He was an Arnold Palmer fanatic. But he became even more
There is no settled case law, or golf history equivalent, on the precise definition of the Big Three. Harry Vardon, JH Taylor, James Braid: a threesome of the ages. Arnold, Big Jack, Gary Player, the same. Then (of course) these three: Dr. George Franklin Grant; Dr. Cary Middlecoff; Dr. Howdy Giles. Another Big Three, at least under the popular category of the game show Notable Golf Dentists.
Dr. Grant invented the wood golf tee (US patent number 638,920).
Dr. Middlecoff won two US Opens and one Masters tournament.
Dr. Giles was Arnold Palmer’s dentist and illegal photographer.
Howdy Giles took thousands and thousands of pictures of Arnold over the years. The basement of his home in Wilmington, Del., was a kind of Arnold Palmer museum, and the house itself (according to Arnold’s longtime assistant, Doc Giffin) was done by Early, Middle and Late Palmer. Howdy didn’t push Wake Forest, Arnold’s alma mater, on his two daughters — but that’s where they ended up. Howdy had a ball marker made from some of Arnold’s old gold. Needless to say, Howdy published the book “The King and I: An Unexpected Journey from Fan to Friend.”
Golf has lost its originality. Howdy died last month at the age of 84. This is Arnold Palmer’s first invitational without him.
Pardon the personal intrusion here: During a week in May 1987, at the beginning of my nine years as a journalist Philadelphia InquirerI visited Chester Valley Golf Club, where a major event was being played. Arnold was 57, silver-haired and tan, basking in the afternoon sun as he sat in a golf cart behind the driving range, chatting with a few people. I wandered with purpose. A man, whom I didn’t know but saw my push button, asked me if I wanted to talk to Arnold Palmer.
That would be arrogance.
I fumbled my way through the interview. I wrote something. I drove to New York City and had what turned out to be my first date with the woman who became my wife. I knew exactly what I was wearing, chatting with Arnold that afternoon and having dinner, for Howdy’s sake. Howdy made an introduction, then took a picture of me chatting with Arnold. Later, without prior notice, Howdy he printed the picture and sent it to me. As I write this, that photo, along with a matchbook from Lion’s Rock (316 E. 77th Street), is on my desk. I am still in awe of his generosity and effort.
Over the past 40 years, I have seen Howdy many times. On several occasions, when Arnold came to Greater Philadelphia for dinner or to Greater Wilmington for his dental check-up, Howdy brought me. Howdy was part owner of a restaurant called Stanley’s Tavern in Wilmington, and I once dined with Arnold and Howdy there. When Arnold flew to Wilmington on a new plane, Howdy invited me to come and see.
Arnold showed me the plane. He noticed cashmere blankets on each chair, Arnold said, and got them for his wife, Winnie. When I left Arnold and Howdy that afternoon, I must have noted that my wife and I were looking to buy a new car (that is, new to us). Arnold, who is devoted to Cadillacs for personal and professional reasons, said, “Well, I hope it’s going to be a GM product.” You can’t buy a moment like that. Howdy made it possible.
Howdy, like all realists, makes up his lot. I remember being on the greenside on Father’s Day at Baltusrol in 1993 when Lee Janzen won the US Open. When the putt fell, there were four people on the green: Janzen, Payne Stewart, their caddies. Then came the fifth – Howdy, camera in hand. He was very sincere, carefree too good no one could say anything to him.
I just watched the USGA highlight reel from that Sunday, which is available on YouTube, hoping I might catch a glimpse of Howdy. I didn’t, but Arnold, the USGA’s longtime and final ambassador, opens the show by giving a welcome speech straight to the camera, in that foggy voice. Howdy was the USGA’s rules officer. Both were members of Pine Valley. Howdy once showed me a Golf Digest the 1957 cover showed Arnold in full smile. “I shaved this tooth a little bit,” said Howdy, pointing to the hanger. “It had a little fang on it.”
Howdy, a competitive swimmer at the University of Delaware, fell under Arnold’s spell on TV in the 1960s. To impress his classmates at Temple University dental school in Philadelphia in the late 1960s, Howdy began buying his clothes from the Arnold Palmer line at the Philadelphia department store, Wanamakers. (A leggy quote from Howdy: “They were like, ‘Hey, what about all the Palmer gear?’ But who’s the one laughing now?”) When they were dating, Carolyn Boddorff gave her boyfriend a set of Arnold Palmer clubs. Needless to say, they had a long and happy marriage. (The two daughters married Arnold-o-philes; the four grandchildren are all being educated.) When Howdy joined Bay Hill in the mid-1970s and met Arnold’s dentist, Benny Tacke, Howdy said it would be his dream to be Arnold Palmer’s dentist. “Arnie is an unreasonable patient,” said Dr. Tacke. “When I die, you can be with him.” Two years later, Dr. Tacke died and Dr. Giles had a new patient.
The last time I saw Howdy at Bay Hill was at the 2024 tournament, the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Carolyn had died three years earlier and Arnold had died ten years before that. Interestingly, Howdy has developed the type of gait that Arnold had in his early 80s, where the left shoulder dips to the left foot and the right shoulder dips to the right. He was warm and engaging as usual but time was running out. He had lost two of his best friends.
Howdy once described the first time he played with Arnold at Howdy’s home course, Wilmington Country Club, in mid-spring, 1976:
“Sixteenth hole, par 5, 603 yards. Caddy bets Arnie he can’t get home in two. Beer bet. Arnie hits driver, driver, hits sand wedge from 15 yards from third green. Gets caddy six-pack and signs tins. Amazing Wickwood 7. Play golf and get his teeth checked. Stay home and I’ll drive him I took him to the airport, I was in tears.
You’ve probably seen the image of Arnold adorning cans and jars of Arnold Palmer’s half-and-half concoction. Arnold is probably staring at a long green that may be within reach. He’s well into his big career. The old caddies had their nicknames for Arnold, the Bull, for his flaming noses, especially in the heat of battle. They are on full display in this generational Howdy Giles photo. You think Howdy asked anything else, with the use of this image? There is no chance.
Arnold once introduced Howdy to George HW Bush. Arnold said, “Mr. President, I want you to meet Howdy Giles, my dentist, my photographer and my best friend.”
“Not really,” said President Bush. “We were talking about you at dinner last night.”
Michael Bamberger welcomes your comments at Michael.Bamberger@Golf.com
