Arnold Palmer Design: Latest News: Archives
« March 2009 | Main | August 2009 »
USGA MUSEUM LAUNCHES ARNOLD PALMER MEMORY BOOK
May 18, 2009
The United States Golf Association is inviting the public to participate in a very special project to celebrate a true sporting legend and a great American.
Arnold Palmer will be celebrating his 80th birthday on September 10, 2009. To honor the occasion, the USGA Museum has launched an online Arnold Palmer Memory Book. The purpose of the Web site is to collect personal stories and memories of Arnold, and allow the public to view other fans’ appreciation of him. Fans can submit their reflections about Arnold in the form of words, images or video.
Arnold’s influence on the game of golf and sports in America has been felt for many years. Collectively, these testimonials will document the remarkable contributions Arnold has made to golf, not simply as a player, but as the embodiment of all that is honorable and exceptional about the game.
“Even if you’ve never had the opportunity to meet him, it seems that almost everyone in and around the game has their own Arnold Palmer story,” said USGA Director of Communications & Museum Rand Jerris. “Perhaps he was a childhood hero, maybe you once saw him play, or you just have a favorite story about him. The key is that we’re looking for personal stories – honest, from-the-heart sentiments that capture the essence of what Arnold Palmer has meant to the game.”
Later this year, the USGA Museum will edit and assemble the very best submissions into a bound volume, for presentation to Arnold as an 80th birthday present.
To participate in the Arnold Palmer Memory Book, log on to usgamuseum.com/arnoldpalmer .
Posted: May 18, 2009 04:36 PM
APDC Update
May 12, 2009
An iconic facelift, some exotic drama and an educated game are all paving the way for great play with the Arnold Palmer Design Company
Pebble Beach - Hole 18
Thad layton, an architect at the Arnold Palmer Design Company, remembers a day a few years ago when the boss asked for a little assistance.
"He walked in with a set of plans and said, ‘I need some help with these plans, guys,’" Layton remembers. "Dave and I looked at each other and said, ‘This is going to be fun.’"
No kidding. Though the project was essentially just a rehab job (not a new development) it was the course in question that had Layton, David Couch and the rest of the excellent team at APDC excited: Pebble Beach.
"We were really fired up about it," Layton says.
Anytime anyone puts a shovel in the ground at Pebble Beach, people are going to notice, and the changes—restorations, really—APDC has effected there are certainly worth noticing.
Pebble Beach is only one of the many projects the firm has taken on in recent years. Busy as ever with projects at home and all over the world, APDC is leading the course design business, expanding both the quality of the industry and its own operations even in tough economic times.
Pebble Beach
In preparation for hosting the 2010 U.S. Open Championship, the team at Pebble Beach decided it was time for a little shaping up. Some years ago, the Pebble Beach Company’s Senior VP of Golf R.J. Harper presented Palmer with some ideas for course improvements. The master plan was discussed by Pebble Beach’s owners and board, which includes Palmer and actors Clint Eastwood and Peter Uberoth, among others. The end result is a bit more length and a few more challenges, more in line with the course’s original set up.
"Digging up some old photos from the early 1900s of the golf course, it looks a lot different than it does today," says Layton. "It got a bit rounded off over time and has a bit of a dull edge to it. The old black-and-white photos are really flamboyant, really splashy. We tried to inject a little of that old character back into it and bring it up to today’s standards in terms of length."
Some of the most dramatic changes were on No’s 6 and 18, where the ocean was brought more into play through strategic placement of bunkers and Cypress trees. Specifically: On 6, the large fairway bunker at the lower landing area was replaced with five new bunkers that shift the landing area towards the ocean. On the iconic 18, two Cypress trees and a fairway bunker were added in the landing area, which forces longer hitters to aim left towards the Pacific. Overall, four greens and 16 bunkers have been rebuilt, altered or installed; 11 tees have benefited from enhancements; six holes have had trees added or adjusted; and the total course length has been extended to 7,014 yards.
As Layton put it: "It’s been a fun one to work on."
Look for more on the renovations at Pebble Beach in the next issue of kingdom.
Kunming, China - Hole 13 - The Rock Gorge
Across the Sea
About as far away from Pebble Beach as you could get, APDC architect Brandon Johnson has been busy working on a course in Kunming, China.
"That’s the big one on my desk," he says.
Big indeed. Sitting above a large mountain lake, canyons, gorges and lakeside play provide a world of challenges with elevation changes of 300 feet and what Johnson says are a number of "heroic carries." When completed, the course will be one of the few links-style courses in China, with native grasses and pines gracing the rambling contours.
A Balinese-style clubhouse with wide doors open to the wind and incredible views will provide an epic place to relax following a round at this course, which is past the halfway point in terms of development.
Well north of Kunming, Moscow is the latest international destination set to benefit from an Arnold Palmer course. Layton and APDC’s Executive Vice President and Senior Architect Erik Larsen have been working on a core golf project just outside the city.
"It’s one of the prime places in Moscow," says Layton. "Ideal elevation changes, 60 feet top to bottom; nothing dramatic but subtle rises and falls across the property."
A relatively flat city with a playing season that’s near seven months long, Moscow is relatively new to golf. This development will be private, but APDC is pushing to expand the public game there as well. Layton says the plans are near 90 percent done and that ground should be broken this spring.
In warmer climes, architect Eric Wiltse says APDC may be taking on projects in Cambodia, Brazil, India, Costa Rica and even on the island of Mauritius, off the west coast of Madagascar. Good reasons to keep your passport up-to-date and your traveling bag ready.
Newport Dunes
At Home
Besides Pebble Beach, the other big news this year in the U.S. is the golf course at North Carolina State University in Raleigh.
Shooting for a July opening, Johnson, who, along with Erik Larsen, is an NCSU alum says the course turned out great—excellent news for the NCSU golf team, which hasn’t had a course of its own until now.
"There are some really interesting shots out there," says Johnson. "Options off the tee, options to the greens and some heroic shots. There’s a lot of variety."
With two archrivals nearby (Duke and UNC) and no real home course, there’s been a gap in the athletic department and in the university’s amenities overall. The new course should go miles in putting that issue to rest. More than just a college course open to the public, it’s a top-drawer design offering terrific playability.
"This one’s going to turn some heads," says Larsen. Does that have anything to do with the fact that he and Johnson are alums? "Well, we did put a little something on it," he says.
Also in North Carolina, White Oak Golf & Equestrian Community in Tryon is near complete, with just a couple of holes left to finish. The gorgeous 1,110-acre resort and golf community has been heavily anticipated and should be a stunner when it opens. The sooner the better for Padraig Harrington, who is planning to call the neighborhood "home."
Up the street in Hendersonville, Seven Falls Golf & River Club is still in the works. When it’s done, residents and guests will enjoy top-notch Palmer golf and a full-service river lodge for fishing and boating on the incredible French Broad River. A 60-acre practice course is already open, with what is arguably one of the most comprehensive facilities anywhere.
In South Carolina, The Reserve at Lake Keowee has been planning on adding a Palmer course to its lakeside community. After a few delays, the project is back on track and should be underway again this year—good news for the locals, who will enjoy one of the first Palmer Premier courses to be built.
Texas welcomed a new links-style course recently when Newport Dunes opened in Port Aransas. Already winning awards, the course winds through the natural dunes of Texas’ Gulf Coast and offers fast greens, deep sod-stacked revetment bunkers, oversized water hazards and plenty of native rough.
So whether you have to saddle up, gas up or buy a plane ticket, APDC has given you the perfect excuse to shine up your clubs and explore the world. With more great courses on the way soon, you’d better hurry up if you want to play them all.
Posted: May 12, 2009 11:42 AM
PALMER HONORED AT GOLF BUSINESS FORUM, PLAYS ST. ANDREWS
May 01, 2009
Arnold Palmer takes off in his Cessna Citation X from Arnold Palmer Regional Airport at his Latrobe, PA, hometown on Monday, May 4, and flies to Cardiff, Wales, to attend the Golf Business Forum, at which he will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award the next day.
"I am honored to be accepting this award from the Golf Business Forum and am very proud to be associated with an organization that does so much to further the sport of golf." said Palmer.
Palmer is scheduled to conduct a golf clinic and meet with some upcoming young Welsh golfers that afternoon.
Staff members of Arnold Palmer Design Company will attend the Tuesday sessions with Palmer. "The Golf Business Forum has continually provided excellent support to APDC and the golf development industry throughout the world." said Erik Larsen, Executive Vice President of APDC. "We are very appreciative for all that the GBF does to help grow the sport."
On Wednesday, Palmer and his group will fly on to St. Andrews, Scotland, where Palmer will play the Old Course in the Spring Medal of the Royal & Ancient with Sir Michael Bonallack, the former Secretary and Chief Executive of the R&A and British Amateur champion, and Harmish Ritchie, the current R&A captain. Palmer will participate in other activities at St. Andrews later in the day before he, his wife Kit and the rest of his party fly back to Latrobe on Friday.
Posted: May 1, 2009 09:53 AM
