Life’s Work: An Interview with Arnold Palmer

Photography: Tracy Wilcox/Golfweek Arnold Palmer won more than 100 amateur and professional golf tournaments by relying on the skills that his father, a greenkeeper, had taught him. Charismatic yet humble, and a risk taker on the course, he leveraged his popularity with fans into business success, paving the way for future generations of celebrity athletes. Interviewed by Alison Beard HBR: You’ve described golf as precise yet unpredictable. How does one develop a strategy for winning in a game like that? Palmer: The most important thing is to establish a system you have confidence in and rely on it when you get into tough situations. I’m talking about techniques, the fundamentals of the game that you’ve practiced all your life. When you run into a tight spot, a situation so complicated that you’re not sure of the way out, that’s when you fall back on your system to take you where you want to go. I used my system in each and every game of golf I played. I didn’t believe in changing. I stuck to what I knew and had practiced, and I depended on it. Most players today use coaches. Were you ever tempted to hire one? I’m probably the least in favor of all the instructional gurus out there helping the young players. Everybody’s got a system they think is the best, and there are so many you can’t count ’em. But I always found that depending on my own system, my own ability to manufacture what I needed, was what carried me through. My father, who taught me to drive a tractor and cut fairways at Latrobe Country Club, told me that I could start talking to coaches and listening to all the advice they’d give me about my game—or I could play my own way. Regardless, I could always come back home and drive that tractor. You’ve had many big wins but also some painful losses. How did you cope with the latter? When I lost, I always learned something to help me in the next situation. I used that to take away the insult. One time at Augusta, I was going into the last hole with a one-shot lead to win the Masters, and a friend from the gallery hollered at me, so I walked over and accepted congratulations. And then I proceeded to make six on the hole and lose. My father had warned me about that. I was told all my life not to accept congratulations until it’s over. You’ve said that a lack of confidence can turn a good putter into a poor one. How does one regain confidence? Number one, tell yourself you can do it. But it also helps to have someone who’s an expert tell you not what to do but that you’re good at what you do. You were one of the first athlete-entrepreneurs to endorse brands and invest in real estate developments. How did you manage that transition? When I started, I was trying to do anything I could to be successful. But most of the brands I endorsed were ones I used myself. I take some pride in my common sense, and I try to conduct my business dealings with that. I’ve always surrounded myself with people who are more intelligent or more familiar with a particular situation than I am. And I accept their advice.

Life’s Work: An Interview with Arnold Palmer

Partner Center