cover image Arnold Palmer: Memories, Stories, and Memorabilia from a Life on and Off the Course

Arnold Palmer: Memories, Stories, and Memorabilia from a Life on and Off the Course

Arnold Palmer. Stewart, Tabori, & Chang, $35 (192pp) ISBN 978-1-58479-330-4

""You never realize how much stuff you've collected until you start going through it,"" writes Palmer in the introduction to this scrapbook, which chronicles his professional and personal life. Fans of the celebrated golfer, who has 61 PGA Tour victories under his belt, will be glad ""Arnie"" decided to ransack his attic, because they're in for a treat. Palmer's dog tags from his WWII Coast Guard service stand alongside photos of a young Palmer squatting on the grass of the first golf course he ever designed, a nine-holer in Cape May, N.J. In one shot, the author authoritatively chooses a club from his bag shortly after signing his first staff contract with Wilson in 1954. Flip forward a few pages, and there he is again, banging away at an iron in the Latrobe Country Club maintenance shed in 1960 (""it's still one of my favorite pastimes""). Besides photographs and Palmer's first-person commentary, the book includes 12 pieces of memorabilia tucked inside glassine pouches. Items like Palmer's famous ""Dial-a-Shot"" tip guide and an early ad for Wilson Dyna-Powered Irons add a nostalgic touch to this heartwarming recollection of a golfing life. 100 color and b&w photos.