Arnold Palmer and Tom Watson were really close friends throughout their playing days and on into life after competitive golf.
In fact, Watson really looked up to Palmer as a kind of father figure when he first came out onto the PGA Tour.
Palmer is an absolute legend of the game, and even Tiger Woods suggested that, without him, golf would not be the sport it is today.
With 62 PGA Tour wins to his name, including seven major championships, Palmer’s name will remain in the history books forever.
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The same can be said for Watson.
The 76-year-old won 39 PGA Tour events but managed to secure one more major title than Palmer did.
Palmer and Watson had huge respect for one another. However, back in 2000, the man from Kansas City was seriously unimpressed by The King.
An angry Tom Watson went to town with Arnold Palmer criticism
Back in 2000, Palmer signed a contract with Callaway Golf to help promote their newly released clubs.
At the time, Callaway released their highly controversial ERC II model.
The golf club was deemed to be non-conforming by the USGA and was not allowed to be used in tournaments.
However, Callaway still put the club on sale for golfers to use in recreational play, and they made huge profits from doing so by promising longer and straighter drives.
Palmer advertised the ERC II, but actually used the Callaway VFT driver at the time when competing in tournaments.
Watson was not happy one little bit with Palmer’s role in the release of the ERC II.
Watson said: “I don’t like the idea that you can go ahead and play with clubs that aren’t legal. This game is not meant to be that way.
“I’m disappointed with what Arnold came out with. I think it’s the wrong position.
“What’s next? A recreational golf ball that goes 40 yards farther just to make it more fun for people to play?
“How are you going to compare handicaps with equipment that’s illegal and legal?“
Arnold Palmer responded to criticism from Tom Watson
The seven-time major champion was unsurprisingly unhappy with Watson’s accusation.
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Palmer said: “Some of my good friends have crushed me with some of their letters and some of their comments.
“I’ve had so many letters from people that are saying things that have really hurt me.
“There have been things like ‘cheating’ used in their comments about nonconforming golf clubs. The last thing in the world I would ever tolerate is cheating.
“If you said it to me sitting here, I’d probably punch you in the nose right now. And I mean it, because I don’t think I ever cheated playing golf.
“I’m not recommending that people use a non-conforming golf club in competition.
“But if people who go out and enjoy the game of golf – recreational golfers – want to use a non-conforming club, a baseball bat or whatever they want, I think that’s their privilege if it makes the game a little more fun for them to play.“
The ERC II was actually legal to use in all countries around the world, aside from three.
Due to the ERC II’s face having a spring-like effect which exceeded the USGA’s conformation standards, the driver was banned in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
The driver was released by Callaway in 2000 – the same year that Palmer signed a major endorsement deal with them.
Tom Watson clearly didn’t think that Arnold Palmer should have leant his name to the endorsement of the Callaway ERC II driver.
However, it was banned from competitions anyway, so what was the real issue? It was all much ado about nothing, in my opinion.
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