The scrupulously kept files inside Arnold Palmer Design Company headquarters, a one-story building that sits on the plush grounds of Bay Hill Club & Lodge, maintain that there are just six Palmer courses in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. With all due respect to the administrative abilities of the friendly folks at APDC, those files are wrong, wrong, wrong. In fact, there are more than 700 Arnold Palmer courses in Pennsylvania.
Sure, they may have been designed by persons other than Palmer, they may have scant history with the Latrobe golfer and heck, Palmer may never have even set a spider–spiked shoe on their turf. But make no mistake: many of the golf courses in Pennsylvania would still be raising cows and corn if it wasn’t for Palmer.
“He’s a man who could live anywhere in the world, but he still lives in Latrobe. And you can still find him most days at the course where he grew up, the same place his father worked his whole life,” says Oakmont head pro Bob Ford, dean of Pennsylvania’s golf professionals. “That’s one reason why he’s been at the center of the rise in Pennsylvania golf for 50 years — just because he’s still here. And that’s kind of neat.”
Sure, Palmer’s never set foot in micro-resorts like Heritage Hills Golf & Conference Center, but that doesn’t stop them and places like them from featuring a trove of Arnold Palmer memorabilia. Heritage Hills’ collection sits in a prominent section of the hotel called the “King’s Tower.”
“We don’t really have any connection to Arnie, but if you want to be connected
to anyone in golf, you want it to be
Arnold Palmer,” says general partner Matt DeRose. “He’s a self-made guy who represents so many of the qualities Pennsylvanians like to see in themselves.”
Want to immerse yourself in the land that bred those qualities? Head straight to the Keystone state, and bring your sticks.
Philadelphia
Benjamin Franklin may not have started his life in Philadelphia, but the man biographer Stacy Schiff described as “equal parts Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan and Bugs Bunny,” is certainly regarded as a founding father of the city, and his influence can be seen everywhere. The city’s major parkway is named for him, as are a multitude of Philadelphia’s institutions, neighborhoods, clubs and bars. Once you’re done trying to count them all, grab a bite in one of the city’s culinary markets. Spiffy upstarts, like The Waterworks Restaurant, are elbowing their way into “Best Of” lists alongside venerable classics like Le Bec Fin and Old Original Bookbinders. On the golf side, Philadelphia is also the home of old and new classics like Merion Golf Club, site of the 2013 U.S. Open, and the Arnold Palmer Design Company’s Blue Bell Country Club, since 1994 considered one of the finest private clubs in the Philadelphia area. The course features a design that is both beguiling and deceptive, features that lend themselves to strong slope and course ratings. Another area Palmer course, Commonwealth National Golf Club, opened in 1990 to acclaim with Palmer himself offering, “All I know and love about golf is in this course.” After one recent round, PGA veteran Kirk Triplett praised the back nine as being “as difficult as anything we play on Tour.”
The Poconos
This lovely mountain range can justifiably be called The Big Apple’s backyard;
it’s where New Yorkers go to unwind.
It features hundreds of scenic and challenging golf holes designed by masters such as
A.W. Tillinghast, Donald Ross and that old Palmer nemesis, Jack Nicklaus.
Tillinghast’s Shawnee Inn and Golf
Resort was the site of the 1938 PGA Championship where Paul “Little Poison” Runyan beat a surging Sam Snead. Nearly 70 years later, shooting “light’s out” golf at the classic course would short-circuit an otherwise electrifying round. The course has a nine-hole executive that features lighting stanchions for evening fun. Personally I would be delighted to play morning, noon or night.
Hershey
It is for reasons more than his scrumptious product that Milton S. Hershey can be considered the sweetest businessman in America. Hershey built a town that would nurture not only great sweets, but also great people. His still-thriving master plan included Hershey Amusement Park, first-rate schools, an opera house and a museum and outlets for a game at which he only dabbled. But Hershey golf history is as rich as its chocolate. The Hershey Country Club, available to guests of the splendid Hershey Hotel, includes a roster that boasts not one, but two World Golf Hall of Fame members who served as head professional. Henry “The Hershey Hurricane” Picard and Ben Hogan both played out of Hershey Country Club.
Gettysburg
This is the best small town in history. Golf hadn’t yet been introduced to an otherwise preoccupied America when Abe Lincoln wrote his famous Address in the Wills House on the Gettysburg Square — and that's too bad. The Great Emancipator could have used a diversionary round of golf after the terrible pressures of saving the Union. Like Gen. Dwight Eisenhower, who lived out his retirement on a Gettysburg farm within cannon shot of the battlefield, Honest Abe would have probably enjoyed golfing at Gettysburg. And that's no lie.
Gettysburg (and nearby York) sits at the top of Pennsylvania golf destinations because of the diversity of its courses and the uniformity of their excellence. Adding to the appeal, after a satisfying round of golf the historic past surrounds you.
Eons before men spilt blood in battle 12 miles north along Taneytown Road in July 1863, the rocks at The Links at Gettysburg were a sanguine hue. It shows up right after the first tee shot on the downhill 395-yard, par-4 first hole where the creek bed fronting the green is a jagged jumble of red rocks. Even more imposing are the scooped-out backdrops of rock cliffs — some as high as 35 feet — that rise up from behind four holes including the awe-inspiring par-5, 539-yard 18th hole.
The charming Carroll Valley Resort is everything the ambling golfer could want. Confined in a lovely little cleavage of mountains, the layout has a certain gentle sweetness to it. A round at Carroll Valley can be quite uplifting (in winter, it’s a popular ski resort) and joyful. Credit the simply elegant setting. But simple design shouldn't be confused with simple golf. Meandering Tom's Creek babbles and baffles golfers who are uncertain about their approach shots.
As disparate as North and South, Penn National has two courses that combine to give golfers a rich tapestry well worth preserving, sort of how Lincoln felt about the Union in 1860. The Founder’s Course, opened in 1968, is parkland beauty while Iron Forge, 1997, is more of a links-style offering. About 18 miles west of the Gettysburg, the courses are near enough to Camp David that U.S. Presidents of both Southern and Northern heritage choose them for golf relaxation.
The town features excellent dining options, including McClellan’s Tavern in the lavishly restored Best Western Gettysburg Hotel on the town square, and — perfect for post-round libations — Appalachian Brewing Company, a great place to unwind.
Pittsburgh
Once dubbed “Hell with the lid off” because of its smoke-belching crush of fiery factories, Pittsburgh today is as green and fresh as a salad bar. The city boasts the third most “green” certified structures in America, a list that somehow snubs a multitude of luscious and challenging greens that have nothing to do with conserving fossil fuels. It’s a sports-mad town that revels in its champions, be they men of steel or legendary golfers who’ve swung clubs fortified with the stuff.
Oakmont has to be the city’s best known. Like the region it represents, the fabled course is demanding but fair, tough but imbued with a sense of playfulness. It sets the standard all area courses strive to match.
Coming the closest is the outstanding Olde Stonewall Golf Club. The course is festooned with enormous limestone boulders weighing between two and 12 tons and features more spectacular signatures than a Pete Rose autograph session. The clubhouse is a replica of a castle where golfers are treated like royalty.
Palmer’s Treesdale Golf and Country Club grabbed its share of the spotlight while Oakmont hosted the national championship as avid golfers and deep-pocket sponsors sought outstanding area venues while in Pittsburgh. The course rolls through scenic orchards and meadows, and the APDC hallmarks that make the designers so sought after are evident throughout.
For dinner and a fabulous view, be sure to enjoy one of the other elegant restaurants clinging to the cliffs of Mt. Washington.
Bedford Springs
The course at this fabled old resort is like a painting that was the result of a magnificent collaboration by Picasso, Van Gogh and Monet. That’s what happens when golf course design masters get their hands on the same splendid piece of ground. Spencer Oldham built the original 18-hole layout, which opened in 1895. Oldham enjoyed geometric designs, such as the course’s S-curve and donut bunkers. In 1912, while cutting the course back to a nine-hole layout, Tillinghast designed a classic little 130-yard par-3 hole (now the 14th hole), which he named "Tiny Tim." Donald Ross kept "Tiny Tim" intact when he redesigned the course in 1923 after concluding Tillinghast’s work was near perfect. A National Historic Landmark, the 203-year-old Bedford Springs Resort was virtually abandoned in 1986 and fell apart. A $120 million renovation put things back in shape, and it re-opened in July of this year to rave reviews.
You have to fly into the Arnold Palmer Regional Airport to get to Mr. Rogers Neighborhood. When beloved children's TV host Fred Rogers died in 2003, many reports cited his Latrobe birthplace in the scenic Laurel Highlands as Mr. Rogers “Real Neighborhood.” But as any golf fan knows, Latrobe is Mr. Palmer's Neighborhood. The golf legend, a former classmate of Mr. Rogers, still lives most of the year on Arnold Palmer Drive.
Since 2006, golfers can fly into Arnold Palmer Airport, stay at new on-course B&Bs and revel in all things Arnie. Latrobe Country Club, once exclusive, is now open to guests. “We still get calls from people all over who are amazed that they can be our guest for a day at Latrobe,” says Randy Bisi, the man who holds the head pro position once occupied by Deacon Palmer, the man who taught Arnold Palmer how to golf.
Another Palmer course that stands high in the pantheon of his legend is Laurel Valley Golf Club — known as the Northern Augusta for its exclusivity.
The Laurel Highlands are home to one of America’s greatest and most whimsical resorts: Nemacolin Woodlands Resort. The sylvan playground features 5-diamond accommodations, a sport shooting academy, a Hummer driving school and two great golf courses, including Pete Dye’s Mystic Rock, site of the former 84 Lumber Pennsylvania Classic.
Golfers are already discovering the rugged charms of The Club at Blackthorne, the newest Pennsylvania APDC course and the only one in the backyard of Palmer himself. The existing nine winds through woodlands, skirts valley rims and features great bunkering and greens more subtle than an old widow’s tears. A new nine is under construction.
Dining options in Latrobe include restaurants built around two common modes of transportation: the plane and the locomotive. DeNunzio’s Italian Chop House is in the Palmer airport overlooking the landing strips at the Palmer airport, and DiSalvo’s Station Restaurant features fine dining in a lavishly restored train station in downtown Latrobe. Both restaurants offer good food and feature fitting themes for anyone interested in getting around Pennsylvania, the birthplace of liberty and a great Palmer golf destination — no matter who designed the courses.
News:
Palmer named host of 2009 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic
Golf and Palm Springs icon Arnold Palmer will host the 50th anniversary of the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, to be played Jan. 19-25, 2009.
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IN ADDITION, 25% of all subscription revenue will be donated equally between Arnie’s Army Battles Prostate Cancer and the Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women and Babies in Orlando.