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Arnold Palmer and his legacy in golf will remain unmatched. There is a reason why he was nicknamed ‘The King’ – a legacy lasting more than six decades and 62 PGA Tour titles, along with 7 Major Championships, speak volumes. To commemorate his exploits, Palmer’s legendary putter, the ‘Old Faithful’, is up for auction, and it could be yours too.

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Illustrious Arnold Palmer putter up on auction

The ‘Old Faithful’ was Palmer’s right-hand putter over a successful period. It was originally a Tommy Armour IMG Silver Scot putter, but with major modifications.

Palmer used to say that his putter “was” or “used to be” an IMG – indicating that the current iteration was of his own hand. The latest piece is considered the basis of the Wilson 8802 and the special edition Wilson “Designed by Arnold Palmer” putters.

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Read More: Tiger Woods Turned Down a Chance to Almost Double His $1Bn Net Worth Because of What Arnold Palmer Told Him

In an interesting story dated back in 1998, Palmer revealed how he had convinced fellow golfer, Tony Lema to participate in the 1964 British Open despite the latter’s indifferent attitude. Lema was struggling with his putting at that time, so Palmer convinced him by handing out his Old Faithful to him. The rest is history, as Lema went on to win his first and only Major Championship.

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Why ‘Old Faithful’ stands out as a Sports Memorabilia

There have been plenty of other glorified golf clubs – the Calamity Jane of Bobby Jones, Jack Nicklaus’ Wizard, and the Red Dot Scotty Cameron which is still used by Tiger Woods. However, the Old Faithful was a part of Arnold Palmer during his most dominating days in the sport.

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While Palmer was the beneficiary of the television age which propelled him to international glory in the 1950s, his putter gained quite a reputation as well. In hand after a victorious last putt, Old Faithful shared the same screen time as Palmer, and together they rose to become the face of the sport.

The club is available for auction here and has a starting bid of $5,000. Don’t get fooled by that price, as a bidding war is soon at the onset. A little more than 18 days are provided for the auction, which is completely online. A recent sale of Tiger Woods’ ‘Tiger Slams’ iron sold for $5 million, so expect Arnie’s faithful to do fetch a lot of money.

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Watch this story: Did Arnold Palmer ever serve in the U.S. Military?

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Written by

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Sharan Nair

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Sharan Nair is a Senior Golf Writer at EssentiallySports. He constantly covers the ongoing PGA vs LIV Golf tussle as it progresses. With over 600 articles to his name, Sharan masters the sport with his in-depth knowledge and research that is reflected in his meticulous coverage of all the Majors. As an avid fan of Tiger Woods, Sharan firmly believes that Woods' 2019 Masters win was the greatest comeback in sports history. As a sports journalist, he aspires to one day sit down for an interview with the golf great himself. In his free time, Sharan loads up on some good golf reads; his favorite being 'The Glorious World Of Golf' by Peter Dobereiner.

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Manaal Siddiqui

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