Having grown up in PA , Arnold Palmer was the reason I applied to Wake Forest, The “King” was responsible for putting Wake on the National Map.
Wake Forest should treasure the history of Arnie’s Army and embrace his 2005 Commencement Address opening statement…..”I come from modest circumstances, and I was determined to be successful in my adult life.” Hard work… Determination…. Dedication… and Believing in Yourself are the watchwords of this great and generous man. Wake Forest should never lose site of this when admitting new students. May his ” Common Man” legacy live on. Pro Humanitate
Dan Stephens
Much has been written and said about the greatness of Arnold Palmer on and off the course and much better than I could ever do it. I met Mr. Palmer several times on the golf course and one off. Off the course I met him while I was working at Wake Forest Golf Club in Wake Forest, NC. Oddly enough the club was not even built when Mr. Palmer played and attended Wake Forest University when it was at the original campus in the small town. He was in town attending an alumni event at the old campus. I was working in the pro-shop when he walked in. I had just graduated from Wake Forest two years earlier and am always proud to meet a Demon Deacon, but to be in the presence of the greatest Demon Deacon of all time…I was awestruck. It was just me and our club accountant in the room. He immediately introduced himself (like he actually needed to do that) and told us that he just wanted to stop by and check out the course since it hadn’t been here when he was in school. I immediately told him that I was a Wake alum and we immediately began talking Wake Forest sports and the like. It has been said many times, but he truly makes you feel that you feel like you have been friends forever. Through my career I have had the opportunity to be around some pretty famous athletes and entertainers. None of them is able to interact with fans and the general public like Arnold. He is also the only one that I was ever truly awestruck to be around. To share the designation of being a Wake Forest Demon Deacon with Arnold Palmer is something special even if I had never met him. The list of Wake Forest graduates is long and distinguished, but I feel Arnold Palmer stands at the top. I am a huge golfer, but don’t get to play as much as I want. Funny how yesterday afternoon I managed to make a last minute tee time and play 18 holes right by myself and I happen to be wearing my Wake Forest gear in celebration of a great victory on Saturday. As it turned out, I was celebrating a great golfer, a great Deacon and most importantly a legendary human being. Rest in peace, Mr. Palmer. Your legacy will live on forever.
Shirley Brinson Hartness (Mrs. Alvin H. Hartness)
This man was a gentleman and a gentle man. His smile revealed the kind and loving man he was. I so appreciate the fact that he did not take himself too seriously….golf, yes, relationships, yes, giving back, yes.
I’m married to a Deanon and the mother of 2, and I love and appreciate WFU!!
Mira Henry
My father was a fan of golf and later became a club professional and PGA member. In our house Arnold Palmer was really the only player that mattered. His style for playing his own game, winning, and friendly competition was important but the person that he showed the world was even more important. His love for life, for family, for his community, and continuing love for the game. My thoughts are with his family. I am sorry that he has passed away but will always be glad of his connection to Wake Forest and the game of golf.
Michael Sperry
I was 8 or 9 years old when my father took me to the practice round at the Colonial in Fort Worth, Texas and I first saw the King. He was practicing in a bunker. He had at least 50 balls in the bunker, and as he hit them onto the green, his caddy picked them up and tossed them back into the bunker. We walked away but came back about 30 minutes later, and he was still in that bunker practicing. My father commented:”Son, now you know what it takes to be a champion!” My lifelong love of the game was born that day. Rest In Peace, Arnie.
Jim Harper
Arnie was a great golfer, but more likely, an even better person. The world and the Wake Forest community has truly lost an icon. My path crossed Arnold’s on several occasions, the first being when I was 10 years old and Arnie, along with Gary Player, came to Brookfield West Country Club in Roswell, GA to play an exhibition. Somehow, someway, I ended up inside the ropes walking with Arnie. I remember just chatting with him walking down the 7th fairway. I certainly did not belong, but he did not see it that way. At some point, I was pulled back outside of the ropes, but not before Arnie signed my program and wished me and my golfing future well.
Well, as fate would have it, I ended up attending Wake Forest. I am not sure that I knew that Arnold graced the old campus. Shortly thereafter, I joined the Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity, which Arnold was also a brother. Arnold remembered us by giving us money to purchase new lounge furniture during my years at Wake.
Many years later, while attending a Master’s practice round, I ran into Arnie, Jack and Gary Player playing in the par three tournament. I reminded Arnie of the exhibition at Brookfield West and he said that he remembered. I kind of doubt that he did, but he made me feel good again.
My final time with Arnie was at Groves Stadium. I was on hand when Arnold “opened the gate”. He still looked like he ready ready to “hitch up his pants” and get in the game. He gave me a high five on his way out.
I hope that our crossings continue when I get to heaven. I know that you are now organizing the Heavenly Seniors tour. A piece of advise though – don’t bet against Jesus – water hazards are no problem for him. Until we meet again, the honors and the heavenly tee are yours…
Jim Harper
1985
Steve Pahides
I was a member of the 1979 Tangerine Bowl Team; after we lost to LSU, Arnold Palmer visited our team in the lockeroom and said, “I am proud of you guys.” This demonstrated his genuine care and concern for others.
Charles H. Taylor and Elizabeth Owen Taylor
I first met Arnold Palmer as a student at Wake Forest in the early 1960s. He was gracious enough to come visit some of his professors in their classes and those of us who were present got to talk to him. Later, at age 29 in 1970, I was honored to become a founding member of the Wake Forest Presidents Club, which he chaired. Those first meetings were held at his golf course in Orlando. He impressed me with his love of Wake Forest and the need to see it well endowed. Although he was a supreme athlete and worldwide personality, he never hesitated to listen to students and young adults. Wake Forest will truly miss him as a friend, but he will remain as an inspiration to Wake and its generations through his example and character.
Charles H. Taylor and Elizabeth Owen Taylor
Bill Faircloth
Will never forget when he spoke to the football team after the pregame meal before the Orange Bowl. He told them how much Wake Forest had meant to him and how proud he was of them. He had tears in his eyes. Also he was the team’s honorary game captain at the coin toss for Wake Forest and Muhammad Ali represented Louisville.
Christopher Behm
I had the great fortune to hear Arnold Palmer speak at Wake Forest in the mid-1990s. As a law student, it was rare that I ventured out of the Worrell Professional Center onto the rest of the campus. However, a chance to hear “The King” speak was an opportunity that could not be passed up. He did not disappoint. What an inspiring gentleman!
Although all sports fans will miss you, those of us with ties to Wake Forest may the most. We were all enriched and inspired by your steadfast devotion to your alma mater. May you rest in peace, Mr. Palmer.
Richard A. Brenner
In the year 2000 I was in Pinehurst and woke up early only to find Mr. Palmer enjoying a cup of coffee on the front porch. We discussed our mutual Wake Forest connections and I told him the following story.
In 1970 I was at Wake Forest basketball game and my father pointed out the legendary Arnold Palmer sitting two rows back. My dad suggested I go up and get an autograph. I walked up to Mr. Palmer and introduced myself and asked him if he would like my autograph.
Mr. Palmer laughed and then I asked him if he still had my autograph. We both enjoyed a good laugh. What a remarkable man.
A.J. Spring
“My dad told me, ‘Get the right grip. Hit the ball hard. Go find the ball, boy, and hit it hard again.’”
It’s too good to be true that the father of Wake Forest’s proudest son was named Deacon. See you on the 19th hole, Arnie.
Stan Mandel
A great man is measured by his/her contributions, a talented by their accomplishments. Arnold Palmer earns an “A” in both.
Bob and Linda Waddell
My wife and I are members of the class of 1961 and we followed Arnold through the glory golf years. We admired him more as a man than a golfer
but he was the best in both areas and in life in general. He always made us ” Proud To Be A Deacon”. He gave so much back to Wake Forest
and everyone he came in contact with. Legend is greatly overused but not in Arnold Palmer’s case.
Doug Malcolm
We all heard the terrible news this evening that Arnold is gone.
He was famous, admired, inspiring, generous, noble, ethical, wildly successful, caring, humble, warm and sincere. But as incredible as this may sound, he was so much more.
The first time I set foot on Oakmont Country Club, it was as a spectator arriving to watch the U. S. Open. It was also the first time I saw Arnold in person. In truth, I heard him first – or his shot, at least. He was in the tall fescue and he made such a loud, agricultural sound as his club cut through the deep rough that I turned, in shock, to see what was happening!
It seemed like three feet of turf and vegetation clung to his iron as he held the shot in his follow through. Then I traced the sight line from his unwavering gaze to the green over one hundred yard away and saw his shot, still with some stop on it, come to rest four feet from the pin.
It was a right way to be introduced to my hero.
I saw him again, much later in his life, trying in vain to compete in a senior’s event at Laurel Valley, and the same at Allegheny County Club. I always thought I would introduce myself if I had the chance. But I didn’t, because he’d already blessed me, and I thought it best to save his energy for those in line who didn’t already know him.
The best thing Arnold ever did for me came directly from that fact that, until he couldn’t hit the first tee shot at Augusta this year, Mr. Palmer woke up every day, fully believing that today might be the day he’d discover, “a little something,” on the practice tee that was going to allow him to return to golfing greatness. Was that futile? Was he just kidding himself?
Some would say so. But they don’t understand what it meant when Arnold could still win big cash and beat other greats at an event like The Skins competition, where you could blow up on one hole, but birdie the next to take home a jackpot. The skeptics also can’t comprehend what it meant to everyone watching when Mr. Palmer snaked in a twenty-eight foot double breaker from the back of the green in the par three contest at the Masters.
I’m sixty-six years old. And every night, I still do sixty to seventy pushups and dozens of ab crunches in an effort to gain more driving yardage than I had as a kid. And I’ll always believe that I can do new and better things in business, and in the important relationships of my life. I’m far from giving up, because I’m a kid compared to the age my hero was when he still strode the fairways.
His magnificent physique diminished. But one thing never did. When it came to competition, Arnold always had the heart of a lion.
Late yesterday afternoon I drove by Laurel Valley Golf Club on my way home from the Highland Games in Ligonier, PA. Even though I’d passed that way many times, yesterday was the first time that it really struck me how humble, and simple the sign is to mark the main entrance to that great club that Arnold helped to found. But then again, if you are, indeed great, you don’t need to promote the fact. People just know.
Deborah Saintsing
My late husband and his 2 sons attended and loved Wake Forest. My husband and as I am sure Mr. Palmer, attended Wake Forest when it was located in Wake Forest, NC. Mr. Palmer graduated before my husband George, and I am not sure if there paths ever really crossed. One of my favorite stories though is about my mother’s sister, my Aunt Jean. She was a nursing student at Rex Nursing School in Raleigh NC. A friend of her’s fixed her up with a blind date, a young man from Wake Forest. It was Arnold Palmer. My Aunt would tell what a gentleman he was. She said they had fun that evening, but he was such a serious student, she felt that he just really was not interested in pursuing female relationships the time. She felt so fortunate to have known him and was able to watch him become a legend and a hero. If Arnold was playing golf on TV, we all made a point of watching and cheering him on. We all felt he belonged to us, but he really belonged to the World.
I really can’t ever remember hearing anything negative about Arnold Palmer. I am so glad that I lived in the same time that he did and that my stepchildren also knew of him and of his kindness and generosity to the sport of golf and his beloved Wake Forest.
Deborah Saintsing,
Thomasville, NC
Mark B Queen
Arnold Palmer received an honorary degree in 1970, the year my Brother John Samuel “Skip” Queen graduated. It was always a story/joke in my family that Arnold actually winked at my Mother. He was always one of her favorites. What an amazing man! Such an honor to share being a Wake Forest Demon Deacon with him.
Deatra Hege Sellers
In the early 80’s I was married to a club professional at Country Club Orlando where I also worked in the golf shop.
One of our members was in charge of Bay Hill Tournament that year, and invited Arnold to the CCO member guest as his guest.
He was most gracious and fun, And caused much laughter at the dinner that night by commenting it was the only time he’d ever won a low net prize!
Benjamin Weekley
Arnie, RIP man. You were a legend. My grandfather(Bill Starling) knew you well and adored your friendship and company like no one else. My favorite story my grandfather ever told me was about Arnold Palmer. My older sister was born in 1995 and was Bill’s first grandchild. That night Wake Forest beat UNC at basketball. Arnold called my Grandfather to congratulate him on his first grandchild. It was what Bill described as one of the greatest days of his life!
Just thought I’d share as this shows what kind of a person and friend Arnold Palmer was. Any one who met him truly knew how great of a man he was. Wake Forest will miss him greatly, but always remember him as THE Legend.
James S. Brown, III
The golf world lost its best ambassador Sunday. This legend was a true hero as well. I remember watching him play in the 1956 Masters. He inspired me as a young teenager to pursue golf as a means of exercise. I am now 74 years old and wish I could play golf every day – I never played like a pro but I enjoyed playing at playing golf. “Now you may rest, Arnie, as you have bettered the world for having played on it!”
Having grown up in PA , Arnold Palmer was the reason I applied to Wake Forest, The “King” was responsible for putting Wake on the National Map.
Wake Forest should treasure the history of Arnie’s Army and embrace his 2005 Commencement Address opening statement…..”I come from modest circumstances, and I was determined to be successful in my adult life.” Hard work… Determination…. Dedication… and Believing in Yourself are the watchwords of this great and generous man. Wake Forest should never lose site of this when admitting new students. May his ” Common Man” legacy live on. Pro Humanitate
Much has been written and said about the greatness of Arnold Palmer on and off the course and much better than I could ever do it. I met Mr. Palmer several times on the golf course and one off. Off the course I met him while I was working at Wake Forest Golf Club in Wake Forest, NC. Oddly enough the club was not even built when Mr. Palmer played and attended Wake Forest University when it was at the original campus in the small town. He was in town attending an alumni event at the old campus. I was working in the pro-shop when he walked in. I had just graduated from Wake Forest two years earlier and am always proud to meet a Demon Deacon, but to be in the presence of the greatest Demon Deacon of all time…I was awestruck. It was just me and our club accountant in the room. He immediately introduced himself (like he actually needed to do that) and told us that he just wanted to stop by and check out the course since it hadn’t been here when he was in school. I immediately told him that I was a Wake alum and we immediately began talking Wake Forest sports and the like. It has been said many times, but he truly makes you feel that you feel like you have been friends forever. Through my career I have had the opportunity to be around some pretty famous athletes and entertainers. None of them is able to interact with fans and the general public like Arnold. He is also the only one that I was ever truly awestruck to be around. To share the designation of being a Wake Forest Demon Deacon with Arnold Palmer is something special even if I had never met him. The list of Wake Forest graduates is long and distinguished, but I feel Arnold Palmer stands at the top. I am a huge golfer, but don’t get to play as much as I want. Funny how yesterday afternoon I managed to make a last minute tee time and play 18 holes right by myself and I happen to be wearing my Wake Forest gear in celebration of a great victory on Saturday. As it turned out, I was celebrating a great golfer, a great Deacon and most importantly a legendary human being. Rest in peace, Mr. Palmer. Your legacy will live on forever.
This man was a gentleman and a gentle man. His smile revealed the kind and loving man he was. I so appreciate the fact that he did not take himself too seriously….golf, yes, relationships, yes, giving back, yes.
I’m married to a Deanon and the mother of 2, and I love and appreciate WFU!!
My father was a fan of golf and later became a club professional and PGA member. In our house Arnold Palmer was really the only player that mattered. His style for playing his own game, winning, and friendly competition was important but the person that he showed the world was even more important. His love for life, for family, for his community, and continuing love for the game. My thoughts are with his family. I am sorry that he has passed away but will always be glad of his connection to Wake Forest and the game of golf.
I was 8 or 9 years old when my father took me to the practice round at the Colonial in Fort Worth, Texas and I first saw the King. He was practicing in a bunker. He had at least 50 balls in the bunker, and as he hit them onto the green, his caddy picked them up and tossed them back into the bunker. We walked away but came back about 30 minutes later, and he was still in that bunker practicing. My father commented:”Son, now you know what it takes to be a champion!” My lifelong love of the game was born that day. Rest In Peace, Arnie.
Arnie was a great golfer, but more likely, an even better person. The world and the Wake Forest community has truly lost an icon. My path crossed Arnold’s on several occasions, the first being when I was 10 years old and Arnie, along with Gary Player, came to Brookfield West Country Club in Roswell, GA to play an exhibition. Somehow, someway, I ended up inside the ropes walking with Arnie. I remember just chatting with him walking down the 7th fairway. I certainly did not belong, but he did not see it that way. At some point, I was pulled back outside of the ropes, but not before Arnie signed my program and wished me and my golfing future well.
Well, as fate would have it, I ended up attending Wake Forest. I am not sure that I knew that Arnold graced the old campus. Shortly thereafter, I joined the Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity, which Arnold was also a brother. Arnold remembered us by giving us money to purchase new lounge furniture during my years at Wake.
Many years later, while attending a Master’s practice round, I ran into Arnie, Jack and Gary Player playing in the par three tournament. I reminded Arnie of the exhibition at Brookfield West and he said that he remembered. I kind of doubt that he did, but he made me feel good again.
My final time with Arnie was at Groves Stadium. I was on hand when Arnold “opened the gate”. He still looked like he ready ready to “hitch up his pants” and get in the game. He gave me a high five on his way out.
I hope that our crossings continue when I get to heaven. I know that you are now organizing the Heavenly Seniors tour. A piece of advise though – don’t bet against Jesus – water hazards are no problem for him. Until we meet again, the honors and the heavenly tee are yours…
Jim Harper
1985
I was a member of the 1979 Tangerine Bowl Team; after we lost to LSU, Arnold Palmer visited our team in the lockeroom and said, “I am proud of you guys.” This demonstrated his genuine care and concern for others.
I first met Arnold Palmer as a student at Wake Forest in the early 1960s. He was gracious enough to come visit some of his professors in their classes and those of us who were present got to talk to him. Later, at age 29 in 1970, I was honored to become a founding member of the Wake Forest Presidents Club, which he chaired. Those first meetings were held at his golf course in Orlando. He impressed me with his love of Wake Forest and the need to see it well endowed. Although he was a supreme athlete and worldwide personality, he never hesitated to listen to students and young adults. Wake Forest will truly miss him as a friend, but he will remain as an inspiration to Wake and its generations through his example and character.
Charles H. Taylor and Elizabeth Owen Taylor
Will never forget when he spoke to the football team after the pregame meal before the Orange Bowl. He told them how much Wake Forest had meant to him and how proud he was of them. He had tears in his eyes. Also he was the team’s honorary game captain at the coin toss for Wake Forest and Muhammad Ali represented Louisville.
I had the great fortune to hear Arnold Palmer speak at Wake Forest in the mid-1990s. As a law student, it was rare that I ventured out of the Worrell Professional Center onto the rest of the campus. However, a chance to hear “The King” speak was an opportunity that could not be passed up. He did not disappoint. What an inspiring gentleman!
Although all sports fans will miss you, those of us with ties to Wake Forest may the most. We were all enriched and inspired by your steadfast devotion to your alma mater. May you rest in peace, Mr. Palmer.
In the year 2000 I was in Pinehurst and woke up early only to find Mr. Palmer enjoying a cup of coffee on the front porch. We discussed our mutual Wake Forest connections and I told him the following story.
In 1970 I was at Wake Forest basketball game and my father pointed out the legendary Arnold Palmer sitting two rows back. My dad suggested I go up and get an autograph. I walked up to Mr. Palmer and introduced myself and asked him if he would like my autograph.
Mr. Palmer laughed and then I asked him if he still had my autograph. We both enjoyed a good laugh. What a remarkable man.
“My dad told me, ‘Get the right grip. Hit the ball hard. Go find the ball, boy, and hit it hard again.’”
It’s too good to be true that the father of Wake Forest’s proudest son was named Deacon. See you on the 19th hole, Arnie.
A great man is measured by his/her contributions, a talented by their accomplishments. Arnold Palmer earns an “A” in both.
My wife and I are members of the class of 1961 and we followed Arnold through the glory golf years. We admired him more as a man than a golfer
but he was the best in both areas and in life in general. He always made us ” Proud To Be A Deacon”. He gave so much back to Wake Forest
and everyone he came in contact with. Legend is greatly overused but not in Arnold Palmer’s case.
We all heard the terrible news this evening that Arnold is gone.
He was famous, admired, inspiring, generous, noble, ethical, wildly successful, caring, humble, warm and sincere. But as incredible as this may sound, he was so much more.
The first time I set foot on Oakmont Country Club, it was as a spectator arriving to watch the U. S. Open. It was also the first time I saw Arnold in person. In truth, I heard him first – or his shot, at least. He was in the tall fescue and he made such a loud, agricultural sound as his club cut through the deep rough that I turned, in shock, to see what was happening!
It seemed like three feet of turf and vegetation clung to his iron as he held the shot in his follow through. Then I traced the sight line from his unwavering gaze to the green over one hundred yard away and saw his shot, still with some stop on it, come to rest four feet from the pin.
It was a right way to be introduced to my hero.
I saw him again, much later in his life, trying in vain to compete in a senior’s event at Laurel Valley, and the same at Allegheny County Club. I always thought I would introduce myself if I had the chance. But I didn’t, because he’d already blessed me, and I thought it best to save his energy for those in line who didn’t already know him.
The best thing Arnold ever did for me came directly from that fact that, until he couldn’t hit the first tee shot at Augusta this year, Mr. Palmer woke up every day, fully believing that today might be the day he’d discover, “a little something,” on the practice tee that was going to allow him to return to golfing greatness. Was that futile? Was he just kidding himself?
Some would say so. But they don’t understand what it meant when Arnold could still win big cash and beat other greats at an event like The Skins competition, where you could blow up on one hole, but birdie the next to take home a jackpot. The skeptics also can’t comprehend what it meant to everyone watching when Mr. Palmer snaked in a twenty-eight foot double breaker from the back of the green in the par three contest at the Masters.
I’m sixty-six years old. And every night, I still do sixty to seventy pushups and dozens of ab crunches in an effort to gain more driving yardage than I had as a kid. And I’ll always believe that I can do new and better things in business, and in the important relationships of my life. I’m far from giving up, because I’m a kid compared to the age my hero was when he still strode the fairways.
His magnificent physique diminished. But one thing never did. When it came to competition, Arnold always had the heart of a lion.
Late yesterday afternoon I drove by Laurel Valley Golf Club on my way home from the Highland Games in Ligonier, PA. Even though I’d passed that way many times, yesterday was the first time that it really struck me how humble, and simple the sign is to mark the main entrance to that great club that Arnold helped to found. But then again, if you are, indeed great, you don’t need to promote the fact. People just know.
My late husband and his 2 sons attended and loved Wake Forest. My husband and as I am sure Mr. Palmer, attended Wake Forest when it was located in Wake Forest, NC. Mr. Palmer graduated before my husband George, and I am not sure if there paths ever really crossed. One of my favorite stories though is about my mother’s sister, my Aunt Jean. She was a nursing student at Rex Nursing School in Raleigh NC. A friend of her’s fixed her up with a blind date, a young man from Wake Forest. It was Arnold Palmer. My Aunt would tell what a gentleman he was. She said they had fun that evening, but he was such a serious student, she felt that he just really was not interested in pursuing female relationships the time. She felt so fortunate to have known him and was able to watch him become a legend and a hero. If Arnold was playing golf on TV, we all made a point of watching and cheering him on. We all felt he belonged to us, but he really belonged to the World.
I really can’t ever remember hearing anything negative about Arnold Palmer. I am so glad that I lived in the same time that he did and that my stepchildren also knew of him and of his kindness and generosity to the sport of golf and his beloved Wake Forest.
Deborah Saintsing,
Thomasville, NC
Arnold Palmer received an honorary degree in 1970, the year my Brother John Samuel “Skip” Queen graduated. It was always a story/joke in my family that Arnold actually winked at my Mother. He was always one of her favorites. What an amazing man! Such an honor to share being a Wake Forest Demon Deacon with him.
In the early 80’s I was married to a club professional at Country Club Orlando where I also worked in the golf shop.
One of our members was in charge of Bay Hill Tournament that year, and invited Arnold to the CCO member guest as his guest.
He was most gracious and fun, And caused much laughter at the dinner that night by commenting it was the only time he’d ever won a low net prize!
Arnie, RIP man. You were a legend. My grandfather(Bill Starling) knew you well and adored your friendship and company like no one else. My favorite story my grandfather ever told me was about Arnold Palmer. My older sister was born in 1995 and was Bill’s first grandchild. That night Wake Forest beat UNC at basketball. Arnold called my Grandfather to congratulate him on his first grandchild. It was what Bill described as one of the greatest days of his life!
Just thought I’d share as this shows what kind of a person and friend Arnold Palmer was. Any one who met him truly knew how great of a man he was. Wake Forest will miss him greatly, but always remember him as THE Legend.
The golf world lost its best ambassador Sunday. This legend was a true hero as well. I remember watching him play in the 1956 Masters. He inspired me as a young teenager to pursue golf as a means of exercise. I am now 74 years old and wish I could play golf every day – I never played like a pro but I enjoyed playing at playing golf. “Now you may rest, Arnie, as you have bettered the world for having played on it!”