shagged golf balls as his father gave lessons for the, then, going rate of 10 cents per half hour.
The mowing was tough stuff. There were no power-driven or self-propelled mowers at the time. Manicured greens were the result of muscle and sweat. Arnold's wage was the less-than-kingly sum of 25 cents an hour.
"My father was a pretty tough taskmaster, so he made sure I did whatever I did right, particularly when I was a kid," Palmer recalled in that movie-theater voice of his. "Pushing a real mower across a green, which I did every morning for a lot of years, was an effort and it was hard work.
"My father always accused me of hanging on the handle. Well, what that simply means is, when you hang on the handle, the mower comes off the ground, and it runs pretty easy. But if you keep it down and keep it cutting the way you're supposed to, it's pretty hard to push."
Arnold's consolation prize for all the toil was having a place to work on his passion-hitting a golf ball. He would hit any time he wasn't obliged to work. The only hang-up there was that Deacon and Arnold could have their differences of opinion on timing.
Executive Golfer's publisher, Mark Pazdur, pays a visit to
Arnold Palmer at his home in La Quinta, California |
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"I would go to the pro shop and tend the shop. Then, when no one was looking, I'd sneak out and hit golf balls," Palmer remembers. "I got caught every once in a while, and then the wrath would fall on me, which wasn't much fun." The wrath, of course, was drawing Deacon's ire. And it wasn't only on the issue of hitting versus working that the two had their moments.
Arnold was an athlete who had a chance to be good, very good, at golf, something his father clearly understood. Deacon would sometimes spot his son hitting away on the range and offer a brief tip as he passed by. His father was a teacher, in all respects, something Arnold learned the hard way as his dad drove him home one day following a junior tournament.
Arnold's temper had been much like the typical adolescent boy's temper: not always restrained. He had thrown a club that day and his father had seen it happen. Arnold noticed as quickly as he got into the car that his driver was simmering. "If you ever throw a club again," Deacon said to his son, "I'll take them away from you. This game is for gentlemen, and gentlemen learn to control themselves."
Arnold never forgot a moment that helped craft his golfing demeanor. It is safe to say the lesson handed down by his father that day is one of the reasons Arnold Palmer became Arnold Palmer. Galleries came to appreciate not only the way he won a tournament, but they were charmed by the way Palmer comported himself-on and off the course.
A father's influence there can be incalculable. So, too, can be a significant loss, which Palmer came to know his senior year at Wake Forest when he was blind sided by a tragedy that redirected his life.
Dealing With Devastation
His best friend and golf teammate at Wake Forest was Bud Worsham, brother of Tour golfer Lew Worsham. Arnie and Bud roomed together, double-dated together, lived their lives together.
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Arnold
Palmer with his
father Milfred
(Deacon) Palmer in
the pro shop bag
room at Latrobe
Country Club |
Arnold
Palmer with his best
friend and golf teammate
at Wake Forest,
Bud Worsham |
On the weekend of Wake Forest's homecoming in October of 1950, Worsham and another classmate, Gene Scheer, pressed Arnold to join them for a Saturday night homecoming dance in Durham, North Carolina. Palmer had been selling programs that day at the football game and was tired.
Arnold suggested that they hit a movie instead.
No go. Worsham and Scheer were off to Durham. Arnold headed for an early bedtime.
The next morning, Palmer woke up and noticed Worsham's bed hadn't been slept in. This wasn't like Bud. He would have told his roommate that he wasn't coming home. He would at least have called with some kind of update. Palmer was getting more concerned by the minute. Later, his golf coach, Johnny Johnson, came by the dorm to break the news that hit him like a freight train: Worsham and Scheer had been killed that night in an auto accident. The funeral director needed Arnold to identify the bodies.
"The worst thing I've ever seen," Palmer has said, so many painful times, in the years since.
Shattered by a loss so personal, so shockingly cruel, Palmer fought to complete the semester at Wake Forest, but he could not go back. He needed to be in a different place. He joined the Coast Guard in January of 1951 for a three-year stint that gave way to discharge in 1954, returned briefly to Wake Forest, worked as a paint salesman in Cleveland, and then the turning point-the U.S. Amateur victory. Three months later he turned professional.
Arnold
Palmer holds the
U.S. Amateur trophy
after his win in 1954
at the Country Club
of Detroit |
|
"November 18, 1954," said Palmer, and one can appreciate why he is so specific here, "at two in the afternoon."
A month later, he was on the Tour and cashed his first tournament paycheck: $750, his share of the purse at the McNaughton Pro-Am in Miami. Palmer was about to elope with his girlfriend, Winifred Walzer, who became Arnold Palmer's wife on December 20, 1954. The woman everyone knew as "Winnie" during their 45 years of marriage died in November of 1999 of abdominal cancer. The Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women and Babies in Orlando, Florida, remains part of her legacy and a prime beneficiary of proceeds that flow annually from Arnold's personal golf tournament, The Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by MasterCard, at Bay Hill Club & Lodge.
The Winnie Palmer Hospital is part of a larger complex, The Arnold Palmer Medical Center, which has become an obvious fixture in the scope of Palmer's charitable work.
It has been a rich and busy life for a man, now 77, who has come to appreciate so much about longevity. He has experienced two beautiful marriages, two lovely daughters, seven grandchildren, and a business career that refuses to slow down.
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| (Left) Arnold Palmer, with First Lady Laura Bush, President George W. Bush, and his wife Kit, receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the White House. (Right) Palmer with Presidents George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and the late Gerald Ford. |
Palmer Premier Evolves
Palmer's latest venture is Palmer Premier, a new division to the recently renamed Arnold Palmer Design Company, with a distinction of taking the design business a step further.
The boss enjoys talking about his company's latest incarnation. "It's a very special type of golf course architecture," said Palmer, very much enjoying this business moment in the California desert. "It's a course-design company where we control the entire design situation-from the selection of land, to the design of the golf course, to maintenance, to the clubhouse, to the entire facility."
During the 35 years that Palmer Course Design Company flourished, Arnold's right-hand man was Ed Seay, who recently retired. The man whose name spurred more than a generation of golf-course developments is going to be at the helm of his latest venture.
"I'm going to be very involved," said Palmer, who decided last year that he would no longer compete in tournaments, save for the occasional charity appearance. "So, what I'll be doing is working in the design company very heartily and spending a lot of time in the design group." The concept, he explains, behind Palmer Premier is simple and effective. Developers who want to build a golf course can benefit from a turnkey operation. They avoid the risks, the gambles, the uncertainties that have undone so many otherwise lofty golf-course projects.
"We're trying to create something that takes the worry away from the developer and the builder," said Palmer. "We'll do the entire job from the planning stages. The entire job will be done under our auspices. And when it's finished, we'll help them maintain the standard we have set for a Premier golf course."
A man whose life has revolved to such an ongoing extent around golf and golf business would have been expected to spend much of that life in the air, traveling and commuting. Palmer, decades ago, took his high-altitude life to another level.
He became a pilot.
He began flying in the mid-1950s, at the point his Tour career took off and he found himself away from home and his family for too many days and nights. Piloting his own plane reduced his travel and maximized his home life.
There was only one problem.
"I was not a good flyer," Palmer says today, his words as straight as a fairway tee shot. "I was, to some degree, frightened of flying. So, when I did fly, I was apprehensive." His nerves became calmer as he became more experienced. "The more I learned about flying and the more I learned about conditions in flying," he said, "the less apprehensive I was."
Aircraft technology, of course, improved in step with his skills. Palmer today pilots a Cessna Citation X, the fastest private jet in the world. It carries 11 people and travels at slightly less than the speed of sound.
The Tradition Golf Club in
La Quinta, California |
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Stretching: The Truth
Sometimes you wonder if Arnold Palmer-on the ground-lives at roughly the same speed. He accomplishes much in a day or in a week. His prime ally there, he will tell you, is good health, which he has enjoyed even after dealing with the challenge of prostate cancer a decade ago.
Palmer has been appearing on the Golf Channel (he was a fundamental backer of golf's breakthrough into cable television) in concert with fitness expert Roger Fredericks to promote better physical conditioning for golfers.
Playing better golf is not as important as the overall need for taking care of oneself, Palmer acknowledges. But the game can be an impetus for a healthier body and a better life.
"One of the reasons that Tiger Woods is so good," said Palmer, "is that in addition to being a good player and having a lot of savvy for the game of golf, he is very physically fit. Part of his happy life is the enjoyment he takes from being physically fit. I think a lot of us relax and, from time to time, back off the necessary physical fitness regimen we should be following."
Palmer emphasizes here the need for golfers as they get older to stretch. He is a stickler for stretching. Injuries are reduced and performance is maximized when golfers give their muscles a chance to extend and to operate in optimum fashion. His time spent stretching each day is generally accompanied by a stint on the treadmill. It is the way a man 77 can expect to play golf with something approaching peak efficiency. It is the way a golfer of any age, in Palmer's view, can play better golf and live a better life.
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Arnold and his caddie
cross the bridge over
Rae’s Creek to the 12th
green at Augusta National
in his final Masters in 2004 |
Merry And Married
It is an exercise that married couples can adopt, as well. Arnold and Kit Palmer understand the greatest gift a marriage can enjoy is quality of life and health. They have known each other for decades, ever since meeting at Pebble Beach when Kit's father-in-law was president and CEO of Del Monte Corp., which is now Pebble Beach Corp. Kit's father-in-law wanted Arnold to design a golf course at Pebble Beach. The golf course, named Spanish Bay, ultimately became a Tom Watson design project, but Kit and Arnold remained acquaintances who became friends after Winnie died.
They dated for several years before marrying in 2004.
Kit has played golf "on and off" throughout the years, although golf is hardly central to their married lives. On an evening or afternoon when they're at home and relaxing, the choice often is to watch sports together.
"Everything," said Kit. "Football, baseball, golf, tennis-just about anything. If it's an afternoon, we'll just sort of hang out. Maybe play a game of dominoes, which, with us, is always very competitive. Often, there's something else going on, or people stop by, but we just enjoy watching baseball games. We love to watch the [Pittsburgh] Pirates play," continued Kit.
Arnold might also suggest a personal choice for dinner that night. If he must admit to a favorite food, it is beef stew. There is something about the texture and taste created by the melding of beef, gravy, and vegetables that he finds irresistible. It is the kind of comfort food a man from Pennsylvania can particularly appreciate.
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(Left) Palmer gives double thumbs-up acknowledging applause at a baseball game. (Above)
Arnold and Kit pose after their wedding at Turtle Bay in Hawaii in 2005, with his pilot, Pete Luster and wife, Mary, (at left) and personal staffer/caddie Cori Britt and wife, Kristin (right). |
It is one more thing to look forward to on a given day or evening when life is so wonderfully in balance for him and for Kit. They have great relationships with each other's children and grandchildren and appreciate the glow that comes to a home when family is celebrated.
Arnold and his Cessna Citation X. |
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Palmer can feel especially good these days, during this chapter of his life. He's played in 50 Masters. He had a terrific rivalry with Jack Nicklaus, a genuine friend whom Palmer always believed brought about the best in him, whether they were competing in a tournament, or in golf course design.
Now, his days, and how they are spent, are truly his call. It might be a day that requires full focus at Arnold Palmer Design Company. His many charities will receive time and attention, for sure. But, always, without fail, there is going to be time for Kit and for life together, celebrating a love that has brought even greater luster to one of America's truly extraordinary men.
Sure, there were a few jitters when I arrived at the Palmers and rang the doorbell. But there were two new friends when I left.
To contact Mark Pazdur, publisher, you may email him at: mark@executivegolfermagazine.com.
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