The Eternal Summer: Palmer, Nicklaus, and Hogan in 1960, Golf's Golden Year »

Curt Sampson, a former professional golfer, is the author of six other books, including Hogan, Full Court Pressure, The Masters, and Royal and Ancient. Sampson lives in Bristol, Texas, with his wife and two children.

Was there ever a year in golf like 1960?
        It was the year that the sport and its vivid personalities exploded on the consciousness of the nation, when the past, present, and future of the sport collided. Here was Arnold Palmer, the workingman's hero, "sweating, chain-smoking, shirt-tail flying"; Ben Hogan, the greatest player of the fifties, a perfectionist battling twin demons of age and nerves; and, making his big-time debut, a crew-cut college kid who seemed to have the makings of a champion: twenty-year-old Jack Nicklaus.
        And of course, the rest: Ken Venturi, Chi Chi Rodriguez, Doug Sanders, Gary Player, and the many other colorful characters who chased around a little white ball--and a dream.
        Would Palmer win the mythical Grand Slam of golf? Could Hogan win one more major tournament? Was Nicklaus the real thing? Even more than an intimate portrait of these men and their exciting times, The Eternal Summer is also an entertaining, perceptive, and hypnotically readable exploration of professional golf in America.

Publishers Weekly

Sampson ( Texas Golf Legends ) makes a convincing case that 1960 was a watershed for the pro links game. It was the year when the aging Ben Hogan, almost literally on his last legs (he had been badly mangled in an auto crash), was barely hanging on to his past glory; rising star Arnold Palmer was starting to draw the crowds of fans who eventually turned into Arnie's Army; and 20-year-old Jackie Nicklaus was just making his presence known. Even more significant, however, was the increasing interest of major corporations in associating themselves with events on the pro tour and in promising larger and larger purses, a trend that did indeed change the game forever. Photos not seen by PW. (July)