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A Life For the Love of Golf
ARNOLD PALMER
BY TIM BRANCO & JACK ROSS
In 2001, Arnold Palmer appeared at The Greater Hartford Open to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of this prestigious PGA Tournament. The tournament was created by members of the Jaycees in Hartford, Connecticut and held at the esteemed Wethersfield Country Club in 1952. The Greater Hartford (then called The Insurance City Open) was home to Arnold Palmer’s first PGA Tour win in 1956. From 1955 – 2011, he would go on to win 92 times on the PGA Tour, the Champions Tour and International competitions including seven majors. He was by all measures the King, though he never acted that way. He cherished life and the game of golf, his presence in the game was legendary. In the history of all sports no, one individual has ever single-handedly transformed a game as Arnold Palmer did with golf. He gave golf as a gift to us all, to embellish, to love and to share with others we love.
IN 1997, THE FRANCIS OUIMET SCHOLARSHIP FUND HONORED ARNOLD PALMER WITH THE FIRST FRANCIS OUIMET AWARD FOR HIS LIFELONG ACHIEVEMENT TO GOLF AT COPLEY PLACE IN BOSTON. MR. PALMER WAS INVOLVED IN THE OUIMET FUND FOR OVER 20 YEARS THANKS TO THE EFFORTS OF RICHARD “DICK” CONNOLLY, JR. WHO SERVED AS HIS FINANCIAL ADVISOR AND WAS A CLOSE PERSONAL FRIEND.
LATROBE CC
Deacon Palmer, Arnie’s dad, served as superintendent and golf professional at Latrobe Country Club until his death in 1976. But it was his son, Arnold, who made the biggest impact on the game of golf and later purchased his beloved club in 1971. In the early 1960s, Deacon and Arnold formulated the plans to expand the original 9-hole course to 18-holes. When Arnold bought the club, further modernization commenced but the course and the unpretentious clubhouse ave never lost their original charm.
Arnold Palmer returned to Latrobe every summer throughout his adult life to the home perched on a hill overlooking the entrance to the club where he loved nothing better than to play golf with his close circle of friends, have lunch in what is now the Palmer Grille, and tinker with clubs in his workshop.
Today, you don’t have to be a member of the club to play Arnie’s home course. If you stay at one of the guest houses at the club, you can be a member for a day at Latrobe. The course affords fine views of the mountains; the signature hole is the par-3 12th, where the ride up the hill to the tee box provides a panoramic vista. A journey to Latrobe is a trip through golf history. You won’t see Arnie, but you will feel his presence. And of course, you can enjoy an “Arnold Palmer” in the clubhouse after your round.
BAY HILL CLUB & LODGE
In 1965 Arnold first visited the Bay Hill Club for an exhibition. Mr. Palmer was living in Pennsylvania and had been looking for a winter home for his family. Arnie knew almost immediately that he had found a property he wanted to own; a quiet secluded golfer’s paradise to winter with his family.
In 1970 Arnold Palmer entered into a 5-year lease with an option to buy, which he did in 1975. He approached the PGA Tour to move the Florida Citrus Open to Bay Hill and in 1979 The Bay Hill Citrus Classic (later known as the Bay Hill Invitational) was born.
In 2007 the tournament was renamed The Arnold Palmer Invitational, Presented by MasterCard
THE 90 FOR 90 CELEBRATION
This year the Arnold Palmer organization launched the 90 for 90 campaign to celebrate moments of his life. From June 13th, leading up to what would have been Mr. Palmers 90th birthday on September 10th, the launch of the program began at the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach in June highlighting Arnie’s dramatic victory in the 1960 U.S. Open at Cherry Hills, his partnership purchase of Pebble Beach, as well as his final U.S. Open at Oakmont in 1994.
The highlighted moments will cover the full spectrum of Palmer’s life, including family, his love of aviation, his business prowess, the Arnold & Winnie Palmer Foundation and of course, his incredible golf career. More than just historical notes, the 90 moments are meant to emphasize the positive impact Palmer had on the world and to inspire others to live their best.
