There’s a great picture available on the Internet of two great golfers contemplating their next move during one of the rounds at the 1966 Masters. Both are wearing blue, leaning on their golf clubs and looking ahead into the horizon as hundreds of elegantly dressed fans watch, eagerly waiting for them to decide on their shots.
The golfers look intense, as if their life depended on the next shot, but that is not what would strike most people at first. In fact, what would initially draw fans’ attention to the picture is the fact that both have cigarettes on their lips, unmindful of the cameras or the viewing public at Augusta National.
Their demeanour could have been that of gun-slinging cowboys planning an ambush, but they were only sportsmen. Fifty years ago, you would imagine that golf was a sport characterised by exaggerated politeness and refined public behaviour, but while that was true to a large extent, these two epitomised the very opposite. For them, golf was almost a matter of life and death.
The two, of course, were Ben Hogan and Arnold Palmer, who passed away on Sunday at the age of 87. Palmer, Jack Niclaus and Gary Player were collectively known as the “Big Three” during the 50s and 60s, while Hogan was from the previous generation when he ruled along with Sam Snead and Byron Nelson, all born in 1912.
Palmer is credited with making golf more appealing to the public. With his dashing looks and working class background –his father was a greenkeeper before becoming a club pro in Pennsylvania – Palmer is considered the first golfing superstar of the television era when golf was beamed live into living rooms across America.
His all-out, carefree approach on the golf course combined with his looks earned him a loyal fan following known as Arnie’s Army.
A seven-time major winner, Palmer was in declining health for a few years, but he still made appearances at big tournaments and made it a point to interact with the younger lot and inspire them.
Palmer won only $3.6mn in prize money during a career that lasted more than five decades, but he made almost a billion dollars from endorsements, appearances and golf course design, second only behind Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods, according to Forbes.
Although Presidents and Hollywood stars queued up to play a round of golf with him, he is credited with taking the golf to the common man. An avid pilot and the author of several books, he was also a philanthropist, touching the lives of the less fortunate.
“I can spend the rest of my life being thankful that golf has given me the opportunities to make significant contributions throughout the world,” Palmer said during an interview in 2009.
Yesterday, golfers and presidents were paying their respects to the man from Latrobe, Pennsylvania.
“Here’s to The King, who was as extraordinary on the links as he was generous to others. Thanks for the memories, Arnold,” said President Obama. “Thanks Arnold for your friendship, counsel and a lot of laughs,” Tiger Woods added.
The ‘King of Golf’ is no more, but he left his subjects with priceless memories and a fulfilled life to draw much inspiration from.