Recreational Holidays

Arnold Palmer - The Man From Latrobe

One of the greatest players ever to step up to the green, Arnold Palmer was born in Latrobe, PA - a city which is justifiably proud of its most famous native son. Ever since his first major tournament win all the way back in 1955, Palmer has been one of the biggest names in golf - many fans refer to him as “The King”. Along with Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus, Palmer is one of the Big Three names in the golf world. Palmer’s playing was in large part responsible for the increased interest in golf as a spectator sport once games began to be televised in the 1950s.

Arnold got his passion for playing golf from his father Deacon Palmer who was a professional greens keeper at Latrobe Country Club. Remarkably, at only age seven, Arnold golfed an impressive 70 at Bent Creek Country Club. Even though his father worked at the Latrobe Country Club, which was only nine holes back in the day, Arnold was only allowed to play in the early mornings or late afternoons, when club members weren’t using the course.

He attended the popular Wake Forest University appropriately on a golf scholarship and served for three years in the Coast Guard. During this time, while continuing to develop his golf skills, he married Winifred Walker who he met while playing in a Pennsylvania golf tourney. During his rookie season, he won the Canadian Open and surged ahead with personality and business ideas that made golf a sport people became interested in and wanted to watch-many people give Palmer the credit for the sport becoming so popular.

Palmer won the 1958 Masters, his first major tournament win and quickly became one of the most popular golfers in the world. He signed with the agent Mark McCormack, who says that he was interested in representing Palmer because of “his good looks, his modest background, the way he played golf, his risk taking and wearing his heart on his sleeve, and his involvement in so many exciting early televised finishes.” Palmer quickly achieved international fame, winning the English Open (one of the first American golfers to do so). He scored a string of victories including the US Open in 1960, another English Open in 1961 and the PGA Masters in 1960, 1963 and 1964. Between 1960 and 1962, Palmer took 29 PGA Tour event trophies.

In 1960, Arnold was named Sports Illustrated top pro athlete of the year and he won the Sportsman of the Year award. His fans, known as “Arnie’s Army,” cheered when their Arnie became the first man to reach one million dollars in career earnings in 1967. Even with pros like Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player playing alongside him, Arnold managed to win a PGA Tour every year all the way up to 1970 and in 1971 he enjoyed a rejuvenation of his career winning four events.

The winner of four Vardon Trophies for low average score and a member on six different Ryder Cup teams, Palmer was by 1980 eligible for the PGA Senior Tour - an event which his famous name brought success to. The event would eventually be renamed the Champions Tour; Palmer won ten events on this tour and thanks to the talent of his agent McCormack, Palmer earned more in endorsements, charity events and sponsorships than any other player in the sport. Arnold Palmer has even won the highest honor given to civilians in the US - the Presidential Medal of Freedom Award, which was presented to Palmer by President Bush.

Palmer’s last appearance in the Masters was in 2004; this was his 50th appearance in the tournament. He decided to opt out of future Senior Majors after failing to make the cut for the 2005 US Senior Open. Palmer however went out on top - in the 2004 Bay Hill Invitational, he got his second shot onto the 18th green using a driver from 200 yards away! It was the kind of shot only he could make; and this time, he seems to have impressed even himself.

Arnold Palmer no longer plays competitively, but stays active in the world of golf. He is involved in the Bay Hill Club and Lodge, which hosts the Arnold Palmer Invitational. He was one of the developers of the Golf Channel and helped to build one of the first golf courses in China and founded the Arnold Palmer Design Company. Ranked the sixth best player of all time by Golf Digest, Palmer has also won the PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award and is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame. Arnold Palmer now resides in Orlando, FL where he stays on top of developments in the golf world and still enjoys a good game of golf.