May 19th, 2011 by Phil Reich PGA Golf Art
Arnold Palmer offers some words of wisdom about golf:
“The most rewarding things you do in life are often the ones that look like they cannot be done.”
“I’ve always made a total effort, even when the odds seemed entirely against me. I never quit trying; I never felt that I didn’t have a chance to win.”
“Always make a total effort, even when the odds are against you.”
“Concentration, Confidence, Competitive urge, Capacity for enjoyment.”
“Success in golf depends less on strength of body than upon strength of mind and character.”
“Golf is deceptively simple and endlessly complicated; it satisfies the soul and frustrates the intellect. It is at the same time rewarding and maddening – and it is without a doubt the greatest game mankind has ever invented.”
“It’s a funny thing, the more I practice the luckier I get”
“Here is a philosophy of boldness to take advantage of every tiny opening toward victory.”
“Putting is like wisdom – partly a natural gift and partly the accumulation of experience.”
“I have a tip that can take 5 strokes off anyone’s golf game. It’s called an eraser.”
“You must play boldly to win.”
“What do I mean by concentration? I mean focusing totally on the business at hand and commanding your body to do exactly what you want it to do.”
“What other people may find in poetry, I find in the flight of a good drive.”
“On the Old Course at St. Andrews: This is the origin of the game, golf in its purest form, and it’s still played that way on a course seemingly untouched by time. Every time I play here, it reminds me that this is still a game.”
“It is not a dreamlike state, but the somehow insulated state, that a great musician achieves in a great performance. He’s aware of where he is and what he’s doing, but his mind is on the playing of the instrument with an internal sense of rightness / it is not merely mechanical, it is not only spiritual; it is something of both, on a different plane and a more remote one.”
“What other people may find in poetry or art museums, I find in the flight of a good drive.”
“Winning isn’t everything, but wanting it is.”
“I never rooted against an opponent, but I never rooted for him either.”
“[Palmer's caddie had suggested that morning,] Today’s your birthday — you ought to shoot your age, … That’s a hell of an idea.”
“I guess that is one of the most humbling things that has happened to me, the fact the golfers of the world and just the fans have been so supportive, so responsive to what I do and what I am and where I’m going,”
“I’m going to sit there through the winter and the weather and everything, … I won’t need to head south at all.”
“Well I had about four hours sleep last night, a lot less than I usually have, I had my dress shoes on, I couldn’t bend over, my arms were sore, my head was sore, … Hell, I thought I did pretty good.”
“The pressures here that year were probably as much as anything I had done in my life up to that point,”
“I felt pretty good about it, and of course it was the kicking off point for the rest of my career.”
“I watch (Weir) a lot, it’s not too far from normal after having a couple of good years, and really playing very well,”
“When you see someone who is pretty solid in the basic fundamentals of the game, and I haven’t seen Mike make any dramatic changes, that’s good.”
“I don’t know why they would be nervous around me, … They way they hit the ball, I got intimidated. They hit it so far it was unreal. It was fun. They’re good young players. They knocked the dirt out of that thing.”
“It probably wouldn’t hurt if the amateurs won once in a while for their confidence and to keep the matches exciting.”
“As far as trying to compete in a major championship such as the Open and other tournaments, this is it, … I’m through doing that. I will not be doing it anymore.”
“I think it’s going to be exciting for me and it’s going to be somewhat sentimental,”
“It was a fantastic day. Part of the reason I’m still playing and doing what I’m doing is because of the fans. I feel like I owe them a little bit back for all the years they supported me. I’m not happy with my golf game right now, but maybe I’ll be able to hit a little better one of these days.”
“This course is ready for whatever they want to put on it. I didn’t see any flaws on the course.”
“I wanted to protect myself, though, and that’s the reason I played both balls, so there could be no question one way or the other.”
“He was a guy that enjoyed everything he did, … And I spent a great deal of time with him over the years, played a lot of golf with him, and I think that his life meant laughter and making fun.”
“He didn’t have the speed of Tiger Woods coming through the ball, but he made good contact, and he hit the ball very well up until he couldn’t play anymore.”
“The golf was lousy, … I couldn’t ask for anything but maybe a little better score.”
“I’m getting to the point where I’m going to just sort of fade away,”
- Arnold Palmer Quotes
- Phil Reich, PGAgolfArt.com Richimage.net
