A salute and look back on Arnold Palmer’s rich history with The Greenbrier and The Greenbrier Sporting Club

 
In an interview in June of 2015, Arnie reminisced on the beginning of his Greenbrier relationship that coincided with his start on the professional tour. “I have a particular soft spot in my heart for The Greenbrier. Back in 1955, my first year on the Tour, I couldn’t win any official money during my first six months and I was sort of playing on a shoestring. Then, I was invited to play in the Sam Snead Festival, an unofficial pro-am at The Greenbrier. My amateur partner was Spencer Olin, a prominent industrialist and very nice man. We tied for first in the pro-am division and Spencer Olin had bought our team in the Calcutta they had at the tournament. I finished third on the pro side, Mr. Olin gave me a big piece of his winnings from the Calcutta, and I wound up with close to $10,000, which really came in handy at that time.”
 
Following that first win, he played the festival at The Greenbrier again in 1961, and then here in the 1986 American Express Seniors Tournament. Arnie returned to The Greenbrier in 2010 to cheer on his grandson, Sam Saunders, who played in the inaugural Greenbrier Classic PGA Tour Event. The relationship culminated in 2015 with Arnold Palmer as one of 4 legendary golfers collaborating for the first time to design our newest golf course at The Greenbrier Sporting Club. What a fabulous legacy this legend has left us to carry into our future.
 
A Tribute to Arnold Palmer
 

1948: Dining room with Draper china
 

1955: Arnold Palmer on right with AM partner Spencer Olin
 

1960s: Chesapeake Room
 

1961: Arnold Palmer (2nd from left) and Chris Dunphy (far right)
 

1986: Arnold Palmer, Governor Arch Moore, and Lawson Hamilton at Pro-Am
 

2010: Arnold Palmer at the first Greenbrier Classic to watch his grandson compete
 

2014: Arnold Palmer at the September Tennis Championship
 

2015: One of his last design projects, The Greenbrier Sporting Club’s pending course at Oakhurst