Arnold Palmer Quotes

I know, win or lose, I enjoyed the prospect of giving it my all. ~ Arnold Palmer

I guess most of us would rather not discuss cancer because we are all afraid we might be told we have it. It's hard for people to even say the word, and that's the first obstacle you have to overcome when you are diagnosed with the disease. I think once you understand a little more about it ... I don't mean it gets any easier ... but I think you give it more in-depth thought about how you're going to deal with it. ~ Arnold Palmer

If the athlete is fair with the press, he deserves fairness back. ~ Arnold Palmer

I can remember back to my early tour days when some fellows didn't think I'd last too long. Nothing physical - they said it was my swing. Some said it was too much of a 'muscle swing' to stand the test of time. One fellow predicted I wouldn't get past 30 out there. ~ Arnold Palmer

Winning isn't everything, but wanting it is. ~ Arnold Palmer

I don't see myself as a full-time broadcaster. I've done some of it, and I enjoy it, but I don't think I should try to make a career out of it. ~ Arnold Palmer

I've stated my position, and that is that we do not need a contraption to play the game of golf. I would hope that we'd play under one set of rules, and those rules would include a ban on the long putter hooked to the body in some way, shape or form. ~ Arnold Palmer

A lot of tournaments that I can remember I made a few bad shots and I was afraid I would lose the tournament and it seemed to work, the putts seemed to go in. Just the Desire. ~ Arnold Palmer

Golf challenges you mentally at any age, and when you become my age, it's a challenge physically to try to make your game work as well as it ever did. That's close to impossible, but that doesn't keep you from trying to hit the ball where you used to hit it and make the putts you used to make all the time. ~ Arnold Palmer

If you can concentrate on what you're doing and have the desire to do the things you have to do to win, you'll succeed. ~ Arnold Palmer

I always said that if I have the perfect club then I should play the perfect game. ~ Arnold Palmer

When you play by the rules, defy mental demons, overcome every challenge, and enjoy a walk in the country at the same time - that's being alive. ~ Arnold Palmer

My search for ways to improve my touch has never ended. We players tried a lot of different things and compared notes. Little fads would set in. ~ Arnold Palmer

I was playing golf in Palm Springs and after a round I asked the waitress in a restaurant to bring me a glass of iced tea and lemonade. A lady sitting nearby heard me and asked the waitress to bring her a "Palmer," too. The name caught on and the beverage quickly spread around the country. ~ Arnold Palmer

I was the first son and first child. When my sister came along, well, she was two years younger, and I had to go to the golf course because my mother couldn't handle all the action going on. So I came with father to the golf course since I was a year and a half old and I spent the day with him here, and it worked in naturally. And it was fun for me being with my father, and doing things that a kid did it was great. ~ Arnold Palmer

Establish a system you have confidence in and rely on it when you get into tough situations. ~ Arnold Palmer

I have had a love affair with Wake Forest since my undergraduate days, but I didn't realize until many years later what I had truly learned at Wake Forest, both in and out of the classroom, about the meaning of a productive and meaningful life, ~ Arnold Palmer

You know, when Arnold Palmer came on TV with an old tractor and told me to buy Pennzoil, I bought that, and when Dale Jarrett advertises UPS, I can go along with that, too. But I don't think having an 18-year-old, somebody who's probably gotten five packages in his life and they were all 'Girls Gone Wild' videos, tell me what delivery service I should use would have much effect on me. ~ Kyle Petty

If Tiger Woods slamming his club into the ground is the biggest worry wehave, our sport isinprettygood shape. ~ Arnold Palmer

First time I met Jack [Nicholas ] I had heard about his golf and prowess - I was playing in the Ohio amateur. ~ Arnold Palmer

I can sum it up like this: Thank God for the game of golf. ~ Arnold Palmer

Concentration comes out of a combination of confidence and hunger. ~ Arnold Palmer

I think I've heard somebody say that I was a well-dressed golfer. I guess that has something to do with the fact that a lot of people who play golf don't dress very well. ~ Arnold Palmer

Great touch is often written off simply as 'talent,' which is crucial, because a good swing can take a golfer only so far. I've seen thousands of fantastic swings in my day, but that doesn't guarantee anything. ~ Arnold Palmer

Trouble is bad to get into but fun to get out of. If you're in trouble, eighty percent of the time there's a way out. If you can see the ball, you can probably hit it; and if you can hit it, you can move it; and if you can move it, you might be able to knock it in the hole. At least it's fun to try. ~ Arnold Palmer

I have a psychological feeling about things - and if I have something that I need to accomplish and I accomplish it, I let down after that, and that happened to me in golf. ~ Arnold Palmer

Here is a philosophy of boldness to take advantage of every tiny opening toward victory. ~ Arnold Palmer

I like my airplane. It's as much a part of me as anything but my wife and kids. ~ Arnold Palmer

Golf never ceases to be a challenge, even when it really is just you and the ball out there and nobody else. ~ Arnold Palmer

The game is so fantastic, and people who get into it love it so much ... I'd be pleased with that. There's no game like it. ~ Arnold Palmer

I enjoy the press. I understand their business. ~ Arnold Palmer

My grandson Sam Saunders has been playing golf since he could hold a club and I spent a lot of time with him over the years. Like my father taught me, I showed him the fundamentals of the game and helped him make adjustments as he and his game matured over the years. ~ Arnold Palmer

I have won the Australian, I won the British, all PGA championships, but I haven't won the PGA championship. ~ Arnold Palmer

I started flying because I had a fear of it early on. I figured if I learned to fly, I would understand better what was happening and started taking lessons in the late 1950's, once I had made some money on tour. ~ Arnold Palmer

The whole secret to mastering the game of golf - and this applies to the beginner as well as the pro - is to cultivate a mental approach to the game that will enable you to shrug off the bad days, keep patient and know in your heart that sooner or later you will be back on top. ~ Arnold Palmer

I played with [Dwight Eisenhower] on the day after I won the Masters at his request. We became everlasting friends. I was with him the day before he died at Walter Reed. ~ Arnold Palmer

That's another thing about my father. He made me very conscious of the fact I wasn't very good and I had to prove to him that I was good. And that hung with me, and I always wanted to play golf with him and show him. He said Never, Never tell anyone how good you are. Show them! ~ Arnold Palmer

It is a rare and difficult attainment to grow old gracefully and happily. ~ Arnold Palmer

Arnold Palmer has what I call an 'Eisenhower smile'. Those two men, they'd smile and their whole faces would look so pleasant; it was like they were smiling all over. ~ Byron Nelson

I would say my first golf memory was asking who Arnold Palmer was when he was always on the Pennzoil commercials. When I was a little kid I watched a lot of sports, but I didn't watch a lot of golf, and this guy was always on a tractor. ~ Mike Greenberg

Swing your swing. I know, I did. ~ Arnold Palmer

What other people may find in poetry or art museums, I find in the flight of a good drive. ~ Arnold Palmer

I probably have a club in my hands 360 days a year, one way or another, playing with friends or just fiddling around or hitting balls. ~ Arnold Palmer

There's some good news, too, and the good news is that the players [finally] have become more aware of the fact that we [in golf] need sponsors, and we need the good will that is created by the players being, let's say, cooperative with the sponsors - meaning friendly. ~ Arnold Palmer

It is such a disappointment in American political reaction and actions. When some of our politicians are flying around the country in private airplanes all the time, using public services as their mode of private transportation, and then criticizing us who are in business. ~ Arnold Palmer

I would like to have won more golf tournaments. But I wouldn't sacrifice my life. I've enjoyed it. I'd love to do it again the same way. ~ Arnold Palmer

Ever since I bought and started flying an airplane, it's been almost exclusively for business. I love to fly. It's a great joy to me. But rarely do I use it for any kind of pleasure, other than it is a pleasure to fly. ~ Arnold Palmer

I use an Arnold Palmer putter that was probably built back in 1954. ~ Lee Trevino

[Jack Nicklaus] was the first to bring in course management. He could go to a course and tell you within one stroke what was going to win. He used to set his sights on that because he could shoot it. He was the only player I know who, if he decided he wanted to win a tournament, could go out and do it. No one will ever be as popular as Arnold Palmer and no one will ever come close to Jack as a player. ~ Lee Trevino

I can't afford the luxury of music while I'm flying an airplane. I have to pay attention to what I'm doing. ~ Arnold Palmer

The thing I probably love the most is driving out with the championship trophy under my arm. ~ Arnold Palmer

What separates great players from the good ones is not so much ability as brain power and emotional equilibrium. ~ Arnold Palmer

My problem happens to be near-sightedness - inability to see distance. And this is pretty tough on a golfer. ~ Arnold Palmer

I would not have been able to accomplish a lot of what I did professionally had I not learned to fly myself and owned an airplane. For example, I was able to fly to an exhibition for the day and be back home in time for dinner. I never would have been able to do that flying commercially. ~ Arnold Palmer

I would like to say, however, that a man might be walking around lucky and not know it unless he tries. ~ Arnold Palmer

I talk to golfers, I talk to my grand kids about their game, and tell them to develop a system, Now, when they're young. And if they develop that system, it will be the crutch they need to be good. To know that system and make it work for you, know what it is and make it work. ~ Arnold Palmer

Some golfers fantasize about playing in a foursome with Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, and Sam Snead. The way I hit I'd rather play in a foursome with Helen Keller, Ray Charles, and Stevie Wonder. ~ Bruce Lansky

I've noticed the sound of the golf ball being hit by the golf club is different, and much more realistic, with the hearing aids. The sound with the hearing aids makes sense, and better represents what I know is happening to the golf ball. So you could say that the hearing aids help give me confidence regarding my golf game. ~ Arnold Palmer

I wanted to emulate my father. I wanted to be as tough as he was. I wanted to do the things that he did. I watched him. ~ Arnold Palmer

I was mixing iced tea and lemonade in my kitchen since as long as I can remember. It wasn't until some time in the early 1960s that it became associated with me publicly. ~ Arnold Palmer

If ever I needed an eight foot putt, and everything I owned depended on it, I would want Arnold Palmer to putt for me. ~ Bobby Jones

The most rewarding things you do in life are often the ones that look like they cannot be done. ~ Arnold Palmer

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. ~ Arnold Palmer

I can't believe that Babe Ruth was a better player than Willie Mays. (Babe) Ruth is to baseball what Arnold Palmer is to golf. He got the game moving. But I can't believe he could run as well as (Willie) Mays, and I can't believe he was any better an outfielder. ~ Sandy Koufax

I worked for dad on the grounds and I was in high school and I said I wanted to go to college, and he said, well, you figure it out. He said I will pay for your college but you're going to go to St. Vincent. St. Vincent College right here. That's about as much as I can afford, you work here, right here at home. I said, what if I can get somewhere else? And he said if I can get there, that's your call. ~ Arnold Palmer

The fans, I loved them. My mother would be in the gallery, I would look right at my mother and not remember. ~ Arnold Palmer

If you're stupid enough to whiff, you should be smart enough to forget it. ~ Arnold Palmer

Sam Snead will fly anywhere in my plane with me. Sam's not as worried about the danger as he is about saving money. ~ Arnold Palmer

There isn't a flaw in his golf or his makeup. He will win more majors than Arnold Palmer and me combined. Somebody is going to dust my records. It might as well be Tiger, because he's such a great kid. ~ Jack Nicklaus

Players need to remember they didn't make golf. Golf made them. ~ Arnold Palmer

Concentration, Confidence, Competitive urge, Capacity for enjoyment. ~ Arnold Palmer

I would never felt good if I hadn't experienced losing, because losing is part of your life. And it something that if I could teach people to understand that I think it could help them a lot. ~ Arnold Palmer

If you are really serious about playing golf and playing good golf, stick to the basic fundamentals. Sure, there's going to be a little change here and a change there, but you don't want to make them. You want to stick to the things that you started with, and you learned, and you know how to apply them. ~ Arnold Palmer

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. ~ Arnold Palmer

I had a system, and the system worked. ~ Arnold Palmer

I never rooted against an opponent, but I never rooted for him either. ~ Arnold Palmer

If you can see it, you can hit it and if you can hit it, you can hole it. ~ Arnold Palmer

Your worst putt will usually be as good as your best chip. ~ Arnold Palmer

Putting is a fascinating, aggravating, wonderful, terrible and almost incomprehensible part of the game of golf. ~ Arnold Palmer

I love America. I wanted to play golf. ~ Arnold Palmer

[Golf]is deceptively simple, endlessly complicated. A child can play it well, and a grown man can never master it. Any single round of it is full of unexpected triumphs and perfect shots that end in disaster. It is almost a science, yet it is a puzzle without an answer. It is gratifying and tantalizing, precise and unpredictable. It requires complete concentration and total relaxation. It satisfies the soul and frustrates the intellect. It is at the same time, rewarding and maddening. And it is without doubt the greatest game mankind has ever invented. ~ Arnold Palmer

The first time I ever saw Arnold Palmer, I said, There's a star. The first time I saw Jack Nicklaus, I said, Superstar. I feel the same way about Tiger Woods. ~ Gary Player

Winning is a drive, it's a thing that you feel like when I go to bed at night I go to sleep. ~ Arnold Palmer

I've been wearing hearing aids for a long time. The technology available now is simply unbelievable. When I compare the new digital products to what we had 30 years ago, it's an amazing difference ... There was a time when I couldn't hear what most people said to me, most of the time. But with the hearing aids, I understand just about everything ... it really is very impressive. ~ Arnold Palmer

I think a firm grip helps you control the club and prevents it from turning in your hands. Another thing about feel is, if you make a change in your grip, it takes time for your brain to adapt. ~ Arnold Palmer

Feel is the most perplexing part of golf, and probably the most important. ~ Arnold Palmer

Frankly, I'm not much for funerals unless it's absolutely an obligation. I don't feel it serves much of a purpose to go and see my friends just lying there, dead. I try to pay my respects to my friends when they're alive. ~ Arnold Palmer

I suppose I could think of a lot of things to say about the fact that I still play. But I don't really need to. I can tell you this, that I enjoy it. I still enjoy it. I like to get out in the air and I like to walk and I like to do the things that are involved in playing golf. ~ Arnold Palmer

One thing I've learned over time is, if you hit a golf ball into water, it won't float. ~ Arnold Palmer

The secret of concentration is the secret of self-discovery. You reach inside yourself to discover your personal resources, and what it takes to match them to the challenge. ~ Arnold Palmer

The biggest rival I had in my career was me. I couldn't control Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Tom Watson or Lee Trevino. The only person I could control was me. ~ Jack Nicklaus

I never met a winner who had a work ethic. Not somebody who says I have so much talent that naturally I won. ~ Arnold Palmer

When I was in college, I thought about becoming an attorney. But I wasn't smart enough; I hate being cooped up indoors; and I'm too nice a guy. ~ Arnold Palmer

Arnold Palmer is the biggest crowd pleaser since the invention of the portable sanitary facility. ~ Bob Hope

A lot of people are afraid of winning. I was afraid I might not win. ~ Arnold Palmer

Had I not become a professional golfer, I think I would have pursued some type of career in aviation. ~ Arnold Palmer

I quit flying myself last year and that was difficult for me because I enjoy it as much as playing golf. It was an adjustment sitting in the back of the plane, rather than at the controls, but I've grown accustomed to it and enjoy reading a book, doing some work or challenging my wife to a game of dominos. ~ Arnold Palmer

Putting is like wisdom - partly a natural gift and partly the accumulation of experience. ~ Arnold Palmer

I'm not much for sitting around and thinking about the past or talking about the past. What does that accomplish? If I can give young people something to think about, like the future, that's a better use of my time. ~ Arnold Palmer

I played high school golf, I played amateur golf and I started getting officers. I was playing pretty good, won amateur tournaments as a junior, and the whole thing. ~ Arnold Palmer