Est. 1961 · Dick Wilson (original, 1961); extensively remodeled by Arnold Palmer and Ed Seay (1970s onward)
Why we love this place
We love Bay Hill because it is Arnold Palmer's living room, the course the King made his own and defended for a lifetime. There is real warmth here under the Florida sun, plus a closing stretch that still makes tour pros sweat. Point, play, and you feel the game's history in every swing.
Via GolfPass
About Bay Hill Golf Club
Bay Hill's original 18 holes were routed by architect Dick Wilson and opened in 1961, commissioned by a group of Nashville investors on former citrus land west of Orlando. Arnold Palmer first played the course in 1965, was smitten, and leased and then purchased the club in 1970, making it his winter home. Over the following decades Palmer, working with design partner Ed Seay, reshaped much of Wilson's layout, so the modern course reflects the King's own hand as much as its original architect's. Since 1979 Bay Hill has hosted an annual PGA Tour stop that grew into the Arnold Palmer Invitational, one of the tour's marquee events, known for its demanding, water-guarded closing holes. The club pairs a resort lodge with a championship course and remains deeply tied to Palmer's legacy following his death in 2016.
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