Day in the Life of Arnold Palmer: Q&A with The King

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Arnold Palmer still spends five days a week in his office at Bay Hill.

Editor's note: As part of our ongoing Day in the Life of Series, PGATOUR.COM's Brian Wacker sat down for an exclusive Q&A with Arnold Palmer, who talked about Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, the next generation of players, 50 years of flying and more.

You're 81 years old now but you still come to work every morning. What's a typical day like for you?

Well, I get up (laughing). This morning we've had numerous people in to say hello and get some autographs. And then I just work. I sign a lot of stuff here, I do contracts, review business deals, talk about future outings, and I review the business of the club here and Latrobe. I review almost everything.

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How much time do you spend thinking about playing?

Oh my staff here they keep me thinking about what's going on in here so I don't have that much to do about playing. If I get antsy I just get up and go out to the practice tee and hit a few balls.

Throughout the history of the game there's always been that passing of the torch -- you to Jack, Jack to Tom Watson, seemingly Tiger to this next generation. What do you think of the next generation of players?

The pattern has been set with the guys we've had over the years and you can go back as far as [Byron] Nelson and [Sam] Snead. That's a very important transition and I think it's going to keep going. Tiger is certainly a part of that. Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson. There are a group of young payers who will be formidable. We don't yet know the single one who will step out in front but there are many opportunities for that individual to get recognition and call attention to the game of golf. From the international aspects of it, these players are coming from all over the world. It's a very exciting time in golf with Tiger still in there and people coming along who will be challenging his records.

You've known Tiger for a long time. What's your perspective on his place in the game right now?

I think his record speaks for itself and he certainly is approaching some of the things Nicklaus did in his era. Tiger will be recognized as one of the great players in the game.

Do you think he'll break Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 career major championships?

Is it possible? Absolutely. Will he? It's questionable.

Speaking of Jack, what's he meant to you all these years?

Jack's a very close, personal friend of mine. We've competed against each other for quite a few years and I've enjoyed the competition playing with him and against him and I've enjoyed our friendship. It's something that's very important to me.

A lot of people consider Phil Mickelson a modern-day Arnold Palmer. Do you see a lot of yourself in him?

I think he's been good for golf. He has done some wonderful things playing and is a likable guy and the fans enjoy him and he's very accommodating to the fans. He's a good player and he'll win championships and he gives himself to the crowd. I suppose you could say there were some similarities between his style and mine ... but you have to keep in mind that he's left-handed and I'm right handed (winking).

Earlier this year you chose not to renew your pilot's license and flew for the final time, going from Pebble Beach to Orlando. What was that like?

I've been flying for 50 years and I've accumulated over 20,000 hours. That [final flight] was a bittersweet situation. I enjoy flying and I still enjoy it. I think I'll still keep some hand in it but the business end of it and everything else has convinced me I should slow down and enjoy the back of the airplane. That's going to be very difficult for me. I hope I can be comfortable sitting in the back but I'm not sure that I will be.

We're sitting here in your design company offices and I understand you got your start in golf course design while in the Coast Guard. How did that come about?

While I was in training, the commander of the base knew that I was a golfer and he suggested I try to make a little nine-hole course on the base so the guys during their spare time would have an opportunity to play golf. It was pretty rough but for some of the guys it gave them an opportunity to go out and hit golf balls and create games to occupy their spare time. It was never really finished because I was transferred, but they still played it and had fun on it for a few years after.

What was that like, your experience in the Coast Guard?

Those three years were some of the best years of my life. I learned a lot and I matured a lot and I think it was a good thing for me as an individual. I would suggest to anybody who has a question as to whether they should be in the service that it wouldn't be bad for them to spend a year or two or three in the service for the country. I think they would learn a lot and mature a little bit.

When you look at a piece of land, what's your goal in terms of designing a golf course?

Some land you look at when you're designing golf courses you can almost visualize or see where the holes would go. Sometimes it's almost automatic. And of course with the modern day designs and people doing them it's a little more complicated than putting 18 holes on a piece of property. There are good properties and there are questionable properties. It's always nice to see a good rolling piece of property with various elevation changes and so forth. That can be really valuable to the final product.

How difficult has the golf course design and real estate business been lately given the state of the economy?

The real estate business is a disaster as far as golf is concerned. But the good news is we're still building golf courses. Internationally it hasn't been hit as hard as it has in the United States. We may have been a little overzealous in our building courses in years gone by and we may have to pay for that, but there's still going to be golf and golf courses. The thing that's going to be a major factor is the Olympics. That's something that's going to create additional interest throughout the world and there's still a lot of room in the world to build courses, particularly in third world countries.

When it's all said and done what do you want people to remember about you?

Well, I don't think about those things too much. I hope that if we get into that subject that I've just been able to help the game of golf around the world.