Arnold Palmer Legacy by Anand Datla

Arnie had given golf a new life, helping vast sections of people to embrace the game through the charm of his disarming smile and brilliant aggression

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Arnold Palmer Interview

 

More than 50 years after he last won a PGA Tour event, the tireless Arnold Palmer, remains one of the most influential figures in the game of golf. As the genial patriarch of golf celebrates his 85th birthday, it is a time to reminisce the lasting legacy of one of the most influential golfers to have ever walked the greens.

 

Harry Vardon, widely regarded the father of modern golf gave the game a template that has barely changed in over a century. But despite the technique of Vardon and the prolific ways of the great players that followed – Ben Hogan, Bobby Jones and Byron Nelson – golf remained a largely elite endeavour that lacked an appeal for the masses.

 

The advent of television coincided with the emergence of Palmer and it was a concoction that proved irresistible to people. Palmer’s rugged charm and an aggressive style enabled him to democratise golf like never before. Starting in the early 50s, Palmer drew large and new audiences to an otherwise sedate game.

 

When a small collection of army men arrived at the Masters in 1958, holding up hand written placards, little did they realise that they were creating Arnie’s Army. It would grow into a huge collection of enthusiasts that came from vastly different strata of society, stretching the popularity of the game far and wide.

 

After many years of remaining a largely European event, Palmer’s decision to play The Open Championships in 1960 revitalised the oldest tournament in golf and gave it a fresh lease of life. Palmer’s decision to play the event had an epochal impact and the tournament has gone from strength to strength since then.

 

Arnie had given golf a new life, helping vast sections of people to embrace the game through the charm of his disarming smile and brilliant aggression. He paved new avenues for the game, leaving it in the hands of the two great rivals – Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus – to take it to the next level.

 

Despite laying down his clubs, Palmer’s influence never waned. The great man laid courses, sold merchandise and continued to help the game gain popularity long into the dusk of his career. In that sense he was pied piper, followed by entranced masses walking with him where he went.

 

So much so that his joining the Champions Tour in 1980 legitimised it into a full blown tour that thrives even today. As the grand old man enjoys his retirement at his various homes in the States, golf and its fans can only bow in reverence to the man whose legacy shaped its destiny.

 

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