Best Arnold Palmer Quotes & Sayings

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 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 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

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

Everyone I built a course for thinks they have the best golf course in the world and I'm very pleased and proud of that. — Arnold Palmer

I always knew what was most important to me. When I was growing up, nothing was more important than golf, but that's the attitude of a young person who hasn't a care in the world. Later on I figured it out. Family was first. Always. Then golf and business come after. — 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 think today's athletes generally are spoiled by what's happened to salaries, but I also think that golfers have maintained the best demeanor of any sport. — Arnold Palmer

Golf is a game of inches. The most important are the six inches between your ears. — Arnold Palmer

I always look to see what Arnold [Palmer] shot; it's a habit. We will always compete against each other. — Jack Nicklaus

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

When you lose the ability to step up and hit the ball as hard and as far as you want, that also affects your ability to will the ball to go where you want it to go, if you know what I mean. — 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'm in love with golf, and I want everybody else to share my love affair. — 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

Your worst putt will usually be as good as your best chip. — 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

I fly my own airplane, and I have since 1960. I rarely fly anywhere other than my own airplane. — 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 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

Gary Player and others have said all of us should all give Arnold Palmer a percentage of our earnings because without you there would be no television contracts and without you it wouldn't be as good for anyone. — Charlie Rose

Swing your swing. Not some idea of a swing. Not a swing you saw on TV. Not that swing you wish you had. No, swing your swing. Capable of greatness. Prized only by you. Perfect in it's imperfection. Swing your swing. I know, I did. — Arnold Palmer

My father started on this golf course at Latrobe when he was sixteen years old. He was digging ditches when they were building the golf course. — Arnold Palmer

I don't suppose anybody's ever enjoyed being who they are more than Arnold's enjoyed being Arnold Palmer. — Dan Jenkins

I always said that if I have the perfect club then I should play the perfect game. — 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

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

It is not a dreamlike state, but the somehow insulated state, that a great musician achieves in a great performance. He's aware of where he is and what he's doing, but his mind is on the playing of the instrument with an internal sense of rightness. — Arnold Palmer

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

I used to get tired of drinking iced tea, so I'd ask my wife if we had some lemonade, and I would just dump it right in there. — Arnold Palmer

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 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

You must play boldly to win. — Arnold Palmer

We just became very good friends [ with Dwight Eisenhower ], we played golf, we played heart exhibitions. Then his doctor said he should not play golf anymore. — Arnold Palmer

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

Every day I play golf, that's my goal. To break 70 the other way. To shoot 70 or better. — Arnold Palmer