Arnold Palmer single-handedly took golf out of country clubs and into the mainstream. Quite simply, he made golf cool.
Football fans—Notre Dame and San Francisco 49ers fans in particular—remember Joe Montana as “Joe Cool.” Montana won a national title at Notre Dame and four Super Bowls with the 49ers, along with a number of league and Super Bowl MVP awards.
The guy could play the game’s most demanding position and he made it look easy. But what made him Joe Cool was his nonchalance and air of confidence. Consistently calm under pressure, Montana is arguably the No. 1 clutch quarterback of all time. Joe Cool.
Of course, anyone familiar with the Joe Cool moniker will tell you that Charles Schultz’s Snoopy was the original Joe Cool. I beg to differ.
Arnold Palmer was Joe Cool long before Snoopy, and all of us in the golf and club industry owe him a debt of gratitude for jump-starting the rise in golf’s popularity that led to the international business it is today.
Arnie was the first sports superstar of the television age. He was an aggressive, confident risk taker and played to win his way, which made him immensely likeable. His career as a golf pro began in 1955 and spanned six decades. Aside from his 62 PGA Tour titles, Palmer changed the perception of the sport as an elite, upper-class game—all of a sudden, golf was a game for the middle and working class, too.
Palmer single-handedly took golf out of country clubs and into the mainstream. Quite simply, he made golf cool. As Jack Nicklaus said, Arnold transcended the game of golf. He was an icon and a legend.
Arnold built his Bay Hill Club & Lodge in the early 1960s and his commitment to Orlando, Fla., helped put the city on the map, long before Disney World arrived on the scene. I had the pleasure in the 1980s to visit Bay Hill a number of times, often with customers as guests. It was a big deal to be at Arnie’s home course and club, and more often than not, Arnie was there.
Naturally, he was a magnet and always approachable if we caught up with him in the men’s grill to meet and greet. People just wanted to hang out with Arnie and he rarely disappointed with his time, his smile, and his willingness to shoot the bull with the guys.
The Bay Hill Invitational became a must-play event on the PGA Tour and all of the top players were in the field, every year. Respect for Arnold was certainly part of it, and the warmth and admiration for the man was evident from players of all eras. More to the point, his popularity was enduring.
I suppose it was fitting that the 2016 Ryder Cup at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn., was played less than a week after Arnold passed away—and that the U.S. Team won the Cup for the first time since 2008 at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky., making for a bit of feng shui in Minnesota. Very cool.
The heavenly golf world is a better place with Arnold Palmer in it, just like it was when he was here with us.
Thanks, Arnie.
Quote of the Month
“I never quit trying. I never felt that I didn’t have a chance to win.”
—Arnold Palmer
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