The day I met the King the legendary Arnold Palmer will be always remembered as one of the finest moments in my golfing career, It all started on a golfing holiday some years back to Orlando, Florida.
After many years of golfing at this destination Lyn and I decided to take a look at Bay Hill Golf and Country Club owned by Mr Palmer the venue for the Bay Hill Invitation PGA tour golf tournament, we new that you could only play the course if you stayed at their onsite hotel so it was a course we were never going to play at and therefore not visited in the past. I was surprised to find it not that far from International Drive and only a stones throw from the Walt Disney theme park complex in Orland, we parked our car and headed for the pro shop. Now the pro shop was on the second floor with the buggy cart service book in and return service underneath next to the very grand private clubhouse reserved for members and guests only, Lyn went straight to the ladies section as usual to look at the clothes and I took a look at all the fabulous Bay Hill merchandise, at the shop desk I asked if they ever get to see the great man very often which to my surprise said that they see him most days, he is always around somewhere as he lives here during the winter months, by this time Lyn was outside on a rocking chair on the veranda overlooking the first tee. After my chat with the pro I went to join her and sat and watching the golfers teeing off, after a while Lyn turns to me and says "that's him over there isn't it" in which by this time Mr Palmer was collecting his buggy from the buggy master below, he looked up and waved with a cheery "good morning" and headed off to the practise ground adjacent to the first tee, well I could not have believed my luck and never being one to be shy decided that I was going meet the great man and decided to follow him.
I caught up with him behind the starters box in the shade waiting for a place to open up on the practise ground and I remember people staring at him as I approached, I went up to him took off my cap and said "Mr Palmer" ( I must point out that everyone addresses the king as "Mister Palmer" out of respect for what he has done for the game, for every one else its Hi Tiger, Rory, Justin or Brookes) "Sir can I shake your hand as you have been my all-time golfing hero" "not at all its my pleasure" said the man and held out his hand. I shook his hand and thinking wow I am actually shaking hands with the king what should I say next, I decided not to talk about golf thinking that's all he talks about to strangers every day, "your English where are you from" says Arnie. "We are from Coventry, England on holidaying and playing lots of golf, were not far from the Belfry and Coventry is famous as being the home of Jaguar cars" "I once had a Jaguar and used it in my early days to travel from course to course" he said "I gave it to my Dad" we then proceeded to talk cars, next knowing that he was interested in flying he was the first to have his own plane and flying it himself I said Coventry is the birthplace of the great Sir Frank Whittle the inventor of the jet engine, we then went on to talk about aeroplane and flying.
All in all I spent about 45 minutes talking to him, and at the end he asked if we had been in the clubhouse and said that we hadn't, at this time the head pro had come down to give him a message and he turned to the Pro and said to please ask the receptionist in the clubhouse to let this gentleman have a look around, I asked the pro if it was possible to take a picture of the two of us if Mr Palmer didn't mind which he agreed to without any hesitation.
Later his secretary did show us around the clubhouse, there was a room full of photos of the great man with every dignitary you could imagine, quite amazing, on the way home that day I was on cloud nine I could not have believed I had just met my golfing hero!
I have been lucky to have met a few famous people in my life and I can honestly say that Arnold Palmer was the nicest, most down to earth gentleman I have ever had the pleasure to have met, he is and will always be without a doubt THE KING.
God bless you!
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