Celebrate Arnold Palmer turning 80 with several books about The King

To any other athlete without a heart as genuine as Arnold Palmer, Howdy Giles might have been perceived as an overzealous fan.

But Palmer isn’t just any professional athlete. He is, after all, The King, a leader who holds court over a legion of fans. Giles chronicles his giant leap from just another person in “Arnie’s Army” to Palmer’s inner circle of friends in his book, The King and I: An Unlikely Journey from Fan to Friend.

Palmer turned 80 this year and that has millions of golf fans feeling melancholy that the end of an era is approaching. Giles has snapped more than 250,000 photos of Palmer over the years at events that many journalists were never invited to … family celebrations and parties that show Palmer in another light than just the shots performing that trademark swing. Giles, who served as Palmer’s dentist, has lived every golfer’s dream, getting a chance to hang out with Palmer on a buddy-to-buddy basis.

The book is a bit self-serving for Giles, but for Palmer fans, it is a refreshing look behind the curtains of his life. Published by Triumph Books and released in September, the book retails for $27.95.

Giles also supplied several photos for the book “Arnie Inside the Legend” by Larry Guest. The book is more than a decade old, but still available through Cumberland House Publishing for $14.95. The book is still as relevant today as ever. Guest takes a personal look at golf’s most beloved hero with stories about his majors, his love of flying and many other intimate aspects of his life.