Arnold Palmer lit it up at Senior PGA Tour events

Golf’s Senior PGA Tour enjoyed a bit of a “golden era” from 1980-87, when Arnold Palmer won 11 senior tournaments between the ages of 50-57.

 

Palmer was still a fierce competitor in 1987, when he signed a three-year agreement to serve the corporate spokesperson for GTE (formerly General Telephone and Electronics Company), while participating in various GTE-sponsored Senior Golf tournaments across the country.

At the time, GTE was organized by geographic territories. Within GTE South was Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.

However, there were no Senior Tour events scheduled in 1987 within the GTE South boundaries. Word came down from GTE South headquarters in Durham, N.C., that Palmer’s contract contained language to the effect of “use him or lose him.”

After a lot of head scratching, a plan was formulated, and Oct. 27, 1987, was established as “Arnold Palmer Day for the Wiregrass United Way” at the Dothan (Ala.) Country Club.

He would fly his private airplane into Dothan Regional Airport and arrive bright and early to play a friendly 18 holes of golf and then address a luncheon gathering at the country club to endorse the six-county regional United Way organization.

 

Eight business leaders each pledged $1,000 to have the opportunity to play nine holes alongside Palmer. Members of the Dothan High School varsity golf team served as caddies.

To generate interest, GTE South’s public relations officer based in Dothan put out the word. He wrote about how the 25-year-old Palmer had burst on the scene in 1955, winning his first pro tournament as a tour rookie.

“Palmer is clearly acknowledged as being responsible for the growth and success of professional golf,” the publicist said. “Palmer’s slashing, charging style captured the imagination of the sports world, producing golf tournament heroics and drama never-before seen on national television.”

Spectators were invited to contribute $15 apiece to the United Way…and that included the luncheon ticket. Everyone who attended received a GTE pin-on button featuring Arnold Palmer’s signature as a keepsake.

One impressive sight was the parade of private golf carts by the club members, reenacting “Arnie’s Army” as they meandered along the winding cart paths.

The Dothan Country Club course is par 71, with a distance of about 6,400 yards.

Palmer was even par for his round that day, but his shot-making skills from tee to green were impeccable. However, his putter was icy cold. Nothing would drop. He said he feared that this was becoming a characteristic of his game.

Undaunted, Palmer proceeded to deliver an emotional, heart-felt appeal on behalf of the United Way, one that brought tears to those assembled. He was that kind of a gentle human being.

In no hurry to leave, Palmer stuck around the golf club as long as anyone wanted to chat.

GTE South definitely got its money’s worth on the day that Arnold Palmer came to Dothan.

Palmer continued playing Senior Golf long after 1987. He abruptly retired in 2006 while playing in an event at Augusta Pines Golf Club in Spring, Texas (near Houston), at age 77.

He was experiencing back pain but tried to gut it out. He proceeded to plunk two shots into the drink on the fourth hole. Then and there, he decided he could “no longer give the public the performance they deserved.”

 

Palmer technically withdrew, but he didn’t just quit and walk away. He continued to play alongside partners Lee Trevino and John Mahaffey, hobbling and shuffling along, but not keeping score.

Palmer finished the round to avoid “disappointing the spectators.” What a guy!

 

The Dothan Country Club is host to the Press Thornton Future Masters Golf Tournament, one of the most traditionally rich junior boys tournaments in the world.  

Four age groupings are open to competitors between the ages of 10 and 18. 

The Future Masters has become a proving ground for golf's brightest junior stars, but it is not, nor has it ever been, only about golf. It is about the spirit of competition, friendships made, sportsmanship on the course, and the challenge of preserving 76 years of growing golf.

Two prominent Future Masters alumni who have won the coveted green jacket. They are:

Scottie Scheffler, who won the 2006 Future Masters and claimed the Masters Tournament titles in 2022 and 2024.

Bubba Watson, who won the Future Masters in 1996 and earned Masters victories in 2012 and 2014.

Other Masters champions who competed in the Future Masters include Trevor Immelman, who won at Augusta in 2008, and Larry Mize, who won the Masters Tournament in 1987.

Other golfing greats who played in the Future Masters are: past U.S. Open champions Hubert Green and Jerry Pate; PGA champions Bob Tway, Mark Brooks and Shawn Micheel; and (British) Open winner Ben Curtis.