Vintage Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus

I was recently watching the British Open and I noticed something very interesting, a golfer, Darren Clarke, was smoking a cigarette while on the course. I'll get back to this cigarette thing in a moment. So Mr Clarke eventually went on to win the Open and was quoted as saying he was basically just a guy trying to shoot a couple of good rounds. "I'm a bit of a normal bloke, aren't I?" Clarke said, the claret jug at his side. "I like to go to the pub and have a pint, fly home, buy everybody a drink, just normal. There's not many airs and graces about me. I was a little bit more difficult to deal with in my earlier years, and I've mellowed some. Just a little bit. But I'm just a normal guy playing golf, having a bit of fun." 


If you haven't noticed, Darren Clarke is a throwback. A character. Somebody I might see at the range complaining about his hook. Somebody I want to root for. Which brings me back to the cigarette. My favorite golfer of all time used to smoke on the course. He was a character. He was a swashbuckler. He was Arnold Palmer, affectionately known around western Pennsylvania as Arno and just Arnie everywhere else. Arnie was the man, the guy who put golf on the map for kids like me who had never even been on a golf course. He ruled the world during the 1950's. 


But then it happened. Jack Nicklaus hit the tour as a professional in the early 60's. Now it was on. Jack and Arnie lit up the tour and made golf big time TV entertainment. The 1962 US Open was a barn burner, tied at the end of regulation, settled only after another 18 holes with Jack winning it with superior putting. This was the semi-official beginning of the modern era of golf. Real men, real legends. Check this out:

This autographed vintage photo is now available at ScoreMemorabilia.com