Quotes from Arnold Palmer

I am a sentimental guy, and occasionally, that lump in my throat when I speak has stopped my tongue from working.

My problem happens to be near-sightedness - inability to see distance. And this is pretty tough on a golfer.

I started flying because I had a fear of it early on. I figured if I learned to fly, I would understand better what was happening and started taking lessons in the late 1950's, once I had made some money on tour.

The thing I probably love the most is driving out with the championship trophy under my arm.

Golf is deceptively simple and endlessly complicated.

Great touch is often written off simply as 'talent,' which is crucial, because a good swing can take a golfer only so far. I've seen thousands of fantastic swings in my day, but that doesn't guarantee anything.

I grew up in poverty on the edge of a golf course. I saw how people lived on the other side of the tracks, the upper crust and the WASPs at the country club. We had chickens and pigs in our yards. We butchered every year. I'll never forget those things.

I quit flying myself last year and that was difficult for me because I enjoy it as much as playing golf. It was an adjustment sitting in the back of the plane, rather than at the controls, but I've grown accustomed to it and enjoy reading a book, doing some work or challenging my wife to a game of dominos.

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.

I would like to have won more golf tournaments. But I wouldn't sacrifice my life. I've enjoyed it. I'd love to do it again the same way.

I love America. I wanted to play golf.

I'm not much for sitting around and thinking about the past or talking about the past. What does that accomplish? If I can give young people something to think about, like the future, that's a better use of my time.

I find myself getting associated with a lot of younger people in the game. I still enjoy playing with them, and I think they still enjoy playing with me. As long as I can stay competitive and have fun doing what I'm doing, I guess I'll keep doing it.

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.

Why hit a conservative shot? When you miss it, you are in just as much trouble as when you miss a bold one.

I'm in love with golf, and I want everybody else to share my love affair.

The fans motivated me. They gave me the incentive to want to play and to want to win and to continue to play as my career progressed. They were never a distraction.

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.

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.

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 his instrument with an internal sense of Tightness-it is not merely mechanical, it is not only spiritual; it is something of both, on a different plane and a more remote one.

Had I not become a professional golfer, I think I would have pursued some type of career in aviation.

Putting is like wisdom - partly a natural gift and partly the accumulation of experience.

There is no king of golf. Never has been, never will be. Golf is the most democratic game on Earth... It punishes and exalts us all with splendid equal opportunity.

I try to deign golf courses that are individual in character and individual in their own standing.