Taking The Plunge

Episode 69

Palmer Fortune had success written all over him. 

A three-time All-American golfer at Arnold Palmer’s alma mater, Wake Forest University, Palmer had the name and the game and the swagger to take the plunge into the world of professional golf. 

Palmer’s dashing good looks and natural bravado made him an instant fan favorite on the PGA tour. 

As anticipated, by golfing pundits and fans alike, success came to Palmer quickly and often on the professional golfing circuit. 

Four wins his rookie season, highlighted by a win and a breathtaking, backspinning, hole sucking ace on famed #17 at the prestigious Players Tournament left the golfing world awestruck, while making Palmer a fortune in earnings and exemptions and sponsorships. 

Murmurs of Tiger Who(?) began to circulate among the swarming galleries of fans as they embraced golf’s newest phenom and hero. 

If Arnie had his Army, Palmer Fortune was building a massive Platoon that was growing to Arnie’s Army like proportions.

Palmer’s Platoon blanketed tournament venues, distinguished by the camouflage golf shirts and hats worn by Platoon members. 

A runner up finish at the hallowed Masters Tournament in Augusta his rookie spring, only cemented his growing confidence and budding legacy, throwing his Platoon into a passionate frenzy. 

Palmer’s second season brought even more winnings and accolades to his growing professional resume, including a runaway victory at the British Open before a freak elbow injury sidelined him for the remainder of the season. 

Approaching his third season, his elbow fully healed,  Palmer surged with confidence due to his renewed health and new swing, engineered by his trusted coach, Stu Jacklin, to add distance and control. 

But Palmer’s high hopes to recapture his golf magic soon became a dismal cycle of disappointment. His short game and putting stroke betrayed him time after time, culminating into a prolonged slump that showed no visible signs of recovery. 

His one year slump eventually morphed into an undeniable, career threatening drought. 

Palmer’s ranking plummeted, dropping him out of golf’s top 100.

His low ranking, coupled with the expiration of his exemptions left Palmer in a precarious position. 

Missing cuts became routine. His caddy, Luke “Bags” Evans, under financial strain, quit to take a salaried job with a golf course design/management company. 

Palmer’s Platoon evaporated like a puddle in a sun-baked desert. Sales of camouflage shirts and hats were non-existent. 

Palmer was in all out survival mode.

As his hopes dwindled daily, Palmer decided to take one final plunge into the grit and grind of the Tour.

Marking his calendar, Palmer gave himself three months to revive his game. If there was no marked progress, he would walk away from the Tour for good. 

Palmer spent a week with Stu Jacklin, desperate to draw from Stu’s  deep well of experience to fix his broken swing and crushed spirit.

Miraculously, Stu’s tweaking and affirmation made an instant impact on Palmer’s game and psyche. 

Just as quickly as Palmer’s golf

magic had left him, it returned. 

Playing free and easy, but with an intensity he had never know, Palmer

rocketed back among the echelon of golf’s elite. 

As his rankings soared, so did the re-emergence of Palmer’s Platoon.

Camouflage returned to tour galleries like kudzu vine, covering everything in its path. 

Palmer even persuaded “Bags” to return to his bag. 

As top ten finishes and wins started mounting, Palmer remained relaxed, peacefully focused. 

Palmer’s game was in perfect rhythm as golf’s fifth major, the TPC, emerged on the calendar, coinciding with his self-imposed three month deadline. 

Palmer left the field in the dust, winning wire to wire by a more than comfortable six strokes for his second Players Championship. 

Sinking his final putt on TPC’s 18th green, Palmer turned to embrace Bags only to see his caddy diving into the water saddling the green. 

Impulsively, Palmer followed suit, taking the victory plunge with Bags.

Palmer’s Platoon roared with approval as Palmer, in perfect swan dive form, soared off the green toward the water’s black surface.

Palmer never saw the submerged 

bulkwark section that had detached from its mooring. 

The golfing world mourned Palmer’s passing. Bags never returned to the tour. Camouflage sales tripled.