Masters MIAs
The golf world gathers around The Masters this week, and there will be two palpable absences.
The King will be missing for the first time in more than 60 years. Arnold Palmer’s legacy at Augusta is really beyond description. He first played there in 1955 and competed in 50 Masters. He was one of the honorary starters beginning in 2007. Palmer won the 1958 version of The Masters, birdieing the 18th hole of the final round to win the first of his four titles. But it was his genuine and emotional flair – made for television – that was previously unmatched. His death at age 87 last September is sure to bring more than a few weepy segments on ESPN and CBS this week.
Tiger Woods likely will attend some tournament festivities in Augusta, Ga., but he will not be in the field, once again hampered by his body’s continuing breakdown, at golf’s relatively young age of 41.
While most people compare the records of Woods and Jack Nicklaus, who won The Masters six times, it’s probably more appropriate to compare Palmer and Woods, because both rang the bell for golf at important times.
Palmer rode the advent of televised golf in the late 1950s and early 1960s into American homes, and golf’s popularity exploded. A regular guy from a rural area of the country, Palmer’s personality and daring play attracted throngs. Arnie’s Army was exactly that on the golf course – a charge that followed him around the course, and occasionally intimidated other players. Beyond that, more people began playing golf. Public courses became more popular, at a time when golf was primarily a rich man’s game played at private clubs. Golf courses started springing up around the country. Even the federal government provided rural development money for small rural towns to build golf courses.
Woods’ arrival was announced at Augusta when he won the first of his four green jackets 20 years ago this week. A phenom, he swung harder, hit the ball farther, and combined that with great putting to totally overpower what was once considered a course immune to those who played so aggressively. In earning his title in 1997, he broke the tournament record by a single stroke at 18 under par, but he beat the second-place finisher by 12 shots. This came after he was four over par on his first nine holes. He played the last 63 holes in 22 under par, and he played 45 holes from mid-round Thursday to the end of Saturday in 18 under par.
Both men were also victims of their success.
When younger people saw Palmer playing golf – successfully – they tried to emulate him. In the 1960s, a new wave of talented players started arriving on the professional tours. Whereas there were eras prior to Palmer’s arrival when just a few players dominated the professional ranks, the 1960s brought more depth to the field. Inside a decade, there were more people capable of winning golf tournaments, and interest from the public increased. That led to more television revenue, larger paychecks, and the advent of Nicklaus, who proved to be Palmer’s chief rival.
Woods’ arrival came at a time when golf was beginning to experience a void. The Nicklaus-Player-Palmer-Trevino-Watson-Irwin era had faded, and golf was looking for a new star. Woods was it. Young and lean, he was a golfing machine. People watched golf just to see his booming drives and incredible putting.
Suddenly, golf was again popular on television, and golf courses around the country saw the level of play increase. Golf equipment, in particular, rose in prices. Drivers that previously cost $100 to $150 doubled and tripled in price. Combined with a 1990s tech boom that filled bank accounts and stock portfolios, there was a demand for more golf courses.
With more television viewers, the prize purses pursued by players escalated dramatically. Phil Mickelson, probably the second-greatest player of the Woods era, and the one more associated with Palmer because of demeanor, recently said how much he appreciated Woods’ impact on the game, because he drove prize money to previously unfathomable heights. But along with that came a new wave of Tiger clones – golfers who trained vigorously, ate a better diet, and boomed drives.
The folks at Augusta National responded, too. Concerned that Tiger was making their beloved and challenging course obsolete, they “Tiger-proofed” it over the next few years – narrowing fairways, growing the rough taller, lengthening holes, and toughening the layout. Woods won again in 2001, 2002 and 2005, but by that time, he was no longer the lone big hitter who could putt, and the game he reshaped led to more people being able to play his way and challenge him.
Most everyone loved Palmer. Not everyone loves Woods, and that’s where the two diverge the most. That said, time is still there for developing the later-life image of Woods, whose charitable work – like Palmer’s – will impact the world longer and deeper than his golf.
No doubt, we will miss The King’s presence and Tiger’s play this week – at The Masters.
Brad Hicks is publisher of The Express. Reach him at publisher@redoakexpress.com.