Date: 2009-04-28
Speaker: TIM MURPHY (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Pennsylvania

Mr. Speaker. it is not often that we get to talk about people that -we consider to be a true gentleman. a true friend and a great American. That is what Arnold Palmer is to all of us. I am honored that he lives in my congressional district. at least during the warm months. out in Youngstown. Pennsylvania. an area close to Latrobe. Pennsylvania. at the place that he grew up. Now. I am not a great golfer. And. in fact. to discuss it at all would be an embarrassment to me. But I did have a chance to play with Mr. Palmer once. and in so doing. traveling across his golf course. he points to a tree. or formerly a tree. which is now carved in the likeness of his father. And that brings about many a story about Deacon and how he taught young Arnold to play golf and many of the other things about him that have become famous icons: that tractor which he brings out now and then to show people when they come to the golf course. or how you will often see Arnold sitting out there talking to anybody who comes by. signing anything they put before him. because he is just so close to the people of the district and of America. always willing to shake their hand. And. a handshake means something to Arnold Palmer. Very famously. he had that longterm agreement with his former manager. Mark McCormack. that lasted from 1960 until his death in May of 2003. He has the same kind of agreement with Doc Giffin. his assistant. Thats the way Arnold does business. A handshake means something to him. You dont have to put it in writing. We can also look at other parts of his life. Back when he was a champion golfer at Wake Forest. he left there after the death of a friend and joined the Coast Guard. And one would have thought he gave up golf entirely except he went out and played a little golf in Cleveland and rediscovered this great talent he had. and. well. the rest becomes history. But more so than the stories of golf are the stories of what he has done in western Pennsylvania and really around the Nation. As a pilot. he helped to develop Latrobe Airport. and interestingly enough. served in its authority for many years except during a time when he had his own business interests there. Being the true gentleman and person of high ethics that he is. he stepped off that aviation board for a while to make sure he didnt have any conflicts of interest. Hes also given a great deal to many charities. He helped establish the Winnie Palmer Nature Preserve -that just yesterday. there was the laughter of children there on the St. Vincents College campus exploring that area in the woods and marshes that his former wife. Winnie. had talked about. how it was so important to preserve that area. Hes- also given so much to Latrobe Hospital where he remains head of their charitable board after raising so many millions of dollars for that hospital to help with charitable care. And also the Arnold Palmer Pavilion. part of Latrobe Hospitals Mountain View Medical Park facility. But beyond all of that. other ways to describe him is when you go to his office thereits along the same road where he grew up out there on Arnold Palmer Road its now calledyou go up to his office and youll see its filled with trophies and photos of people hes played with of all levels. And of course that famous room where he always tinkers and works on his own putters and a wall filled with I dont know how many thousands of putters. Hes got another area there. a warehouse filled with everything that anybody has ever given him. In fact. I gave him some congressional golf balls. and he said. "Ill put these in the warehouse with everything else." Im sure he catalogues it all. I remember walking through and pointed to a certain club and said. "Do you know what all these are for?" He said. "Sure." You name a certain hole. a certain year. a certain course. he will tell you what club he used and what happened on that. Most famously he has that twin set of golf balls mounted on the wall in his office. This is when he hit the backtoback holesinone in 1968 at TPC Avondale. He hit it one yearI think it was the No. 5 hole. Im not surehit it and the next day he shows up on the hole again and theres all the camera crews there. He said. "What are you doing here?" They said. "We want to watch and see you hit another holeinone." He didnt expect it. but thats what he did. Theres a couple other things about him. too. In his office. he has a table. and its filled with the medals- that he receives from every tournament that he wins. But there are a couple of empty spaces on that table. I remember asking Arnold what those are for. He said. "You never know. You might just win another medal." Quite frankly. I think that would be a good place for this Congressional Medal to go. A story about him and golf was told to me by a person who probably doesnt want me to use his name. so I wont. IBut its probably some of the best golf advice any of us could ever have and. again. shows some of the spirit of Arnold Palmer. He was playing with this other golfer who was not having a very good day and was probably doing his share of slamming his club down and cussing and swearing. I suppose. as he shanked the ball and hit it to the left and right off the course. At some point. Palmer said to him. "Would you like some advice?" Now. imagine what any of us. no matter what level of golf you have as talent or lack thereof. if Arnold Palmer. the King of Golf. says to you. "Would you like a little advice?" At this point the golfer eagerly said. "Yes. Id love it." And Palmer said to him. "Youre not good enough to get mad." Well. so it is great advice for all of us. Were not good enough to get mad. Lets leave that to the professionals in this. But it is important that we recognize Arnold is good enough to receive this recognition. And I might say in all the years I have known Arnold Palmer. hes never asked me for anythingwell. except for one thing. The man who seems to have it all has never come to his Congressman saying. I want you to do this or that. He just asked this: When you drive down Arnold Palmer Road and you come across the entrance to Latrobe Country Club where the sign says "slow down. golf cart crossing." he really doesnt want anybody to get hurt there. and he would sure appreciate it if you just slowed down your car. All in all. though. for a life that is still very rich in its accomplishments and for a person who has made America a better country because of what he has done. not only for the sport of golf but for health and for so many people around this country. Mr. Speaker. Arnold Palmer is a man welldeserving of this Congressional Medal.