Customer Reviews

A Golfer's Life

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I was pleasantly surprised by this book, by its candor and by how well-written it was. It minimized many warts, but there is still some bite to it.

Arnold Palmer defines what charisma is. Charisma has nothing to do with skill, he certainly was not the most skilled or accomplished golfer. His talent and achievements fall short of those of Nicklaus, Hogan and even Gary Player. Yet Palmer with his amazing charisma can arguably be considered the most important golfer in the last 50 years.

A few years ago I was watching a Senior tournament. My wife came by and became enraptured by what was on. That was extremely odd, she usually does not watch golf. She asked me who the man on the screen was that was so fascinating. It was Arnold Palmer.

The portraits that Palmer draws of his parents, especially of his father, are wonderful. His stories of growing up are wonderful and I feel a good sense of the man and his roots. And he spares no words in discussing the death of his best friend while he was at school at Wake Forest, a death he still somewhat blames himself.

However, the story about the Ku Klux Klan meeting and his mother's reaction to it (live and let live) is rather naïve.

Palmer brings up an interesting theory about his career, that his decision to stop smoking played a factor in it. Nicotine creates a dependency, physical and psychological, no doubt about it. Palmer feels that cigarettes helped him concentrate. But I admire him for not starting again, even if it cost him some strokes. So do his grandchildren and his fans, if he had not stopped, he would not be here today.

Palmer talks about several people in the golf world at length. He speaks highly, yet evenhandedly, of Clifford Roberts and the Masters. I daresay that there are others who would not agree with that opinion.

It is obvious that Arnold did not get along with Ben Hogan, but few people did. Hogan was a hard man and while Palmer speaks highly of Ben's skills, you can see that he did not like him personally.

The section about Nicklaus is fascinating. There is a major rivalry in many ways between the two of them, there is no question about it. Palmer makes some very astute observations about their divergent styles and personalities.

There is much greater kinship with Gary Player and the stories about Player are quite funny.

People have tried to analyze Palmer's appeal for years. One of the ideas is that he comes across as a blue-collar worker in a rich man's sport. It was him that drew fans across income and class lines.

To many people, Arnold Palmer is old-line establishment. He was a close friend of Eisenhower, and of Bob Hope. The book slows when he talks of the rich people he is friends with.

In particular, I was repulsed by a golf course he built with an airstrip within, so one can land one's private plane and then tee off. Give me a break!

And his apparent tolerance for many of the racist policies of the PGA is galling as well. Palmer could have done more to bring the PGA into the 20th Century. His decision to keep quiet and "work within the system" again shows naivity beyond belief.

But Palmer has some wonderfully nice things to say about President Clinton, so he is even-handed.

Palmer is not overly introspective, so he does not try analyzing his popularity very much. He does say that he loves to perform, to show off and entertain people. He talks of his joy the first time that happened.

A section of Feinstein's "A Good Walk Spoiled" discusses Palmer from a fan's perspective and also from a fellow player's. It gives a different perspective on the man.

Palmer has always been treated well by the press. But he deserves a lot of the credit himself. He tells a great story about Jim McKay getting all noisy and excited in the 1960 Masters and interrupting Palmer's concentration. Palmer could have snarled or been nasty. Instead, he just smiled and McKay realized what was going on. You can get more with the carrot...

At the time this book was written, his wife Winnie had just been diagnosed with cancer. She is no longer with us and my heart aches for Mr. Palmer and his loss. Palmer also talks little of his own fight with cancer and the remarkable recovery he has made. Nor does he talk about all the money he has raised for research of prostate cancer.

There is very little about his daughters as well, or his family life beyond his early married days.

In an ESPN show, one of those daughters said on-camera that her dad loved being Arnold Palmer. There are countless people who can testify of how nice a man he is.

Good book!

Arnie's book is well-written, entertaining, and great reading. It unveils the nuances that enabled Arnie to be the man who hoisted TV golf on his shoulders and elevated the game to the status it enjoys today. The book is well-balanced in that it reveals Arnie's roots, both golf-wise and developmental, growing-up in Latrobe PA and his conflicted relationship w/his father, Deacon Palmer. Arnold's love of life, fierce competitiveness,and his charsimatic personality are all thoroughly revealed in this terrific book.

Arnold candidly describes his life-long love affair with golf and its great traditions. Even a non-golfer will enjoy his lessons about sportsmanship and life in general. I especially savored the stories about his friendships with the U.S. presidents since Ike. His aviation adventures are surprisingly hair-raising at times. The book shows us why he was named "Sportsman of the Decade" in the 1960s.

Biographies by old warriors and old jocks usually are just not that good. This one is different. I have followed Mr. Palmer's career from the start, and after reading this work, felt I knew him much better. It was pure Palmer. The book is well written, informative and actually rather inspiring. As I suspected, I could not find one line in the book to lead me to a different opinion, one I have held for years, that this is a true gentleman. Wish there were more like him in the world of sports today. On the other hand, as hinted at above, Mr. Palmer has been one of my "heros" since I was eight years old or so, so, in my eyes, he could do little wrong, including writing his autobiography. Recommend the read for anyone.

Palmer deserves his reputation as one of the most respected figures in professional sports. This book, with its down-home style is far above the mind-numbing blow-by-blow accounts of careers hardly justifying the ink and paper which clog the sports book shelves. For this, his collaborator, golf writer, James Dodson, must be due for a large share of credit. Arnold Palmer looks back over a fantastic career with no lack of humility, but with personal glimpses in sufficient depth to maintain the interest at all times. But more than this, Palmer gives fascinating insights to his business life and associations with the famous in other fields, from presidents to show business personalities, to his fellow-golfers over six decades, always making it clear that his first love is his family. Palmer may be a little old-fashioned in his outlook for some of today's readers and indeed the schmaltz might be a little thick at times, but this still rates as a sports book of excellent quality.

This is fine book about a man with deep principles that have continued to deepen and nourish his life. What a life! From golfing legend to aviator to business entrepeneur to course designer to philantropist to family man to cancer recoverer et al.

One of the true heroes of our time. Growing up with this guy, we baby boomers need one like this to exude what it truly is about -- not the titles or record or such, but how one played the game and treated others.

Such neat memories from AP's life: earning nickels hitting over the ditch for ladies when young; his detest for media's microscopic view; his leaving the French Open after being mistreated by the Frogs (guess things never change); his opinion of the PGA's historical problems; his committment to his word; his enjoyment of piloting immediately after tournament, whether win or lose.

Guy is first class and leaves us with much to emulate and pass on. His family roots run deep and it's evident. Maybe influence some parents to such as well.

More enjoyable read than assumed. This guy has given so much to the development of the sport we love. His views should not be lightly glanced over.

Not often does the sporting world produce a gentleman like Arnie Palmer. I am an avid sports fan and a casual golf fan. But, the real reason why I bought this book is that I also am a native Latrobean. I knew that Arnie, who is deeply devoted to his hometown, would give a nice memoir of his life which would include that small little spot in Western PA. What a joy it was to read about little Latrobe and many of the families in it. I graduated from high school the year before Deken Palmer and from college around the time Cori Britt graduated. Both, young men Arnie mentions in the book which is a nice tribute. I was at the ceremony when Arnie recieved an honorary degree from the Saint Vincent College, my alma mater! All of these were motivating factors in buying the book and I wasn't disappointed. I almost wanted to move back to that sweet small town. (Something I never thought I would want to do!) I also learned a great deal about the game of golf and find myself watching with a different perspective and greater understanding. Arnie tells his tale in an unassuming manner. He never tries to be more than he is. He is honest with his readers and more importantly, he is obviously speaking with them as if you were out on the course doing a casual 18 holes. Arnie's story is one of those where someone who has very ordinary start achieves great things and its nice to know that isn't a fairytale, but a reality.

You don't need to be a golf enthusiast to enjoy this wonderful book. Reflecting back on his career, Arnie discusses business successes/ failures, his family, business relationships, competitive friendships, his intensity on the golf course, the appropriateness of a man wearing his hat indoors and much more. Palmer knows he has been very fortunate in his career and expresses his gratitude to his maker, family and fans for the good life he has been blessed with. Every father interested in having a son grow up to be a gentlemen should make this book required reading. Arnie is not today's "in your face" jock, but a true sportsman who hates to lose, but should he lose, he has learned to lose graciously. He also has tremendous respect for the game of golf and expresses his concern about preserving the game's integrity.Reading between the lines, Palmer may have some regrets in his life and perhaps given the chance would do some things differently. However, book is a positive commentary on this American sports hero's life and should be accepted as such.

I believe it was Arnold Palmers father that said something to the effect " hit the ball hard, go find it and hit it again." Buy this book, hit it hard, page after page and you will get as much enjoyment out of it as Arnold Palmer has out of playing golf . With his enthusiasm for the game, who knows, he still may win that elusive PGA. Enjoyed the book , lots of fun to read and makes you want to get out on the course and "hit the ball hard."

All too often the people we admire are those who won the last game, or this year's championship, or the national title for two year's straight. And to be sure, those people have accomplished what we all dream about. Arnold Palmer is a different kind of person. He is more a mentor than a hero, a person we hope our children will model themselves after. Based on A GOLFER'S LIFE, his values are values we aspire to: Persistence, loyalty, knowing what he wants to accomplish, having a caring and happy marriage, and determination - enough to win the fight against cancer and get back on the golf course. Arnold Palmer deserves a standing ovation, even when he does not win at the game. We should all be able to accomplish what Mr. Palmer has in our own fields. I recently read THE 2,000 PERCENT SOLUTION, by Mitchell, Coles and Metz that describes the stalls we face, and put in front of ourselves, that keep us from reaching this level of performance in business and in life. It helps to diagnose your own stalls and then ask yourself questions to get the thinking and doing juices flowing again. It is time to take a lesson from the master: Stop puttering around and learn how to play the game better each time, whatever game you play. And read A GOLFER'S LIFE, it will make you feel good.