For The Love Of The Game
The leather of my dad’s golf bag would scratch against my pleated skirt
as he dragged me across the 18 holes of pure patience.
Golf was a tradition for our family, and losing the king couldn't have hit the revered traditional sport harder. Arnold Palmer made the sport accessible to the common man, he gave his soul, dignity and loyalty to a game that made him “the king”. Arnold Palmer was unsurpassed, he was the best golfer in the world, he won multiple PGA tours and champion tours dating back to 1955. Palmer takes astounding credit for being one of the original 13 men to be in the hall of fame. His legacy has continued through his own drink the “arnold palmer”, which is half lemonade and half sweet tea. Even Tiger Woods was quoted on twitter “ It's hard to imagine golf without you or anyone more important to the game than the King”. The beauty of the game was something that he thrived on. He inspired thousands of athletes to love the dignity of the game rather than the scandal. Palmer was world renowned for a reason, he was a clean player, patient, and most importantly, respectable. He was a gentleman.
In today's culture many argue that chivalry is lost, that gentleman do not exist, some say that on September 25th 2016 we lost the last gentleman.
Our world is a fleeting reflection of the gracelessness that break through in our relationships. Some may say that the idea of chivalry is a man holding a door for a woman, opening her car door, or just buying her flowers and candy. All those things are rare to nonexistent in 2016, we “retweet” and almost “encourage” the behavior that is the pitfall of our identity as a nation. If you wanted to, you could almost analyze our country by a simple interaction in a high school hallway. Our respect and intimacy for each other has been demolished, like the game of golf, there is no patience, intimacy, and loyalty. So is chivalry dead? That's your call. Decide that the next time you walk in the hallways or go on twitter.
A symbol of everything that is not in our hallways, media, and on dates with us disappeared Sunday. My question is, if Palmer was the king, and there is no one to claim the throne, then is the tradition gone? Is golf just another slash in the checklist of our world turning to raw modernism and the indulgence of classlessness.
For me, golf will always be tradition, rivalry with my father on a cloudy sunday afternoon, a collection of precise grips that determine your number. Golf will always bring the connotation of a lost patience, a revered truth and the inspiration of chivalry. I firmly believe that chivalry is not dead, I believe that men like Palmer will always have a place in our society, and golf will continue to be a symbol of the timeless classic respect that we as a society continue to be drawn to in the 21st century.