"Arnie's Army" on the march again

Long before the game of golf was given over to the immodest, foul-mouthed likes of Tiger Woods and his ilk, it was Arnold Palmer who almost singlehandedly popularized the sport with his mass appeal some 50 years ago. Palmers swashbuckling, go-for-broke style, combined with an aggressive, somewhat-failing swing, plus movie-star looks and charisma, immediately made him a star like no other.

"I always said if they put a flagstick on a limb of a tree, he'd figure out a way to get the ball to stop on the limb," said golfing great Billy Casper.

Bobby Jones, another legend of the links, agreed: "If I ever had to have one putt to win a title for me, I'd rather have Arnold Palmer hit it ... than anybody I ever saw."

Byron Nelson, meanwhile, admired the tenacious Palmer for his determination. "You knew that if there was someone on the golf course like Arnold, it's never over. You couldn't help but be impressed by how driven he was to win"

Added Jack Nicklaus, one of only three men with more PGA tour wins than Palmer, "Arnold was not a good driver. And he kept having to hit it out of the trees and out of the woods--but he kept making the shots. People loved him because he won doing that."

Arnold Palmer was born in 1929 in Latrobe, Pa. His father was the superintendent at Latrobe Country Club, where the Palmer family lived off the sixth hole. Palmer now owns the course.

When he was 17, Palmer won five West Penn Amateur Championships. At Wake Forest, he was a top collegiate player before withdrawing from school--and joining the Coast Guard--following the death of a close friend. After his three-year hitch, he won the 1954 U.S. Amateur Championship. A few months later, he turned pro.

Palmer's first triumph in a "major" was the 1958 Masters. The name for Palmers intensely loyal legion of fans--Arnie's Army--originated at this tournament. Soldiers from a nearby Army base attended, many holding homemade signs to show their support for the popular golfer, and the name stuck. His "Army" also saw him take the Masters in 1960, 1962, and 1964.

Palmer's most dramatic and memorable victory just may have been the 1960 U.S. Open in which he erased a seven-stroke deficit in the final round--a tournament record. He then went on to win back-to-back British Open titles in 1961-62.

Among the majors, only the PGA Championship eluded him, as he finished second three times.

In 1968, Palmer became the first professional golfer to earn $1,000,000 in his career. He amassed 92 championships in professional competition; 62 of these on the Professional Golf Association tour, where he ranks fourth all-time behind Sam Snead (81), Nicklaus (70), and Ben Hogan (63).

No wonder the World Golf Hall of Fame, St. Augustine, Fla., has unveiled an extensive exhibit in his honor. It features more than 500 artifacts and photos from his brilliant career, many on display for the first time, while focusing on five themes to tell his life story:

Young Palmer: High school golf equipment; Western Pennsylvania Amateur victory medals; the 1954 Atlantic Coast Conference Championship trophy; and the pin and medal from the 1954 U.S. Amateur are included in the display.

Celebrating 50 Years in Golf: Palmer's U.S. Open and commemorative Masters clubhouse trophies are shown, as are artifacts from his years in the Ryder Cup as well as his 1960 Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year Award.

What's in a Name: Palmer's business endeavors, more than 100 in over 30 countries, span the imagination and the globe.

The Man You May Not Know: This section includes a model of his "Flight Around the World" Learjet and commemorative plaque marking his record-setting journey; an oil painting given as a surprise 37th birthday present by Pres. Dwight D. Eisenhower (an avid golfer himself), and a rifle received as a gift from actor Chuck Connors, who used it in the TV series "The Rifleman" (Palmer, incidentally, is a Western film buff.)

Also in this area are memorabilia behind the hugely successful Palmer Course Design Company, thus giving visitors a sense of the hundreds of courses around the world that have the Palmer imprint.

King of Hearts: Palmers philanthropic efforts, including his active participation in the March of Dimes and Prostate Cancer Foundation, are highlighted.

"Arnold Palmer: For the Love of the Game" is on view through April 15 at the World Golf Hall of Fame.

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