The VISIT FLORIDA RV video crew and I met up with Mr. Palmer at his Bay Hill Club & Lodge in Orlando and spent some time discussing the history of the club and the superb golf course that hosts the PGA Tour event each year. In honor of Mr. Palmer, the PGA Tour now calls the event the Arnold Palmer Invitational (known as the Bay Hill Invitational in years past).

Mr. Palmer gave us a short history of the Bay Hill Club dating back to his first involvement in 1965. Just getting a chance to speak with him was a real delight for me. He has been one of my golf heroes since I was a kid. During my career I had the good fortune to work at MacGregor Golf when Jack Nicklaus was the owner and in my next job I worked with Ben Hogan at the Ben Hogan Co. Conducting the interview with Arnold Palmer was the trifecta.

Mr. Palmer and the entire staff at Bay Hill could not have been nicer and they made us all feel right at home. He spent ample time shaking hands, posing for pictures and signing autographs (see the photo of Mr. Palmer signing the huge postcard on the side of the VISIT FLORIDA RV - priceless).

John O’Leary, Director of Instruction at the Arnold Palmer Golf Academy, played the signature holes with me and gave some tips on how to play them. We took on the long horseshoe-shaped Par 5 #6 hole, the tough Par 3 #17 and the very challenging (and one of my favorite finishing holes) #18 with the dangerous shot over the water to a narrow green.

All this will be seen in the upcoming video that you’ll get a chance to view on my golf expert page in the future. Be sure to look for it, I’m sure that you will find it enjoyable.