Favorite Quotes!

We all have our own favorite quotes. One of my favorites appeared at the end of the movie, TEARS OF THE SUN, with Bruce Willis:

"The only thing necessary for Evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing!"
Sir Edmond Burke

When I was sixteen years old, my younger brother and I went to the San Diego Open that was played in northern San Diego County in 1964. I'm not sure which course was used that year for the tournament, but Arnold Palmer was in his prime that year.

I'll never forget watching Arnie top his tee shot about 75 yards through the rough off the ninth tee. It was a par-5, so he obviously was not going to get home in two shots, maybe even three. Right after topping the tee shot, everyone in the crowd went quiet, probably astonished at what Arnie had done, and expecting some kind of outburst from Arnie.

Then we heard Arnie's voice, "That's going to make it hard to birdie the hole!"

Everyone laughed, as did I. I'll never forget that moment, and have remembered all my life that there is no place for a temper on the golf course.

That week a writer for Sports Illustrated was at the San Diego Open, and was doing a special on Junior Golf. My brother and I got together with about 25 other junior golfers and surrounded Mr. Palmer in a photo shoot for the cover of Sports Illustrated that afternoon.

Inside the issue was a quote by Arnold Palmer that I have had framed in my house for over 45 years. It goes like this:

"GOOD GOLF IS A STATE OF MIND!"
"Golf is deceptively simple and endlessly complicated. A child can play it well and a grown man can never master it. Any single round of it is full of unexpected triumphs and seemingly perfect shots that end in disaster. It is almost a science, yet it is a puzzle without an answer. It is gratifying and tantalizing, precise and unpredictable. It requires complete concentration and total relaxation. It satisfies the soul and frustrates the intellect. It is at the same time rewarding and maddening. And it is without doubt the greatest game mankind has ever invented." ......................... Arnold Palmer 1964

Little did I know that twenty-eight years later, I would be showing Arnold Palmer at a Senior PGA Tour event how my patented PROBE 20/20 inverted-shafted putter was superior to any other golf putter on the market. That day in September, 1992, I convinced Mr. Palmer of that fact, and he went on to play his best tournament of 1992. He played my PROBE putter for a full year on tour until he was paid a lot of money to switch to playing Callaway clubs.

Do you have a favorite quote? Why is it your favorite? What were the circumstances surrounding the first time you ever heard it or read it?