In memoriam: Arnold Palmer — a Most Unique Golfer
Geoffrey Norman in The Weekly Standard pays a loving tribute to Arnold Palmer, that “most improbable” golf champion who died Sunday at 87. His famous swing, Norman recalls, was “no languid thing of beauty. He hit the ball like he was mad at it.” Maybe because Palmer came from a world where “the country club was where you worked, not where you played.” He “brought an aggressive attitude to the game of golf and his fans loved it.” And that excitement and drama turned golf for the first time “into something that millions found themselves following on television.” Long after he ceased winning tournaments, “his fans remained his fans right up until the end.”