Golfdom, October 2016

Im Just Saying THROUGH THE PERISCOPE Opening day for the new holes arrived and I was asked to play golf with Mr Palmer Quite the treat all day with Arnie STEVEN WRIGHT CGCS Pine Tree GC Boynton Beach Fla Arnie and me T o say I had a life with Arnold Palmer would be quite an exaggeration But to say Arnie never had anything to do with my life would be not be true either My first experience with Mr Palmer came when I was 14 years old Our moms dropped off my best friend Luke and me at the 1971 Florida Citrus Open This was one of the Florida Tour swings played at Rio Pinar CC We were there all day following Mr Palmer Rio Pinar was not what you would call a fan friendly course so we each had a periscope For those who have never held one its an 18 inch box with an angled mirror at the top and bottom A necessary tool back in the day That day Palmer and Julius Boros were in a playoff More golf more walking more periscoping Mr Palmer won and the crowd went crazy Luke and I stuck around for an autograph Id like to say he looked me right in the eye and said something profound Nah Just the signature Fast forward a dozen plus years Im at my second superintendent position Suntree have anything to say about it There were a couple of other brief meetings He came to a benefit tournament while I was working at Gary Players Alaqua Country Club And then again at many PGA events at Bay Hill where the Citrus Open later was played and at Central Florida GCSAs Crowfoot Open He always was extremely friendly A couple of years ago the Golf Channel broadcast a three part series on Arnie I was moved by the production and realized how much of an impact this man has had on the game of golf I had a need to tell him so I wrote him a letter on Palm Beach GCSA letterhead expressing our superintendents vendor members gratitude for his efforts through the years Its safe to say many of us owe our careers to him His popularity spurred the growth of this game for decades making golf a career option for many a turfhead Arnie wrote me back and thanked me Wow Needless to say the letter is a prized possession To whom much is given much will be required We are held responsible for what we have If we are blessed with talent wealth knowledge and time its expected that we will use these well to glorify God and benefit others Arnold Palmer tried his hardest to live this out One man can make a difference Steven Wright CGCS is golf course superintendent at Pine Tree GC in Boynton Beach Fla He can be reached at steven_ wrightcgcs@ pinetreegolfclub net or followed at @ wrightsteve19 CC in Melbourne Fla Suntree was an original Senior Tour event Mr Palmer was coming to play my course It was my first of five Senior Tour events there but the next thing I knew the club had negotiated a deal for Mr Palmers golf course design company to design Suntrees next 18 holes For the next year or so we built nine holes at a time and I got to see Mr Palmer and his designers quite a bit Opening day for the new holes arrived and I was asked to play golf with Mr Palmer Quite the treat all day with Arnie He held my newborn daughter met my mom a huge fan and my wife Somehow I played OK that day The course looked good and Arnie was grateful That was the day I learned I was in the right profession A couple of years later and another Arnie moment this time a job interview with Mr Palmer in his Bay Hill office The open job was his at newest club in Orlando Isleworth CC At the time Isleworth had the only bentgrass greens in central Florida My friend Jim Ellison was Mr Palmers agronomy guy and arranged the interview It was down to two Joel Jackson and me Arnies office was awesome full of photos trophies and golf books Arnie arrived with a few pieces of luggage his pilot Winnie and two big dogs We shook hands and I noticed how large and strong his hands were It was not the first time shaking his hand but it stirred memories The interview was awkward He seemed rushed to get to Latrobe and I might have talked too much about Isleworth and bentgrass Joel Jackson got the job What did I get I got to sit one on one with the King and talk golf grass and business Even though it didnt work out that day I learned that there is a plan and sometimes you dont 12 Golfdom October 2016 Golfdom com