Arnold Palmer Biography - Growing Up, Comes Of Age On The Links, To Paint Or Play, Chronology, To Play - CONTACT INFORMATION
ball game hard golfer
1929-
American golfer
Arnold Palmer wrote in his 1997 autobiography, A Golfer's Life, that his father gave him a big piece of advice that served him well through the years. He said, "Get the right grip. Hit the ball hard. Go find the ball, boy, and hit it hard again."
Palmer found the right grip, hit the ball hard, and—more often than not—often found the ball in the bottom of the cup. The little boy that "Deacon" Palmer gave the advice to went on to become one of the greatest golfers of the twentieth century. But not only was Palmer a great golfer, he was and is the game's great ambassador. Many believe that Arnold Palmer single-handedly helped resurrect the game from the stodgy upper classes, making it a spectator sport for the common man, and making it a game that all sorts and kinds could play and enjoy.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Address: Home and office—Box 52, Youngstown, PA 15696. Agent—International Literary Management, Inc., 767 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10022.
Additional Topics
Arnold Palmer was born in Youngstown, Pennsylvania on September 10, 1929, to Milfred "Deacon" Palmer and Dorris Palmer. Soon after he was born, the family moved to Latrobe, Pennsylvania (where Palmer still has a home and chooses to reside most of the year). He was born into a golfing household, with his father as the greens keeper and teaching professional at the Latrobe Country Club…
As a kid he was only allowed on the Latrobe course (which he later ended up purchasing) before the members arrived in the morning or after they'd gone home in the evenings. On the links, he started playing the older boys, and when he was eight he consistently defeated the 12 year olds; soon he played regularly with the older boys—the caddies on the golf course—and waited until…
Palmer ended up leaving Wake Forest a year early to join the Coast Guard. He fully intended to return to school to earn his degree. He did return to Wake Forest, but he never completed the degree. (Wake Forest would later award him an honorary doctorate in the humanities.)
He was unsure of what to do, and when Palmer left school, he was tempted to turn pro right away. But that was not an easy…
After turning pro in November of 1954 and signing a contract with Wilson Sporting Goods, Palmer married his Winnie Walzer, with whom he would have two daughters. Palmer and Winnie were a great team, and they stayed together until she passed away from cancer in 1997. In 1955 he won his first big tournament, the Canadian Open, earning $2,400 as the top prize. He continued to add victories over the n…
Many say that Palmer was more of a celebrity than he was a great golfer. While indeed he had fantastic performances on the course and won many majors, as well as taking home PGA Player of the Year awards, he won all his honors in less than seven seasons (from 1957 to 1964). Did his competitive drive fizzle, or was he bored and wanting to become more involved with his businesses? He had founded Arn…
This contemporary following, almost twenty-five years after he left the PGA tour, could be seen at the 2002 Masters tournament, which Palmer had declared to be his last a few weeks before playing in the tournament. He made the cut, thanks in large part to a heavy rain that day, that kept him in the tournament for the weekend, and by that Sunday afternoon, people were lined up twenty deep in some p…
Arnold Palmer's Golf Book: Hit it Hard. Ronald Press, 1961. Portrait of a Professional Golfer. Golf Digest, 1964.
Arnold Palmer
My Game and Yours. Simon and Schuster, 1965. Situation Golf. McCall Publshing Co., 1970. (With William Barry Furlong) Go For Broke. Simon and Schuster, 1973. (With Bob Drum) Arnold Palmer's Best 54 Golf Holes. Doubleday, 1977. Arnold Palmer's C…
Arnold Palmer continues to oversee his many business interests (too many to name!) and has a full schedule, making appearances, giving speeches, as well as playing in the occasional Seniors tournament. After he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1997, he slowed down a bit, but since he's been given a clean bill of health and hasn't slowed too much. Palmer loves to fly, and were it…
McCormack, M.H. Arnie. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1967. Palmer, Arnold. Arnold Palmer's Golf Book: Hit it Hard. Ronald Press, 1961. Palmer, Arnold. Portrait of a Professional Golfer. Golf Digest, 1964. Palmer, Arnold. My Game and Yours. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1965. Palmer, Arnold. Situation Golf. McCall Publshing Co., 1970. Palmer, Arnold and William Barry Furlong. Go For Broke. N…
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