Laurel Valley Golf Club

Considered by some to be Dick Wilson’s consummate design, Laurel Valley Golf Club was founded by a group that included Arnold Palmer, who lived a few miles from the site. In fact, the group tried to persuade Arnie to quit the PGA Tour and become the club’s head professional and manager. Palmer reportedly mulled over the prospect for a time before rejecting it. Imagine how different the tour would have been had Arnie not become the dashing head of Arnie’s Army in the early 1960s. Instead, Palmer won seven majors, 52 titles overall and founded a golf design company that thrice remodeled the lovely Laurel Valley for major events.