Latrobe Country Club

Detailed description of Latrobe Country Club

Latrobe Country Club is a Private 18 hole golf course located 40 miles east of Latrobe, Pennsylvania in the scenic Laurel Highlands. The course is owned by Arnold Palmer.

Latrobe Country Club first opened for play as a 9-hole course in 1922. The course was designed by Emil Loeffler and later reworked by John McGlynn. The 1964 expansion of the course to 18 holes and rework of the original 9 was designed by Deke Palmer (Arnold's father) and Arnold Palmer.

Par for the course is 72. From the back tees the course plays to 6,500 yards. From the forward tees the course measures 5,423 yards. The longest hole on the course is # 15, a par-5 that plays to 505 yards. The shortest hole on the course is # 2, a par-3 that plays to 126 yards from the back tees.

Watch out for # 8, a 450 yard par-4 challenge and the #1 handicap hole on the course. The easiest hole at Latrobe Country Club is # 17, a 350 yard par-4.

Latrobe Country Club was founded in 1920 by a group of leading professionals from Latrobe, PA. The group had acquired 63 acres of the Kennan Farm bordering on what was then the National Lincoln Highway (U.S. Route 30) just west of Youngstown. By the summer of 1921 work was well underway on the golf course and clubhouse. Among those on the job was a teenager named Milford (Deacon/Deke) Palmer, Arnold's father.

The short but imaginative nine-hole course was designed by Emil Loeffler. The Club made steady progress over the next two decades. Additional tracts of land were purchased.

By the early 1960s sufficient land had been acquired to enable plans for an 18-hole course. Both Deacon and Arnold Palmer contributed heavily to the John McGlynn design for the new nine holes and the revamping of the existing holes to fit the layout. Construction began in 1963 and the new course opened for play the following season(1964).

Course improvement and the modernization and expansion of the clubhouse was accelerated when Arnold Palmer purchased the Club in 1971. Over the years, many of the holes have been further "tweaked" and lengthened.

Deacon Palmer, who had become the grounds superintendent in 1926 and the golf professional in 1931, remained active until his death at the age of 71 in February 1976. Jerry Palmer began working with his father in 1975 and took over as superintendent after his father's passing. Jerry became general manager of all of Arnold's Latrobe properties in 1989. Marty Repko was promoted from the grounds crew, where he had worked since 1976, and named to replace Jerry as course superintendent.

"My dad was always a part of Latrobe Country Club, as a young man helping to build the course, and working there until he passed away," says Jerry Palmer. "It was always a dream for Arnie to buy the course some day. My parents, Arnie and my sisters were all such a part of this course. It was our lifeblood and has always been our home."

Latrobe Country Club, is where Arnold Palmer learned to play the game. The country club is a laid-back, little place, set back discreetly off Arnold Palmer Drive. The country club is a private low-key place. This is a nice golf course in a pretty, small-town setting. Add to it the special thrill of walking the fairways where Arnie learned about golf, and about life and you have something magical.