Arnold Palmer remembered for bringing golf to the world

Arnold Palmer’s father once told him something the golf legend never forgot: He, the winner of golf’s top tournaments, and his fans, the ordinary people in the galleries, were one and the same.

The son of a groundskeeper who became “King” of golf was known for treating his adoring fans, known as “Arnie’s Army,” with the same respect and generosity he gave his game. The fans loved him in return—loved the drama and the humanity he brought to what used to be an elite, country club sport.

When Palmer died Sunday at age 87, he left behind more than shelves of trophies and a multi-million dollar brand name. He bequeathed the world a different version of golf.

“If it wasn’t for Arnold, golf wouldn’t be as popular as it is now,” Tiger Woods said. “If it wasn’t for him and his excitement, his flair, the way he played, golf probably would not have had that type of excitement. … And that’s why he’s the king.”

Palmer was born, appropriately, near a golf course in Latrobe, Pa. His father, Deacon, who still walked with a limp from childhood polio, worked in a steel mill, as a laborer, and then as groundskeeper for the Latrobe Country Club.

Deacon Palmer gave his son a golf club when he was just 3 years old and began teaching him to play. Palmer played on Latrobe’s nine-hole course growing up, winning at least eight junior championships. When he left home, he played college golf at Wake Forest. After the death of a close friend, Palmer dropped out of school and spent three years in the Coast Guard and then worked as a salesman. Still, he played, destroying other amateurs.

Palmer didn’t turn professional until after he met his first wife, Winnie, in 1954. He proposed three days after their first date and she said yes. Her family didn’t like Palmer and refused to come to the wedding. They would stay married until her death in 1999 at age 65. He remarried in 2005 to Kathleen “Kit” Gawthorp.

Pamler won the Canadian Open during his rookie year on tour in 1955—the first of 62 professional titles. He won the Masters four times (1958, 1960, 1962, 1964), the Open Championship twice (1961, 1962), and the U.S. Open once (1961). His last PGA Tour victory came in 1973 at the Bob Hope Desert Classic.

Palmer played golf with President Dwight Eisenhower, had millions to his name, and beat the best in one of the world’s most demanding sports, but he treated everyone like an old friend. He would look a fan in the eyes, smile, wink, and sign his autograph legibly.

“Hell, I know most of them by name,” he once said of his fans.

When Golf Digest’s Tom Callahan described Palmer’s rivalry with Jack Nicklaus, he wrote, “It’s as though God said to Nicklaus, ‘You will have skills like no other,’ then whispered to Palmer, ‘But they will love you more.’”

They did.

Even after Palmer retired from playing professional golf, fans continued to swarm courses whenever he made guest appearances. Nearly 40 years after his last win, he was still one of the sport’s top earners thanks to endorsements and his business acumen.

Perhaps it had something to do with his humility, the way he brushed off his fame, just like he brushed off the nickname “The King.” Perhaps it had something to do with his simple love for the game.

“I’m not interested in being a hero,” Palmer once said. “I just want to play some golf.”