Nicklaus vs. Palmer

By Richard Diaz
Love of Sports Correspondent

No sport is more greatly affected by the presence, or lack there of, of a single athlete than the sport of golf.

After all, without Tiger Woods, would we really care about the Masters or any other PGA event these days? Outside the segment of the population that are legitimate golf fans, what’s the main reason for the humongous amount of media coverage?

I totally understand the prestige angle and all that, yet I still can’t think of a single reason for so much hoopla. Remove Tiger from the equation and most non-golf fans would struggle to name more than two other golfers. All things considered, even NASCAR boasts more feature names than that. With him out the next couple months after knee surgery, this will never be more evident.

And while I might be coming off as anti-golf, that couldn’t be farther from the truth. My point here is to illustrate the fact that the PGA is in dire need of some Old School magic. For as much as Tiger has done to attract a younger and more diverse audience, it’s easy to see the sport isn’t quite what it used to be.

So, in an effort to point them in the right direction, I’m taking a little time to show some Old School Love to one of the greatest sports rivalries of all time.

In case you haven’t caught on yet, this is all about those phenomenal years when Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer were amongst the fiercest rivals in all of professional sports.

For anyone who wasn’t aware of this, these two held a bunch of legitimate animosity towards one another. Think Ali versus Frazier and you’re on the right path.

In one corner, there was the crowd-pleasing entertainer in Palmer. On the other end of the spectrum was the consummate professional in Nicklaus.

They were a pair of complete opposites going head-to-head and taking the entire sport to higher levels of popularity than it’d ever seen.

We all loved Palmer’s short, fast swing. And we all loved Nicklaus’ methodical approach to the game, along with his upright, powerful swing that would eventually be mirrored by golfers for generations to come.

We definitely loved Palmer for being a fan favorite and Jack for being the guy who always had his game face on without really caring to win a so-called popularity contest.

In addition to all that, what made this such an intriguing rivalry was the fact that it extended beyond the links. Even after Jack lost a bit of weight, grew out those trademark blond locks and became the Golden Bear, it was still all about the rivalry.

When the two weren’t going head-to-head in a tournament, they somehow managed to clash in the business world. For example, even though Nicklaus’ Memorial Tournament hit the PGA Tour schedule before Palmer’s Bay Hill Invitational, it’s impossible not to notice that Arny’s tourneys attract the likes of Woods, Els, Couples and Azinger, while Jack’s often do not.

Then, while Jack pretty much dominated the PGA during his prime, it was Palmer who held the distinction of being the first athlete to really market himself. In fact, Palmer was the highest paid endorser in sports until 1991, when Michael Jordan and Nike gave birth to his “Airness.”

So, here’s some OLD SCHOOL LOVE for two guys who elevated the game of golf to never before seen levels of popularity.

We’ll always respect the days of yester-year, when golf was more than debating whether to bet on Tiger Woods or to take the field. The days where you tuned in to watch Jack versus Arnold were the best days the sport has seen in its history.