E
ven if you don't know the differ-
ence between a birdie and an
eagle, chances are likely that you
know the name Arnold Palmer. Perhaps
the most iconic golfer of the 20th Cen-
tury, Palmer's record of accomplish-
ments on the golf course, his rapport
with his longtime body of fans, and the
fact that his best years coincided with
the emergence of live sports coverage
on television, have made him a house-
hold name for decades.
However, many people may not be
as familiar with the enduring mark he
has made on golf course design – such
as his superlative work at Classic Club,
which opened in 2006.
Palmer designed his first course in
the 1950s, when the college student was
serving in the U.S. Coast Guard and
was asked to design a nine-hole layout
on a weed-strewn strip of land between
two runways. In 1972, he launched
Palmer Course Design, now known as
Arnold Palmer Design Company.
Along with design partner Ed Seay
(who passed away in 2007), the firm
has designed more than 300 courses in
25 countries and 37 American states, in-
cluding such world-renowned tracks as
his course at PGA West in La Quinta,
Turtle Bay in Hawaii, Aviara in Carls-
bad and Tralee Golf Club in Ireland.
But unlike other golf course design-
ers, who seem to work very hard – and
succeed quite well at it – at putting
their unique stamp on every course
they design, Palmer's design aesthetic
is the opposite.
"I try to design golf courses that are
individual in character and individual
in their own standing," he told Golf Di-
gest in 2008. "An example would be, if
someone came to me and they saw a
golf course for the first time, and said,
'Yes. This is an Arnold Palmer golf
course.' That wouldn't please me too
much because we try to design courses
that are not characteristic in any way.
They are each individually designed.
We try to do things different in every
course we design."
ARNOLD PALMER
BY THE NUMBERS
1929
The year he was born, on
September 10 in Latrobe,
Pennsylvania
62
PGA Tour wins, >
