Longtime Arnold Palmer assistant honored by golf writers

It was a long overdue sight: Donald “Doc” Giffin visiting with his old newspaper friends this week at the Masters Tournament.

It had been 11 years since Gif­fin, Arnold Palmer’s right-hand man for the past 48 years, was at the Masters. His trips ended when Palmer retired from the tournament after the 2004 Masters.

Before Palmer hung it up, Giffin had attended 44 Mas­ters – two as a sportswriter for the Pittsburgh Press (1960-61), five as the PGA Tour press secretary (1962-66) and 37 in his role as Assistant to the President (that would be Palmer), starting in 1967 and ending in 2004. They were not consecutive, though – Giffin missed the 1979 Mas­ters because he was working on Palmer’s inaugural tournament at Bay Hill.

Giffin was back this week only because his golf-writing friends honored him Wed­nes­day night at their annual awards dinner at Savannah Rapids Pavilion. In mid-January, they voted him this year’s William D. Richardson Award winner for
consistently making outstanding contributions to the game.

“I’m certainly very honored,” said Giffin, who has now won the same award Palmer did in 1960.

Giffin is still known as the golf writer’s best friend. He is really Palmer’s personal assistant and in that role has helped many a writer gain access to Palmer for interviews.

He handles a multitude of roles for Palmer, co-wrote a book with him and is always helpful at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill in Orlando, Fla.

“I’ve had the pleasure with working with Doc for many events at Bay Hill through the years,” said Jeff Babineau, a longtime Golf­week senior writer and former Orlando Sentinel sports writer who is covering his 21st Masters this week. “Doc is the consummate pro, always sharply dressed in a suit and tie, even on the hottest summer day.”

Babineau said Giffin “has had one of the greatest front-row seats in sports history. When he tells you some long-ago story about Arnold, whether it’s about a U.S. Open or the Rub­ber City Open, the details are crisp and vivid and he
tells you as if it’s the first time the story ever has been told, even if he’s told it 1,000 times.”

Since Palmer retired from the Masters, he has returned every year for the Tuesday night Champions Dinner and to be an honorary starter on Thursday mornings, beginning in 2007, but Giffin hasn’t been with him.

“He’s not playing so I don’t have any duties, so there is no reason to be there,” Giffin explained when asked about his long absence.

When Palmer hired Giffin in August 1966, the King had already won the last of his seven major championships (at the 1964 Masters) and 48 of his 62 PGA Tour wins. Yet to come, however, would be 10 victories on the fledging Champions Tour.

Giffin said some people thought the job wouldn’t last and questioned the move, but he knew better.

“No one knew there would be a Champions Tour at that time, but I knew with his popularity, he would need someone to work as an ass­istant. We thought we’d work into our 60s and then retire. Of course, that didn’t happen.”

Giffin is 86, 10 months older than Palmer.

Giffin had always liked Palmer, starting from a brief encounter at a cocktail party for the 1959 Western Open in Pittsburgh.

“I saw what a considerate, friendly man he was,” Giffin said.

Being among the writers at the Masters this week brought back memories for Giffin of his first visit to the tournament in 1960, which happened to be the year Palmer won the second of his four green jackets. Back then, the media was housed in a Quonset Hut.

“They didn’t even bring the low scorers (the leaders) down for interviews,” Giffin said. “You can see pictures of the press interviewing them in the locker room. Charlie Yates (an Augusta
National member on the media committee) got that worked out.”