Arnie and Me

Over the years, I've had the opportunity to interview some of golf's greatest names and personalities like Jack Nicklaus, Ken Venturi, Billy Casper, Annika Sorenstam, Clint Eastwood, Greg Norman, John Daly and more. Each encounter was stimulating.

Venturi is an engaging story-teller, bold enough in his trust to share his full range of emotions-my favorite interview of all time. Casper is easy-going and inviting and the 18 holes I played with him were delightful, even in the rain. Daly is…well, he's Daly.

But getting a chance to spend some time with Arnold Palmer-golf's unquestioned King and the superman that brought the game to the everyman-was electrifying.

Arnold Palmer was the featured guest at a recent Northern California PGA fundraising event called The Langley. Named in honor of Jim Langley, the annual event raised funds for the NCPGA Foundation to support worthy charities in the world of golf. The beneficiary was Saving Strokes, the American Heart/American Stroke Association's praiseworthy program which rehabilitates stroke “victors” through the game of golf.

The festivities consisted of an elegant dinner program in San Francisco's City Hall followed by a golf tournament the next day at the Alister MacKenzie-designed Meadow Club in Marin, California. The stars were out to honor Langley and Palmer and included NBC's Roger Maltbie, LPGA Hall of Famer Juli Inkster, golf luminary and past USGA president Sandy Tatum, numerous friends from the world of golf and more.

As executive producer for the dinner event, part of my responsibility was to assure that the press had time with Arnie, that he had time with special guests and that he was prepared for the “fireside chat” with Maltbie. Palmer couldn't have been more accommodating. He was extremely cordial and generous with his time. He signed every autograph with a kind word and posed for every photo with a ready smile as the rest of us exclaimed to ourselves, “That's Arnold Palmer!”

Palmer's close relationship with Langley goes back many years to when the “Crosby” was played at Cypress Point and Langley was head golf professional there. The beloved Langley, who played five years on the TOUR himself, spent 34 years at Cypress Point Club and today is a legend in his own right.

Although Palmer and Langley were both honored for their extraordinary service to the game of golf, the unassuming Langley was content with Palmer having the limelight for the evening. When Palmer and Maltbie took the stage and began their chat, the meaning of the phrase “could have heard a pin drop” became crystal clear.

More than 300 guests balanced on the edges of their seats as Palmer talked intimately about the life's lessons his father taught him, his changing relationship with Jack Nicklaus, his friendship and mentoring advice to Tiger Woods, and how much he appreciates “the ability to get up in the morning with a smile on my face and look forward to the day. I love going into the office for a few hours in the morning and then going to the course to have some lunch and play the game we love with my friends.”

In one sense, it was poignant to acknowledge that one of the game's greatest players wasn't on golf's big stage anymore. On the other hand, it was fortifying to comprehend the fact that the King appreciates life's simple pleasures-the camaraderie, the game, and the conversation. It's what I've grown to love about the golf and never-never in a million years-would it have occurred to me that I share similar affections with Arnold Palmer.

During both the evening's event and again the next day on the course at the Meadow Club, I had frequent moments to chat with Palmer, both on and off camera. We spoke on the record and off the cuff. He was generous with his time and appeared to appreciate our low pressure encounters. I thought he deserved the respect of me calling him “Mr. Palmer” in spite of his demeanor which projected, “Call me Arnie.”

As a writer, I try not to put myself in the way of the story which is probably why it took some time for me to recall a feature I wrote a few years ago. Jim Langley had just been awarded golf professional of the year by the NCPGA and I received the media person of the year award. I was honored to be on the same stage as Langley, a hero whom I've held in high regard for many years.

The story was my “72 Reasons to Love Golf in Northern California.” I wrote about my favorites-things that really matter to me. As I reflected on that story three years later, I noted that one of my reasons to love golf was Saving Strokes, the beneficiary of this fundraising event. Another was Jim Langley as an example of the more than 1,100 golf professionals in Northern California who make the game so attractive to us.

The stroke that brought the story in under par, however, was my first swing-my opening sentence-a quote from Arnold Palmer who said, “I'm in love with golf and I want everybody else to share my love affair.”

A framed copy of that article now hangs on my wall-autographed by two of my idols, Jim Langley and Arnold Palmer.

I love this game!

For information on how to attend or play in The Langley for 2009, contact the Northern California PGA office in Vacaville at (707) 449-4742 or visit www.ncpga.com. Listen for “Golf to Go” with Frank LaRosa everyday on ESPN Radio 1320 AM in Sacramento.