During the 60's Eisenhower and Palmer became friends out of mutual admiration and respect for one another. Both Eisenhower and Palmer hailed from ‘blue collar’ backgrounds—Eisenhower as the progeny of Mid-west farming ‘stock’ from Kansas and Palmer as the son of Latrobe’s professional and course superintendent—which perhaps explains the affinity they clearly felt for each other.
"One would be hard pressed to find any single person who did more to popularize the game of golf, not only in the United States but throughout the world, than President Eisenhower," Arnold Palmer said in a statement on Friday. "His visibility, coupled with his passion for the game, were the inspiration for literally millions of people picking up the game for the first time. Those involved in golf today owe him a great debt of gratitude," added Palmer.
The Arnie and Ike relationship goes on to this day with the Palmer Prostate Center at Eisenhower Luci Curci Cancer Center located in the heart of the Coachella Valley near Palm Springs California. The Coachella Valley is where their desert connections converged with another friend, Bob Hope, making many headlines that ultimately led to popularizing the game.
The number of Americans who played golf doubled while Eisenhower was in office from 1953 to 1961, according to "First Off The Tee," a book on U.S. presidents who played golf.
Eisenhower will be inducted along with two-time Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal of Spain, former PGA champion Lanny Wadkins and Christy O'Connor of Ireland.
Eisenhower joins a very short list of Hall of Famers who never played competitively, such as Bob Hope and Dinah Shore.