Turn back the clock, or maybe the watch, 50 years to 1967 and the world was a very different place. A  pioneering prototype  of  the  Concorde  supersonic  aircraft  was  unveiled inFrance and  Christiaan  Barnard performed  the  first  heart  transplant  in  South  Africa.
The year also marked the beginning of a significant new relationship between the Swiss watch brand Rolex, and the sport of golf.
Sports  sponsorship is often a fickle relationship but in the case of Rolex and golf it has been a half-century ofsteadfast  commitment  and  instrumental support.
In the 1960s, professional golf was experiencing a renaissance courtesy of an American whose domination of the sport, coupled with his disarming charisma and charm, would change the game for generations to come.
His name was Arnold Palmer who was to become one of the world’s greatest and best loved golfers, with a playing career that spanned 30 years at the very top of the game.
Palmer  won  seven of  the  sport’s  major  championships  and  more than 90 professional wins. He was a pioneer and a golfing futurist.
His talent for marketing helped strengthen and promote the game across the globe. He became the first golfing superstar of the television age and is considered to be largely responsible for the prosperity of the modern game.
At  the  same  time  that  Palmer  was  at  the  pinnacle  of  his  career,  Rolex was  keen  to strengthen  its association with the game.
Naturally, Palmer was the perfect fit to become the brand’s first “testimonee” in golf  and  so began  an  enduring  partnership  that  has  developed  into  one  that  spans  the  globe and extends to golfers of all ages and abilities.
“It’s been one of the best and most compatible relationships that I have had in my life,’' Palmer once said of his abiding partnership with Rolex.
“There’s far more to the relationship than I could ever tell you. Rolex has done so many great things over the years that have been of tangible benefit to golf as a sport.’'
The  bond  between Rolex and golf has evolved through pivotal parnerships that have cemented Rolex’s place at the heart of the game. In the 1970s and 1980s, Rolex added prestigious tournaments The Open and the US Open; guardians of the traditions and rules of the game The Royal and Ancient (R&A) and USGA; as well as the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) and the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA), to its growing number of golf partners.
Rolex’s  relationship  with  golf  was  described best by one of the most influential men in the sport, Peter Dawson.
Now president of the International Golf Federation, it was during his tenure as chief executive of The R&A when he said: “Through its historic and unwavering support, Rolex has become part of the fabric of golf, from supporting the amateur game to increasing awareness of the rules, through an association with golf’s original major to presenting the Senior Open.
“No  other  brand  I  can  think  of  is  more  globally  and  passionately  involved  in  our  sport. The  far-reaching  commitment  of  Rolex is  deeply  rooted  in  promoting  and  developing  the game  world-wide, from grassroots programmes through to major championships and elite players.’’
Rolex  is  also  deeply  committed  to  amateur  golf,  and  is  a  partner  of important amateur tournaments across the globe, including the British Amateur Championship, US Amateur Championship, Latin America Amateur Championship, Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, as well as the leading amateur team formats, the Walker Cup and Curtis Cup.