Occupying over 2,000 square feet at the World Golf Hall of Fame in St. Augustine, Florida, the exhibit includes over 500 artifacts and photographs, many of which are reaching the public domain for the first time. The display, which will be open for viewing until April 15, 2005, is split into five themes of Palmer’s amazing life journey: Young Palmer; Celebrating 50 years in golf; What’s in the name?; The man you may not know; and King of Hearts. “In going through the process of developing this exhibit, we found more fascinating stories and artifacts than we ever anticipated,” claims Jack Peter, Chief Operating Officer of the Hall of Fame. “We are extremely grateful to Mr Palmer, Arnold Palmer Enterprizes, IMG, Palmer Course Design Company and the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children and Women for their time and support of this effort.

“This exhibit will provide a very unique and personal glimpse into the life of one of golf’s greatest legends.”

Indeed, Palmer is one of the 13 golfers inducted into the original Hall of Fame when it was inaugurated at Pinehurst, North Carolina in 1974, prior to its relocation to St. Augustine’s World Golf Village in 1998.

An emotional Palmer was granted a preview of the exhibit, and he even conducted a brief interview session with journalists from the seat of his father’s old tractor. Palmer Snr, Deacon, had used the tractor for many years at Latrobe Country Club, near Pittsburgh, where he fulfilled the dual role of club professional and course superintendent at Latrobe (Deacon was obviously a man who shared the same boundless energy and passion for golf that his son would display for so many years.)

This very tractor became instantly recognizable in homes throughout the United Sates in the late 1970s and early 1980s, after an endorsement meeting with Pennzoil in which Palmer had mentioned that his father had used their oil for years in his tractor. Hence, that old piece of farming machinery, now a beautifully restored museum piece in Florida, was wheeled out of its dusty old shed to star in Pennzoil’s television advertising campaign, and it become the most famous tractor in America.

“This is a very overwhelming and humbling experience,” Palmer said gripping the tractor’s steering wheel. “There is some great stuff in here and it brings back so many special memories for me. It’s very touching. After all these years, some of the items here I had forgotten about, and now all these fun memories are coming flooding back.”

Walking through the exhibition, the ‘Young Palmer’ section guides visitors through stories and photos from Palmer’s childhood in Pennsylvania, including memorabilia from his formative days as a golfer, when he learnt how to play under his father’s guidance. On display are the golf clubs with which Palmer learned to play the game, which were given to him by a local doctor. The young Palmer won many local and regional tournaments with these very clubs - grooving that all-important habit of winning - and, by the time he was 17, he had won two state interscholastic titles and the West Penn Amateur Championship.

The first phase of the exhibit also covers Palmer’s successful spell as a golf scholar at Wake Forest College and his three-year spell with the US Coast Guard. As well as unearthing Palmer’s Coast Guard dog tags, the Hall of Fame is displaying the pin and medal from one of Palmer’s most significant amateur triumphs, the 1954 US Amateur.

Moving into ‘Celebrating 50 years in golf’, this section concentrates on Palmer’s career as a professional golfer. The display features the US Open trophy and Claret Jug from the British Open, as well as Palmer’s commemorative Masters clubhouse trophy. As the first golfer to win the Masters Tournament four times, Palmer received a special commemorative plaque from Augusta co-founder Clifford Roberts, on which Palmer’s four scorecards from his 1964 win are engraved in gold. It takes pride of place in the exhibit. Also on display here is Palmer’s 1960 US Open trophy, which conjures up memories of one of those classic Palmer comebacks against the odds that so enthralled the sporting world. Palmer started the final round a distant seven strokes off Mike Souchak’s lead at Cherry Hills Country Club in Colorado, but never one to entertain thoughts of losing, and always happy to wear his heart on his sleeve, Palmer had asked: “What if I shoot a 65? Doesn’t 280 always win the Open?” Palmer proceeded to become the first player in US Open history to shoot 65 in the final round, to give him a final score of 280, an incredible victory and another record for the most strokes pulled back for a US Open win.

Palmer remains one of the most heavily sponsored golfers in the world, and the ‘What’s in a name?’ section of the exhibit celebrates the golfer’s enduring appeal that has reached all corners of the globe. It is here that visitors will find the famous tractor that belonged to Palmer’s father, as well as a variety of print and TV commercials starring the golfer.

Among the diverse range of products on display that Palmer endorsed (and he never endorsed a product he didn’t like!) are a selection of coat hangers from ‘Arnold Palmer Cleaning Centers’. Starting out in New York, Los Angeles, Augusta, Hilton Head, Charlotte and Louisville, these outlets represented Palmer’s foray into the dry cleaning industry, and one of the most peculiar endorsements by a sportsman on record. However, Palmer had the last laugh as a winning formula was created: the shops were decorated in a golf theme, the staff wore green blazers and the concept proved so popular that there were once over 100 Arnold Palmer Cleaning Centres in the United States.

Palmer’s life away from the golf course will be covered in ‘The man you may not know’ phase of the exhibit. Putting golf clubs aside, it would be impossible to ignore Palmer’s passion for flying, and in particular his incredible ‘Flight Around the World’, when he broke the world record for circumnavigating the globe by private jet in 1976. Flying a Lear 36, Palmer set a speed record of 57 hours, 25 minutes and 42 seconds.

Palmer often says he would have been a pilot if golf had not worked out, and the exhibit includes a model of the record-breaking Lear and guest books signed by people who had put their trust in Palmer’s hands by accepting a flight in one of the nine planes he has owned over the years. Another item of particular interest on display in this section of the exhibit is an oil painting by Dwight D. Eisenhower, which the former President gave to Palmer on his birthday in 1966. Palmer and Eisenhower became firm friends, having first met after Palmer had won his first Green Jacket in 1958. One of the golfer’s most cherished possessions, the painting depicts Eisenhower’s Gettysburg farm.

The closing area of the exhibit is ‘King of hearts’, which showcases Palmer’s philanthropic endeavours. The history of the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children and Women is charted here in detail. The hospital is an achievement of Palmer’s that is more heroic than any of the Major triumphs and dramatic comebacks, and will serve as Palmer’s greatest legacy to his adopted home state of Florida for many decades to come. Since 1989, more than 110,000 children have been born at the hospital, and in 2004 ground was broken on a new 23,500-square-foot Children’s Emergency Department and Trauma Center. The shovel from Palmer’s original groundbreaking in 1989 is on display at the Hall of Fame.

The World Golf Hall of Fame is to be congratulated for its painstaking efforts to build an exhibit that celebrates the personality, ability, achievements and aura of Arnold Palmer. There have been a few golfers over the last 100 years who could match the Pennsylvania player in terms of titles won, but none - before or since - have generated such jaw-dropping excitement and drama on a golf course, let alone attract such an adoring following. That is why the World Golf Hall of Fame has set aside 2,000 square feet for this exhibit, and that is why you will kick yourself if you don’t cover every square inch.

The World Golf Hall of Fame is located at World Golf Village, St. Augustine, Florida, and is a collaboration of 26 national and international golf organizations, including the PGA TOUR, LPGA, USGA, PGA of America, Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews and Augusta National Golf Club. The facility houses interactive displays, historic artifacts, a special exhibit gallery, IMAX Theater and the Hall of Fame itself, which honors the game’s greatest players and contributors.

The World Golf Hall of Fame is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 6 p.m. For more information call 904-940-4123 or visit www.worldgolfhalloffame.org.