Arnold Palmer's 71 at 71! 2001 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic Tournament Used & Signed Bib, Ball, Glove, Yardage Book & Pin Sheet - Last to Shoot Age on Tour
Don't Hold Out on Me Now, Brownie!" — The Inside Story of Arnold Palmer’s Historic "Shot His Age" 71 told by consignor and his caddy that week, Shane Brown.
I met Mr Palmer that morning in his garage at Tradition Golf Club in La Quinta.
He was regripping his driver, and asked me to do his 3 wood. "Just a bit more in the right hand" meaning that he wanted his leather wrap a bit thicker on the lower part of the grip.
I handed him the club, he gripped it, looked up at me and said "good" as he put it back in the bag.
He handed me 2 sleeves of Callaway balls which I opened knowing that I was to put identifying marks on them using a Sharpie. I dont know why, but he immediately asked for them back, asked for my pen and marked them himself. I had caddied for him over a hundred times at this point, that was the first time he marked them himself.
Mr Palmer was much looser right from the start compared to any other day I caddied for him in tournaments.
The day before I was asked about his play by someone who turned out to be a writer for the Desert Sun, and I had mentioned that his putting was "burning lips" and that had the putts fallen he could have shot a 65.
The reporter asked Mr Palmer about my comment, he replied "Well, Shane is young. You have to take that into consideration. (Laughter) We were kidding. I said, The holes have cellophane over them all day, yesterday. But I missed a lot of putts. Could have had a good round, but I don't know whether it would have been 65."
I am not sure if that getting into the paper had anything to do with it or not, but there was definitely a more comfortable, relaxed, confidence between he and myself that morning.
I loaded the clubs into the trunk of his car and began walking over to my car, when he said "Shane, ride with me today."
Pete, his driver, smirked and nodded at me while I thought to myself "what the hell is going on?" and " YESSSSSSSS!!!" it was definitely a different start to the day.
About 10 minutes later we got to the Arnold Palmer Private course at PGA West. I grabbed the clubs, my caddie bib, made sure I had today's yardage book and that we had 14 clubs.
There is something amazing about standing on the driving range with PALMER on your back on a course he designed at a tournament you have watched with your father for decades. You think about how lucky you are to be where you are, how many people would pay to switch places with you, you see all of these world class golfers around you who all make sure to say hello to him while ultimately all you are thinking is "don't mess up."
It is a beautiful kind of weird.
After finishing up on the range we headed to the putting green. I threw down 3 balls for him and handed him his putter. He grabbed a wedge instead and headed over to the rough and asked me to stand about 15 feet from him. We had done this a few times before, so I knew the drill. He hits soft wedges towards me, I catch them then roll them back. After about the 10th ball, he starts hitting a few with a bit of spin, then a final one with a lot of spin causing it to spin out of my hand and I drop it, getting a laugh and a wink from him.
On the putting green, our featured celebrity Troy Aikman came over to greet Mr Palmer, they chatted for a short bit, AP hit another 5-10 putts, then it was on to the first tee.
There I grabbed the pin sheet for the day, a few pencils and a granola bar.
The King striped his drive down the center left of the fairway and we were off.
He bogeyed the 1st hole, then birdied the 2nd 3rd and 4th holes and everything was going smoothly, I was in "focus mode" which meant other than getting yardages and handing him clubs, there was little conversation between Mr Palmer and I. He was having a blast chatting it up with his playing partners. It was all smiles.
CRISIS...averted. On hole 6, a Par 5, Arnold hit a good drive, then a solid 3 wood dead center down the fairway. I remember giving him the yardage of 109 to the hole. We agreed a solid pitching wedge was the shot. He hit a beautiful wedge that could not be more on line at the pin, but it kept going, flying by the pin to the top of the hill at the back of the green landing at 108 yards and checking up to within about 2 feet of the pitch mark. Oh no!!! We are 2 under for the round, he just hit a perfect shot and I read the incorrect sprinkler head!!! Rather than a 109 yard shot, it should have been 98 yards. "Man I am an idiot" I thought to myself. Mr Palmer asked "what happened there, Shane?" We went to the sprinkler head, checked the yardage book and confirmed that indeed I had messed up. Instead of what would have been a one foot birdie putt, we were looking at a 30ish foot putt with a fairly severe slope downhill. Luckily he was able to get the speed right and he missed the putt by only a foot for an easy tap in for par. Rather than being 3 under, we were still -2.
As we walked off of the green I apologized. He playfully smacked the back of my head and said "hang in there, lets get the numbers right the rest of the day." I still felt like a jerk, but he seemed ok with everything and the rest of the round he just confirmed yardages with me. I was glad I didnt lose him, and he made sure that he didn't lose me. It was nice.
We made bogey on 9 finishing the front 9 with a 35 making us -1 for the front 9.
Mr Palmer has been at ease all day, swinging freely, laughing with his group and the gallery, it is a lot of fun going to the back 9 under par.
We par 10, and on the 11th hole, a par 5, the cameras start paying attention. He hits a solid drive and a very nice second shot that leaves him just short of the green. You can see on the video on Youtube of Arnold's chip shot, he almost whiffs it, but still manages to knock it to about 2 feet. As we exchange clubs. I sarcastically say "nice shot" and you can see the smirk on his face as walks up to his ball.
We walk away with his fourth birdie of the day birdie to go to 2 under.
He pars 12.
On hole 13, we really actually notice the buzz building as cameras are on the fairway with us and the gallery starts getting a little more involved. Another par. Then another on 13.
On 14, a par 5, we had a bit of a wait in the fairway. In a testament to how loose Mr Palmer was this day, the cameraman was standing right next to us and asked me if I wanted to play around with the camera for a spell while we waited. I looked at him with an "is this ok?" look on my face, and he said "go ahead" I was not expecting that reaction. The King was at ease and having fun.
On 15, a par 3, I gave him the yardage, it is slightly downhill with rocks right, water left. He is in between clubs and asks me which club he should hit. I throw some grass in the air to double check the wing and before I could answer he said with a wink and a smile and laughter from everyone around us "don't hold out on me now, Brownie!" I was floored, Brownie was what he called me when it was just the two of us working on clubs in his garage, or just us on the driving range, wherever it was just Mr Palmer and myself, no one else around. It had never happened in front of people before, so I hesitated one more second and said "I want to see a full swing 8" he said "good" grabbed the 8 iron and hit the ball a bit fat still reaching the green, but leaving the shot some 25 feet short but makes par.
Then on 16 a nervous double bogey, getting us back to even par for the round. Ugh, a gut punch.
On 17, he hits a nice shot about 15 feet from the hole, then SINKS THE BIRDIE PUTT to get us beck to 1 under for the round. All we need is a par on 18 and we are under par for the round.
Walking up 18 with Arnold Palmer was easy. He hit a nice drive, all I had to do was hand him a 3 wood for his second shot. He hit the next one great. After his 3rd shot, I went to hand him his putter, did not say a word, we just made eye contact and smiled at each other. He walked to to the green so happy. We both knew he was going to shoot under par.
After he holed the final putt and we walked off the green, he handed me the ball and his glove which, by habit, I just put into my Caddie bib.
When we got to his car I asked him to sign the yardage book and the Caddie bib still unaware of the historical significance of the day.
What I didn't know at the time was that the 18th hole had a few things riding on it that just hadn't crossed my mind. If he makes par, it would be the last time he ever shot under par in a PGA Tour event and he would become the oldest player in PGA Tour history to ever shoot his age in a tour event.
What started out being just a different than usual day, turned into an historic day in a few ways that I will always cherish the memories of. I want to share the physical pieces with someone who will understand their significance.
-Consignor Shane Brown
This lot includes professional golf memorabilia from the 2001 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, specifically associated with golf legend Arnold Palmer and the Palmer Course at PGA West. The grouping features a green mesh caddy bib with white trim and tie-straps. The front is printed with Bob Hope Chrysler Classic and the Chrysler logo from that 2001 historic tournament. The back of the bib includes a nameplate pocket with the printed name Palmer and the tournament's Bob Hope caricature logo. Also included is a neon-yellow yardage book for the Palmer Course, dated 2001, with an Arnold Palmer signature in black ink on the cover. The interior contains hand-drawn course maps with extensive handwritten strategic notations in pencil and ink concerning yardage and course conditions. The lot contains a white Callaway Rule 35 golf ball marked with a red 1 and the Arnold Palmer multi-colored umbrella logo. The ball features player identification markings consisting of three blue ink dots above the brand name. A single white leather left-hand golf glove is included, featuring a circular black and white logo on the closure tab. Completing the collection is a PGA Tour hole placement chart for the Palmer Private course dated February 14-17, 2001, showing handwritten pin positions and green quadrant diagrams for all 18 holes.
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