It is hard to measure a man’s impact on the world, but the outpour of love for Arnold Palmer over the last 24 hours says everything you need to know about the countless lives he touched. I, of course, never met Arnold Palmer, but based on the stories flooding the Internet since his death, you get the feeling that any encounter with The King would have been comfortable, friendly, and somehow profound.
Above and below are the tribute videos that Golf Digest released in honor of Palmer’s life. They feature several golfers and celebrities talking about their personal favorite Arnold Palmer stories. Each one is uniquely its own, but all of them have a common theme. And that is that Arnold Palmer was a great golfer, but an even better man.
My favorite story of the bunch comes from the top video when Jim Nantz talks about a chance encounter he had with Palmer prior to his final competitive round at Augusta. I won’t spoil it here, but I will say that the story has nothing to do with golf and everything to do with being a decent human being and a caring friend. Perhaps that’s why it stood out to me. Because in the hours since his passing, people are remembering Palmer not for his seven major championships and 62 PGA Tour wins, but for the kind of man he was.