A Life Well Played

Notes by Coach JB

Arnold Palmer Tribute video Click Here

Justin Matthew Brandt

CoachJustinBrandt@gmail.com
215-817-8565
CoachJB.weebly.com
Page Notes
X He knew nothing about golf or growing grass or shaping a fairway, but, nevertheless, he
was asked to stay on to maintain the course when it was completed. He literally learned on
the job to be a greens keeper, and later the club’s golf pro.
Just because you start at nothing, doesn’t mean you have to finish there.
XI He didn’t just teach me to play golf. He taught me a discipline that things should be done a
certain way – as well as hard as you can.
11 Whether it was 1-up or 2-up, who really cares. I just know that the “up” part was next to
my name.
A win is a win!
17 Over the years people have asked me frequently why I went to Scotland, and my answer is
that I was truly motivated to be a great player, and I didn’t feel like you could be a great
player if you couldn’t win internationally, something Pap often mentioned.
“Everybody is the man in their own hood.” – DMX
17 So, I had to go to the British Open, and in 1960 I was finally in a financial position to do
so.
A good reminder that pro athletes haven’t always been paid MILLIONS!
20 I finished with a 79, which allowed me to beat my age by three strokes.
Never lose your passion and don’t slow down.
24 I always felt something powerful in Augusta. Something magical. I suppose just about
every player who has the privilege of playing in the Masters feels it, too. But the key is, can
you harness that feeling?
Appreciating the moment and taking advantage of it.
27 Whatever contributions folks think I have made to the club and the tournament pale in
comparison to what I have gotten out of it.
This is exactly how I feel about basketball.
32 My worst putt from the fringe is at least as good as my best chip.
Good golf advice here, I use this every time I play.
32 In the early 1990’s…I was getting a lesson from my old college buddy from Wake Forest.
Arnold Palmer was in his 60’s and had recorded 95 professional wins, won 4
Masters, a US Open and the Open Championship and was STILL getting lessons!
Never stop growing.
36 That entire summer was a nightmare as my average scores hovered into the 80s. The
temptation to go back to my old grip was almost overwhelming as I was feeling so inept
and my game was in total crisis. But I stuck to my guns…Finally there was a
breakthrough in the Fall…My only regret of it all was waiting so long to make the
changes.
When you’re breaking old habits, things will get tough. Keep the goal in mind.
41-44 Arnold Palmer talks about his struggle to stay hungry in competition/golf. He tells how he
was runner up 61 times and attributes this to caring more about appreciating the moment
than he did the trophies. “I could have 5 U.S. Opens and 2 PGA Championships and 6
Masters and a couple more British Opens, but not as many friends?...Keep the trophies.
He talks about how you can trace winning “to the mental side of the game.” And said “this
should tell you how important that six inches between your ears really is.”
48 Just like my golf game, I was always trying to improve my equipment, too, and that gave
me the sense that I was improving on me as I improved on them.
Is this not the same exact thing we do when we coach?

Justin Matthew Brandt

CoachJustinBrandt@gmail.com
215-817-8565
CoachJB.weebly.com
Page Notes
49 “Every time I’ve ever hit a shot, I tried to hit in the hole. That includes a tee shot on a par
five.”
Just like I say about shooting a basketball “Aim for swishes!” I never took a test or
turned in an assignment to get a 70% so why should basketball/training be any
different?
51-54 Arnold Palmer talks about the plague of trainers out there and the importance of athletes
being able to coach themselves through certain situations. He talks about how great Tiger
Wood’s golf swing was and how he has “twisted himself into knots” getting too much
instruction. Stick to the basics!
61 After listening to Curtis for a while, I shrugged and told him, “You don’t have to do any of
that if you don’t want to.” Curtis was stunned. (Palmer was talking about the
responsibilities of a pro golfer…practicing, traveling, signing autographs, dealing with
sponsors, talking to the media).
His point was that is all a choice, that you are compensated and it is your choice
whether or not you believe that the compensation is worth the price being paid. He
states, “If you want the perks of stardom, you have to accept the responsibilities
too.”
69 Howie said afterward that he felt lucky to win with a 77. It wasn’t luck; he played better.
But my approach to the day was all wrong, and I paid for it.
This goes with “hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard”.
71-72 In golf, as in life, you get some good breaks and some bad breaks, but if you’re going to
depend on the breaks always going your way, you’re in for a surprise…in order to prepare
yourself for success, you have to prepare to encounter problems along the way.
74 The harder you work at anything, the more it will relax you. Just make sure the work is
productive.
85-87 Roger Maris jokingly asked Arnold Palmer at the Hickok Athlete of the Year award
ceremony, “what the hell are you doing here?” When Palmer won, he responded by asking
him the same question.
93 Palmer talks about how important his win was to him at the 1960 Masters to his
confidence. He states “I had proof – very recent proof – that I was capable of doing
whatever I needed to do when the pressure was at its highest.”
Confidence comes from positive experience and preparation
106 Arnold Palmer tells a great story of a little boy who was talking while he was trying to save
a shot out of a bunker. The mom shushed him and he cried, then Palmer could hear his
cry being muffled by the mother. Arnold then said, “Hey it’s okay, don’t choke him, this
isn’t that important.”
Being able to keep your cool, make light of a serious situation, is just as important
trait of toughness as any other.
106 “For a lot of players, golf is a way of making a living. For me, golf always has been a way
of being alive. And nothing compared to the feeling of going for a victory. I never felt like
I had to win at all costs, but I went all out.”
This is what playing sports is all about, for the love of the game.
114 “People see themselves winning through Palmer, he looks and acts like a regular guy, and
at the same time he does the kinds of things others wish they could do.”
Sounds like Philly fan hood.

Justin Matthew Brandt

CoachJustinBrandt@gmail.com
215-817-8565
CoachJB.weebly.com
Page Notes
116 “If you have goals you want to achieve, there are no shortcuts.”
120 “Take the time to do it right and with great care. It might take an extra second or two, but
it’s worth the effort.”
Palmer on signing a LEGIBLE signature.
126 The First Tee core values: honestly, integrity, respect, sportsmanship, confidence,
responsibility, perseverance, courtesy, and judgment.
137 “There is no point in being anything other than yourself. People will find you out
eventually, and discover who you really are, if you are putting on an act.”
Do you!
143 To dream is part of the process of setting goals and then striving to achieve them. You first
must dream of doing things before you can do them.
145-147 Palmer talks about how he understood the challenges his daughters faced growing up as
Arnold and Winnie’s kids but they made the necessary decisions such as making them
hold jobs and not buying them things that other children didn’t have to ensure they would
have a strong work ethic.
161 I believe that is one of the great gifts we can give to our friends – letting them know how
special they are.
163 “When we were out on the course, they didn’t have to finish a hole. They could stop
whenever they go tired or their hands got sore. Pushing a child to keep playing when they
are tired can lead to poor swing habits, frustration and resentment of the game.”
Kyle Korver says the same thing about shooting, but how do you train for crunch
time when you’re tired in the game???
168 “Your hometown is not where you’re from, but it’s who you are.”
TRUTH!!!
181 “One of the reporters slipped a note in front of me that read, President Nixon is on the
phone. I nodded, but Winnie had a few more things to tell me, so I stayed with her. It was
more important to make sure things were right in my house before the White House.
Priorities…know them, live them.
186 Bobby Jones once said about being complimented for calling a penalty on himself that,
“you might as well praise a man for not robbing a bank.”
In other words, Jones didn’t think he should get credit for doing the right thing.
199 Arnold Palmer’s multicolored umbrella logo came “during a brainstorming session at the
Holiday Inn in Ligonier, Pennsylvania, one rainy day…I looked out the window and saw a
woman get out of her car and open a multicolored umbrella.”
Funny how inspiration always seems to hit us at the oddest times.
222 Move forward if you’re presented with an opportunity that matches up with the things in
your life with which you are familiar and which line up with your overall philosophy.
231 Chances are he was going to tell you everything he knew and somewhere in there he was
going to tell you everything you wanted to know about him and about the subject at hand.
Listen more than you talk
239 It (owning a Cadillac/Rolex) isn’t about being showy or about owning something
expensive. It was about aspiring to success, which a brand like Cadillac or Rolex
symbolized. It was about living the American Dream…Being around successful people or
being associated with successful enterprises puts you in a proper frame of mind about the
things you want to do with your life and career. Their attitude tends to rub off on you.
Winning does breed winning, on and off the course – and in my mind I think they tend to
have a reciprocal application.
Real recognizes real. Show me your friends I’ll show you your future.

Justin Matthew Brandt

CoachJustinBrandt@gmail.com
215-817-8565
CoachJB.weebly.com