On September 25, 2016, the golf world said goodbye to a legend. Arnold Palmer endeared the game to millions, all the while maintaining a sense of graciousness and dignity that can never be repeated. His fearless approach on the course and approachable nature off it earned the most appropriate moniker ever bestowed upon a golfer: The King. Mr. Palmer once said, “It’s funny. The more I practice, the luckier I get.” At the Golf Range Association of America, where “Practice” of one of our cornerstones, we’d like to express how lucky we feel to be a part of the same game as The King.
A statue of Arnold Palmer sits at the golf practice facility of his alma mater, Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The Arnold Palmer Golf Center serves as home base for the university’s men’s and women’s golf teams. Following his death, fans and students placed flowers, golf balls and glasses of Arnold Palmers (iced tea and lemonade) at the base of the statue.
In other university golf news, continuing the strong partnership between University of Cincinnati women’s golf and Losantiville Country Club, a short-game practice area for the Bearcats was dedicated at the facility. “A short-game practice area was something that has been missing among our facilities for some time now,” said head coachJanet Carl. “This new area will have a great impact on the improvement of our players. We are extremely grateful for the partnership that we have with Losantiville and for them to include us as they continue to improve their course and facilities.”
The 2016 United States Ryder Cup Team was undoubtedly inspired by the legacy of Mr. Palmer, in the same way that the Europeans were inspired by the passing of the great Seve Ballesteros when they retained the cup in 2012 at Medinah. Another source of energy for the U.S. side this year was the crowd, which was fired up from start to finish. On the Thursday prior to the start of the competition, an American fan was challenged by the European team to make a putt on the practice green – a putt that they’d been struggling with. To up the ante, Justin Rose slapped a crisp $100 bill next to the ball just before the lucky fan stroked the putt. Of course…bottom of the cup.
