Loran Smith: For many, he’ll always be The King

Published 4:14 pm Thursday, April 9, 2009

AUGUSTA — The King is about to turn eighty, but the reverence and respect that gained traction here on the grounds of the Augusta National Golf Club in days of yore is still evident wherever Arnold Palmer goes.

Even younger fans, those who never saw him play — certainly not when he was in his prime — are familiar with his legend. They easily recognize him anywhere he goes. There were too many classic video moments on ESPN, too many commercials that they remember growing up, for that not to happen.

It is all about Tiger and Phil now when it comes to golf commercials, but it is doubtful that a greater percentage of the sports world’s fandom is more familiar with those two than when Arnie was the toast of the sports world.

Mention of his name always brought about respect and doting sentiment. He was a man’s man and connected with fans everywhere and still does. People felt comfortable calling him Arnie. Only hotel and professional staff referred to him as “Mr. Palmer.”

Today, the respect for Tiger Woods knows no bounds, but he is not very accessible. Perhaps he can’t be, but there is always the reminder that, relatively speaking, the name Arnie was as big then as the name Tiger is now. Arnold was accessible in the past and remains accessible today.

Write him for an autograph, and you got a signed photo by return mail. After a round of golf he would sign until the last kid had made his way into his presence. Consequently, those same fans wanted everything with his umbrella logo. Shirts, caps, gloves, and clubs. If Pennzoil was good enough for Arnold’s car, it was good enough for the cars of his legion of admirers.

Men wanted to be in his company. Women swooned in his presence. It was akin to what a rock star experiences today. When he posed for a photograph, there was his ever-present smile. You felt he was your best buddy.

Times have changed. Media excess and electronic overkill via the Internet means that there are more people wanting more performance, which means that a wall has gone up around the super stars of today. If you want to ask Tiger a question, you’d better get credentialed for a mass press conference.

Finding a one-on-one opportunity with Arnold in his prime was never that challenging. He would return writer’s calls. He made Pro-Am partners in a golf outing feel like they might be invited to his house for dinner after the golf.

Early in his career, he struggled with smoking and finally kicked the nasty habit. I have always felt that one of the reasons he tried so hard to quit was that he realized what an impact his ubiquitous cigarette had on kids.

No longer do we see him striding down a fairway, trying to take a course by the throat and subduing it masterfully. He hasn’t played competitive golf in years, but there are many who won’t forget his swashbuckling style, scrambling from yonder thicket to save par.

“If you can find it, you can hit it,” he once said. “If you hit it, it might go in the hole.”

That defined the way he played.

Coming on the scene when television was in its infancy, he became America’s best-loved athlete, the one fans wanted to reach out and touch. That is why a throng of admirers were at the first tee to see him start the Masters on Thursday morning.

For those of us who saw him at his best, it is difficult to accept that he is now an old-timer, the ceremonial starter of the tournament — not the one in contention for the title.