Arnold Palmer grew up on a golf course superintendent’s crew, barred from Latrobe’s clubhouse amenities. In 1971, he bought the club.
Deacon Palmer maintained the ground his son learned to play on, but working at Latrobe Country Club did not give the family the privileges of membership. Arnold could play during restricted hours; the swimming pool, dining room and locker room remained off limits. Long before Arnie’s Army followed him down a fairway, he knew what it meant to live on the maintenance side of golf.
Latrobe also helped shape his game. Its small, moist greens encouraged the low, hard shots he learned as a boy. The course beneath your feet influences how you play, and the people who maintain it help determine the challenge you face. Palmer carried that perspective with him as his career took him far beyond Pennsylvania.