I love this quote from former Ryder Cup player and Captain Bernard Gallacher on playing golf with Arnold Palmer at St Andrews: “Arnold is the hardest man in golf to play with. Whatever he does the spectators applaud him. I swear if he broke wind on the first tee they’d cheer him to the echo.” Arnie was THE man when I was a kid, and I first saw him in person in 1976 and the last time in 2011.
One of my favorite memories was the 1995 Open. I was in London first, and then took an overnight bus to Edinburgh and then got another to St Andrews. Certainly, I was weary from the trip, but after drawing a few deep breaths of fresh air I was quickly revitalized. Gladly surrendering a few pounds sterling from my wallet to the man at the ticket booth, I entered the grounds - and golfing nirvana. I headed out to the Loop, numbers 7 through 11, where a lot of golf can be seen from one spot. Low and behold, as luck would have it, I came across the group of Tom Watson, Raymond Floyd, Jack Nicklaus, and some guy by the name of Arnold Palmer. They were playing a “friendly” match, Arnie and Tom against Raymond and Jack (the former would win), and there was a lot of bantering on both sides. On #11, a par three of 173 yards and a little uphill, Arnold asked his caddie Tip Anderson for the yardage, and then pulled a 7-iron out of the bag.
Nicklaus commented to him, “That's enough club, just hit it as hard as you can...as hard as you can.” They all chuckled a bit when the King proceeded to dump the shot into the Strath bunker guarding the front of the green. Arnie turned to Tip and gave him a disbelieving look, seeming to question the yardage given to him by the man who caddied for Palmer at St. Andrews (with the exception of 1964) since his first trip there in 1960. Jack caught the look, and observed that “Tip’s yardage hasn’t changed,” suggesting that perhaps the Great Man wasn’t as strong as he was in his prime. Even Arnie had to chuckle at this one, and off they went.
Palmer made about three nice birdies on the way in, and hit some good shots. I saw this man at the age of 65 and marveled at how strong he must have been at my then age of 35, as he still hit the ball a good distance. I just soaked it all in and savored every step and breath of it, knowing that I was seeing a significant chunk of golf history represented in the form of these four great players. I was there that Thursday as Palmer walked over the Swilcan Burn Bridge. He crossed over without stopping and was beckoned back by what seemed like 1,000 photographers, who wanted him to return and smile a fond farewell to the cameras. It was a sad moment, but I’ve always been grateful that I was present to witness it.
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