Hearing reports that Arnold Palmer has passed away
The last time I saw him on TV back in the spring he didn't look well. RIP Arnie.
Arnie was great for the game of golf and his fans and it is a shame he has passed. He made the game popular. No doubt about it. This may be poor timing, but for those of you that think he was a saint, he wasn't. Much like many of today's sports greats, Arnie was very much a ladies man. Jack N. on the other hand was more of a family man. It should not distract from what he did for the game of golf or the love he had for his fans, it's just a part of who he was.
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It was a different time, for sure. That was back when the beat reporters for the local newspapers had unfettered access to the pros back in those days. They didn't have to call an agent to talk to his player, he just simply approached him after the tournament, and the player obliged.
It was a time when the sports writers were just as much a part of the weekly tour grind as the players themselves were... most were fairly close to the players, some were even considered friends. As a result - there was a degree of respect that was extended, from both the players and the reporters. The sports writers didn't care about what was going on outside the ropes, because just about every last player had their demons. Maybe it was alcohol... maybe it was drugs... maybe it was philandering. But the writers respected their private lives, and never once thought about a sensational story beyond the ropes that might compromise their working relationships with the people they covered.
Arnie, I'm sure, took advantage of his situation in life, as did a lot of other players back in his days. Stories have surfaced over the years (oddly enough - from sources other than those writers who were covering the sport). It's just a reminder that however iconic these guys were with regard to their status within the sport - they were human.
Social Media today has completely changed things, and as a result we the fans rarely get more than a sniff of who these current guys really are outside of golf. Not that I blame them... I don't want my personal life plastered all over the internet no more than the next guy.
It was just a different time. And it goes without saying that despite his lifestyle outside of golf, however liberal it might've been, it doesn't in any way, shape or form change the positive impact he had on the game.
Arnie was golf. Arnie still is golf.
Long live the King.
Much like when my boyhood hero JFK was in office. It would have been unheard of to trash the President's name and reputation. And of course if you did, you would loose all access to him and be out of a job. The best line I saw written today was ... Tiger Woods was like Ward Cleaver compared to Arnie.
It's been a tough year for sports icons. Pat Summit @ Tennessee women's basketball, Ali in boxing, and Arnie with golf.
Then with the tragic, unexpected death of Jose Fernandez... a promising young MLB player for the Marlins.
Don't take each day you're given for granted. Make the best of it, make somebody smile, do something kind for someone that you may or may not know. You only get so many days in this life to leave a lasting imprint.
One of my golf buddies got to play with Arnold Palmer in a corporate event. Said he was just like you see on TV, very friending and engaging. In contrast he said Billy Casper was just the opposite (not friending or engaging) and kept to himself in his golf cart.
My wife and I had a short encounter with Roger Maltbie at the Outback Pro Am several years ago. We were walking in opposite directions on the 10th hole and it was just the three of us and he smiled and said hello. Very brief and cordial.
We tend to evaluate people based on our own experience with that person. Everyone has good days and bad days. Arnold Palmer seemed to always had good days when dealing with the public.
Arnold Palmer was the first golfer I saw on TV. He was a huge iconic figure in the world of sports. I got to see Jack, Gary and Lee play at the OutBack Pro Am and wished I'd got to see Arnold play, but he withdrew with an injuring and never got to see him play.
I hold no ill will towards Maltbie... I just found it interesting how things worked out that day. I still think he's the best at what he does, bar-none.
I thought Rory's comment, about how Arnold's impact to golf was probably greater than any other athlete's impact within their respective sport over the past hundred or so years, was spot-on. I think about the various things that Arnie championed... he was really the main figure to pioneer televised golf, he played an enormous role in having Americans travel across the pond to play in the British Open, and he also helped spearhead the "sports agent" concept. You look at all these companies today paying athletes millions per year to endorse their company and their products - Arnie basically championed that movement.
Everywhere you look today in golf, you see his footprints.
Sometimes I see Rory as complacent or unmotivated, but when he made that comment - I thought it revealed a very appreciative side from someone who maybe does get it after all. All of these players today enjoy a life that was made immeasurably better because of one Arnold Palmer back before they were even born.
All of the good things already said or will be said over the next several days about him - they're deserved.
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I watched the memorial service for Arnie this afternoon on Golf Channel. Lots of really touching stories, some of them funny, some of them sad. Jim Nantz spent 18 minutes detailing some of his memorable moments shared with Arnie, which were both humorous and very touching.
I know Nantz gets made fun of for the sappy way he tries to endear himself on CBS's Masters coverage, but his reflections this afternoon were probably the best of the bunch. If you're interested, Golf Channel website has links to his and other notable comments of Arnie during the service on their homepage.
Saw the public memorial service for Arnie on TGC this week.
Never seen so many familiar faces, young and old , so somber and sad. Arnie must have touched their hearts when they came across.
I wasn't surprised to see a lot of familiar faces there, but I was completely dumbfounded that two of the most recognizable weren't anywhere to be found... Gary Player and Tiger Woods - two fellow legends who have made mention time and time again just how great a man Arnold Palmer was, how giving he was back to the game, how selfless he was both on and off the course.
I'm not privy to know the why's, but I do know this much: barring a health-related issue preventing me from traveling, I would've walked to Latrobe if needed to be there to pay my last respects to Arnie.
I guess those who thought enough of the man to be there, were... those who didn't were not.
I would not be rushed to judge someone because of their action were not conforming to the rest.
There could be many reasons why ..... not attending the memorial service of Arnie. One obvious one is without the invitation, and yes the second would be the health issue like you mentioned.
I do know a lot of guys do not wish to show their inner feelings in public, some would mind but quite a few I know never show the bottom line of their inner feelings and would dread to lose control in public.....
Not sure but from all the gathering, Gary Player was very sad indeed. Although he had a thing about not being treated fairly financially for being one of the big three. TW ? Who knows . Even when he give a public statement would be coming out from contemplating before hands.
It's not about conforming. It's about doing the honorable thing, and sometimes doing the honorable thing means having to deal with inconvenience or doing something you'd rather not do.
Like I said, my opinion - barring a health reason or family emergency - I would've been there. I would've done the honorable thing, wouldn't have looked for convenient excuses.
But that's just me. Then again, honor is a rare commodity these days. So maybe I shouldn't be surprised after all.
www.magtorial.com