Golfdom, October 2016

At the Turn WHOS THAT STANDING NEXT TO YOU Ive had the privilege of meeting a number of the greatest golfers in the world but nothing compares to the day I met Arnold Palmer MARK WOODWARD Contributing Editor A higher power M y fathers favorite golfer of all time was Arnold Palmer Part of the connection for my dad was that he was born the same year as Mr Palmer and watched faithfully how the great player changed the game of golf My father always admired how Mr Palmer interacted with the gallery and how he was truly a legend to which most golfers could relate A testament to Mr Palmers impact on all golfers is Arnies Army in which I count myself a proud member As my career in the golf industry evolved I gained increasing respect for the King I admired him for his longevity in golf his business ventures and for what hes done for our game Ive had the privilege of meeting a number of the greatest golfers in the world but nothing compares to the day I met Arnold Palmer It happened at Winged Foot Golf Club at the 2006 U S Open I was there learning as much as I could as we prepared Torrey Pines for the 2008 Open I was in the clubhouse luncheon buffet line I looked up and saw that Mr Palmer was progressing Pines ready for the Open I may have mumbled something along the lines of Yes sir Mr Palmer and nice to meet you but I cant honestly remember I do remember going over to my table trying to eat my lunch and thinking about the words You better get Torrey Pines ready for the Open Everyone who knows what we had to accomplish to get Torrey Pines ready to peak in that one week in June of 2008 also knows that we were under a lot of pressure with a relatively short timeline and a golf course that needed a ton of attention to detail Not that we needed more motivation to get Torrey Pines ready but to hear the King say those words personally motivated me as much as anything As I look back I know that we succeeded and I was able to be a part of one of the greatest Opens in recent memory with Tiger beating Rocco in a Monday playoff Most people dont realize it but Arnold Palmers words bounced around in my head every time we faced an obstacle or challenge at Torrey It was like a higher power had spoken to me The last thing I wanted to do was to let down the two greatest influencers in my life and career my father and the King Mark Woodward is a senior vice president for OB Sports principal of Damarco Golf president of Mark Woodward and Associates and a contributing editor for Golfdom He can be reached at mwoodward@ obsports com through the line with me I introduced myself and he graciously asked me where I was from I explained that I was there because I was preparing for the 2008 Open He commented that he was hearing a lot of bad things about not only Torrey Pines but also about the political situation in San Diego As we loaded our plates I explained to one of the greatest golfers of all time what we were doing to correct the issues related to Torrey Pines hosting the Open Luckily the line was moving slowly so I had time to detail some of the things we were getting done related to agronomics course conditioning and projects I even touched upon the support I was getting from San Diegos new mayor Jerry Sanders who was helping pull everything together by getting me the resources I needed When we reached the end of the buffet line and started to go to our respective tables I wasnt invited to join the King at his table I was thinking two things I wish my father were here and I wish this moment wouldnt end Its possible that the King said the last thing between the two of us He turned to me looked me in the eye and said You better get Torrey 10 Golfdom October 2016 Golfdom com