He was known as "The King" because during his golf prime, his game was rarely matched in the professional ranks.
Arnold Palmer recorded 62 PGA Tour wins; he was a 7-time major champion; he was a member of 7 winning Ryder Cup teams. And that's barely scratching the surface for this icon who began his pro golf career in 1955.
One of Palmer's 62 tour victories came in Grand Rapids. He won the Western Open Championship in 1961. The tournament was held at Blythefield Country Club, which is located in Belmont, Mich., between Grand Rapids and Rockford.
He managed to edge out fellow golf legend, Sam Snead by two strokes, finishing at -13.
Thirty years later, Palmer returned to Grand Rapids to play in another pro golf event. This time he was the headliner in the field for the "First of America Classic" -- the Senior PGA Tour event.
"Arnold Palmer was the 'coup de grace' for the senior tour back then," said Bob Sack, who served as the tournament director for Grand Rapids' Senior Tour event from 1989-1995. "Palmer turned 50 years old in 1980, and in 1981 he won the U.S. Senior Open, which was hosted that year at Oakland Hills, down near Detroit.
"Palmer was the main guy in senior golf throughout the 1980s, and remained a hot commodity on tour in the early 1990s when we tried to secure him for our event here in Grand Rapids."
With the help of three local sponsors, and a national sports marketing firm, Sack managed to put together a tantalizing corporate package together that he hoped would have been difficult for Palmer to refuse.
"We secured First of America bank as the title sponsor," Sack said. "Then we landed IMG Sports Marketing, which really helped legitimize the event for Palmer who, in 1991, was a sports marketing genius.
"The DeVos family got involved as well, suggesting we hold a pro-am and a skins game at their new golf course and housing development they were launching in southern Kent County called, 'Crystal Springs.'
"Another partner we managed to get on board was Alro Steel Company, who had ties with two Senior PGA players -- Dave and Mike Hill."
The fourth player was Don Massengale, who had won the Grand Rapids Senior Tour event the year before.
"All these entities came together, and Arnie committed to come to Grand Rapids for the pro-am and the skins game," Sack said. "Arnie decided that week to stick around and play in the First of America Classic.
"Our tactic to lure him here, and keep him here for the actual tournament, worked."
Palmer didn't win the F.O.A.C. in 1991, but he excited the galleries who swarmed him on every hole.
"I will never forget that Sunday afternoon at The Highlands," Sack said. "Palmer was trailing in the field, heading into Sunday morning, and all of the sudden he started to make a charge. By mid afternoon, Arnie was on the leaderboard, and had climbed into 8th place. He got to 9-under par, and the entire place was buzzing. To think that at age 62, Arnold Palmer was on the leaderboard of a Senior Tour Event, was just magnificent.
"It's truly the most electrifying moment of the tournament in the years that I was involved with it."
1991 was the only year Arnold Palmer played in Grand Rapids' senior golf event. Sack says he tried to woo him back to play again in the years that followed but was never able to make it happen.
The state of Michigan would become prime real estate for Palmer, as his playing career slowed down. Arnie designed six golf courses in Michigan, including one in West Michigan - The Ravines - which is located in Saugatuck.
Palmer was on hand for the grand opening of The Ravines on May 30, 2000. He held several golf clinics that day in Saugatuck, and also had a chance to play a round at his new course.
That was the last public appearance by Arnold Palmer in West Michigan.
