Above: At 82, Howdy Giles still plays golf once or twice a week. Photo by Jim Coarse.
By Bob Yearick
From a perspective of 60-plus years, it’s difficult to convey the seismic impact that Arnold Palmer had on golf, televised sports events, and the world in general.
From 1958 to 1964, Palmer won seven major titles, beginning with the 1958 Masters and ending with the 1964 Masters. In his six-decade-long career, Palmer claimed 62 PGA Tour titles, finishing fifth on the Tour’s all-time victory list behind only Sam Snead, Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, and Ben Hogan.
Nicknamed, like Elvis, “The King,” he was one of the 13 original inductees into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974, and he received the PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award in 1998.
Palmer also was the first golfer to be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the second golfer, after Byron Nelson, to be awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.
Blessed with a ruggedly handsome face and Popeye-like forearms, Palmer would hit thunderous tee shots, hitch up his pants, and charge down the course to his next shot, often lighting a cigarette on the way (it was said he was good for three of them on a par-three).
Arnie’s Army
That style, his appearance, and his Latrobe, Pa., working-class background translated to an instant, everyman charisma that made him the first superstar at the dawning of golf’s television age, which began in the 1950s. He was soon joined by younger pros like Nicklaus, Gary Player, and later, Lee Trevino, resulting in soaring memberships in golf clubs across America.
Giles and Palmer at one of the many events they attended together. Photo courtesy Howdy Giles.
On the course, Palmer attracted what was quickly christened “Arnie’s Army” — mobs of devotees who followed him, watching his every move. Howard “Howdy” Giles was a bit of a latecomer to that army, but his devotion to Arnie was unmatched.
Giles, a native of Wallingford, Pa., lived in Surrey Park and practiced dentistry in Wilmington for 42 years before retiring in 2011 from Dental Associates of Delaware. A baseball player (catcher) in high school and a swimmer at the University of Delaware, Giles says golf never appealed to him — until one day in 1962 when he saw Palmer on television. Suddenly, the game looked like it could be fun.
He soon owned a complete set of Palmer woods and irons, and he even went to Wanamaker’s department store in Philadelphia and bought the same Robert Bruce shirts, sweaters, and pants that Arnie wore.
It wasn’t long before his new bride and former captain of the UD cheerleading team, Carolyn, joined Giles in his fandom. They began going to tournaments where Palmer was playing, and at the 1971 Masters, they were introduced to Palmer’s charming wife, Winnie. They met “The King” soon afterward, and a friendship developed.
Low Handicap
Christmas cards were exchanged, and Howdy and Carolyn soon were on the invitation list for the annual Presidential Ball at Palmer’s Latrobe Country Club. They had two daughters, as did the Palmers, and both families became close.
Meanwhile, Giles had not only begun dressing like a golfer, he also started playing like one, honing his handicap to a six. That made it a bit more comfortable when he played with his famous friend, and he estimates he did so nearly 300 times. “I also flew with him about 75 times,” Giles says.
Palmer’s Latrobe dentist died in 1977, and Giles assumed care of the King’s pearly whites. “Arnie was a great patient,” Giles says, “though his bridgework did need some reworking. We did it all in stages.” He says the down-to-earth, jovial Palmer was a big hit with staff and patients during his visits.
Carolyn Giles was also a big fan and friend of Arnold Palmer. Photo courtesy Howdy Giles.
With a patient list that included Palmer, former Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Bill Bergey (an avid golfer), and half a dozen other Eagles, Giles soon was christened “dentist to the stars” by his friends.
Through Palmer, Giles and his wife met dozens of celebrities, including politicians such as President George H. W. Bush and former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge, astronaut Alan Shepard, sports royalty like Yogi Berra, Mike Schmidt, Tug McGraw, Michael Jordan, Peyton Manning, Mike Ditka, and Dick Vermeil, as well as all the top golfers.
Among the most memorable of the their celebrity encounters occurred in 1983, when they accompanied the Palmers to the PGA Championship at the Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles. During the weeklong tournament, the two couples attended a cocktail party at Bob Hope’s house, and the next night, Jack Lemmon – a huge fan of Arnie’s – invited them to his house, followed by dinner at a restaurant in Santa Monica.
250,000 Photos
Every time he was with Palmer, Giles brought his camera. He took his first Arnie photo in 1965 with his trusty Brownie, but soon graduated to a Nikon, updating his equipment periodically. The result was more than a quarter-million shots of Palmer on the course and in all kinds of settings, including, of course, many photos of Giles and Palmer together. In essence, the Wilmington dentist owned a photographic history of Arnold Palmer’s professional career.
Giles assembled some of his best photos into a 200-plus image book.
In the early 2000s, Giles got the idea to assemble some of the pictures into a book. He shopped the idea among several publishers, finally signing with Triumph Books. The King and I — An Unlikely Journey from Fan to Friend hit bookstores and Amazon in 2009. Its 200-plus photographs depict Palmer, his family, his competitors, and his friends in both candid and posed situations. In many of them, the 6-foot-2 Giles towers over the 5-10 Palmer.
In the book, Giles tries to explain the King’s magnetism: “He is exactly as he appears, one of the most comfortable people in his own skin you’ll ever meet. There’s no façade, nothing artificial. He’s as genuine as they come, and that quality is the…reason he’s as beloved today by millions as he was 50 years ago when he won his first Masters and created Arnie’s Army.”
Palmer died on Sept. 25, 2016, 15 days after his 87th birthday (Winnie passed away in 1999. In 2005, Palmer married Kathleen Gawthrop, who survived him.) At the funeral in Pittsburgh, Giles broke down when a TV reporter tried to interview him.
Giles lost his beloved wife of 57 years three years ago, and he now lives at Country House, an active adult community in Greenville. He says his two artificial knees have cost him an inch in height, but he’s still trim and healthy at 82. He works out frequently in the community gym, and plays golf once or twice a week at Wilmington Country Club – usually with Dave Sysko, a UD basketball standout from 1961-64 and a member of the Delaware Sports Hall of Fame.
Giles still enjoys the game, but admits, “I don’t keep score very often.”
—The King and I can be purchased on Amazon or by emailing Giles at hc42gil@gmail.com.
