The Classic Palmer

By John Feinstein and Walter Iooss

A portrait of legendary golfer Arnold Palmer from a New York Times–bestselling sportswriter, with numerous photos included.
 
Over a career spanning more than half a century, Arnold Palmer amassed an astounding record of ninety-two worldwide titles, four Masters championships, a US Open crown, and back-to-back British Open victories, truly earning his nickname “the King”—as well as a legion of loyal fans who came to be known as “Arnie’s Army.” He exuded a charisma that America loved—and even had a drink named after him.
 
In this chronicle of one of the greatest players ever to swing a club, renowned sportswriter John Feinstein provides a vivid biographical portrait of golf’s most beloved icon. Accompanied by Walter Iooss’s superb photographs, The Classic Palmer lets golf lovers travel with Palmer on his journey from amateur to pro, from pro to master, and from master to legend.

• Language: English
• Publisher: ABRAMS
• Release date: Apr 1, 2012
• ISBN: 9781613123355

John Feinstein

John Feinstein is the author of many bestselling books, including A Good Walk Spoiled and One on One. He writes for the Washington Post and Golf Digest and is a regular contributor to the Golf Channel.

Book preview

In The Classic Palmer, renowned sportswriter John Feinstein provides a vivid biographical portrait of golf’s beloved living icon, Arnold Palmer. From the moment he stepped into the spotlight, Arnold Palmer captured the loyalty of the nation. Over a more than fiftyyear career, Palmer amassed a truly impressive record: ninety-two worldwide titles, four Masters championships, a U.S. Open crown, and back-to-back British Open victories. This moving tribute, with a deeply personal essay by Feinstein and stunning photos by Walter Iooss, is a must-have keepsake for any golf fan.

U.S. Open, Baltusrol Golf Club, Springfield, NJ, June 1967

Bing Crosby National Pro-Am, Pebble Beach Golf Links, Pebble Beach, CA, January 1966

There are many different ways to describe the manner in which an athlete dominates his sport. There are statistics and records and videotapes that can document one’s accomplishments. There are paeans written and film tributes produced and awards presented. There are Halls of Fame to be inducted into and lifetime achievement plaques to be received.

Many athletes deserve—and receive—all these honors.

But the list of athletes for whom the rules of an entire sport have been changed is a short one.

When Babe Ruth hit more home runs in an entire season than the rest of the American League, baseball decided it needed a livelier ball to give other hitters a chance to compete with the Babe. When Lew Alcindor played college basketball at UCLA in the 1960s, the dunk was outlawed to give defenders some chance to stop the unstoppable center.

And then there is Arnold Daniel Palmer. In 1980, both the United States Golf Association and the PGA Tour believed there was a market for a golf tour for players who were no longer at their peak physically but could still play the game well and appealed to fans. There was just one problem: the player who defined that sort of appeal and charisma had just turned fifty, and USGA rules defined a senior player as someone who was fifty-five or older.

If fans were going to buy tickets for senior golf or watch it on television, if corporations were going to put up sponsorship money, Arnold Palmer had to be out there playing. It was very simple: without Palmer there would be no Senior PGA Tour. If there was any doubt about that, it vanished after the first U.S. Senior Open was played on the East Course at the famed Winged Foot Golf Club in 1980.

We had crowds into the dozens—maybe, said David Fay, who was executive director of the USGA for twenty-one years but was at that time assistant executive director. We had good players in the field, and it was a wonderful golf course. But we didn’t have Palmer.

Waiting until Palmer turned fifty-five was not an option if there was going to be a Senior Tour. Thus, the USGA declared, in its wisdom, that professionals (not amateurs) were deemed seniors the day they turned fifty.

A year later we had the Senior Open at Oakland Hills, and Arnie beat Billy Casper and Bob Stone in a Monday play-off, Fay said. We had great crowds all week, including Monday. It’s probably not unfair to say that if the rules change hadn’t been made, there might not be a Senior Open today.

Or a Champions Tour—as the PGA Tour has called its Senior Tour since 2002—which Palmer played on until 2007, drawing huge crowds until the day he finally decided, at the age of seventy-eight, that his game was no longer good enough to be put on public display. What he failed to understand was that the fans didn’t care at that stage how many birdies he made—or didn’t make. They just wanted to see the King, the leader of Arnie’s Army, walk down the fairway.

Through the years there have been numerous arguments on the subject of who the greatest golfer of all time might be. It dates to the question of Bobby Jones versus Walter Hagen, or Ben Hogan versus Byron Nelson and Sam Snead, right to today’s Jack Nicklaus–versus–Tiger Woods discussion.

But for the last fifty years there has been absolutely no debate about who is the most important golfer of all time. It is Arnold Palmer. They changed the rules of the sport for him. Case closed.

U.S. Open, Oakmont Country Club, Oakmont, PA, June 1973

U.S. Open, Baltusrol Golf