Beyond Greatness
By Mike Dudurich

The book was officially closed April 13 on the PGA Tour playing career of one Arnold Daniel Palmer when he walked off the 18th green at Augusta National Golf Club for the last time.

It was his 48th appearance in the Masters (the tournament has only been played 66 times) and that tournament, perhaps more than any other, will forever carry the Palmer legacy.

While Jack Nicklaus won the Masters more times (six to Palmer's four) and Tiger Woods will probably win more than both of them, Palmer put the Masters into the front of the sports fans consciousness in the late 1950s and early 1960s when he won four times in seven years.

But those championships, as well as his U.S. Open title, and his two British Open crowns are now a part of history. Despite the cries of his ever-faithful army to continue playing, Palmer knows his competitive golf days are down to a precious few.

That's why he pulled the plug on his playing days at the Masters, in his words, "because I didn't want to get a letter." He referred to the letter Masters officials sent out to former champions Billy Casper, Gay Brewer and Doug Ford, asking them NOT to play in this year's tournament because their playing skills had deteriorated so badly.

Palmer, 72, has said he would never say he was quitting golf. He preferred to say that he'd just fade away, playing golf with friends at Latrobe Country Club or Bay Hill Golf Club (in Orlando) for fun. And that's what his plan is now, with the exception of playing two Senior golf majors—the Senior PGA Championship at Firestone Country Club and the U.S. Senior Open at Caves Valley Country Club near Baltimore in June. But off the course, there's no evidence at all of The King fading from anywhere.

Trying Times

He has gone through a very difficult five years, some of which all of us eventually have to deal with, other parts of it being specific to him because, well, he is The King.

Since 1997, he's been diagnosed with and beaten prostate cancer. He watched with great sadness as his wife of 45 years, Winnie, was diagnosed with cancer and eventually died in November of 1999. He was roundly and harshly criticized for his endorsement of a club deemed illegal by the USGA, prompting a split (however temporary) between one of golf's most enduring names and the game's ruling body. Palmer can shoot three rounds in the 80s at any Senior tournament he enters and will still draw the biggest galleries. And market studies show him still to be one of the best endorsement draws.

"I have had such good fortune in my life that I can't knock anything," Palmer said recently. "I will take it as it comes. Sure, those things all hurt—and they hurt big-time. But let's add it all up. It's been fantastic, every bit of it. The fun I've had, the competition I've enjoyed and the lifestyle I've enjoyed, I'm blessed. Everything can't be forever."

Keeping Busy

So how will Palmer keep himself busy in the upcoming years? The simple answer to that is he'll be doing basically the same thing he's done in the past except for those four or five weeks a year when he played in major events.

His course design business is flourishing, his business kingdom remains strong and he likes to stay hands-on in both.

"I don't think about it. I'm not concerned about being 72," Palmer said. "I suppose my concerns right now are keeping my businesses running and I enjoy that. Playing golf—that's my biggest concern. I'd just like to play better. It's important to me."

He's not only concerned about his game, but he does have some concerns about the game in general. The game he leaves behind to the Tiger Woods, Charles Howell and Sergio Garcia generation.

"I think the game of golf is in pretty good hands, yes, but I certainly am not without my concerns about the game and how it's treated and what reaction we get from all of the things that are happening in the game," he said. "From manufacturing, to players, to rules, to you name it. I would like to think that is a vigil we have to stay on to keep the game on the proper course."

"Right now, if you look at statistics, you'll find that the game for the general public is a little flat. It's not making a lot of progress right now. But I don't think it's going backwards, either," he insisted. "I think we need to be aware of that and I think we need to do all we can to have people come out and enjoy the game. I've never been one to keep it to a certain few. I've always felt like everyone should be able to enjoy the game, and I would like to think that that will continue to happen."

Palmer's allegiance with Callaway Golf, and his endorsement of the illegal ERC driver, caused the USGA to back off from its long-standing association with him. That quickly changed when golf's ruling body softened its stance, but Palmer has said he'd loved to be involved in discussion with the USGA, not only regarding technology, but also about getting the USGA and the Royal & Ancient (the ruling golf body in Europe) together on a uniform set of rules for the game.

"I expect this summer I'll have a chance to talk with them (USGA)," Palmer said. "I think there's a little confusion within their ranks (concerning their stance on technology). I hope they get it straightened out. They backed off. It didn't look good."

Pennsylvania Classic

Palmer will continue to be the force behind the PGA Tour's Pennsylvania Classic, the event that debuted two years ago at Waynesborough Country Club near Philadelphia and shifted to Laurel Valley Golf Club in Ligonier last year.

That event will operate on the same schedule - in Philadelphia this year and in Ligonier next year - before perhaps becoming a fixture in one end of the state or the other. Having a PGA Tour stop in Pennsylvania has been something Palmer has pushed for and even now, he tries to help with the behind-the-scenes efforts in making it a success.

The 2001 Pennsylvania Classic was the first PGA Tour event following September 11 and it suffered from an attendance and support perspective.

And with the economy lagging since the terrorist attacks, Palmer knows coming up with a new title sponsor (Marconi ltd. dropped out of that role after 2001) will be difficult, but he's never been one to back away from a challenge.

Take one of the other passions in his life: flying. He was one of the first professional golfers to own his own airplane and has moved up from that single-engine plane to the Cessna Citation X Model 750, which cruises at an altitude of 50,000 feet and does so at just under the speed of sound.

And even at age 72, Palmer is more often than not in the left seat of the cockpit of that plane, controlling his own destiny. But being able to do so doesn't come without hard work and specialized training.

Up And Away

"I go to flight training and flight safety courses five days each year in Wichita, Kan. They call it recurrent training," Palmer said recently.

"When I was a teenager traveling around in my early days, I was on a couple of flights that scared the hell out of me. I was reluctant to fly. I had another incident where a friend took me for a plane ride and also scared me.

"I decided it would be better if I knew how to do it myself, so I could understand it and not be as frightened. The more I learned the more I liked it."

The 2002 Citation X cost Palmer a hefty $20 million. "It's the same airplane, just newer," Palmer said. "I like to buy a new car every once in a while, too. It's wonderful."

To coin a phrase, it's been a wonderful life for this man known for his strength and the strong upbringing he received from his parents, especially his father, Deke Palmer. And so it will continue to be for Arnold Palmer. He admits to being no different than any of us in that he's always looking for the missing link that's going to help him start hitting good shots again. If he finds it, he may rethink what his competitive golf schedule looks like. If not... "I can play golf anywhere and have fun. I can play at Bay Hill at the afternoon shootout and enjoy it. I don't enjoy it when I am playing as poorly as I'm playing," he said.

Mike Dudurich is Sports Editor of the Tribune-Review.